2 Chronicles 36:1-16

1 And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.

Jehoahaz King of Judah

2 Jehoahaz^[a] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.

3 The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents^[b] of silver and a talent^[c] of gold.

4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Necho took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.

Jehoiakim King of Judah

5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God.

6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.

7 Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the LORD and put them in his temple^[d] there.

8 The other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoiachin King of Judah

9 Jehoiachin was eighteen^[e] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, together with articles of value from the temple of the LORD, and he made Jehoiachin’s uncle,^[f] Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah King of Judah

11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.

12 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the LORD.

13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel.

14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem

15 The LORD, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.

16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.

2 Chronicles 36:1-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 36

This chapter records the reigns of the four kings of Judah, and the captivity of the Jews, the short reign of Jehoahaz, deposed by the king of Egypt, and his brother Eliakim or Jehoiakim set up in his room, 2Ch 36:1-4, the reign of Jehoiakim, who was bound and carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, 2Ch 36:5-8, the reign of Jehoiachin his son, who also in a short time was taken and carried to Babylon by the same king, 2Ch 36:9,10, the reign of Zedekiah, who also rebelled against the king of Babylon, and he and his people were taken and carried captive by him for his sins, which are here mentioned, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, and where the Jews continued until the reign of the kingdom of Persia, 2Ch 36:11-21 and the chapter is concluded with the proclamation of Cyrus king of Persia, and with which also the next book begins, 2Ch 36:22,23.

\\Josiah\\ Of whose reign, and of the three following, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, and the account of them, from hence to the end of 2Ch 36:13, what needs explanation or reconciliation, \\See Gill on "2Ki 23:31"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 23:32"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 23:33"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 23:34"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 23:35"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 23:36"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 23:37"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 24:5"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 24:6"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 24:8"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 24:10"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 24:17"\\ \\See Gill on "2Ki 24:18"\\ 19953-950201-1301-2Ch36.2

Cross References

• 1. S 2 Chronicles 22:1
• 2. Jeremiah 22:10-12
• 3. Ezekiel 19:4
• 4. Jeremiah 22:18; Jeremiah 25:1; Jeremiah 26:1; Jeremiah 35:1; Jeremiah 36:1; Jeremiah 45:1; Jeremiah 46:2
• 5. Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 27:6; Ezekiel 29:18
• 6. 2 Chronicles 33:11; Ezekiel 19:9; Daniel 1:1
• 7. ver 18; 2 Kings 24:13; Ezra 1:7; Jeremiah 27:16; Daniel 1:2
• 8. Jeremiah 22:24-28; Jeremiah 24:1; Jeremiah 27:20; Jeremiah 29:21; Jeremiah 52:31
• 9. ver 18; S 2 Kings 20:17; Ezra 1:7; Isaiah 52:11; Jeremiah 14:18; Jeremiah 21:7; Jeremiah 22:25; Jeremiah 24:1; Jeremiah 27:16,20,22; Jeremiah 29:1; Jeremiah 34:21; Jeremiah 40:1; Jeremiah 37:1; Ezekiel 17:12; Daniel 5:2
• 10. S 2 Kings 24:17; Jeremiah 27:1; Jeremiah 28:1; Jeremiah 34:2; Jeremiah 37:1; Jeremiah 39:1
• 11. Jer 37:1-39:18
• 12. S Deuteronomy 8:3; 2 Chronicles 7:14; 2 Chronicles 33:23; Jeremiah 44:10; Jeremiah 21:3-7
• 13. Ezekiel 17:13
• 14. S Exodus 32:9; S Deuteronomy 9:27; 2 Kings 17:14; 2 Chronicles 30:8
• 15. S 1 Chronicles 5:25
• 16. Isaiah 5:4; Isaiah 44:26; Jeremiah 7:25; Haggai 1:13; Zechariah 1:4; Malachi 2:7; Malachi 3:1; S Matthew 5:12
• 17. Jeremiah 7:13,25; Jeremiah 11:7; Jeremiah 25:3-4; Jeremiah 35:14,15; Jeremiah 44:4-6
• 18. S 2 Kings 2:23; Job 8:2; Proverbs 1:25; Isaiah 28:14,22; Isaiah 29:20; Isaiah 57:4; Jeremiah 5:13; Jeremiah 43:2; Micah 2:11
• 19. Ezra 5:12; Proverbs 1:30-31; Jeremiah 44:3
• 20. 2 Chronicles 30:10; Nehemiah 9:30; Proverbs 29:1; Jeremiah 7:26; Jeremiah 20:8; Jeremiah 25:4; Jeremiah 30:12; Daniel 9:6; Zechariah 1:2

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "Joahaz," a variant of "Jehoahaz" ; also in verse 4
• [b]. That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
• [c]. That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
• [d]. Or "palace"
• [e]. One Hebrew manuscript, some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 2 Kings 24:8); most Hebrew manuscripts "eight"
• [f]. Hebrew "brother," that is, relative (see 2 Kings 24:17)