2 Kings 24

1 During Jehoiakim’s [Jehovah raises up, king of Judah] reign, Nebuchadnezzar [a powerful ruler] king of Babylon [a city and empire, meaning confusion or mixing] invaded [came up, ascended]. So Jehoiakim became his [Nebuchadnezzar’s] vassal [servant, slave] for three [a quantity of years, a period of time] years, until he turned [to return, change direction] and rebelled [to resist, defy authority] against Nebuchadnezzar. word study 2 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] sent [dispatched, commanded to go] Chaldean [from the region of Chaldea, skilled in wisdom and astrology], Aramean [from the region of Aram, also known as Syria], Moabite [from the land of Moab, descended from Lot], and Ammonite [from the land of Ammon, descended from Lot’s son] raiders [bands of soldiers, troops] against Jehoiakim [the king of Judah] in order to destroy [to perish, be lost, or annihilated] Judah [the tribe and region], according to the word [a matter, affair, or command] that the LORD [the supreme God] had spoken [communicated, commanded] through His servants [those who serve, obey] the prophets [those who speak for God, spokespersons]. word study 3 Surely [certainly, without a doubt] this happened to Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob] at the LORD’s [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] command [word, decree], to remove [turn aside, depart from] them from His presence [face, being in front of Him] because of the sins [guilt, punishment for sin] of Manasseh [the king who committed evil] and all [everything, the entirety] that he had done [made, committed], word study 4 and also [even, too] for the innocent [morally clean, guiltless] blood he had shed [poured out, spilled]. For he had filled [made full, completed] Jerusalem [the city of peace] with innocent [guiltless, upright] blood, and the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] was unwilling [did not consent, refused] to forgive [pardon, show mercy]. word study 5 As for the rest [remainder, what is left] of the acts [deeds, accomplishments] of Jehoiakim [Jehovah raises up], along with all [everything, every aspect] his accomplishments [achievements, works], are they not [is it not the case] written [recorded, inscribed] in the Book [scroll, written document] of the Chronicles [events, history] of the Kings [rulers, monarchs] of Judah [the tribe of Judah, the southern kingdom]? word study 6 And Jehoiakim [slept with his fathers, died] rested [to lie down, have sexual relations] with his fathers [ancestors, lineage], and his son [descendant, offspring] Jehoiachin [Jehovah establishes] reigned [to advise, counsel, rule as king] in his place [stead, position, underneath]. word study 7 Now the king [ruler, monarch] of Egypt did not march out [come out, leave] of his land [territory, country] again, because the king [sovereign, ruler] of Babylon had taken [captured, seized] all [everything, the whole] his territory [land, domain], from the Brook [stream, river] of Egypt [the land of the Egyptians] to the Euphrates [Perath, the great river] River [a large stream]. word study 8 Jehoiachin [son of Jehovah, God establishes] was eighteen [a son of eighteen years] years old when he became king, and he reigned [to advise or counsel, to rule as a king] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital city] three [a quantity of three, thrice] months [a lunar cycle, new moon]. His mother’s [female parent, maternal figure] name was Nehushta [God has given] daughter of Elnathan [God has given]; she was from [originating in, belonging to] Jerusalem [the city of peace]. word study 9 And he did [that which was] evil [bad, morally wrong] in the sight [eye, presence] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God], just as [according to all that] his father [parent, ancestor] had done [made, committed]. word study 10 At that [specific, appointed] time [a moment of significance] the servants [or slaves, bondmen] of Nebuchadnezzar [a powerful king of Babylon] king of Babylon [a city of confusion, Babel] marched up [or came up, ascended] to Jerusalem [the city of peace], and the city [or town, a place of settlement] came under [or was besieged, shut in] siege [a state of being surrounded, a place of entrenchment]. word study 11 And Nebuchadnezzar [a powerful king of Babylon] king of Babylon [a city and empire of confusion] came to the city [a place with walls and watchmen] while his servants [or slaves, those bound to serve] were besieging [shutting in, laying siege to] it [the city, under attack]. word study 12 Jehoiachin [Jehovah establishes] king of Judah, his mother [female parent, maternal figure], his servants [attendants, slaves], his commanders [rulers, leaders], and his officials [high-ranking officers, nobles] all surrendered [went out, gave themselves up] to the king of Babylon [city and empire of confusion]. So in the eighth year of his reign [rule, kingship], the king of Babylon [city and empire of confusion] took [captured, seized] him captive [as a prisoner, in bondage]. word study 13 As the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off [took away, removed] all the treasures [riches, wealth] from the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD and the royal palace [king’s house, residence], and he cut into pieces [broke, severed] all the gold [valuable, precious] articles [utensils, vessels] that Solomon [king of Israel] king of Israel [Jacob’s descendants] had made [created, fashioned] in the temple [large public building, place of worship] of the LORD. word study 14 He carried into exile [as captives, into bondage] all Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital]—all the commanders [rulers, leaders] and mighty men of valor [strong warriors, brave fighters], all the craftsmen [skilled artisans, workers] and metalsmiths [smiths, craftsmen of metal]—ten thousand [a multitude, a large number] captives [prisoners, exiles] in all. Only [except, with the exception of] the poorest [helpless, needy] people of the land [the earth, the territory] remained [were left behind, spared]. word study 15 Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin [the king of Judah, Jehovah establishes] to Babylon [the city of confusion, Babel], as well as the king’s mother [the queen, maternal figure], his wives [women, female companions], his officials [eunuchs, high-ranking servants], and the leading men [mighty ones, powerful nobles] of the land [the earth, territory]. He took them into exile [captivity, a state of being taken away] from Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital] to Babylon [the city of Babylon, a place of confusion]. word study 16 The king [ruler, monarch] of Babylon [confusion, mixing] also brought into exile [captivity, bondage] to Babylon [a city and empire] all seven thousand [a large number, a complete count] men of valor [strong, mighty] and a thousand [a large company] craftsmen [artificers, skilled workers] and metalsmiths [smiths, locksmiths]—all [every one, the whole] strong [mighty, powerful] and fit [apt, suited] for battle [war, conflict]. word study 17 Then the king [ruler, monarch] of Babylon [city of confusion, Babel] made Mattaniah [gift of Jehovah], Jehoiachin’s uncle [beloved, close relative], king [royal person, monarch] in his place [underneath, in his stead] and changed his name [identity, character] to Zedekiah [Jehovah is righteous]. word study 18 Zedekiah [a son of twenty-one years, one and twenty years old] was twenty-one years old when he became king [began to reign, started his rule], and he reigned [ruled, advised] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital city] eleven years [a period of eleven years, for eleven cycles of time]. His mother’s [female parent, maternal figure] name was Hamutal [father-in-law’s gift, a woman of God] daughter of Jeremiah [whom Jehovah has appointed, a prophet of God]; she was from Libnah [a city in Palestine, a place of beauty]. word study 19 And Zedekiah did [that which was] evil [bad, morally wrong] in the sight [eye, presence] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God], just as [according to all that] Jehoiakim [Jehovah raises up] had done [made, committed]. word study 20 For because of the anger [wrath, intense displeasure] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God], all this happened in Jerusalem [the city of peace] and Judah [the tribe and region], until He finally banished [cast out, threw away] them from His presence [face, countenance]. And Zedekiah [Jehovah is righteous] also rebelled [resisted, defied authority] against the king [ruler, sovereign] of Babylon [confusion, mixing]. word study