TRV
Translation
King James Version
And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.
Complete Jewish Bible
and he was granted a daily allowance by the king to spend on his other needs for as long as he lived.
Berean Standard Bible
And the king provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life.
American Standard Version
and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.
World English Bible Messianic
and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And his portion was a continual portion giuen him by the King, euery day a certaine, all the dayes of his life.
Young's Literal Translation
and his allowance--a continual allowance--hath been given to him from the king, the matter of a day in its day, all days of his life.
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In the KJVVerse 10,253 of 31,102
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Commentary on 2 Kings 25 verses 22–30
22 ¶ And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
28 And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;
29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.
30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.
In these verses we have,
I. The dispersion of the remaining people. The city of Jerusalem was quite laid waste. Some people there were in the land of Judah (Kg2 25:22) that had weathered the storm, and (which was no small favour at this time, Jer 45:5) had their lives given them for a prey. Now see, 1. What a good posture they were put into. The king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah, one of themselves, to be their governor and protector under him, a very good man, and one that would make the best of the bad, Kg2 25:22. His father Ahikam was one that countenanced and protected Jeremiah when the princes had vowed his death, Jer 26:24. It is probable that this Gedaliah, by the advice of Jeremiah, had gone over the Chaldeans, and had conducted himself so well that the king of Babylon entrusted him with the government. He resided not at Jerusalem, but at Mizpah, in the land of Benjamin, a place famous in Samuel's time. Thither those came who had fled from Zedekiah (Kg2 25:4) and put themselves under his protection (Kg2 25:23), which he assured them of if they would be patient and peaceable under the government of the king of Babylon, Kg2 25:24. Gedaliah, though he had not the pomp and power of a sovereign prince, yet might have been a greater blessing to them than many of their kings had been, especially having such a privy-council as Jeremiah, who was now with them, and interested himself in their affairs, Jer 40:5, Jer 40:6. 2. What a fatal breach was made upon them, soon afterwards, by the death of Gedaliah, within two months after he entered upon his government. The utter extirpation of the Jews, for the present, was determined, and therefore it was in vain for them to think of taking root again: the whole land must be plucked up, Jer 45:4. Yet this hopeful settlement is dashed to pieces, not by the Chaldeans, but by some of themselves. The things of their peace were so hidden from their eyes that they knew not when they were well off, nor would believe when they were told. (1.) They had a good governor of their own, and him they slew, out of spite to the Chaldeans, because he was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, Kg2 25:25. Ishmael, who was of the royal family, envying Gedaliah's advancement and the happy settlement of the people under him, though he could not propose to set up himself, resolved to ruin him, and basely slew him and all his friends, both Jews and Chaldeans. Nebuchadnezzar would not, could not, have been a more mischievous enemy to their peace than this degenerate branch of the house of David was. (2.) They were as yet in their own good land, but they forsook it, and went to Egypt, for fear of the Chaldeans, Kg2 25:26. The Chaldeans had reason enough to be offended at the murder of Gedaliah; but if those that remained had humbly remonstrated, alleging that it was only the act of Ishmael and his party, we may suppose that those who were innocent of it, nay, who suffered greatly by it, would not have been punished for it: but, under pretence of this apprehension, contrary to the counsel of Jeremiah, they all went to Egypt, where, it is probable, they mixed with the Egyptians by degrees, and were never heard of more as Israelites. Thus was there a full end made of them by their own folly and disobedience, and Egypt had the last of them, that the last verse of that chapter of threatenings might be fulfilled, after all the rest, Deu 28:68, The Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again. These events are more largely related by the prophet Jeremiah, ch. 40 to Jer 45:1-5. Quaeque ipse miserrima vidit, et quorum pars magna fuit - Which scenes he was doomed to behold, and in which he bore a melancholy part.
