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Judah’s King Hezekiah

1 In the third year of Israel’s King Hosheason of Elah, Hezekiahson of Ahaz became king of Judah.

2 He was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abidaughter of Zechariah.

3 He did what was right in theLord’s sight just as his ancestor David had done.

4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made,for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time. He called it Nehushtan.

5 Hezekiah trusted in theLordGod of Israel;not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.

6 He remained faithful to Yahwehand did not turn from following Him but kept the commands theLordhad commanded Moses.

7 TheLordwas with him, and wherever he went he prospered.He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders,from watchtowerto fortified city.

Review of Israel’s Fall

9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.

10 The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel’s King Hoshea, Samaria was captured.

11 The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan’s river, and in the cities of the Medes,

12 because they did not listen to the voice of theLordtheir God but violated His covenant — all He had commanded Moses the servant of theLord. They did not listen, and they did not obey.

Sennacherib’s Invasion

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish,saying, “I have done wrong;withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded 11 tonsof silver and one tonof gold from King Hezekiah of Judah.

15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in theLord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.

16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of theLord’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.

17 Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan,the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.They advanced and came to Jerusalem, andthey took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is by the highway to the Fuller’s Field.

18 Then they called for the king, but Eliakimson of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnahthe court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.

The Rabshakeh’s Speech

19 Thenthe Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?

20 You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?

21 Look, you are now trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staffthat will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it.This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him.

22 Suppose you say to me: We trust in theLordour God. Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem? ’

23 “So now make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them!

24 How then can you drive back a single officeramong the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

25 Have I attacked this place to destroy it without theLord’s approval?TheLordsaid to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’ ”

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrewwithin earshot of the people on the wall.”

27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine? ”

28 The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew.Then he spoke: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.

29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceiveyou; he can’t deliver you from my hand.

30 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in theLordby saying: Certainly theLordwill deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’

31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peacewith me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,and every one may drink water from his own cistern

32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land — a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey— so that you may liveand not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: TheLordwill deliver us.

33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever deliveredhis land from the power of the king of Assyria?

34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

35 Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So will theLorddeliver Jerusalem? ’ ”

36 But the people kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.”

37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,came to Hezekiah with their clothes tornand reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

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Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel

1 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,and went into theLord’s temple.

2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth,to the prophet Isaiahson of Amoz.

3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth,but there is no strength to deliver them.

4 Perhaps Yahweh your Godwill hearall the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebukehim for the words that Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’ ”

5 So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,

6 who said to them, “Tell your master this, ‘TheLordsays: Don’t be afraidbecause of the words you have heard, that the king of Assyria’s attendantshave blasphemedMe with.

7 I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own landwhere I will cause him to fall by the sword.’ ”

Sennacherib’s Departing Threat

8 Whenthe Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,he returned and found him fighting against Libnah.

9 The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

10 “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, whom you trust,deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.

11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued?

12 Did the gods of the nationsthat my predecessors destroyed rescue them — nations such as Gozan,Haran,Rezeph, and the Edenitesin Telassar?

13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah? ’ ”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah tookthe letterfrom the hand of the messengers, read it, then went up to theLord’s temple, and spread it out before theLord.

15 Then Hezekiah prayed before theLord:

LordGod of Israel who is enthroned above the cherubim,You are God — You alone — of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

16 Listen closely,Lord, and hear; open Your eyes,Lord, and see.Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.

17 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.

18 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands — wood and stone.So they have destroyed them.

19 Now,Lordour God, please save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are theLordGod — You alone.

God’s Answer through Isaiah

20 ThenIsaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “TheLord, the God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayerto Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria.’

21 This is the word theLordhas spoken against him:

Virgin Daughter Zion

despises you and scorns you:

Daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head behind your back.

22 Who is it you mocked and blasphemed?

Against whom have you raised your voice

and lifted your eyes in pride?

Against the Holy One of Israel!

23 You have mocked the Lordthroughyour messengers.

You have said:

With my many chariots

I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,

to the far recesses of Lebanon.

I cut down its tallest cedars,

its choice cypress trees.

I came to its farthest outpost,

its densest forest.

24 I dug wells,

and I drank foreign waters.

I dried up all the streams of Egypt

with the soles of my feet.

25 Have you not heard?

I designed it long ago;

I planned it in days gone by.

I have now brought it to pass,

and you have crushed fortified cities

into piles of rubble.

26 Their inhabitants have become powerless,

dismayed, and ashamed.

