Read the Bible

¹ IN his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.² And the LORD stirred up against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of Edomites and bands of 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 spoke by his servants the prophets from the mouth of the LORD.³ And there came a fierce wrath against Judah, to remove them out of his sight on account of the sins of Manasseh and all that he had done,⁴ And also for the innocent blood that he had 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, behold, they are 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 did not again come out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken all that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mothers name was Nehushta, the daughter of Eliathan 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 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 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 eunuchs; and the king of Babylon took him with him in the eighth year of his reign.¹³ And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the kings house, and he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made for 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 guardsmen and all the guard; and he left none except the poorest people of the land.¹⁵ And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon and the kings mother and the kings wives and his eunuchs and the princes of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.¹⁶ And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and guardsmen and the guard of a thousand and all the men who were trained for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah the kings uncle king in his stead 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 mothers 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 So the anger of the LORD was against Judah and against Jerusalem, until he cast them out from his presence, and Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.