II. The reviving of the captive prince. Of Zedekiah we hear no more after he was carried blind to Babylon; it is probable that he did not live long, but that when he died he was buried with some marks of honour, Jer 34:5. Of Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah, who surrendered himself (Kg2 24:12), we are here told that as soon as Evil-merodach came to the crown, upon the death of his father Nebuchadnezzar, he released him out of prison (where he had lain thirty-seven years, and was now fifty-five years old), spoke kindly to him, paid more respect to him than to any other of the kings his father had left in captivity (Kg2 25:28), gave him princely clothing instead of his prison-garments, maintained him in his own palace (Kg2 25:29), and allowed him a pension for himself and his family in some measure corresponding to his rank, a daily rate for every day as long as he lived. Consider this, 1. As a very happy change of Jehoiachin's condition. To have honour and liberty after he had been so long in confinement and disgrace, the plenty and pleasure of a court after he had been so long accustomed to the straits and miseries of a prison, was like the return of the morning after a very dark and tedious night. Let none say that they shall never see good again because they have long seen little but evil; the most miserable know not what blessed turn Providence may yet give to their affairs, nor what comforts they are reserved for, according to the days wherein they have been afflicted, Psa 90:15. However the death of afflicted saints is to them such a change as this was to Jehoiachin: it will release them out of their prison, shake off the body, that prison-garment, and open the way to their advancement; it will send them to the throne, to the table, of the King of kings, the glorious liberty of God's children. 2. As a very generous act of Evil-merodach's. He thought his father made the yoke of his captives too heavy, and therefore, with the tenderness of a man and the honour of a prince, made it lighter. It should seem all the kings he had in his power were favoured, but Jehoiachin above them all, some think for the sake of the antiquity of his family and the honour of his renowned ancestors, David and Solomon. None of the kings of the nations, it is likely, had descended from so long a race of kings in a direct lineal succession, and by a male line, as the king of Judah. The Jews say that this Evil-merodach had been himself imprisoned by his own father, when he returned from his madness, for some mismanagement at that time, and that in prison he contracted a friendship with Jehoiachin, in consequence of which, as soon as he had it in his power, he showed him this kindness as a sufferer, as a fellow-sufferer. Some suggest that Evil-merodach had learned from Daniel and his fellows the principles of the true religion, and was well affected to them, and upon that account favoured Jehoiachin. 3. As a kind dispensation of Providence, for the encouragement of the Jews in captivity, and the support of their faith and hope concerning their enlargement in due time. This happened just about the midnight of their captivity. Thirty-six of the seventy years were now past, and almost as many were yet behind, and now to see their king thus advanced would be a comfortable earnest to them of their own release in due time, in the set time. Unto the upright there thus ariseth light in the darkness, to encourage them to hope, even in the cloudy and dark day, that at evening time it shall be light; when therefore we are perplexed, let us not be in despair.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 22–30. Public domain.
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Clement of AlexandriaAD 215
The Stromata Book 1
In the twelfth year of king Zedekiah, seventy years before the dominance of the Persians, Nebuchadnezzar campaigned against the Phoenicians and Jews, as Berossus says in his "Researches on the Chaldeans." Juba, writing "On the Assyrians," admits that he took his account from Berossus, testifying to its accuracy. Nebuchadnezzar blinded Zedekiah and removed him to Babylon, deporting the whole people except a few who escaped to Egypt. The captivity lasted for seventy years. Jeremiah and Habakkuk continued to prophesy under Zedekiah, and in the fifth year of his reign Ezekiel was prophesying in Babylon. After him came the prophet Nahum, then Daniel, and again after him, Haggai and Zechariah prophesied for two years under Darius I, and after him, one of the twelve, the Herald.