They are plants of the field,

tender grass,

grass on the rooftops,

blasted by the east wind.

27 But I know your sitting down,

your going out and your coming in,

and your raging against Me.

28 Because your raging against Me

and your arrogance have reached My ears,

I will put My hook in your nose

and My bit in your mouth;

I will make you go back

the way you came.

29 “This will be the signfor you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

30 The surviving remnantof the house of Israel will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

31 For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem and survivors, from Mount Zion.The zeal of theLordof Hosts will accomplish this.

32 Therefore, this is what theLordsays about the king of Assyria:

He will not enter this city

or shoot an arrow there

or come before it with a shield

or build up an assault ramp against it.

33 He will go back

on the road that he came

and he will not enter this city.

This is theLord’s declaration.

34 I will defend this city and rescue it

for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.”

Defeat and Death of Sennacherib

35 That night the angel of theLordwent out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies!

36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.

37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelechand Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.Then his son Esar-haddonbecame king in his place.

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Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

1 In those daysHezekiah became terminally ill.The prophet Isaiahson of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what theLordsays: ‘Put your affairs in order,for you are about to die; you will not recover.’ ”

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the walland prayed to theLord,

3 “PleaseLord, rememberhow I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.”And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of theLordcame to him:

5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leaderof My people, ‘This is what theLordGod of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer;I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to theLord’s temple.

6 I will add 15 years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’ ”

7 Then Isaiah said, “Bring a lump of pressed figs.” So they brought it and applied it to his infected skin, and he recovered.

8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is the signthat theLordwill heal me and that I will go up to theLord’s temple on the third day? ”

9 Isaiah said, “This is the signto you from theLordthat He will do what He has promised: Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps? ”

10 Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen 10 steps. No, let the shadow go back 10 steps.”

11 So Isaiah the prophet called out to theLord, and He brought the shadowback the 10 steps it had descended on Ahaz’s stairway.

Hezekiah’s Folly

12 At that timeMerodach-baladanson of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick.

13 Hezekiah gave them a hearing and showed them his whole treasure house — the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil — and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you? ”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from a distant country, from Babylon.”

15 Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace? ”

Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of theLord:

17 ‘The time will certainly come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’says theLord.

18 ‘Some of your descendants who come from you will be taken away,and they will become eunuchsin the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”

19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of theLordthat you have spoken is good,”for he thought: Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?

Hezekiah’s Death

20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, along with all his might and how he made the pooland the tunnel and brought water into the city,are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

21 Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.

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Judah’s King Manasseh

1 Manassehwas 12 years old when he became king and reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.

2 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight,imitating the detestable practices of the nations that theLordhad dispossessed before the Israelites.

3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyedand reestablished the altars for Baal. He made an Asherah,as King Ahab of Israel had done;he also worshiped the whole heavenly hostand served them.

4 He built altars in theLord’s temple,where theLordhad said, “Jerusalem is where I will put My name.”

5 He built altars to the whole heavenly hostin both courtyards of theLord’s temple.

6 He made his son pass through the fire,practiced witchcraft and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists.He did a great amount of evil in theLord’s sight, provoking Him.

7 Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that theLordhad spoken about to David and his son Solomon, “I will establish My name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

8 I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land I gave to their ancestors if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them — the whole law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

9 But they did not listen; Manasseh caused them to stray so that they did greater evil than the nations theLordhad destroyed before the Israelites.

10 TheLordspoke through His servants the prophets, saying,

11 “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these detestable things— greater evil than the Amoriteswho preceded him had done — and by means of his idols has also caused Judah to sin,

12 this is what theLordGod of Israel says: ‘I am about to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that everyone who hears about it will shudder.

13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used on Samaria and the mason’s level used on the house of Ahab,and I will wipeJerusalem clean as one wipes a bowl — wiping it and turning it upside down.

14 I will abandon the remnantof My inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies,

15 because they have done what is evil in My sight and have provoked Me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.’ ”

16 Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another.This was in addition to his sin that he caused Judah to commit. Consequently, they did what was evil in theLord’s sight.

Manasseh’s Death

17 The restof the events of Manasseh’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

18 Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, the garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.

Judah’s King Amon

19 Amon was 22 years old when he became kingand reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah.

20 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight as his father Manasseh had done.

