1    ^noteThe people of the land took Josiah's son Jehoahaz and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. 2   He was twenty-three years

The kings from Hezekiah to the exile old when he came to the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for three months. 3   Then Necho king of Egypt deposed him and fined the country a hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold, 4   and made his brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem in his place, changing his name to Jehoiakim; he also carried away his brother Jehoahaz to Egypt. 5   Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eleven years. He did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord his God. 6   So Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against him and put him in fetters and took him to Babylon. 7   He also removed to Babylon some of the vessels of the house of the Lord and put them into his own palace there. 8   The other events of Jehoiakim's reign, including the abominations he committed, and everything of which he was held guilty, are recorded in the annals of the kings of Israel and Judah. He was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin.

9    ^noteJehoiachin was eight years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord. 10   At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, together with the choicest vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his father's brother ^note Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

11   Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eleven years. 12   He did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord his God; he did not defer to the guidance of the prophet Jeremiah, the spokesman of the Lord. 13   He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had laid on him a solemn oath of allegiance. He was obstinate and stubborn and refused to return to the Lord the God of Israel. 14   All the chiefs of Judah and ^note the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the abominable practices of the other nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. 15   The Lord God of their fathers had warned them betimes through his messengers, for he took pity on his people and on his dwelling-place; 16   but they never ceased to deride his messengers, scorn his words and scoff at his prophets, until the anger of the Lord burst out against his people and could not be appeased. 17    ^noteSo he brought against them the king of the Chaldaeans, who put their young men to the sword in the sanctuary and spared neither young man nor maiden, neither the old nor the weak; God gave them all into his power. 18   And he brought all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king and his officers—all these he brought to Babylon. 19   And they burnt

The kings from Hezekiah to the exile down the house of God, razed the city wall of Jerusalem and burnt down all its stately mansions and all their precious possessions until everything was destroyed. 20   Those who escaped the sword he took captive to Babylon, and they became slaves to him and his sons until the sovereignty passed to the Persians, 21   while the land of Israel ran the full term of its sabbaths. All the time that it lay desolate it kept the sabbath rest, to complete seventy years in fulfilment of the word of the Lord by the prophet Jeremiah.

22    ^noteNow in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, so that the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus king of Persia; and he issued a proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing, to this effect:

   23   This is the word of Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he himself has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. To every man of his people now among you I say, the Lord his God be ^note with him, and let him go up.

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