Origen of AlexandriaAD 253
FRAGMENTS FROM THE CATENA ON JEREMIAH 14
Jeremiah calls this son of Jehoiakim Jeconiah, and the Pharaoh Neco called the father of this man, though named Eliakim, Jehoiakim, whom Babylon, having carried off, cast forth before the gate, as the present prophet and Josephus in the tenth book of his Antiquities says. And the other editions have given the signet ring as a seal. And every person who through repentance makes shine again what is according to the image becomes a seal, a ring on the "right hand of God." For good works are understood as the part on the right of God, who places "the sheep at the right." The father gave this kind of seal to the profligate son who returned. If Jeconiah had become this way, he would have been a model for those who are subjects of devotion. But that did not happen. Yet he seemed to be persuaded by what the prophet said: "He who goes out to surrender to the Chaldeans who besieged you shall live." For after he brought with him his mother and the mighty men, he left, deserting to the Babylonians. But if he also displays mature repentance, so that he becomes "a seal of righteousness in circumcision." So that, according to this, he seems to be on the right hand of God, he would be delivered, since he did pay a penalty for his recent sins, though one more moderate. For in Babylon, after he chastised in prison and in chains, due to Evil-merodach, he was then set free, becoming one who ate with the king, and thus in a foreign land he finished life.
Ishodad of MervAD 850
BOOKS OF SESSIONS 2 KINGS 25:27
Evil-merodach was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. Since he had ruled the kingdom badly and had, in addition, troubled the land with a severe conflict, when his father came back [from his military campaign], his father imprisoned him, fearing that he might rebel against him. Now he was imprisoned in the same place where also Jehoaichin was imprisoned. There they kept each other company for a long time and became friends. Therefore, after Nebuchadnezzar was dead and Evil-merodach was appointed as the new king, he granted [Jehoiachin] favors and gifts. And this was a reward given to Jehoiachin, because he had obeyed the prophecy and had surrendered, so that God did not refuse him the wage that he had earned.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
The concluding verse of 2 Kings offers a poignant final glimpse into the fate of Jehoiachin, the former king of Judah, after decades of imprisonment in Babylon. It meticulously details the stable, permanent, and daily provision granted to him by Evil-merodach, the new Babylonian king. This unexpected act of favor, providing a "continual allowance... a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life," serves as a subtle, yet profound, note of hope at the end of a book largely chronicling Judah's spiritual decline, judgment, and eventual exile, hinting at God's enduring faithfulness to His covenant promises even in the darkest of times.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several impactful Literary Devices. Foremost is Repetition, particularly of the concept of continuous provision, seen in the phrases "continual allowance," "daily rate for every day," and "all the days of his life." This emphatic repetition serves to underscore the absolute certainty, regularity, and lifelong nature of Jehoiachin's sustenance, leaving no doubt about the security and permanence of his new status. There is also a strong element of Irony, as this unexpected and generous favor comes from the very empire that had conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, and taken its king captive. The pagan king, Evil-merodach, becomes an unlikely instrument of unexpected grace and a subtle sign of God's enduring providence. Finally, the verse functions as a subtle yet powerful Symbolism. Positioned as the very last statement in 2 Kings, it symbolizes a glimmer of hope amidst the overwhelming narrative of judgment and exile. It implicitly points to God's enduring faithfulness to His covenant with David, suggesting that the Davidic line, though severely chastened and seemingly broken, was not utterly extinguished, thus providing a faint but crucial beacon for the exiled community regarding their future and the ultimate coming of the Messiah.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The final verse of 2 Kings, though seemingly a small historical detail, carries profound theological weight. It serves as a testament to God's enduring faithfulness to His covenant promises, particularly the Davidic covenant, even in the midst of severe judgment and national catastrophe. While Judah was in exile and the Davidic monarchy seemingly extinguished, God, through the unexpected actions of a pagan king, preserved a remnant of the royal line and granted Jehoiachin a measure of dignity and provision. This demonstrates that God's plans are not thwarted by human failure or enemy power; rather, He works in mysterious ways to fulfill His purposes, often using unlikely instruments to achieve His sovereign will. This act of grace, occurring at the very end of the historical narrative of the kings, provides a subtle but vital note of hope for the exiled community, reminding them that God's compassion endures and that His ultimate plan for redemption and restoration remains active, even when all seems lost and human hope has faded.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The concluding scene of 2 Kings, with Jehoiachin receiving a "continual allowance" from the Babylonian king, offers a powerful and enduring lesson for believers today. It reminds us that even in the darkest valleys of life—when our circumstances seem most dire, when we are far from home, or when our hopes appear to be shattered—God's sovereign hand is still at work. Just as Jehoiachin experienced unexpected favor from an unlikely source, we too can find glimmers of hope and acts of kindness in the most challenging and desolate periods. This verse encourages us to trust in God's daily, consistent provision, recognizing that His care for us is not limited by our circumstances but often extends beyond what we can foresee or orchestrate. It calls us to maintain hope, even when the grand narrative of our lives seems to have taken a turn for the worse, knowing that God's faithfulness endures "all the days of his life" for His people, always working towards His ultimate good and the fulfillment of His promises, even when the path is unclear.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why is Jehoiachin's release and provision significant at the end of 2 Kings?
