בְּיָמָיו עָלָה נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וַיְהִי־לוֹ יְהוֹיָקִים עֶבֶד שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּמְרָד־בּוֹ׃   24:1

2Kin 24:1   In his days Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up, and Jehoiakim was a servant to him three years when he turned and rebelled against him.

The phrase in his days refers to Jehoiakim, king of Judah, mentioned in the previous chapter as well as this one.

וַיְשַׁלַּח יְהוָה בּוֹ אֶת־גְּדוּדֵי כַשְׂדִּים וְאֶת־גְּדוּדֵי אֲרָם וְאֵת גְּדוּדֵי מוֹאָב וְאֵת גְּדוּדֵי בְנֵי־עַמּוֹן וַיְשַׁלְּחֵם   24:2 בִּיהוּדָה לְהַאֲבִידוֹ כִּדְבַר יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּיַד עֲבָדָיו הַנְּבִיאִים׃

2Kin 24:2   Then the Lord sent bands of Chaldeans against him and bands of Arameans and bands of Moabites and bands of the children of Ammon.  So He sent them against Judah to destroy it according to the word of the Lord that He spoke by the hand of His servants, the prophets.

אַךְ עַל־פִּי יְהוָה הָיְתָה בִּיהוּדָה לְהָסִיר מֵעַל פָּנָיו בְּחַטֹּאת מְנַשֶּׁה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה׃   24:3

2Kin 24:3   Surely by the command of the Lord did it happen with Judah, to remove from His face, with the sins of Manasseh according to all that he did,

וְגַם דַּם־הַנָּקִי אֲשֶׁר שָׁפָךְ וַיְמַלֵּא אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם דָּם נָקִי וְלֹא־אָבָה יְהוָה לִסְלֹחַ׃   24:4

2Kin 24:4   and also the innocent blood that he shed when he made Jerusalem so full of innocent blood that the Lord was not willing to forgive.

וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי יְהוֹיָקִים וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הֲלֹא־הֵם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה׃   24:5

2Kin 24:5   And the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he accomplished, are they not written on the scroll of the chronicles of the days of the kings of Judah?                  [Return to 2Chr. 36:8]

וַיִּשְׁכַּב יְהוֹיָקִים עִם־אֲבֹתָיו וַיִּמְלֹךְ יְהוֹיָכִין בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃   24:6

2Kin 24:6   And Jehoiakim slept with his fathers and his son, Jehoiachin, became king in his place.

וְלֹא־הֹסִיף עוֹד מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם לָצֵאת מֵאַרְצוֹ כִּי־לָקַח מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל מִנַּחַל מִצְרַיִם עַד־נְהַר־פְּרָת כֹּל   24:7

  אֲשֶׁר הָיְתָה לְמֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם׃

2Kin 24:7   And the king of Egypt was not coming forth any more again from his land, for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt as far as the river Euphrates, all that had belonged to the king of Egypt.

בֶּן־שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה יְהוֹיָכִין בְּמָלְכוֹ וּשְׁלֹשָׁה חֳדָשִׁים מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ נְחֻשְׁתָּא   24:8 בַת־אֶלְנָתָן מִירוּשָׁלִָם׃

2Kin 24:8   Jehoiachin was eighteen years of age when beginning his reign, and he was king in Jerusalem three months.  And the name of his mother was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem.                                                                                                                       [Return to 2Chr. 36:9]

וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה אָבִיו׃   24:9

2Kin 24:9   And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord like all that his father had done.

בָּעֵת הַהִיא (עָלָה) [עָלוּ] עַבְדֵי נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל יְרוּשָׁלִָם וַתָּבֹא הָעִיר בַּמָּצוֹר׃   24:10

2Kin 24:10   At that time servants of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up to Jerusalem and entered the city into siege.

This was the first siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.  It started in 597 B.C.E. 

The word in parentheses, translated as came up, referring to the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, is singular in form and should be plural.  The correct form is in the brackets.

וַיָּבֹא נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל עַל־הָעִיר וַעֲבָדָיו צָרִים עָלֶיהָ׃   24:11

2Kin 24:11   And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came upon the city as his servants were laying siege on it.

וַיֵּצֵא יְהוֹיָכִין מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה עַל־מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל הוּא וְאִמּוֹ וַעֲבָדָיו וְשָׂרָיו וְסָרִיסָיו וַיִּקַּח אֹתוֹ מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל   24:12 בִּשְׁנַת שְׁמֹנֶה לְמָלְכוֹ׃

2Kin 24:12   And Jehoiachin, king of Judah, came out by the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his princes and his officers, and the king took him in the eighth year of his reign.

