Jehoahaz Rules in Judah
1 Then the people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him the next king in Jerusalem.
2 Jehoahazwas twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.
3 Then he was deposed by the king of Egypt, who demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of goldas tribute.
Jehoiakim Rules in Judah
4 The king of Egypt then installed Eliakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, as the next king of Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt as a prisoner.
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of theLordhis God.
6 Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and captured it, and he bound Jehoiakim in bronze chains and led him away to Babylon.
7 Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the treasures from the Temple of theLord, and he placed them in his palacein Babylon.
8 The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign, including all the evil things he did and everything found against him, are recorded inThe Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.Then his son Jehoiachin became the next king.
Jehoiachin Rules in Judah
9 Jehoiachin was eighteenyears old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. Jehoiachin did what was evil in theLord’s sight.
10 In the spring of the yearKing Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon. Many treasures from the Temple of theLordwere also taken to Babylon at that time. And Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin’s uncle,Zedekiah, as the next king in Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Rules in Judah
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.
12 But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of theLordhis God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from theLord.
13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to theLord, the God of Israel.
14 Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of theLordthat had been consecrated in Jerusalem.
15 TheLord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.
16 But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until theLord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.
The Fall of Jerusalem
17 So theLordbrought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonianskilled Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.
18 The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both theLord’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials.
19 Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value.
20 The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
21 So the message of theLordspoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.
Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return
22 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,theLordfulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
23 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“TheLord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go there for this task. And may theLordyour God be with you!”
—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/2CH/36-fa967402b2663d5b9981d9cb080f7bc3.mp3?version_id=116—