2 Kings — Chapter 24
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1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
2And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets.
3Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;
4And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.
5Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
6So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
7And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.
10At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
12And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
13And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.
14And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
17And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
2And Jehovah sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by his servants the prophets.
3Surely at the commandment of Jehovah came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,
4and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Jehovah would not pardon.
5Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
6So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
7And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months: and his mother`s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father had done.
10At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came unto the city, while his servants were besieging it;
12and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
13And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king`s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had said.
14And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king`s mother, and the king`s wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
17And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, [Jehoiachin`s] father`s brother, king is his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother`s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
1During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him.
2The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, just as in the Lord’s message that he had announced through his servants the prophets.
3Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins that Manasseh had committed.
4Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them.
5The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.
6He passed away and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king.
7The king of Egypt did not march out from his land again, for the king of Babylon conquered all the territory that the king of Egypt had formerly controlled between the Stream of Egypt and the Euphrates River.
8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem.
9He did evil in the sight of the Lord as his ancestors had done.
10At that time the generals of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched to Jerusalem and besieged the city.
11King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his generals were besieging it.
12King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took Jehoiachin prisoner.
13Nebuchadnezzar took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items that King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned.
14He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land.
15He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land.
16The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors.
17The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in Jehoiachin’s place. He renamed him Zedekiah.
18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.
19He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done.
20What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger; he finally threw them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.
2Yahweh sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by his servants the prophets.
3Surely at the commandment of Yahweh this came on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,
4and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Yahweh would not pardon.
5Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
6So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
7The king of Egypt didn’t come out of his land any more; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that belonged to the king of Egypt.
8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, according to all that his father had done.
10At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it,
12and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers; and the king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his reign.
13He carried out from there all the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in Yahweh’s temple, as Yahweh had said.
14He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. No one remained, except the poorest people of the land.
15He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the chief men of the land. He carried them into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
17The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20For through the anger of Yahweh, this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Summary
Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem, deports King Jehoiachin, the royal family, and 10,000 leading citizens to Babylon. He strips the temple of its gold and installs Zedekiah as a puppet king—the beginning of the end.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Samaria — capital of the northern kingdom (Israel); falls to Assyria in 722 BC (ch.17). Jerusalem — capital of Judah; falls to Babylon in 586 BC (ch.25).
- Key locations: Jordan River (Elisha's miracles, chs.2, 5), Damascus (Syria/Aram), Nineveh (Assyrian capital), Babylon (where Judah is exiled).
- Sennacherib's invasion route threatens Jerusalem (chs.18-19). Exile destinations: Assyria (for Israel) and Babylon (for Judah).
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes the phrase "the LORD would not pardon" as one of the most sobering in Scripture. He notes that this does not contradict God's forgiving nature but demonstrates that corporate sin has corporate consequences that persist even when individuals repent. He also highlights how Babylon's deportation strategy systematically dismantled Judah's capacity for independence — removing precisely those people (leaders, warriors, craftsmen) needed to maintain a functioning state.
- Charles Spurgeon: "Here we read the most dreadful words: 'which the LORD would not pardon.' Not that He cannot pardon — His mercy endures forever. But that He would not — because there comes a time when justice must speak, when the cry of innocent blood must be answered, when patience exhausted must yield to righteousness offended. Let no man presume upon God's long-suffering as though it were weakness. The same God who waited through Manasseh's fifty-five years of abomination is the God who said 'I will not pardon.' Mercy has a door — and the hand that holds it open can also shut it. Turn while the door stands open; tomorrow is promised to no one."
Reflection
- 1. God uses unexpected instruments for judgment (v.2). Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites — nations Judah despised — became God's agents against them. God is not limited to "religious" means. He uses secular powers, natural disasters, economic collapse, and even enemy nations to accomplish His purposes. When hardship comes through unexpected channels, ask whether God is speaking through the very thing you would not have chosen to hear Him in.
- 2. There are sins God will not pardon corporately (v.4). Individual forgiveness is always available through repentance (1 John 1:9). But corporate, national, institutional sin accumulates until consequences become unavoidable. Churches, nations, and institutions that persist in systemic injustice — particularly the shedding of innocent blood — will face reckoning. Do not assume that because God has been patient, He will be patient forever. Corporate repentance is as necessary as individual repentance.
- 3. What you show off, you eventually lose (v.13; cf. 20:13-17). Hezekiah's display became Babylon's plunder. This principle operates in personal life too: what you boast about often becomes what is taken from you. Prosperity that breeds pride rather than gratitude becomes a target rather than a blessing. Hold your blessings with open hands, acknowledging them as God's gifts rather than displaying them as personal trophies.
- 4. God's people go into exile but God goes with them (v.14-16). Among the 10,000 captives was Ezekiel, who received the most dramatic visions of God's glory — in Babylon, not Jerusalem. God is not confined to the Temple. When circumstances take you to places you never chose — loss, displacement, unwanted change — God is already there. The river of Chebar becomes the location of revelation. Exile can become the place of encounter.
- 5. Weak leaders who rebel without strength bring ruin (v.20). Zedekiah was installed as a puppet but tried to act as a sovereign. He rebelled against Babylon without the military, economic, or spiritual resources to sustain independence. The result was catastrophe. Wisdom knows the difference between courageous resistance and foolish defiance. Not every rebellion is righteous; some are merely reckless. Count the cost before you fight — and make sure you are fighting on God's side, not merely your own pride.