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2 Kings Chapter Twenty-four

 

2 Kings 24 Outline of Contents

Judah Overrun by Enemies (v.1~7)

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin (v.8~12)

The Captivity of Jerusalem (v.13~16)

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah (v.17~20)

New King James Version (NKJV)

 

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 24

This chapter relates the rebellion of Jehoiakim against the king of Babylon, which prepared the way for the ruin of the kingdom of Judah, according to the decree of God, and also the death of Jehoiakim, and the conquest the king of Babylon made of part of the land of the king of Egypt, 2 Kings 24:1 and the short and wicked reign of Jehoiachin his son, when he and the royal family, with great numbers of the inhabitants of the land, were carried captive to Babylon, 2 Kings 24:8, and his uncle was made king in his room, 2 Kings 24:17.

 

2 Kings 24:1  In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.

   YLT  1In his days hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon come up, and Jehoiakim is to him a servant three years; and he turneth and rebelleth against him,

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up,.... Against Jerusalem; this was in the latter end of the third, or the beginning of the fourth of Jehoiakim's reign, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 25:1, when Jehoiakim was taken, but restored upon promise of subjection and obedience, and hostages given, at which time Daniel and his companions were carried captive, with some of the vessels of the temple; See Gill on Daniel 1:1, Daniel 1:2.

and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: which were the fifth, sixth, and seventh years of his reign:

then he turned and rebelled against him; being encouraged by the king of Egypt, who promised to assist him against the king of Babylon; Nebuchadnezzar is the Nabocolasser in Ptolemy's canon; and BerosusF14Apud Clement. Alex. Stromat. 1. p. 329. testifies, that seventy years before the Persian monarchy he made war against the Phoenicians and Jews, and it is from this time the seventy years' captivity is to be dated.

 

2 Kings 24:2  2 And the Lord sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets.

   YLT  2and Jehovah sendeth against him the troops of the Chaldeans, and the troops of Aram, and the troops of Moab, and the troops of the sons of Ammon, and He sendeth them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Jehovah, that He spake by the hand of His servants the prophets;

And the Lord sent against him,.... By Nebuchadnezzar, against whom he rebelled:

bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon; who were all subject to the king of Babylon, or were voluntary troops in his service, and bore an hatred to the Jews: according to EupolemusF15Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 39. p. 454. , this army consisted of Medes and Babylonians, and, besides 10,000 chariots, there were in it 180,000 foot, and 120,000 horse:

and sent them against Judah to destroy it; this was not until the eleventh of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar being diverted by the siege of Tyre, or other important business, from chastising the king of Judah until this time:

according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Huldah the prophetess.

 

2 Kings 24:3  3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,

   YLT  3only, by the command of Jehovah it hath been against Judah to turn [them] aside from His presence, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,

Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight,.... It was the sure and certain decree of God they should be carried captive, and therefore he stirred up the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar, and gave him orders to go against it:

for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; which were still continued among the Jews, and committed by them, though repented of by Manasseh, and he returned from them.

 

2 Kings 24:4  4 and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon.

   YLT  4and also the innocent blood that he hath shed, and he filleth Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Jehovah was not willing to forgive.

And also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,.... See 2 Kings 21:16 which cruel usage of the prophets, and servants of the Lord, was still continued; see Jeremiah 26:21,

which the Lord would not pardon; he pardoned the sins of Manasseh, who repented, but not the sins of those persons who imitated him, but repented not; or though he personally pardoned the sins of Manasseh, so that he was saved everlastingly, yet the temporal punishment of the nation for those sins, in which they were involved with him, was not averted.

 

2 Kings 24:5  5 Now 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?

   YLT  5And the rest of the matters of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim,.... In 2 Chronicles 36:8, it is added, "his abominations, and that which was found in him": which besides his rebellion against the king of Babylon, and his shedding innocent blood, is interpreted of marks made in his body for superstitious and idolatrous purposes; so Lyra.

 

2 Kings 24:6  6 So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

   YLT  6And Jehoiakim lieth with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigneth in his stead.

