2 Tawarikh 36:20-21

36:20 He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power. 36:21 This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message delivered through Jeremiah. ¹  The land experienced ²  its sabbatical years; ³  it remained desolate for seventy years, ⁴  as prophesied. ⁵ 

[36:21]  ¹ tn Heb “to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah.”

[36:21]  ² tn Or “accepted.”

[36:21]  ³ sn According to Lev 25:4, the land was to remain uncultivated every seventh year. Lev 26:33-35 warns that the land would experience a succession of such sabbatical rests if the people disobeyed God, for he would send them away into exile.

[36:21]  ⁴ sn Concerning the seventy years see Jer 25:11.

[36:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “all the days of the desolation it rested to fulfill the seventy years.”

[36:21]  sn Cyrus’ edict (see vv. 22-23) occurred about fifty years after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., which is most naturally understood as the beginning point of the “days of desolation” mentioned in v. 21. The number “seventy” is probably used in a metaphorical sense, indicating a typical lifetime and suggesting a thorough or complete judgment that would not be lifted until an entirely new generation emerged.