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.
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Jehoahaz Reign and Egyptian Control

1
Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem. ​
2
Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
3
And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ​
4
And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt. ​

Jehoiakim Rebels Against Babylon

5
Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. ​
6
Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
7
Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. ​
8
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

Jehoiachin and the Second Deportation

9
Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. ​
10
And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. ​

Zedekiah's Rule and the Final Judgment

11
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD. ​
13
And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel. ​
14
Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. ​
15
And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: ​
16
But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. ​
17
Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. ​
18
And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.
19
And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. ​
20
And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
21
To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. ​

The Edict of Cyrus and Restoration

22
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, ​
23
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him 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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