2 Chronicles 36:11–21

Zedekiah King of Judah

36:11–16pp—2Ki 24:18–20; Jer 52:1–3

¹¹Zedekiah^b was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. ¹²He did evil in the eyes of the Lord^c his God and did not humble^d himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. ¹³He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath^e in God’s name. He became stiff-necked^f and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful,^g following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem

36:17–20pp—2Ki 25:1–21; Jer 52:4–27 36:22–23pp—Ezr 1:1–3

¹⁵The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers^h again and again,ⁱ because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed^j at his prophets until the wrath^k of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.^{l 17}He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,^gm who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young menⁿ or young women, the elderly or the infirm.^o God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.^{p 18}He carried to Babylon all the articles^q from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹They set fire^r to God’s temple^s and broke down the wall^t of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed^u everything of value there.^v

²⁰He carried into exile^w to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants^x to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹The land enjoyed its sabbath rests;^y all the time of its desolation it rested,^z until the seventy years^a were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.