2 Kings 24

First Invasion of Nebuchadnezzar; Jehoiakim Submits

1 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up [because] Jehoiakim had become his servant [for] three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 So Yahweh sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, raiding bands of Aram, raiding bands of Moab, and raiding bands of the {Ammonites}. He had sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Yahweh that he had spoken by the hand of his servants the prophets.

3 Surely, it was {on the command} of Yahweh against Judah to remove them from his sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done.

4 Also, [for] the blood of the innocent that he had shed--and he filled Jerusalem [with] innocent blood--Yahweh was not willing to forgive.

5 The remainder of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, [are] they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?

6 So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place.

7 The king of Egypt did not again come out from his land, for the king of Babylon had taken [territory] from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoichin Succeeds Jehoiakim

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. The name of his mother [was] Nehushta daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.

9 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh according to all that his father had done.

Second Invasion of Nebuchadnezzar

10 At that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came [to] Jerusalem, and the city came under the siege.

11 Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city [while] his servants were besieging it.

12 Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his court officials. The king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

13 Then he took from there all of the treasures of the temple of Yahweh and the treasures of the palace of the king. He cut up all of the vessels of gold which Solomon the king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, as Yahweh had foretold.

14 He deported all of Jerusalem: all of the commanders, ten thousand of the skilled warriors, and the artisans; no one was left over except the poorest of the people of the land.

15 He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king, the wives of the king, his court officials, and the citizenry of the land he caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

16 of all of the skilled men, seven thousand, and [of] the skilled craftsmen and the artisans, one thousand. All of the mighty warriors {fit for war} the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his place and changed his name [to] Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Replaces Jehoiachin

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother [was] Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

19 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh [just] like all that Jehoiakim had done.

20 For it happened because of the anger of Yahweh, in Jerusalem and in Judah, until they were cast out from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

2 Kings 24 Commentary

Chapter 24

Jehoiakim subdued by Nebuchadnezzar. (1-7) Jehoiachim captive in Babylon. (8-20)

Verses 1-7 If Jehoiakim had served the Lord, he had not been servant to Nebuchadnezzar. If he had been content with his servitude, and true to his word, his condition had been no worse; but, rebelling against Babylon, he plunged himself into more trouble. See what need nations have to lament the sins of their fathers, lest they smart for them. Threatenings will be fulfilled as certainly as promises, if the sinner's repentance prevent not.

Verses 8-20 Jehoiachin reigned but three months, yet long enough to show that he justly smarted for his fathers' sins, for he trod in their steps. His uncle was intrusted with the government. This Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Judah. Though the judgments of God upon the three kings before him might have warned him, he did that which was evil, like them. When those intrusted with the counsels of a nation act unwisely, and against their true interest, we ought to notice the displeasure of God in it. It is for the sins of a people that God hides from them the things that belong to the public peace. And in fulfilling the secret purposes of his justice, the Lord needs only leave men to the blindness of their own minds, or to the lusts of their own hearts. The gradual approach of Divine judgments affords sinners space for repentance, and believers leisure to prepare for meeting the calamity, while it shows the obstinacy of those who will not forsake their sins.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "sons/children of Ammon"
• [b]. Literally "on the mouth"
• [c]. Or "fathers"
• [d]. Literally "doers of war"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 24

This chapter relates the rebellion of Jehoiakim against the king of Babylon, which prepared the way for the ruin of the kingdom of Judah, according to the decree of God, and also the death of Jehoiakim, and the conquest the king of Babylon made of part of the land of the king of Egypt, 2Ki 24:1-7 and the short and wicked reign of Jehoiachin his son, when he and the royal family, with great numbers of the inhabitants of the land, were carried captive to Babylon, 2Ki 24:8-16, and his uncle was made king in his room, 2Ki 24:17-20.