2 Chronicles 36:11-21

New International Reader's Version

Zedekiah King of Judah

¹¹ Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. ¹² He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. He didn’t pay any attention to the message the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. ¹³ Zedekiah also refused to remain under the control of King Nebuchadnezzar. The king had forced Zedekiah to make a promise in God’s name. But Zedekiah’s heart became very stubborn. He wouldn’t turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ And that’s not all. The people and all the leaders of the priests became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the practices of the nations. The Lord hated those practices. The people and leaders made the Lord’s temple “unclean.” The Lord had set the temple in Jerusalem apart in a special way for himself.

The Fall of Jerusalem

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of Israel, sent word to his people through his messengers. He sent it to them again and again. He took pity on his people. He also took pity on the temple where he lived. ¹⁶ But God’s people made fun of his messengers. They hated his words. They laughed at his prophets. Finally the Lord’s great anger was stirred up against his people. Nothing could save them. ¹⁷ The Lord brought the king of the Babylonians against them. The Babylonian army killed their young people with their swords at the temple. They didn’t spare young men or young women. They didn’t spare the old people or weak people either. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁸ Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon all the objects from God’s temple. Some of those things were large. Others were small. He carried off the treasures of the temple. He also carried off the treasures that belonged to the king and his officials. ¹⁹ The Babylonians set God’s temple on fire. They broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all the palaces. They destroyed everything of value there.

²⁰ Nebuchadnezzar took the rest of the people to Babylon as prisoners. They had escaped from being killed by swords. They served him and those who ruled after him. That lasted until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹ The land of Israel enjoyed its sabbath years. It rested. That deserted land wasn’t farmed for a full 70 years. What the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah came true.