ACCORDING TO THE LORD'S COMMAND

Passage: 2 Kings 23:31-24:7

Key verse: 24:3

NIV

Jehoahaz King of Judah(A)

31 Jehoahaz(B) was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal(C) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 32 He did evil(D) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done. 33 Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah(E) in the land of Hamath(F) so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents[a] of silver and a talent[b] of gold. 34 Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim(G) son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died.(H) 35 Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Necho the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments.(I)

Jehoiakim King of Judah(J)

36 Jehoiakim(K) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37 And he did evil(L) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done.

24 During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar(M) king of Babylon invaded(N) the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled.(O) 2 The Lord sent Babylonian,[c](P) Aramean,(Q) Moabite and Ammonite raiders(R) against him to destroy(S) Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets.(T) 3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command,(U) in order to remove them from his presence(V) because of the sins of Manasseh(W) and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood.(X) For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.(Y)

5 As for the other events of Jehoiakim’s reign,(Z) and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 6 Jehoiakim rested(AA) with his ancestors. And Jehoiachin(AB) his son succeeded him as king.

7 The king of Egypt(AC) did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon(AD) had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Footnotes
  1. 2 Kings 23:33 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
  2. 2 Kings 23:33 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
  3. 2 Kings 24:2 Or Chaldean
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Jehoahaz's Reign and Captivity

31 (A)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was (B)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, (C)according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And (D)Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at (E)Riblah in the land of (F)Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents[a] of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And (G)Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and (H)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, (I)and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim (J)gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah

36 (K)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, (L)according to all that his fathers had done.

24 (M)In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the Lord sent against him bands of the (N)Chaldeans and (O)bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, (P)according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, (Q)for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also (R)for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. 5 (S)Now the rest of the deeds 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 (T)slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 (U)And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, (V)for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt (W)from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Footnotes
  1. 2 Kings 23:33 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Jehoahaz (23:31-35) After Josiah's death, his son Jehoahaz became king. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. At this time the nation was subservient to Egypt and Pharaoh Necho. Jehoahaz only reigned for three months. Then Necho put Jehoiakim in charge. He charged a heavy tribute and kept Jehoahaz in chains in Egypt until he died. 2. Jehoiakim (23:36-24:7) Jehoiakim was also an evil king. During his reign the nation of Babylon attacked. It seemed that Judah was just a pawn of the local powers, but all of this happened according to God's word. The Lord was judging his people for their sins, and he especially remembered the sins of idol worship under Manasseh. Egypt was strong, and Babylon was even stronger. But the Lord is Almighty. He used the kings of the earth to execute his will and his judgment.

Prayer: Lord, give me ears to listen to your command, and eyes to see you as the ruler of all.

One Word: God is the Judge