So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers,.... He died as they did, but was not buried with them, and indeed had no burial at all, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 22:18 for, falling into the hands of the king of Babylon, he was bound in chains, in order to be carried to Babylon, but died as soon as he came out of Jerusalem, at the gates of which he was cast, and had no burial, 2 Chronicles 36:6. At this time also some of the vessels of the temple were carried away, and put in the idol's temple at Babylon, 2 Chronicles 36:7, and EupolemusF16Ut supra. (Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 39. p. 454.) says, that whatever gold, silver, and brass, were in the temple, were carried away:

and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead; called sometimes Jeconiah, and by contempt Coniah, Jeremiah 22:24.

 

2 Kings 24:7  7 And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

   YLT  7And the king of Egypt hath not added any more to go out from his own land, for the king of Babylon hath taken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Phrat, all that had been to the king of Egypt.

And the king of Egypt came not any more out of his land,.... To receive the tribute he imposed on the land of Judah, or to help the kings there of, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin; not till the times of Zedekiah, and then was obliged to retire, without giving any assistance, Jeremiah 37:7 the reason follows:

for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt; all that lay between the river Nile, or the Rhinocolura, and the river Euphrates so that he could not stir out of his dominions, which lay beyond.

 

2 Kings 24:8  8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

   YLT  8A son of eighteen years [is] Jehoiachin in his reigning, and three months he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem,

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign,.... In 2 Chronicles 36:9 he is said to be but eight years old; which may be reconciled by observing, that he might be made and declared king by his father, in the first year of his reign, who reigned eleven years, so that he was eight years old when he began to reign with him, and eighteen when he began to reign aloneF17So in Seder Olam Rabba, c. 25. . Dr. LightfootF18Works, vol. 1. p. 122. gives another solution of this difficulty, that properly speaking he was eighteen years old when he began to reign, but, in an improper sense, the son of eight years, or the eighth year, as the Hebrew phrase is; that is, he fell in the lot of the eighth year of the captivity of Judah, which was in the latter end of the third, or the beginning of the fourth of his father's reign, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar's, and it was now in the eighth of Nebuchadnezzar that he was king, see 2 Kings 24:12, but very probably in 2 Chronicles 36:9 there is a mistake in the copyist of eight for eighteen, since in the Arabic and Syriac versions it is there eighteen, as here:

he reigned in Jerusalem three months; the ten days besides are here omitted for shortness, 2 Chronicles 36:9.

and his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem; a person no doubt well known in those times.

 

2 Kings 24:9  9 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

   YLT  9and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers did.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done. Being partner with him in his throne, he was in his sins, and continued therein, see 2 Kings 23:37.

 

2 Kings 24:10  10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

   YLT  10At that time come up have servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and the city goeth into siege,

At that time,.... When Jehoiachin reigned:

when the year was expired; so it is in 2 Chronicles 36:10 or at the revolution of the year; which some take to be autumn, the beginning of the civil year with the Jews; but rather it was the spring, the time when kings went out to battle, 2 Samuel 11:1.

the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem; that is, his army, under proper generals and officers, and by his orders:

and the city was besieged; in form by the Chaldean army.

 

2 Kings 24:11  11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it.

   YLT  11and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon cometh against the city, and his servants are laying siege to it,

And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city,.... He came in person, following his army:

and his servants did besiege it; very closely.

 

2 Kings 24:12  12 Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.

   YLT  12and Jehoiachin king of Judah goeth out unto the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his chiefs, and his eunuchs, and the king of Babylon taketh him in the eighth year of his reign,

And Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon,.... Not to fight with him, but to submit to him, and to surrender the city to him, and be at his mercy:

he and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers; the royal family, courtiers, and nobles:

and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign; Of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and which was the eighth of the first captivity, and from whence the seventy years' captivity were reckoned.

 

2 Kings 24:13  13 And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.

   YLT  13and bringeth out thence all the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the house of the king, and cutteth in pieces all the vessels of gold that Solomon king of Israel made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had spoken.

And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house,.... The gates of the city being thrown open to him, he entered and plundered the temple, and the royal palace, and took from thence all the riches thereof:

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; 2 Kings 20:17 and so the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled. No more is said of these vessels in 2 Chronicles 36:10 than that they were brought to Babylon; and so Piscator renders the word here, "took", or "carried them away"; and certain it is that they were carried whole to Babylon, Daniel 5:2 but as Hezekiah is said to cut off the doors of the temple, that is, strip or scrape off the gold of them, 2 Kings 18:16 so Nebuchadnezzar cut off from the temple, or stripped it of the golden vessels in it; of great part of them, the greater part thereof; for that there were some left is plain from Jeremiah 27:18.