21 He walked in all the ways his father had walked; he served the idols his father had served, and he worshiped them.

22 He abandoned theLordGod of his ancestorsand did not walk in the way of theLord.

23 Amon’s servants conspired against the king and killed him in his own house.

24 Then the common peopleexecutedall those who had conspired against King Amon and made his son Josiahking in his place.

25 The rest of the events of Amon’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.

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Judah’s King Josiah

1 Josiahwas eight years old when he became king and reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.

2 He did what was right in theLord’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David;he did not turn to the right or the left.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to theLord’s temple,saying,

4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest so that he may total up the money brought into theLord’s temple — the money the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

5 It is to be put into the hands of those doing the work — those who oversee theLord’s temple. They in turn are to give it to the workmen in theLord’s temple to repair the damage.

6 They are to give it to the carpenters, builders, and masons to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the temple.

7 But no accounting is to be required from them for the money put into their hands since they work with integrity.”

The Book of the Law Found

8 Hilkiah the high priest told Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the book of the lawin theLord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

9 Then Shaphan the court secretary went to the king and reported,“Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hand of those doing the work — those who oversee theLord’s temple.”

10 Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book,” and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

11 When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.

12 Then he commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikamson of Shaphan, Achborson of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah:

13 “Go and inquire of theLordfor me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is theLord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”

Huldah’s Prophecy of Judgment

14 SoHilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetessHuldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah,son of Harhas,keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District.They spoke with her.

15 She said to them, “This is what theLordGod of Israel says, ‘Say to the man who sent you to Me:

16 This is what theLordsays: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read,

17 because they have abandoned Me and burned incense to other gods in order to provoke Me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.

18 Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of theLord: This is what theLordGod of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,

19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before theLordwhen you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse,and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you — this is theLord’s declaration —

20 therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace.Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’ ”

Then they reportedto the king.

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Covenant Renewal

1 So the king sent messengers,and they gathered all the eldersof Jerusalem and Judah to him.

2 Then the king went to theLord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets — all the people from the youngest to the oldest. As they listened, he read all the words of the book of the covenantthat had been found in theLord’s temple.

3 Next, the king stood by the pillarand made a covenantin the presence of theLordto follow theLordand to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his mind and with all his heart,and to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed tothe covenant.

Josiah’s Reforms

4 Then the king commanded Hilkiahthe high priest and the priests of the second rankand the doorkeepers to bring out of theLord’s temple all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and the whole heavenly host.He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.

5 Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high placesin the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and the whole heavenly host.

6 He brought out the Asherah polefrom theLord’s temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley,beat it to dust,and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

7 He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutesthat were in theLord’s temple, in which the women were weaving tapestriesfor Asherah.

8 Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high placesfrom Gebato Beer-sheba,where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate).

9 The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of theLordin Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

10 He defiled Topheth,which is in the Valley of Hinnom,so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through the fireto Molech.

11 He did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They had been at the entrance of theLord’s temple in the precincts by the chamber of Nathan-melech the court official, and he burned up the chariots of the sun.

12 The king tore down the altars that were on the roof— Ahaz’s upper chamberthat the kings of Judah had made — and the altars that Manasseh had madein the two courtyards of theLord’s temple. Then he smashed themthere and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

13 The king also defiled the high places that were across from Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the detestable idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab; and for Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.

14 He broke the sacred pillars into pieces,cut down the Asherah poles,then filled their places with human bones.

15 He even tore down the altar at Betheland the high placethat Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made. Then he burned the high place, crushed it to dust, and burned the Asherah.

16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar.He defiled it according to the word of theLordproclaimed by the man of Godwho proclaimed these things.

17 Then he said, “What is this monument I see? ”

The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar at Bethel.”

18 So he said, “Let him rest. Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

19 Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke theLord.Josiah did the same things to them that he had done at Bethel.

20 He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high placeswho were there, and he burned human bones on the altars.Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Passover Observed

21 The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover of theLordyour God as written in the book of the covenant.”

22 No such Passover had ever been kept from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah.

23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to theLordin Jerusalem.

Further Zeal for the Lord

24 In addition, Josiah removed the mediums, the spiritists,household idols,images, and all the detestable thingsthat were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this in order to carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in theLord’s temple.

25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to theLordwith all his mind and with all his heart and with all his strengthaccording to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.

26 In spite of all that, theLorddid not turn from the fury of His great burning anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had provoked Him with.

27 For theLordhad said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight just as I have removed Israel.I will reject this city Jerusalem, that I have chosen, and the temple about which I said, ‘My name will be there.’ ”

Josiah’s Death

28 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign,along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

29 During his reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egyptmarched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to confront him, and at Megiddowhen Neco saw him he killed him.

