The Divided Kingdom

He did what was evil from the perspective of ADONAI, following the example of everything his ancestors had done.

It was in Y'hoyakim's time that N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel invaded. Y'hoyakim became his vassal for three years, but then he turned against him and rebelled.

ADONAI sent against him raiding parties from the Kasdim, Aram, Mo'av and the people of 'Amon; he sent them against Y'hudah to destroy it, in keeping with the word of ADONAI which he had spoken through his servants the prophets.

Yes, it was at ADONAI's order that this happened to Y'hudah, in order to remove them from his sight because of the sins of M'nasheh and all he had done,

and also because of the innocent blood he had shed - for he had flooded Yerushalayim with innocent blood, and ADONAI was unwilling to forgive.

Other activities of Y'hoyakim and all his accomplishments are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y'hudah.

Then Y'hoyakim slept with his ancestors, and Y'hoyakhin his son took his place as king.

The king of Egypt did not leave his own land any more, because the king of Bavel had captured all the territory of the king of Egypt between the Vadi of Egypt and the Euphrates River.

Y'hoyakhin was eighteen years old when he began his reign, and he ruled in Yerushalayim for three months. His mother's name was N'chushta the daughter of Elnatan, from Yerushalayim.

He did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, following the example of everything his father had done.

It was then that the officers of N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel marched on Yerushalayim and laid siege to the city.

N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel himself went to the city while it was under siege;

and Y'hoyakhin king of Y'hudah went out to meet the king of Bavel - he, his mother, and his servants, princes and officers; and the king of Bavel took him captive in the eighth year of his reign.

He also carried away from there all the treasures in the house of ADONAI and the treasures in the royal palace. He cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Shlomo king of Isra'el had made in the temple of ADONAI, as ADONAI had said would happen.

He carried all Yerushalayim away captive - all the princes, all the bravest soldiers- 10,000 captives; also all the craftsmen and metalworkers. No one was left but the poorest people of the land.

Y'hoyakhin he carried off to Bavel; likewise he carried off the king's mother, the king's wives, his officers and the main leaders of the land from Yerushalayim into captivity in Bavel.

All the strong men - 7,000 of them, as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metalsmiths, all of them strong and trained for war - the king of Bavel brought captive to Bavel.

The king of Bavel made Matanyah, Y'hoyakhin's father's brother, king in place of Y'hoyakhin and changed his name to Tzidkiyahu.

Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for eleven years in Yerushalayim. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Yirmeyahu, from Livnah.

He did what was evil from the perspective of ADONAI, following the example of everything Y'hoyakim had done.

And it was because of ADONAI's anger that all these things happened to Yerushalayim and Y'hudah, until he had thrown them out of his presence. Tzidkiyahu rebelled against the king of Bavel;

so in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel marched against Yerushalayim with his entire army. He set up camp against it and built siege towers against it on every side.

The city remained under siege into the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu.

On the ninth day of the [fourth] month, when the famine in the city was so severe that there was no food for the people of the land,

they broke through into the city. All the soldiers [fled] by night through the gate between the two walls, near the king's garden. Because the Kasdim were surrounding the city, the king took the route through the 'Aravah.