1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 The LORD sent against him bands of the Kasdim, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the LORD’s word, which he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did, 4 and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, aren’t they 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 place.

7 The king of Egypt didn’t come out of his land any more; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that belonged to the king of Egypt.

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, according to all that his father had done. 10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while 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 officers; and the king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his reign. 13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the LORD’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the LORD’s temple, as the LORD had said. 14 He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. No one remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the chief men of the land. He carried them into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. 17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his place, 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. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For through the anger of the LORD, this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.

Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

1 Durante o reinado do rei Joaquim, Nabucodonozor, rei da Babilónia, atacou Jerusalém. Joaquim rendeu-se e teve de pagar-lhe um tributo durante três anos; depois, rebelou-se.

2 O Senhor enviou bandos de caldeus, de sírios, de moabitas e de amonitas contra Judá, a fim de destruir a nação, tal como o Senhor tinha avisado que aconteceria, pela boca dos seus profetas.

3 Não havia dúvida de que estes ataques cairam sobre Judá mandados pelo Senhor, o qual decidira castigar duramente Judá, varrê-lo para longe da sua vista, devido aos muitos pecados de Manassés,

4 pois tinha enchido Jerusalém com sangue; por isso o Senhor não lhe perdoou.

5 O resto dos acontecimentos da vida de Joaquim estão relatados nas Crónicas dos Reis de Judá. Quando morreu, o seu filho Jeconias ascendeu o trono. O faraó egípcio nunca mais saiu da sua terra, porque o rei da Babilónia ocupou toda a região dominada pelo Egipto - toda a terra de Judá desde o ribeiro do Egipto até ao rio Eufrates.

8 O novo rei de Judá foi Jeconias. Tinha 18 anos quando começou a reinar. Reinou durante três meses, em Jerusalém. A sua mãe chamava-se Neusta, e era filha de Elnatã, de Jerusalém.

10 Durante o seu reinado os exércitos do rei da Babilónia cercaram a cidade de Jerusalém. O próprio Nabucodonozor chegou a Jerusalém durante o cerco, e o rei Jeconias, com todo o seu estado maior e os responsáveis pela administração do reino, mais a rainha mãe, tiveram de se render. Jeconias foi feito prisioneiro e mandado para Babilónia, durante o oitavo ano do reinado de Nabucodonozor.

13 Os babilónios levaram todos os tesouros do templo e do palácio real. Quebraram os vasos de ouro que o rei Salomão de Israel tinha colocado no templo por indicação do Senhor. O rei Nabucodonozor levou dez mil cativos de Jerusalém, incluindo as altas individualidades, a tropa de elite, os comerciantes e artesãos. Apenas os mais pobres de entre o povo e os que não tinham profissão determinada foram deixados na terra.

15 Nabucodonozor levou pois o rei Jeconias, mais as suas mulheres e os chefes da administração pública, mais a rainha mãe, para Babilónia. Também transportou sete mil dos melhores soldados do exército e mil carpinteiros e ferreiros, todos gente capaz e forte para a guerra. O rei de Babilónia nomeou rei o tio de Jeconias chamado Matanias, mudando o seu nome para Zedequias.

18 O novo rei de Judá foi Zedequias. Tornou-se rei aos 21 anos. Duração do seu reinado: 11 anos, em Jerusalém. O nome da sua mãe era: Hamutal; era filha de Jeremias, de Libna. Fez o que era mal perante o Senhor, conforme os actos anteriormente praticados por Joaquim. Por essa razão o Senhor, na sua ira contra o pecado, destruiu o povo de Jerusalém e de Judá e os lançou para longe. Aconteceu também que Zedequias se revoltou contra o rei de Babilónia.