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2 Kings Chapter
Twenty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 24
This
chapter relates the rebellion of Jehoiakim against the king of Babylon, which
prepared the way for the ruin of the kingdom of Judah, according to the decree
of God, and also the death of Jehoiakim, and the conquest the king of Babylon
made of part of the land of the king of Egypt, 2 Kings 24:1 and
the short and wicked reign of Jehoiachin his son, when he and the royal family,
with great numbers of the inhabitants of the land, were carried captive to
Babylon, 2 Kings 24:8, and
his uncle was made king in his room, 2 Kings 24:17.
2 Kings 24:1 In
his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his
vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.
YLT
1In his days hath
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon come up, and Jehoiakim is to him a servant three
years; and he turneth and rebelleth against him,
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up,.... Against
Jerusalem; this was in the latter end of the third, or the beginning of the
fourth of Jehoiakim's reign, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 25:1, when
Jehoiakim was taken, but restored upon promise of subjection and obedience, and
hostages given, at which time Daniel and his companions were carried captive,
with some of the vessels of the temple; See Gill on Daniel 1:1, Daniel 1:2.
and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: which were
the fifth, sixth, and seventh years of his reign:
then he turned and rebelled against him; being
encouraged by the king of Egypt, who promised to assist him against the king of
Babylon; Nebuchadnezzar is the Nabocolasser in Ptolemy's canon; and BerosusF14Apud
Clement. Alex. Stromat. 1. p. 329. testifies, that seventy years before the
Persian monarchy he made war against the Phoenicians and Jews, and it is from
this time the seventy years' captivity is to be dated.
2 Kings 24:2 2 And the Lord sent against
him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and
bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it,
according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by
His servants the prophets.
YLT
2and Jehovah sendeth against
him the troops of the Chaldeans, and the troops of Aram, and the troops of
Moab, and the troops of the sons of Ammon, and He sendeth them against Judah to
destroy it, according to the word of Jehovah, that He spake by the hand of His
servants the prophets;
And the Lord sent against him,.... By Nebuchadnezzar,
against whom he rebelled:
bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the
Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon; who were all subject to
the king of Babylon, or were voluntary troops in his service, and bore an
hatred to the Jews: according to EupolemusF15Apud Euseb. Evangel.
Praepar. l. 9. c. 39. p. 454. , this army consisted of Medes and Babylonians,
and, besides 10,000 chariots, there were in it 180,000 foot, and 120,000 horse:
and sent them against Judah to destroy it; this was not
until the eleventh of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar being diverted by the siege of
Tyre, or other important business, from chastising the king of Judah until this
time:
according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants
the prophets; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Huldah the prophetess.
2 Kings 24:3 3 Surely at the commandment
of the Lord
this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of
the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,
YLT
3only, by the command of
Jehovah it hath been against Judah to turn [them] aside from His presence, for
the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,
Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to
remove them out of his sight,.... It was the sure and certain decree of
God they should be carried captive, and therefore he stirred up the spirit of
Nebuchadnezzar, and gave him orders to go against it:
for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; which were
still continued among the Jews, and committed by them, though repented of by
Manasseh, and he returned from them.
2 Kings 24:4 4 and also because of the
innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent
blood, which the Lord
would not pardon.
YLT
4and also the innocent blood
that he hath shed, and he filleth Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Jehovah
was not willing to forgive.
And also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem
with innocent blood,.... See 2 Kings 21:16 which
cruel usage of the prophets, and servants of the Lord, was still continued; see
Jeremiah 26:21,
which the Lord would not pardon; he pardoned the sins of
Manasseh, who repented, but not the sins of those persons who imitated him, but
repented not; or though he personally pardoned the sins of Manasseh, so that he
was saved everlastingly, yet the temporal punishment of the nation for those
sins, in which they were involved with him, was not averted.
2 Kings 24:5 5 Now the rest of the acts
of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
YLT
5And the rest of the matters
of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim,.... In 2 Chronicles 36:8,
it is added, "his abominations, and that which was found in him":
which besides his rebellion against the king of Babylon, and his shedding
innocent blood, is interpreted of marks made in his body for superstitious and
idolatrous purposes; so Lyra.
2 Kings 24:6 6 So Jehoiakim rested with
his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
YLT
6And Jehoiakim lieth with
his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigneth in his stead.
So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers,.... He died as they did,
but was not buried with them, and indeed had no burial at all, according to the
prophecy of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 22:18 for,
falling into the hands of the king of Babylon, he was bound in chains, in order
to be carried to Babylon, but died as soon as he came out of Jerusalem, at the
gates of which he was cast, and had no burial, 2 Chronicles 36:6.
At this time also some of the vessels of the temple were carried away, and put
in the idol's temple at Babylon, 2 Chronicles 36:7,
and EupolemusF16Ut supra. (Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c.
