¹²Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, handed himself over to him. Jehoiachin’s mother did the same thing. And so did all of his attendants, nobles and officials.

The king of Babylonia took Jehoiachin away as his prisoner. It was in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule.

¹³He removed all of the treasures from the Lord’s temple. He also removed all of the treasures from the royal palace. He took away all of the gold articles that Solomon, the king of Israel, had made for the temple. That’s what the Lord had announced would happen.

¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar took all of the people of Jerusalem to Babylonia as prisoners. That included all of the officers and fighting men. It also included all of the skilled workers. The total number of prisoners was 10,000. Only the poorest people were left in the land.

¹⁵Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon as his prisoner. He also took the king’s mother from Jerusalem to Babylon. And he took Jehoiachin’s wives, his officials and the most important men in the land.

¹⁶The king also forced the whole army of 7,000 soldiers to go away to Babylonia. Those men were strong and able to go to war. And the king forced 1,000 skilled workers to go to Babylonia.

¹⁷Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah king in his place. And he changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Becomes King of Judah

¹⁸Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother’s name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah. She was from Libnah.

¹⁹Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did just as Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰The enemies of Jerusalem and Judah attacked them because the Lord was angry. In the end he threw them out of his land.

Nebuchadnezzar Destroys Jerusalem

Zedekiah also refused to remain under the control of Nebuchadnezzar.

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