2 Chronicles36

The final chapter of 2 Chronicles details the rapid succession of Judah's last four kings: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Each king did evil in the sight of the LORD, leading to increasing foreign domination and the desecration of the temple. Ultimately, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, burned the temple, carried away its vessels, and exiled the people, fulfilling divine judgment and prophetic warnings.

Jehoahaz Reign and Egyptian Control

1
Then the people of the land took Y'ho'achaz the son of Yoshiyahu and made him king in his father's place, in Yerushalayim. ​
2
Y'ho'achaz was twenty-three years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for three months in Yerushalayim.
3
But the king of Egypt deposed him in Yerushalayim and imposed a penalty on the land of three-and-a-third tons of silver and sixty-six pounds of gold. ​
4
Then the king of Egypt made Elyakim his brother king over Y'hudah and Yerushalayim, changing his name to Y'hoyakim; N'kho took Yo'achaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt. ​

Jehoiakim Rebels Against Babylon

5
Y'hoyakim was twenty-five years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for eleven years in Yerushalayim. He did what was evil from the perspective of ADONAI his God. ​
6
N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel attacked him and bound him in chains to carry him off to Bavel.
7
N'vukhadnetzar also carried the articles in the house of ADONAI away to Bavel and put them in his temple in Bavel. ​
8
Other activities of Y'hoyakim, including all the abominations he did publicly and those discovered later, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra'el and Y'hudah. Then Y'hoyakhin his son took his place as king.

Jehoiachin and the Second Deportation

9
Y'hoyakhin was eight years old when he began his reign, and he ruled in Yerushalayim for three months and ten days. He did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective. ​
10
In the spring, King N'vukhadnetzar sent and had him brought to Bavel together with the valuable articles from the house of ADONAI, and made Tzedekyah his brother king over Y'hudah and Yerushalayim. ​

Zedekiah's Rule and the Final Judgment

11
Tzedekyah was twenty-one years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for eleven years in Yerushalayim.
12
He did what was evil from the perspective of ADONAI his God. He did not humble himself before Yirmeyahu the prophet speaking on behalf of ADONAI. ​
13
He also rebelled against King N'vukhadnetzar, who had made him swear loyalty to him by God; instead, he became stiffnecked and hardhearted, refusing to turn to ADONAI the God of Isra'el. ​
14
In addition, the chief cohanim and the people grew increasingly unfaithful, following all the abominable practices of the other nations; and they polluted the house of ADONAI, which he had consecrated in Yerushalayim. ​
15
Time after time, and frequently, ADONAI, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers; because he had compassion on his people and on the place where he lived. ​
16
But they ridiculed God's messengers, treating his words with contempt and scoffing at his prophets, until the anger of ADONAI rose up against his people to the extent that there was no longer any remedy. ​
17
Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Kasdim, who put their young men to the sword in the house of their sanctuary. They had no compassion on either young men or young women, old men or gray-haired; God handed all of them over to him. ​
18
All the articles in the house of God, great and small; the supplies in the house of ADONAI; and the supplies of the king and his leading men - all these he brought to Bavel.
19
Then they burned down the house of God, broke down the wall of Yerushalayim, put to flames all its palaces and destroyed everything in it of worth. ​
20
Those who had escaped the sword he carried off to Bavel, and they became slaves to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia.
21
Thus was fulfilled the word of ADONAI spoken by Yirmeyahu, "until the land has been paid her Shabbats"-for as long as it lay desolate, it kept Shabbat, until seventy years had passed. ​

The Edict of Cyrus and Restoration

22
Now in the first year of Koresh king of Persia, so that the word of ADONAI spoken by Yirmeyahu might be fulfilled, ADONAI activated the spirit of Koresh king of Persia to proclaim throughout his entire kingdom, and put in writing as well: ​
23
"Here is what Koresh king of Persia says: ADONAI, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms on earth, and he has charged me to build him a house in Yerushalayim, in Y'hudah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may ADONAI his God be with him! He may go up . . . ." ​

Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 36

Verse 1

Jehoahaz (also called Shallum in Jeremiah) was Josiah's successor, chosen by the people, but his brief reign signaled the end of Judah's political independence.

Verse 3

Pharaoh Necho deposed Jehoahaz and imposed a heavy tribute on Judah, demonstrating that the nation was now a vassal state under Egyptian control.

Verse 4

Changing Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim was a standard practice used by imperial overlords to assert dominance and ownership over their client kings.

Verse 5

Jehoiakim, placed on the throne by Egypt, continued the pattern of unfaithfulness, ignoring the covenant and the warnings of the prophets (Jeremiah 26).

Verse 7

This removal of the Temple vessels (605 BC) marked the first major Babylonian deportation and signaled the impending desacralization and destruction of Jerusalem.

Verse 9

Jehoiachin’s extremely short reign ended in the second major deportation (597 BC), which included many skilled people and the prophet Ezekiel, further crippling Judah.

Verse 10

Zedekiah was Jehoiachin's uncle (referred to here as 'brother' in the sense of kinsman). He was installed by Nebuchadnezzar, making him a puppet king bound by oath to Babylon.

Verse 12

Zedekiah’s refusal to heed Jeremiah was his ultimate theological failure, as the prophet spoke directly from the mouth of the LORD, making the king’s disobedience high treason against God.

Verse 13

Rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar was particularly grievous because Zedekiah had sworn loyalty to the Babylonian king in God’s name, thus profaning the covenant (cf. Ezek. 17:13-19).

Verse 14

The Chronicler emphasizes that the guilt leading to the Exile was corporate, extending beyond the king to include the chief priests and the general populace who embraced pagan worship.

Verse 15

This verse highlights God’s immense patience and compassion, repeatedly sending prophets ('rising up betimes') because He desired to save His people from destruction.

Verse 16

The persistent mockery and rejection of God's messengers resulted in a state where divine judgment became inevitable ('no remedy'), illustrating the consequence of hardening the heart against grace.

Verse 17

Nebuchadnezzar (the king of the Chaldees) is depicted as the instrument of God’s wrath, executing a judgment that was comprehensive and without mercy, fulfilling covenant curses (Deut. 28).

Verse 19

The burning of the Temple and the destruction of the walls (586 BC) marked the complete end of the Davidic monarchy and the central place of worship for Israel.

Verse 21

The 70 years of exile are interpreted as a necessary theological suspension, allowing the land to 'enjoy her sabbaths,' linking the duration of the Exile to the failure to observe the sabbatical years required by the Law (Lev. 26:34-35).

Verse 22

The conclusion shifts from judgment to restoration. God sovereignly 'stirred up the spirit' of the pagan king Cyrus, ensuring that His promise given through Jeremiah would be accomplished.

Verse 23

This edict, which grants permission for the exiles to return and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, serves as the hopeful conclusion to the history recorded in Chronicles, focusing on the continuity of God's covenant promises.

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