2 Tawarikh 36:11-21

Zedekiah’s Reign

36:11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹  36:12 He did evil in the sight of ²  the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman. 36:13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance ³  in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return ⁴  to the Lord God of Israel. 36:14 All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. ⁵  They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Babylonians Destroy Jerusalem

36:15 The Lord God of their ancestors ⁶  continually warned them through his messengers, ⁷  for he felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place. 36:16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, ⁸  and ridiculed his prophets. ⁹  Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment. ¹⁰  36:17 He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered ¹¹  their young men in their temple. ¹²  He did not spare ¹³  young men or women, or even the old and aging. God ¹⁴  handed everyone over to him. 36:18 He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials. 36:19 They burned down the Lord’s temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. ¹⁵  They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items. 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. ¹⁶  The land experienced ¹⁷  its sabbatical years; ¹⁸  it remained desolate for seventy years, ¹⁹  as prophesied. ²⁰ 

[36:11]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[36:12]  ² tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[36:13]  ³ tn Or “made him swear an oath.”

[36:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he stiffened his neck and strengthened his heart from returning.”

[36:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”

[36:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers.”

[36:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the Lord God of their fathers sent against them by the hand of his messengers, getting up early and sending.”

[36:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “his words.”

[36:16]  ⁹ tn All three verbal forms (“mocked,” “despised,” and “ridiculed”) are active participles in the Hebrew text, indicating continual or repeated action. They made a habit of rejecting God’s prophetic messengers.

[36:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “until the anger of the Lord went up against his people until there was no healer.”

[36:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “killed with the sword.”

[36:17]  ¹² tn Heb “in the house of their sanctuary.”

[36:17]  ¹³ tn Or “show compassion to.”

[36:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[36:19]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[36:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah.”

[36:21]  ¹⁷ tn Or “accepted.”

[36:21]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ sn Concerning the seventy years see Jer 25:11.

[36:21]  ²⁰ 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.