| << 2 King 23 | ||
| << 2 Chron 35 | ||
 |
| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
II Kings 24-25; II Chronicles 36 Listen 
King Jehoahaz - the three month reign of Josiah's evil son (II Chronicles 36:1-3)
Jehoahaz also gets 3 verses in II Kings 23:31-33 (see notes)
II Kings 23 |
II Chronicles 36 |
| 31 ¶ Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. |
1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. 2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. |
After Josiah's death (II Kings 23:29-30; II Chronicles 35:20-27, see notes) in battle against the Pharaoh of Egypt, the people selected his third son, Jehoahaz, as their King over Judah, but he's evil - right from the beginning. At just 23 years old, the Egyptian Pharaoh takes him captive and appoints his older brother, Jehoiakim, as the new King of Judah. During this period of time, Jerusalem was held and taxed by Egypt.
A Summary of King #17 for 3 months in 609 B.C. over Judah: Jehoahaz |
||
| References | The Good | The Bad |
II Kings 23:31-33 |
Not specified - He was bad | II Kings 23:32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. |
King Jehoiakim - just another evil king of Judah (II Kings 24:1-7; II Chronicles 36:4-8)
II Kings 24 |
II Chronicles 36 |
| 1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the LORD sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. 3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. 5 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 ¶ And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates. |
4 Then the king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt. 5 ¶ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. |
After Josiah (640-609), there was not another good king of Judah. Jehoahaz (II Kings 23:31-33, see notes) was Josiah's third son and became Josiah's successor as King of Judah. Why Josiah's third son? II Chronicles 36:1 says, "Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem." Apparently the people of Judah saw more hope in him than the other sons. However, Jehoahaz only reigned three months before he was deposed by Pharaoh-Necho from the throne, and carried away prisoner into Egypt; there he died in captivity.
Pharaoh-Necho placed Jehoiakim (originally named Eliakim before Pharaoh changed it) on the throne of Judah. He served from 609-598 and was Josiah's second son (two years older than Jehoahaz) as a puppet king subject to the Egyptians. Subsequently, Egypt and Judah were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. In the process, Jehoiakim was captured; he was prepared for the trip back to Babylon, but we do not know whether he was actually deported (see discussion below). This is the same time at which Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon as well. Subsequently, Jehoiakim served as the puppet king, subject to the Babylonians. That's where we pick the story up here in II Kings 24.
Jehoiakim rebels against the Babylonians after three years. Jeremiah didn't have much use for Jehoiakim either (Jeremiah 22:18-19, see notes; Jeremiah 36:30, see notes). His death is not well documented in scripture; we are only told in II Kings 24:6 that "Jehoiakim rested with his fathers." In II Chronicles 36:6 we are told that Nebuchadnezzar "bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon," but we aren't told that he actually made the trip to Babylon. However, the historian Josephus claimed that Jehoiakim met a violent death when he was thrown over the wall of Jerusalem right before the besieging Babylonian army to convince them that he was dead. Jehoiakim is succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin, but only for three months.
Incidentally, it should be noted in II Kings 24:3 that which we already knew when it says, "Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done." King Manasseh (695-642) had indulged in such atrocities during his reign, Judah was still paying the price. Even during the good reign of Josiah (640-609) it was reported in II Kings 23:26 (see notes), "Nevertheless the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him."
A Summary of King #18 from 609 to 598 B.C. over Judah: Jehoiakim |
||
| References | The Good | The Bad |
II Kings 23:34-37 |
Not specified - He was bad | II Kings 23:37 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. II Chronicles 36:5 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. |
Jehoiachin (evil also) becomes king of Judah for 3 months (II Kings 24:8-9; II Chronicles 36:9-10)
II Kings 24 |
II Chronicles 36 |
| 8 ¶ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. |
9 ¶ Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 10 At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah, Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem. |
II Kings 24:8 reports that Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king after his father's (Jehoiakim) death. II Chronicles 36:9 says he was just eight. We have no way of knowing for certain, but perhaps the answer lies in II Chronicles 36:6. There we are told regarding Jehoiakim, "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon." If Jehoiakim was actually taken to Babylon for a period of time and then returned later to his throne, it makes sense that his son, Jehoiachin, at just eight years of age, was regarded as the co-regent in his father's absence. Direct descendants were regarded as kings at any age. Furthermore, since there would have been no way of knowing whether or not Jehoiakim would ever return from Babylon, the people very likely regarded him as the new king after Jehoiakim's deportation. However, Jehoiakim did return, and upon doing so, resumed his role as king and perhaps shared the title with his son until his death. That would also lend understanding to how it could be determined that Jehoiachin was so evil after just three months.
Jehoiachin only has a three-month rule before he is deposed and taken to Babylon to live out the rest of his life. He was accompanied by his fellow government officials, mother and his wives. Jehoiachin had a couple of aliases in the Bible - Jechonias in Matthew 1:11-12 (see notes) and sometimes in Jeremiah, just Coniah i.e. Jeremiah 22:24-27 (see notes). In Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar imprisoned him for 37 years (Jeremiah 52:31-33, see notes). Upon Neb's death, his successor (Evil-merodach) freed Jehoiachin and permitted him to occupy a place in the king’s household and sit at his table, receiving "a portion for each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life" (Jeremiah 52:32-34, see notes).
A Summary of King #19 in 597 B.C. over Judah: Jehoiachin |
||
| References | The Good | The Bad |
II Kings 24:8-16 |
Not specified - He was bad | II Chronicles 36:9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. |
Jerusalem is captured (II Kings 24:10-16)
10 ¶ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it.