30 From Megiddo his servants carried his dead body in a chariot, brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb.Then the common peopletook Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.

Judah’s King Jehoahaz

31 Jehoahazwas23 years old when he became king and reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutaldaughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.

32 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

33 Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblahin the land of Hamathto keep him from reigning in Jerusalem, and he imposed on the land a fine of 7,500 poundsof silver and 75 poundsof gold.

Judah’s King Jehoiakim

34 ThenPharaoh Neco made Eliakimson of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.But Neco took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.

35 So Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but at Pharaoh’s command he taxed the land to give the money. He exacted the silver and the gold from the common people,each man according to his assessment,to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah.

37 He did what was evilin theLord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

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Jehoiakim’s Rebellion and Death

1 DuringJehoiakim’s reign,Nebuchadnezzarking of Babylonattacked.Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 TheLordsent Chaldean, Aramean,Moabite,and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of theLordHe had spoken through His servants the prophets.

3 Indeed, this happened to Judah at theLord’s command to remove them from His sight.It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,

4 and also because of all the innocent blood he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,and theLordwould not forgive.

5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

6 Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

7 Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again,for the king of Babylon took everything that belonged to the king of Egypt,from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Judah’s King Jehoiachin

8 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king and reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem.

9 He did what was evil in theLord’s sight as his father had done.

Deportations to Babylon

10 At that timethe servants of Nebuchadnezzarking of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.

11 Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it.

12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the king of Babylon.

So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign.

13 He also carried off from there all the treasures of theLord’s temple and the treasures of the king’s palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had madefor theLord’s sanctuary, just as God had predicted.

14 Then he deported all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the fighting men,10,000 captives,and all the craftsmen and metalsmiths.Except for the poorest people of the land,no one remained.

15 Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. Also, he took the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 The king of Babylon also brought captive into Babylon all 7,000 fighting men and 1,000 craftsmen and metalsmiths — all strong and fit for war.

17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’suncle,king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Judah’s King Zedekiah

18 Zedekiahwas 21 years old when he became kingand reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutaldaughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.

19 Zedekiah did what was evil in theLord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done.

20 Because of theLord’s anger,it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that He finally banished them from His presence.Then, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

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Nebuchadnezzar’s Siege of Jerusalem

1 In the ninth yearof Zedekiah’s reign,on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army.They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around.

2 The city was under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the people of the land had no food.

4 Then the city was broken into,and all the warriors fledby night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden,even though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. As the king made his way along the route to the Arabah,

5 the Chaldean army pursued him and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah’s entire army was scattered from him.

6 The Chaldeans seized the kingand brought him up to the king of Babylonat Riblah,and they passed sentence on him.

7 They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes. Finally, the king of Babylon blinded Zedekiah, bound him in bronze chains, and took him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Destroyed

8 Onthe seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.

9 He burned theLord’s temple,the king’s palace,and all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned downall the great houses.

10 The whole Chaldean army with the commander of the guards tore down the wallssurrounding Jerusalem.

11 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.

12 But the commander of the guards left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

13 Nowthe Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillarsof theLord’s temple, the water carts, and the bronze reservoir,which were in theLord’s temple, and carried the bronze to Babylon.

14 They also took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the dishes, and all the bronze articles used in temple service.

15 The commander of the guards took away the firepans and the sprinkling basins — whatever was gold or silver.

16 As for the two pillars, the one reservoir, and the water carts that Solomon had made for theLord’s temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.

17 One pillar was 27 feettall and had a bronze capital on top of it. The capital, encircled by a grating and pomegranates of bronze, stood five feethigh. The second pillar was the same, with its own grating.

18 The commander of the guardsalso took away Seraiahthe chief priest, Zephaniahthe priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

19 He took a court official who had been appointed over the warriors from the city; five trusted royal aidesfound in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and 60 men from the common peoplewho were found within the city.

20 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

21 The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor

22 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliahson of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over the rest of the people he left in the land of Judah.

23 When all the commanders of the armies — they and their men — heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite — they and their men.

24 Gedaliah swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”

25 In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with 10 men and struck down Gedaliah, and he died. Also, they killed the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, and the commanders of the army, left and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Pardoned

27 Onthe twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he pardoned King Jehoiachinof Judah and released him from prison.

28 He spoke kindlyto him and set his throne over the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.

29 So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life.

30 As for his allowance, a regular allowancewas given to him by the king, a portion for each day, for the rest of his life.

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