2 Kings 24

Judah Goes Down: First Exiles to Babylon

1 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon rolled up. Jehoiakim became his servant for three years, then he curved and rebelled against him.

2 And the Lord sent raiding parties against him: Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to wipe them out, according to the word of the Lord that He spoke through His servants the prophets.

3 For real, this happened to Judah by the command of the Lord, to remove them from His sight, because of all the sins Manasseh committed,

4 And also for the innocent blood he shed, because he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not down to forgive.

5 As for the rest of Jehoiakim’s story, all he did, is it not written in the book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah,

6 Jehoiakim passed away and joined his ancestors. And his son Jehoiachin took over as king.

7 The king of Egypt did not leave his land anymore, because the king of Babylon had snatched all the territory that used to belong to the king of Egypt, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin Rules Judah & First Exile

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for three months. His mama’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.

9 He did what was whack in the eyes of the Lord, just like all his pops had done.

10 At that time, the officials of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon rolled up to Jerusalem, and the city was laid under siege.

11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon himself came to the city while his officials were besieging it.

12 Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mama, his officials, his commanders, and his eunuchs. And the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his rule.

13 He snatched all the treasures from the Lord’s temple and the treasures from the king’s palace. He cut into pieces all the gold items that Solomon king of Israel had made in the Lord’s temple, just like the Lord had said.

14 He deported all Jerusalem, all the commanders, and all the strong warriors, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. Only the poorest people of the land were left behind.

15 He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. He also took the king’s mama, the king’s wives, his eunuchs, and the big shots of the land from Jerusalem to exile in Babylon.

16 All the strong men, seven thousand of them, and the craftsmen and smiths, a thousand of them, all of them fit for war, the king of Babylon brought them as captives to Babylon.

Zedekiah Rules Judah

17 And 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 ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mama’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

19 He did what was whack in the eyes of the Lord, just like all Jehoiakim had done.

20 Because the Lord’s anger was so heated against Jerusalem and Judah that He finally threw them out of His sight. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.