12 Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.
13 ¶ And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.
14 Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.
15 And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16 All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
Jehoiachin doesn't put up a fight when the Babylonian army comes knockin' at the gate of Jerusalem; he just lets them in. They take everything of value. They also transport all the influential and skilled people in Jerusalem back to Babylon, including Jehoiachin, just as Jeremiah had prophesied (Jeremiah 22:24-27, see notes). This deportation system had been used by the Assyrians before, and now by the Babylonians; they, immediately upon conquering a nation, got the movers and shakers out of the land so as to destroy the national pride. That just left the poor people (verse 14). Subsequently they typically would bring the influential people in from other parts of their empire to inhabit their conquered land - in this case, Judah and Jerusalem.
For a comprehensive look at the fall of Jerusalem, click here to see the notes on Jeremiah 52.
Another King - Zedekiah, a puppet of Babylon - and of course, evil (II Kings 24:17-20; II Chronicles 36:11-16)
II Kings 24 |
II Chronicles 36 |
| 17 ¶ Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah. 18 ¶ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. |
11 ¶ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. 13 And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 ¶ And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. |
He is Jehoiachin's uncle (the last living son of Josiah) and is appointed puppet King of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. In II Chronicles 36:10, Zedekiah in the KJV is called Jehoiachin's brother, but the Hebrew word (ach) used there can be translated brother or kinsman. We see here in II Kings 24:17 that Zedekiah was, in fact, Jehoiachin's uncle. After 11 years of this puppet thing, Zedekiah rebels against Babylon. There were lots of warnings to Zedekiah, but he wouldn't listen to Jeremiah or any of the other messengers God sent. II Chronicles 36:16 says, "But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy."
I find interesting II Chronicles 36:13, "And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel." Nebuchadnezzar apparently knew how special Jewish oaths were...or at least were supposed to be. Two chapters of the law are dedicated to the fulfillment of oaths/vows. Leviticus 27 (see notes) and Numbers 30 (see notes) are both dedicated to this Hebrew concept of the Law of Moses. Moreover, Israel suffered at the hand of God for Saul's disregard of oaths during his reign as outlined in II Samuel 21:1-14 (see notes). Zedekiah apparently made an oath with Jehovah in the presence of Nebuchadnezzar that he would not rebel, but changed his mind.
A Summary of King #20 from 597 to 586 B.C. over Judah: Zedekiah |
||
| References | The Good | The Bad |
II Kings 24:17-25:7 |
Not specified - He was bad | II Kings 24:19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. II Chronicles 36:12 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.
|
Now it's show time for Nebuchadnezzar (II Kings 25:1-21; II Chronicles 36:17-21)
II Kings 25 |
II Chronicles 36 |
| 1 Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. 2 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 ¶ Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And the king went by way of the plain. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. 6 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. 7 Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon. 8 ¶ And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 He burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around. 11 ¶ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. 13 The bronze pillars that were in the house of the LORD, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried their bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. 15 The firepans and the basins, the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. 16 The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 17 The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network. 18 ¶ And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 19 He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land. |
17 ¶ Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. 20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. |
The fall of Jerusalem and capture of Zedekiah is also seen in Jeremiah 39 (see notes).
Nebuchadnezzar's not at all happy that Zedekiah won't continue to be his puppet king over Judah. He brings his army and blocks off the city from the outside world causing great famine in Jerusalem. The king and his "men of war" fled the city, but were not able to escape without Babylonian pursuit. King Zedekiah was captured. So, what do you do to your rebel king when he flexes his muscles? Nebuchadnezzar makes Zedekiah watch the slaughter of his sons just before he puts his eyes out. Think about the last image Zedekiah saw. He then takes him captive and blind back to Babylon. Then the Babylonians return to take away the rest of Judah's influential people (presumably those they missed before), leaving only very poor folks in Judah. They even take portions of the structure of the temple back to Babylon along with some of the sacred temple furniture. One last sweep of Judah brings forth a few more of Judah's leaders before Nebuchadnezzar, including Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, along with the three keepers of the door; he kills them too.
Let's give a special notice to II Chronicles 36:21, "to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years." Jeremiah had prophesied that the exile from the land would last 70 years; that's what this verse is talking about. Click here to read a summary of the details regarding Jeremiah's exile prophecy.
Gedaliah becomes governor of Judah (II Kings 25:22-26)
22 ¶ Then he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left.
23 Now when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”
25 ¶ But it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
No more kings of Judah - just a governor appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, also recorded in Jeremiah 40 (see notes). Gedaliah gets a surprise visit from some men described as from royal seed who murder him and subsequently flee to Egypt, an event that is detailed in Jeremiah 41 (see notes).
Jehoiachin finally catches a break (II Kings 25:27-30)
27 ¶ Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.
28 He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
29 So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life.
30 And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.
Whatever happened to ol' Jehoiachin? Well, remember back in II Kings 24:10-16 (see above) he was captured by the Babylonian army and taken back to Babylon. He was only king for 3 months, but Nebuchadnezzar kept him in prison for 37 years. Evil-merodach follows Nebuchadnezzar, releases Jehoiachin from prison, gives him an allowance and has him over for dinner everyday. I guess evil loves evil. Jeremiah also records this release of Jehoiachin in Jeremiah 52:31-34 (see notes).
A preview to the Book of Ezra (II Chronicles 36:22-23)
22 ¶ Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!
These two verses are essentially the same as the first two verses of Ezra. The Book of Ezra is a continuation of the story line in I and II Chronicles. These verses give us a running start into Ezra. Click here to go to the summary on Ezra 1.
