2 Chronicles 36
Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, became king of Judah at 23 years old but reigned for only three months before being removed by the king of Egypt, who then appointed Eliakim, renamed Jehoiakim, as king. Jehoiakim reigned for 11 years, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, and was eventually taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldeans. Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim's son, succeeded him but was also taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar after a short reign, and Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's uncle, was appointed king. Zedekiah reigned for 11 years, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord eventually sent the king of the Chaldeans to destroy Jerusalem and the temple, leading to a 70-year desolation of the land.
1Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and they appointed him king in place of his father, in Jerusalem2Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem3Then the king of Egypt, when he had arrived in Jerusalem, removed him, and condemned the land to one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold4And he appointed Eliakim, his brother, as king in his place, over Judah and Jerusalem. And he changed his name to Jehoiakim. Truly, he took Jehoahaz with him, and he led him away to Egypt5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil before the Lord his God6Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Chaldeans, ascended against him, and led him bound in chains to Babylon7And to there, he also took away the vessels of the Lord, and he placed them in his temple8But the rest of the words of Jehoiakim, and his abominations that he worked, and the things that were found in him, are contained in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. Then his son, Jehoiachin, reigned in his place9Jehoiachin was eight years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord10And when the course of a year had turned, king Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, carrying away, at the same time, the most precious vessels of the house of the Lord. Truly, he appointed his uncle, Zedekiah, as king over Judah and Jerusalem11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem12And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. And he did not show remorse before the face of the prophet Jeremiah, who was speaking to him from the mouth of the Lord13Also, he withdrew from king Nebuchadnezzar, who had bound him by an oath to God, and he hardened his own neck and his own heart, so that he did not return to the Lord, the God of Israel14Then too, all the leaders of the priests, with the people, transgressed iniquitously, in accord with all the abominations of the Gentiles. And they polluted the house of the Lord, which he had sanctified to himself in Jerusalem15Then the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent to them, by the hand of his messengers, rising in the night and daily admonishing them. For he was lenient to his people and to his habitation16But they ridiculed the messengers of God, and they gave little weight to his words, and they mocked the prophets, until the fury of the Lord ascended against his people, and there was no remedy17For he led over them the king of the Chaldeans. And he put to death their young men by the sword, in the house of his sanctuary. There was no pity for adolescents, nor virgins, nor the elderly, nor even for the disabled. Instead, he delivered them all into his hands18And all the vessels of the house of Lord, as much the greater as the lesser, and the treasures of the temple, and of the king and the rulers, he carried away to Babylon19The enemies set fire to the house of God, and they destroyed the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the towers. And whatever was precious, they demolished20If anyone had escaped from the sword, he was led into Babylon. And he served the king and his sons, until the king of Persia would command21and the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah would be fulfilled, and the land would celebrate her Sabbaths. For during all the days of the desolation, she kept a Sabbath, until the seventy years were completed22Then, in the first year of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, who commanded this to be proclaimed throughout his entire kingdom, and also in writing, saying23"Thus says Cyrus, the king of the Persians: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he has instructed me that I should build for him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who among you is from his entire people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him ascend.
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