Answer: Its significance lies in providing a subtle yet crucial glimmer of hope amidst the overwhelming narrative of judgment and exile that characterizes 2 Kings. After detailing the destruction of Jerusalem and the apparent end of the Davidic monarchy, this verse shows that the royal line, though in captivity, was not utterly extinguished. It indicates God's continued, albeit veiled, faithfulness to His covenant with David, suggesting that the promise of a perpetual dynasty (as found in 2 Samuel 7:16) was still active. It's a personal reprieve, not a national deliverance, but it offered a symbolic assurance to the exiles that God had not completely abandoned His people or His promises, pointing towards a future restoration and the ultimate Messiah.
Does this verse imply a full restoration for Judah?
Answer: No, it does not imply an immediate or full restoration of the kingdom of Judah. While it signifies a significant personal act of favor for Jehoiachin, elevating his status and providing for him, it does not describe the return of the exiles, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, or the re-establishment of the independent monarchy. It is a personal act of clemency from a foreign king, not a divine act of national salvation. However, for the exiles, it could have served as a tangible sign that God's purposes were still unfolding and that hope for a future return (which would later be fulfilled, as seen in books like Ezra and Nehemiah) was not entirely lost.
How does this account relate to other biblical texts?
Answer: This account of Jehoiachin's release and provision is paralleled in Jeremiah 52:31-34, confirming its historical veracity and theological importance. The theme of God's faithfulness to His covenant, even in judgment, resonates throughout the prophetic books, particularly in passages like Lamentations 3:22-23, which speaks of the Lord's great love and compassions never failing. Furthermore, Jehoiachin is explicitly listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:11, underscoring his crucial role in the lineage through which the ultimate Davidic King, Jesus Christ, would come, demonstrating God's meticulous preservation of the royal line.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The unexpected and lifelong provision granted to Jehoiachin at the very end of 2 Kings serves as a powerful, albeit veiled, foreshadowing of the ultimate and eternal provision found in Jesus Christ. Jehoiachin, a king in exile and imprisonment, received an unmerited allowance from a foreign king, signifying a personal liberation and daily sustenance. This earthly deliverance points to the far greater spiritual liberation offered by Christ, who delivers us from the bondage of sin and death and transfers us into His kingdom (as seen in Colossians 1:13-14). Just as Jehoiachin received a "continual allowance" for "all the days of his life," so too does Christ offer Himself as the "Bread of Life" (as declared in John 6:35), providing spiritual nourishment and eternal life that never ceases. His provision is not merely for earthly sustenance but for the soul, satisfying our deepest hunger and thirst. Furthermore, the promise of a "continual allowance" for Jehoiachin points to the unending grace and unfailing presence of our heavenly King, Jesus, who promises to supply "all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Unlike Jehoiachin's temporal provision, Christ's reign and our inheritance in Him are eternal, securing our place at His heavenly table forever (as hinted at in Revelation 22:3-5). Thus, Jehoiachin's story, a small light in a dark narrative, ultimately directs our gaze to the true light and life-giving provision found in our Lord Jesus Christ, the faithful and eternal King.