1Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son, and made him king in Jerusalem in his father's place.
2Joashaz was twenty-three years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for three months in Jerusalem.
3The king of Egypt removed him from power in Jerusalem and fined the land one hundred units of silver and one unit of gold.
4The king of Egypt made Eliakim, Jehoahaz’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Neco took Jehoahaz, his brother, and carried him away to Egypt.
5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God.
6King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to attack him and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon.
7Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the items from Yahweh’s temple to Babylon and put them in his own temple there.
8The rest of the things Jehoiakim did, including his disgusting practices and whatever was found wrong with him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin became king after him.
9Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did what Yahweh considered evil.
10When the new year came around, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, along with the valuable items from Yahweh’s temple. Nebuchadnezzar then made Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years.
12He did what Yahweh his God considered evil. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke words from Yahweh.
13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God. But Zedekiah stubbornly refused to turn back to Yahweh, the God of Israel.
14Furthermore, all the chief priests and the people committed many serious sins, following the detestable practices of other nations. They polluted Yahweh’s temple, which he had made holy in Jerusalem.
15Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, sent messengers to them again and again, because he felt pity for his people and for his dwelling place.
16But they made fun of God's messengers, ignored his words, and ridiculed his prophets. This continued until Yahweh's anger against his people grew so strong that there was no way to fix the situation.
17Therefore, he brought the king of the Babylonians against them, who killed their young men with swords in their holy temple. He showed no mercy to young men or young women, old people or those with gray hair. He handed everyone over to him.
18All the items from God’s temple, both large and small, and the treasures from Yahweh’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials—all of these he took to Babylon.
19They burned down God’s temple, tore down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its valuable items.
20He took those who had escaped the sword away to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia began to rule.
21This happened to fulfill Yahweh’s word spoken through Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. As long as it lay desolate, it kept the Sabbath rest, to fulfill seventy years.
22In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, so that Yahweh’s word spoken by Jeremiah would come true, Yahweh moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia. As a result, Cyrus made an announcement throughout his entire kingdom and also put it in writing, saying:
23“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has commanded me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. May Yahweh your God be with anyone among you, his people, who wishes to go up.’ ”