2 Kings 24

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

2 The LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Syrians, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the LORD’s word which he spoke by his servants the prophets.

3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came on Judah, to remove them out of his sight for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,

4 and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon.

5 Now 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?

6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

7 The 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.

8 Jehoiachin 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.

9 He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, according to all that his father had done.

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it,

12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon—he, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers; and the king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his reign.

13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the LORD’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 the LORD’s temple, as the LORD had said.

14 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. No one remained except the poorest people of the land.

15 He 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.

16 All 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.

17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

18 Zedekiah 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.

19 He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20 For through the anger of the LORD, this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Around 2 Kings 24

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

2 Kings 24 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

The end of Judah comes in stages. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon rises, and King Jehoiakim serves him for three years and then rebels. Raiding bands come against Judah. The text says this happened at the LORD's word, because of Manasseh's sins and the innocent blood he shed. Jehoiakim dies, and his son Jehoiachin, eighteen years old, reigns only three months.

Babylon besieges Jerusalem. Jehoiachin goes out to surrender, with his mother, servants, princes and officers. Nebuchadnezzar takes the treasures of the temple and the palace, cuts up the gold vessels Solomon made, and carries off all Jerusalem: the princes, the fighting men, the craftsmen and the smiths. Only the poorest of the land are left behind. Ten thousand captives are taken. In Jehoiachin's place the king of Babylon makes his uncle Mattaniah king and renames him Zedekiah. Zedekiah does evil, and then he rebels against Babylon.

Background

This is the first deportation, usually dated to 597 before Christ. Babylonian records, which many scholars read as confirming these events, also mention the capture of Jerusalem. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel speak into this time, see Jeremiah 24 and Ezekiel 1. The text names rebellion as the immediate cause and the sins of Manasseh as the deeper one.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 31 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes