Kings IV 24

1 In his days went up Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and Joakim became his servant three years; and [then] he turned and revolted from him.

While Jehoiakim was ruling [Judah, the army of] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Judah. [They defeated the Judean army, and as a result, ] Jehoiakim was required to pay a lot of tribute/taxes to King Nebuchadnezzar. But after three years, Jehoiakim rebelled.

2 And the lord sent against him the bands of the Chaldeans, and the bands of Syria, and the bans of Moab, and the bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them into the land of Juda to prevail [against it], according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servants the prophets.

Then Yahweh sent raiders from Babylonia and Syria, and from the Moab and Ammon people-groups, to attack the people of Judah and get rid of them, just as Yahweh had told his prophets to warn the people would happen.

3 Moreover it was the purpose of the Lord concerning Juda, to remove them from his presence, because of the sins of Manasses, according to all that he did.

These things happened to the people of Judah according to what Yahweh commanded. [He had decided] to get rid of the people of Judah because of the many sins that King Manasseh [had committed].

4 Moreover he shed innocent blood, and filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon [it].

Manasseh had even caused many innocent people in Jerusalem to be killed, and Yahweh would not forgive that.

5 And the rest of the acts of Joakim, and all that he did, behold, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda?

The other things that happened while Jehoiakim was king, and all the things that he did, are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

6 And Joakim slept with his fathers: and Joachim his son reigned in his stead.

When Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin became the king.

7 And the king of Egypt came no more out of his land: for the king of Babylon took away all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the river of Egypt as far as the river Euphrates.

[The army of] the king of Babylon [defeated the army of Egypt, and] took control of all the area that the Egyptians formerly controlled, from the brook [at the border] of Egypt [in the south] to the Euphrates River [in the north]. So [the army of] the king of Egypt did not return [to attack Judah] again.

8 Eighteen years old [was] Joachim when he began to reign, an he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Nestha, daughter of Ellanastham, of Jerusalem.

Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became the king of Judah. His mother’s name was Nehushta; she was the daughter of a man from Jerusalem named Elnathan. Jehoiachin ruled in Jerusalem for [only] three months.

9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father did.

Jehoiachin did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil, just as his father had done.

10 At that time went up Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

[While Jehoiachin was king, ] some officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came [along with the whole Babylonian army] to Jerusalem, and they surrounded the city.

11 And Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants besieged it.

While they were doing that, Nebuchadnezzar himself came to the city.

12 And Joachim king of Juda came forth to the king of Babylon, he and his servants, and his mother, and his princes, and his eunuchs; and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

Then King Jehoiachin and his mother and his advisors and important officers and palace officials all surrendered to the Babylonian army. These thngs happened when Nebuchadnezzar had been king for eight years. He arrested Jehoiachin and took him to Babylon.

13 And he brought forth thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut up all the golden vessels which Solomon the king of Israel [had] made in the temple of the Lord, according to the word of the Lord.

Just as Yahweh had said would happen, Nebuchadnezzar’s [soldiers] took [to Babylon] all the valuable things from Yahweh’s temple and from the king’s palace. They cut apart all the gold items that King Solomon had put in the temple.

14 And he carried away [the inhabitants of] Jerusalem, and all the captains, and the mighty men, taking captive ten thousand prisoners, and every artificer and smith: and only the poor of the land were left.

They took from Jerusalem [to Babylon] 10,000 people, including the important officials and the best soldiers and the people who made and repaired things that were made of metal. Only the very poor people were left in Judah.

15 And he carried Joachim away to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his eunuchs: and he carried away the mighty men of the land into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers also took to Babylon Jehoiachin’s wives and officials, his mother, and [all] the important people.

16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and one thousand artificers and smiths: all [were] mighty [men] fit for war; and the king of Babylon carried them captive to Babylon.

They also took to Babylon 7,000 of the best soldiers and 1,000 men who knew how to make and repair things that are made from metal. All of these people whom they took were strong and able to fight in wars.

17 And the king of Babylon made Batthanias his son king in his stead, and called his name Sedekias.

Then the king of Babylon appointed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, to be the king [of Judah], and he changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.

18 Twenty and one years old [was] Sedekias when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Amital daughter of Jeremias.

When Zedekiah was twenty-one years old, he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal; she was the daughter of a man named Jeremiah from Libnah [town].

19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Joachim did.

But Zedekiah did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil, just as Jehoiakim had done.

20 For it was according to the Lord's anger against Jerusalem and on Juda, until he cast them out of his presence, that Sedekias revolted against the king of Babylon.

Yahweh was very angry. So (and finally/after he had been patient a long time) he expelled the people of Jerusalem and [the other places in] Judah and sent them to Babylon. [That is what happened when] Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.