 

2 Kings 24:14  14 Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.

   YLT  14And he hath removed all Jerusalem, and all the chiefs, and all the mighty ones of valour -- ten thousand [is] the removal -- and every artificer and smith, none hath been left save the poor of the people of the land.

And he carried away all Jerusalem,.... The inhabitants of it; not every individual of them, but the chief of them, the more honourable, rich, and useful; for the poorer sort were left, as afterwards expressed:

and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives; which was the number of them in the whole; the particulars are after delivered:

and all the craftsmen and smiths; besides the nobles and the soldiers, he took all the artificers that exercised any handicraft trade or business; carpenters and blacksmiths, as some interpret these two words; so that there were none left to make arms for them; the last word may be rendered "enclosers", and are by some interpreted of enclosers of jewels in metals, as gold and silver:

none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land; who were left to till it, and to dress the vines; see 2 Kings 25:12.

 

2 Kings 24:15  15 And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

   YLT  15And he removeth Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the mother of the king, and the wives of the king, and his eunuchs, and the mighty ones of the land -- he hath caused a removal to go from Jerusalem to Babylon,

And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon,.... Where he continued at least thirty seven years, 2 Kings 25:27.

and the king's mother; whose name was Nehushta, 2 Kings 24:8.

and the king's wives; for though he was so young, it seems he had many wives, as was the custom of those times; or his "women", who were either his concubines, or servants in his family:

and his officers; in his court: and the mighty of the land; the princes and nobles thereof; or "the fools of the land", as the word is written; so the people generally were:

those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon; which, according to BuntingF19Travels, &c. p. 198. , were six hundred and eighty miles distant from each other.

 

2 Kings 24:16  16 All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

   YLT  16and all the men of valour seven thousand, and the artificers and the smiths a thousand, the whole [are] mighty men, warriors; and the king of Babylon bringeth them in a captivity to Babylon.

And all the men of might, even seven thousand,.... The particulars of the 10,000 carried captive are here given; 7000 of which were the principal men of the land:

and craftsmen and smiths one thousand; which made 8000:

all that were strong, and apt for war; of these consisted the other 2000; so Abarbinel reckons them; but, according to the Jewish chronologerF20Seder Olam Rabba, c. 25. , which Jarchi and other Jewish commentators follow, the 7000 were out of the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of the tribes, and the 3000 out of the tribe of Judah, which are supposed to be those Jeremiah speaks of, Jeremiah 52:28,

even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon; among these were Ezekiel the prophet, and Mordecai, the uncle of Esther.

 

2 Kings 24:17  17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s[a] uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

   YLT  17And the king of Babylon causeth Mattaniah his father's brother to reign in his stead, and turneth his name to Zedekiah.

And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead,.... The third son of Josiah, 1 Chronicles 3:15.

and changed his name to Zedekiah; for the same reason the king of Egypt changed the name of Eliakim, 2 Kings 23:34 to signify his subjection to him; though some think it was to put him in mind of the justice of God, as the name signifies, that would overtake him, should he be treacherous to him, and rebel against him; so the Jewish Midrash.

 

2 Kings 24:18  18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

   YLT  18A son of twenty and one years [is] Zedekiah in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah,

Verses 18-20

Zedekiah was twenty years old when he began to reign,.... So that he was but between nine and ten years of age when his father Josiah died; for Jehoahaz reigned three months, Jehoiakim eleven years, and his son three months and ten days:

and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah; by which it appears that he was the brother of Jehoahaz by father and mother's side, 2 Kings 23:31. This and the two following verses are expressed in the same words as in Jeremiah 52:1, (see Gill on Jeremiah 52:1, Jeremiah 52:2, Jeremiah 52:3), in 2 Chronicles 36:10, besides what is here said, is written, that he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet of the Lord, that spoke in his name, but opposed him; and rebelling against the king of Babylon, broke his oath, and hardened his neck and heart against the Lord, and was obstinate, stubborn, and self-willed.

 

2 Kings 24:19  19 He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

   YLT  19and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah according to all that Jehoiakim did,

 

2 Kings 24:20  20 For because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

   YLT  20for, by the anger of Jehovah it hath been against Jerusalem and against Judah, till he cast them out from His presence, that Zedekiah rebelleth against the king of Babylon.

 

──John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

 

New King James Version (NKJV)

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 24:17 Literally his