2 Kings 23:29–24:7

²⁹During his reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt^e marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to confront him, and at Megiddo^f when Neco saw him he killed him. ³⁰From Megiddo his servants carried his dead body in a chariot, brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb.^g Then the common people took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.^h

JUDAH’S KING JEHOAHAZ

³¹Jehoahazⁱ was^j twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal^k daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ³²He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.^{l 33}Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah^m in the land of Hamathⁿ to keep him from reigning in Jerusalem, and he imposed on the land a fine of seventy-five hundred pounds^B of silver and seventy-five pounds^C of gold.

JUDAH’S KING JEHOIAKIM

³⁴Then^o Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim^p son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.^q But Neco took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.^{r 35}So Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but at Pharaoh’s command he taxed the land to give it. He exacted the silver and the gold from the common people, each according to his assessment,^s to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

³⁶Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. ³⁷He did what was evil^t in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

JEHOIAKIM’S REBELLION AND DEATH

24During^u Jehoiakim’s reign,^v King Nebuchadnezzar^w of Babylon^x attacked.^y Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him. ²The Lord sent Chaldean, Aramean,^z Moabite,^aa and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through his servants the prophets.^{ab 3}Indeed, this happened to Judah at the Lord’s command to remove them from his presence.^ac It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,^{ad 4}and also because of all the innocent blood he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,^ae and the Lord was not willing to forgive.

⁵The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{af 6}Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.^ag

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