39. p. 454.) says, that whatever gold, silver, and brass, were in the temple,
were carried away:
and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead; called
sometimes Jeconiah, and by contempt Coniah, Jeremiah 22:24.
2 Kings 24:7 7 And the king of Egypt did
not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that
belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.
YLT
7And the king of Egypt hath
not added any more to go out from his own land, for the king of Babylon hath
taken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Phrat, all that had been to the
king of Egypt.
And the king of Egypt came not any more out of his land,.... To
receive the tribute he imposed on the land of Judah, or to help the kings there
of, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin; not till the times of Zedekiah, and then was
obliged to retire, without giving any assistance, Jeremiah 37:7 the
reason follows:
for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the
river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt; all that lay
between the river Nile, or the Rhinocolura, and the river Euphrates so that he
could not stir out of his dominions, which lay beyond.
2 Kings 24:8 8 Jehoiachin was
eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three
months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of
Jerusalem.
YLT
8A son of eighteen years
[is] Jehoiachin in his reigning, and three months he hath reigned in Jerusalem,
and the name of his mother [is] Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem,
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign,.... In 2 Chronicles 36:9
he is said to be but eight years old; which may be reconciled by observing,
that he might be made and declared king by his father, in the first year of his
reign, who reigned eleven years, so that he was eight years old when he began
to reign with him, and eighteen when he began to reign aloneF17So in
Seder Olam Rabba, c. 25. . Dr. LightfootF18Works, vol. 1. p. 122.
gives another solution of this difficulty, that properly speaking he was
eighteen years old when he began to reign, but, in an improper sense, the son
of eight years, or the eighth year, as the Hebrew phrase is; that is, he fell
in the lot of the eighth year of the captivity of Judah, which was in the
latter end of the third, or the beginning of the fourth of his father's reign,
and the first of Nebuchadnezzar's, and it was now in the eighth of
Nebuchadnezzar that he was king, see 2 Kings 24:12, but
very probably in 2 Chronicles 36:9
there is a mistake in the copyist of eight for eighteen, since in the Arabic
and Syriac versions it is there eighteen, as here:
he reigned in Jerusalem three months; the ten days
besides are here omitted for shortness, 2 Chronicles 36:9.
and his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of
Jerusalem; a person no doubt well known in those times.
2 Kings 24:9 9 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord,
according to all that his father had done.
YLT
9and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers did.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according
to all that his father had done. Being partner with him in
his throne, he was in his sins, and continued therein, see 2 Kings 23:37.
2 Kings 24:10 10 At that time the servants
of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was
besieged.
YLT
10At that time come up have
servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and the city goeth
into siege,
At that time,.... When Jehoiachin reigned:
when the year was expired; so it is in 2 Chronicles 36:10
or at the revolution of the year; which some take to be autumn, the beginning
of the civil year with the Jews; but rather it was the spring, the time when
kings went out to battle, 2 Samuel 11:1.
the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against
Jerusalem; that is, his army, under proper generals and officers, and by
his orders:
and the city was besieged; in form by the Chaldean
army.
2 Kings 24:11 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it.
YLT
11and Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon cometh against the city, and his servants are laying siege to it,
And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city,.... He came
in person, following his army:
and his servants did besiege it; very closely.
2 Kings 24:12 12 Then Jehoiachin king of
Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the
king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took
him prisoner.
YLT
12and Jehoiachin king of
Judah goeth out unto the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants,
and his chiefs, and his eunuchs, and the king of Babylon taketh him in the
eighth year of his reign,
And Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon,.... Not to
fight with him, but to submit to him, and to surrender the city to him, and be
at his mercy:
he and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his
officers; the royal family, courtiers, and nobles:
and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign; Of
Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and which was the eighth of the first captivity, and
from whence the seventy years' captivity were reckoned.
2 Kings 24:13 13 And he carried out from
there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the
treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold
which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.
YLT
13and bringeth out thence all
the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the house of the
king, and cutteth in pieces all the vessels of gold that Solomon king of Israel
made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had spoken.
And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the
Lord, and the treasures of the king's house,.... The gates of the
city being thrown open to him, he entered and plundered the temple, and the
royal palace, and took from thence all the riches thereof:
and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of
Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said; 2 Kings 20:17 and
so the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled. No more is said of these vessels in 2 Chronicles 36:10
than that they were brought to Babylon; and so Piscator renders the word here,
"took", or "carried them away"; and certain it is that they
were carried whole to Babylon, Daniel 5:2 but as
Hezekiah is said to cut off the doors of the temple, that is, strip or scrape
off the gold of them, 2 Kings 18:16 so
Nebuchadnezzar cut off from the temple, or stripped it of the golden vessels in
it; of great part of them, the greater part thereof; for that there were some
left is plain from Jeremiah 27:18.
