2 Chronicles 35:20–36:23
20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemishl on the Euphrates,m and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 21 But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has toldn me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.”
22 Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguisedo himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.
23 Archersp shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, “Take me away; I am badly wounded.” 24 So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.
25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments.q These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.r
26 The other events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion in accordance with what is written in the Law of the Lord—27 all the events, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
36 And the peoples of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.
2 Jehoahaza was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. 3 The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talentsb of silver and a talentc of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Nechot took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.u
5 Jehoiakimv was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzarw king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.x 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the Lord and put them in his templed there.y
8 The other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.
9 Jehoiachinz was eighteene years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon,a together with articles of value from the temple of the Lord, and he made Jehoiachin’s uncle,f Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
36:11–16pp—2Ki 24:18–20; Jer 52:1–3
11 Zedekiahb was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12 He did evil in the eyes of the Lordc his God and did not humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oathe in God’s name. He became stiff-neckedf and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful,g following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
36:17–20pp—2Ki 25:1–21; Jer 52:4–27
36:22–23pp—Ezr 1:1–3
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengersh again and again,i because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffedj at his prophets until the wrathk of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.l 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,g m who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young menn or young women, the elderly or the infirm.o God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.p 18 He carried to Babylon all the articlesq from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set firer to God’s temples and broke down the wallt of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyedu everything of value there.v
20 He carried into exilew to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servantsx to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests;y all the time of its desolation it rested,z until the seventy yearsa were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.
22 In the first year of Cyrusb king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
23 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“ ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointedc me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’ ”