2 Kings 24: Babylon Comes Knocking
Judah's last kings rebel and submit by turns as Babylon besieges Jerusalem, carrying away its treasures and its people.
2 Kings 24 (WEB)
1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
2 Yahweh sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by his servants the prophets.
3 Surely at the commandment of Yahweh came this on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,
4 and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Yahweh would not pardon.
5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
7 The king of Egypt didn’t come again out of his land any more; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months: and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his father had done.
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it;
12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
13 He carried out there all the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in Yahweh’s temple, as Yahweh had said.
14 He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; no one remained, except the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15 He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16 All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20 For through the anger of Yahweh, this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
2 Kings 24 (KJV)
1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
2 And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.
3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;
4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.
5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
7 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
12 And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
13 And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.
14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20 For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
2 Kings 24 (ASV)
1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
2 And Jehovah sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by his servants the prophets.
3 Surely at the commandment of Jehovah came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,
4 and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Jehovah would not pardon.
5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
7 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months: and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father had done.
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came unto the city, while his servants were besieging it;
12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
13 And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had said.
14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20 For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Summary
In Jehoiakim's days Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon comes up, and Jehoiakim becomes his servant for three years before rebelling. The Lord sends raiders against Judah, for the disaster comes at his command because of the sins of Manasseh and the innocent blood he shed, which the Lord would not pardon. Jehoiakim dies and his son Jehoiachin reigns just three months before Babylon besieges Jerusalem. Jehoiachin surrenders, and Nebuchadnezzar carries away the temple and palace treasures, cutting up the gold vessels Solomon had made, and deports the king, his household, the officials, the mighty men, and the craftsmen—ten thousand captives—leaving only the poorest of the land. Nebuchadnezzar then makes Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah king, renaming him Zedekiah. Zedekiah also does evil in the sight of the Lord, and through the anger of the Lord against Jerusalem and Judah he is cast out from God's presence. At last Zedekiah rebels against the king of Babylon, setting the stage for the final siege. The chapter shows judgment closing in, the consequence of generations of unpardoned sin.
Main Characters
- Jehoiakim — King of Judah who submits to Nebuchadnezzar then rebels, in whose days the Lord sends raiders against Judah for the sins of Manasseh.
- Jehoiachin — King who reigns three months, surrenders to Babylon, and is carried into exile with the treasures, officials, and ten thousand captives.
- Nebuchadnezzar — King of Babylon who besieges Jerusalem, plunders the temple, deports its people, and installs Zedekiah as a vassal king.
- Zedekiah — Jehoiachin's uncle, renamed and enthroned by Babylon; he does evil and finally rebels, hastening Jerusalem's destruction.
Key Verse
2 Kings 24:3 (WEB)
Surely at the commandment of Yahweh came this on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,
Lessons Learned
- Sin has consequences that ripple across generations, even when judgment is long delayed.
- Political maneuvering—rebelling and submitting by turns—cannot save a people under God's judgment.
- Behind the rise and fall of empires stands the sovereign hand of the Lord.
- The stripping of the temple's treasures signals how far Judah had fallen from its calling.
- Judgment unfolds at God's command. “Surely at the commandment of Yahweh came this on Judah” (2 Kings 24:3, WEB); even Babylon's armies serve his purposes.
- Unrepented sin is not simply forgotten. The disaster comes “for the sins of Manasseh” (2 Kings 24:3, WEB), the bitter harvest of evil never turned from.
- Innocent blood demands a reckoning. “He filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Yahweh would not pardon” (2 Kings 24:4, WEB), for God is just.
- The Lord rules the rise and fall of nations. Babylon plunders and deports “as Yahweh had said” (2 Kings 24:13, WEB); history bends to his word.
- How do Judah's last kings try to navigate the threat of Babylon, and why does it fail?
- Why does the writer trace the coming disaster back to the sins of Manasseh?
- What does the plundering of the temple's treasures signify for Judah?
- How does the chapter show God's sovereignty over Babylon and its king?
- Where might you be tempted to maneuver your way out of a consequence rather than turn to God in repentance?
- Jehoiakim submits then rebels, Jehoiachin surrenders, and Zedekiah eventually rebels too (24:1, 12, 20). Their shifting alliances and revolts only deepen the crisis, because no political strategy can avert a judgment that flows from unaddressed sin.
- The narrator insists the disaster came at the Lord's command for Manasseh's sins and innocent blood (24:3-4). It shows that judgment is not random Babylonian aggression but the just outworking of a covenant long broken and never repented of.
- Carrying off and cutting up the temple vessels Solomon made strips Judah of its glory and its symbols of God's presence (24:13). It marks the humbling of a nation that had treated the holy with contempt and now loses what it failed to honor.
- Nebuchadnezzar acts, yet the text says it happens 'as Yahweh had said' and at his command (24:2-3, 13). The most powerful empire of the day is an instrument in God's hand, assuring us that no human power operates outside his rule.
- This is a personal-application question. Gently invite members to consider where they manage consequences instead of repenting. As leader, point to the mercy that meets the humble and keep the focus on turning to God rather than escaping him.