The phrase the eighth year of his reign refers to Nebuchadnezzar, not to Jehoiachin.  The latter reigned for only about three months.

וַיּוֹצֵא מִשָּׁם אֶת־כָּל־אוֹצְרוֹת בֵּית יְהוָה וְאוֹצְרוֹת בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיְקַצֵּץ אֶת־כָּל־כְּלֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה   24:13 שְׁלֹמֹה מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהֵיכַל יְהוָה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה׃

2Kin 24:13   And he brought out all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the house of the king from there, and cut up all the vessels of gold that Solomon, king of Israel, had made in the Temple of the Lord as the Lord had said.

The pronoun he (in he brought out) refers to Nebuchadnezzar.

וְהִגְלָה אֶת־כָּל־יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֶת־כָּל־הַשָּׂרִים וְאֵת כָּל־גִּבּוֹרֵי הַחַיִל (עֲשָׂרָה) [עֲשֶׂרֶת] אֲלָפִים גּוֹלֶה   24:14 וְכָל־הֶחָרָשׁ וְהַמַּסְגֵּר לֹא נִשְׁאַר זוּלַת דַּלַּת עַם־הָאָרֶץ׃

2Kin 24:14   And he removed all of Jerusalem and all the princes and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths.  There was no one remaining except of the poorest of the people of the land.

The word in parentheses, translated as ten (in the phrase ten thousand) is of the wrong form.  The correct form is given in the brackets.

וַיֶּגֶל אֶת־יְהוֹיָכִין בָּבֶלָה וְאֶת־אֵם הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶת־נְשֵׁי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶת־סָרִיסָיו וְאֵת (אֱוִיל) [אֵילֵי] הָאָרֶץ   24:15

  הוֹלִיךְ גּוֹלָה מִירוּשָׁלִַם בָּבֶלָה׃

2Kin 24:15   And he removed Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the mother of the king and the wives of the king, and his officers and the mighty of the land, he led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon --

The word in parentheses appears to have a vav in place of a yad, and the yad that is there is in the wrong position.  It should follow the lamed.  The corrected word is in the brackets.

וְאֵת כָּל־אַנְשֵׁי הַחַיִל שִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים וְהֶחָרָשׁ וְהַמַּסְגֵּר אֶלֶף הַכֹּל גִּבּוֹרִים עֹשֵׂי מִלְחָמָה וַיְבִיאֵם   24:16 מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל גּוֹלָה בָּבֶלָה׃

2Kin 24:16   and all the men of might, seven thousand, and the craftsman and the smith, a thousand, who were all strong makers of war, who the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

וַיַּמְלֵךְ מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל אֶת־מַתַּנְיָה דֹדוֹ תַּחְתָּיו וַיַּסֵּב אֶת־שְׁמוֹ צִדְקִיָּהוּ׃   24:17

2Kin 24:17   And the king of Babylon made Mettaniah, his uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.                                                                                                        [Return to 2Chr. 36:10]

Mettaniah was Jehoiachin’s uncle, not Nebuchadnezzar’s.  He was the brother of Jehoahaz (see the next verse and  2Kin. 23:31).  The significance of the name change implies some irony, perhaps on the part of Nebuchadnezzar.  Mettaniah means gift of the Lord and Zedekiah means the Lord is righteous.  A gift of the Lord was given to Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar was the Lord’s instrument to demonstrate His righteousness.

בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים וְאַחַת שָׁנָה צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְמָלְכוֹ וְאַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ (חֲמִיטַל)   24:18  [חֲמוּטַל] בַּת־יִרְמְיָהוּ מִלִּבְנָה׃

2Kin 24:18   Zedekiah was twenty-one years of age when beginning his reign and eleven years he was king in Jerusalem.  And the name of his mother was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.                                                                      [Return to Jere. 52:1]                  [Return to 2Chr. 36:11]

The name Hamutal in the parentheses has a yad where there should be a vav.  The correction is in the brackets.

וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה יְהוֹיָקִים׃   24:19

2Kin 24:19   And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord like all that Jehoiakim had done.

כִּי עַל־אַף יְהוָה הָיְתָה בִירוּשָׁלִַם וּבִיהוּדָה עַד־הִשְׁלִכוֹ אֹתָם מֵעַל פָּנָיו וַיִּמְרֹד צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְּמֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל׃   24:20

2Kin 24:20   For because of the “anger” of the Lord it happened in Jerusalem and in Judah until they cast them out from His presence.  And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

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