2 Kings 24:14 14 Also he carried into
captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten
thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the
poorest people of the land.
YLT
14And he hath removed all
Jerusalem, and all the chiefs, and all the mighty ones of valour -- ten
thousand [is] the removal -- and every artificer and smith, none hath been left
save the poor of the people of the land.
And he carried away all Jerusalem,.... The inhabitants of
it; not every individual of them, but the chief of them, the more honourable,
rich, and useful; for the poorer sort were left, as afterwards expressed:
and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten
thousand captives; which was the number of them in the whole; the particulars are
after delivered:
and all the craftsmen and smiths; besides the nobles and
the soldiers, he took all the artificers that exercised any handicraft trade or
business; carpenters and blacksmiths, as some interpret these two words; so
that there were none left to make arms for them; the last word may be rendered
"enclosers", and are by some interpreted of enclosers of jewels in
metals, as gold and silver:
none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land; who were left
to till it, and to dress the vines; see 2 Kings 25:12.
2 Kings 24:15 15 And he carried Jehoiachin
captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the
mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
YLT
15And he removeth Jehoiachin
to Babylon, and the mother of the king, and the wives of the king, and his
eunuchs, and the mighty ones of the land -- he hath caused a removal to go from
Jerusalem to Babylon,
And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon,.... Where he
continued at least thirty seven years, 2 Kings 25:27.
and the king's mother; whose name was Nehushta,
2 Kings 24:8.
and the king's wives; for though he was so
young, it seems he had many wives, as was the custom of those times; or his
"women", who were either his concubines, or servants in his family:
and his officers; in his court: and the mighty of the land;
the princes and nobles thereof; or "the fools of the land", as the
word is written; so the people generally were:
those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon; which,
according to BuntingF19Travels, &c. p. 198. , were six hundred
and eighty miles distant from each other.
2 Kings 24:16 16 All the valiant men, seven
thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and
fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
YLT
16and all the men of valour
seven thousand, and the artificers and the smiths a thousand, the whole [are]
mighty men, warriors; and the king of Babylon bringeth them in a captivity to
Babylon.
And all the men of might, even seven thousand,.... The
particulars of the 10,000 carried captive are here given; 7000 of which were
the principal men of the land:
and craftsmen and smiths one thousand; which made
8000:
all that were strong, and apt for war; of these
consisted the other 2000; so Abarbinel reckons them; but, according to the
Jewish chronologerF20Seder Olam Rabba, c. 25. , which Jarchi and other
Jewish commentators follow, the 7000 were out of the tribe of Benjamin and the
rest of the tribes, and the 3000 out of the tribe of Judah, which are supposed
to be those Jeremiah speaks of, Jeremiah 52:28,
even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon; among these
were Ezekiel the prophet, and Mordecai, the uncle of Esther.
2 Kings 24:17 17 Then the king of Babylon
made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s[a] uncle,
king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
YLT
17And the king of Babylon
causeth Mattaniah his father's brother to reign in his stead, and turneth his
name to Zedekiah.
And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king
in his stead,.... The third son of Josiah, 1 Chronicles 3:15.
and changed his name to Zedekiah; for the same reason the
king of Egypt changed the name of Eliakim, 2 Kings 23:34 to signify
his subjection to him; though some think it was to put him in mind of the
justice of God, as the name signifies, that would overtake him, should he be
treacherous to him, and rebel against him; so the Jewish Midrash.
2 Kings 24:18 18 Zedekiah was twenty-one
years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His
mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
YLT
18A son of twenty and one
years [is] Zedekiah in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem,
and the name of his mother [is] Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah,
Verses 18-20
Zedekiah was twenty years old when he began to reign,.... So that
he was but between nine and ten years of age when his father Josiah died; for
Jehoahaz reigned three months, Jehoiakim eleven years, and his son three months
and ten days:
and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name
was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah; by which it appears that
he was the brother of Jehoahaz by father and mother's side, 2 Kings 23:31. This
and the two following verses are expressed in the same words as in Jeremiah 52:1, (see
Gill on Jeremiah 52:1, Jeremiah 52:2, Jeremiah 52:3), in 2 Chronicles 36:10,
besides what is here said, is written, that he humbled not himself before
Jeremiah the prophet of the Lord, that spoke in his name, but opposed him; and
rebelling against the king of Babylon, broke his oath, and hardened his neck
and heart against the Lord, and was obstinate, stubborn, and self-willed.
2 Kings 24:19 19 He also did evil in the
sight of the Lord,
according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
YLT
19and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah according to all that Jehoiakim did,
2 Kings 24:20 20 For because of the anger
of the Lord
this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from
His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
YLT
20for, by the anger of
Jehovah it hath been against Jerusalem and against Judah, till he cast them out
from His presence, that Zedekiah rebelleth against the king of Babylon.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)