# 2 Chronicles 36 📖: The Fall of Jerusalem [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-2 Chronicles Overview]] | [[2 Chronicles 35]] | [[Ezra 01]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Jehoahaz’s Reign [[#Verse 01.]] The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem.  [[#Verse 02.]] Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.  [[#Verse 03.]] The king of Egypt prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem and imposed on the land a special tax of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold.  [[#Verse 04.]] The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Necho seized his brother Jehoahaz and took him to Egypt. ### Jehoiakim’s Reign [[#Verse 05.]] Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God.  [[#Verse 06.]] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon.  [[#Verse 07.]] Nebuchadnezzar took some of the items in the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his palace there. [[#Verse 08.]] The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, including the horrible sins he committed and his shortcomings, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin replaced him as king. ### Jehoiachin’s Reign [[#Verse 09.]] Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. [[#Verse 10.]] At the beginning of the year King Nebuchadnezzar ordered him to be brought to Babylon, along with the valuable items in the Lord’s temple. In his place Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem. ### Zedekiah’s Reign [[#Verse 11.]] Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem.  [[#Verse 12.]] He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman.  [[#Verse 13.]] He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return to the Lord God of Israel.  [[#Verse 14.]] All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. ### The Babylonians Destroy Jerusalem [[#Verse 15.]] The Lord God of their ancestors continually warned them through his messengers, for he felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place. [[#Verse 16.]] But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.  [[#Verse 17.]] He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered their young men in their temple. He did not spare young men or women, or even the old and aging. God handed everyone over to him.  [[#Verse 18.]] He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials. [[#Verse 19.]] They burned down God’s temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items.  [[#Verse 20.]] He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power.  [[#Verse 21.]] This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message spoken through Jeremiah and lasted until the land experienced its sabbatical years. All the time of its desolation the land rested in order to fulfill the seventy years. ### Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Go Home [[#Verse 22.]] In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the Lord’s message spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord motivated King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his kingdom and also to put it in writing. It read: [[#Verse 23.]] “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Anyone of his people among you may go up there, and may the Lord his God be with him.” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Judah's last four kings reigned in a span of about 23 years. 2. Jehoahaz is also called Shallum (Jeremiah 22:11), and Pharaoh Neco took him to Egypt after only three months (36:2-4). 3. Neco renamed Eliakim as Jehoiakim (36:4), and Nebuchadnezzar renamed Mattaniah as Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17). 4. The Babylonian Chronicle records that Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem in 597 BC and appointed a king of his own choice. 5. Clay ration tablets found in Babylon list oil rations for "Jehoiachin, king of Judah" during his exile. 6. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 586 BC. 7. The seventy years of the land's rest (36:21) fulfill Jeremiah 25:11-12 and the warning of Leviticus 26:34-35. 8. Isaiah named Cyrus as God's chosen instrument long before he came to power (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1). 9. The Cyrus Cylinder, now in the British Museum, describes Cyrus returning displaced peoples to their homelands and restoring their temples. 10. The last verses (36:22-23) are repeated almost word for word in Ezra 1:1-3, and in the traditional Hebrew Bible the final word is the invitation to "go up." ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the true temple destroyed and raised again (John 2:19-21). The Babylonians burned God's house (36:19), but Jesus rose on the third day, and He brings God's people home from exile for good (1 Peter 2:9-10). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. God sent messengers again and again because He had compassion on His people (36:15). How have you seen God's patience in your own life? 2. The people mocked God's messengers until there was no remedy (36:16). What warnings might you be ignoring? 3. Chronicles ends with an invitation to "go up" (36:23). How does the Bible's story always leave room for hope and restoration? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 15-16: The Lord sent messengers again and again out of compassion, but they mocked them. - 📖 verse 21: The land enjoyed its Sabbath rest for seventy years, fulfilling Jeremiah's word. - 📖 verses 22-23: The Lord moves Cyrus to let His people go up and rebuild the temple. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[2 Kings 25#Verse 01.|2 Kings 25:1-21]] - The fall of Jerusalem. - 🔗 [[Jeremiah 25#Verse 11.|Jeremiah 25:11-12]] - Seventy years of exile foretold. - 🔗 [[Ezra 01#Verse 01.|Ezra 1:1-4]] - The decree of Cyrus. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 44#Verse 28.|Isaiah 44:28]] - God names Cyrus as His shepherd. - 🔗 [[John 02#Verse 19.|John 2:19-21]] - Jesus speaks of the temple of His body. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[2 Chronicles 36 - SOAP|Nothing Stops God’s Plan]] ## 📂 Internal Notes