1During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, invaded Judah, and Jehoiakim became subservient to him for three years; until he rebelled against him. 2And the LORD sent bands of the Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim to destroy Judah, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servants, the prophets. 3Surely these disasters came upon Judah at the commandment of the LORD, to remove Judah from His sight, because of the sins of Manasseh, and all that he did, 4As well as for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon. 5Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 6So Jehoiakim died; and Jehoiachin, his son, reigned in his stead. 7And the king of Egypt no longer came out of his land; because the king of Babylon had taken all the territory that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River. 8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for three months. His mother's name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9And he did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father had done. 10During Jehoiachin’s reign, military officers of King Nebuchadnezzar, of Babylon, came and besieged the city of Jerusalem. 11And Nebuchadnezzar, himself, came up to the city that his officers had besieged. 12And Jehoiachin, king of Judah, surrendered to the king of Babylon - he, his mother, servants, princes, and officers - and the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. 13And Nebuchadnezzar carried off all the treasures of the Temple of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's palace, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon had made as directed by the LORD for the Temple of the LORD. 14And he carried off from Jerusalem its princes and its fighting men, ten thousand captives, as well as all its craftsmen and smiths; leaving no one except the poorest sort of the people of the land. 15And Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon, along with his mother, wives, and officers, and the prominent of the land - all these were taken as captives from Jerusalem to Babylon: 16Seven thousand fighting men, and a thousand craftsmen and smiths - all those capable of war, King Nebuchadnezzar took captive to Babylon. 17And he made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah. 18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19And he did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 All these events occurred in Jerusalem and Judah because they provoked the anger of the LORD, until God banished them from His presence, And then Zedekiah’s rebelled against the king of Babylon. Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |