Bible Study 2 Chronicles 36
‹ 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 36 · WEB

The Last Kings; Fall of Jerusalem; Cyrus's Decree

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

Tap a verse to copy it, open the Hebrew, or write a note.

Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem.
2Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
3The king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and fined the land one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
4The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Neco also took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.
5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in Yahweh his God's eyes.
6Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him in bronze chains to carry him to Babylon.
7Nebuchadnezzar also carried some of the vessels of Yahweh's house to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found against him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
9Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in Yahweh's eyes.
10At the return of the year, king Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of Yahweh's house, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12He did that which was evil in Yahweh his God's eyes. He didn't humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke from the mouth of Yahweh.
13He also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel.
14Moreover all the chiefs of the priests and the people trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted Yahweh's house which he had made holy in Jerusalem.
15Yahweh, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place;
16but they mocked God's messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against his people, until there was no remedy.
17Therefore he brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on old man or gray-headed. He gave them all into his hand.
18All the vessels of God's house, great and small, and the treasures of Yahweh's house, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon.
19They burned God's house and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its goodly vessels.
20He carried those who escaped from the sword away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia,
21to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. As long as it lay desolate, it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
22Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing, saying,
23"Cyrus king of Persia says, 'Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, Yahweh his God be with him, and let him go up.'"
✶

Summary

The final chapter of 2 Chronicles races through the last four kings of Judah — Jehoahaz (3 months), Jehoiakim (11 years), Jehoiachin (3 months), and Zedekiah (11 years) — all evil, all swept away by Babylon. God sends prophets repeatedly "rising up early and sending" out of compassion, but the people mock and scoff until "there was no remedy." Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the temple, deports the survivors to Babylon, and the land rests in desolation for 70 years as God predicted through Jeremiah. But the book ends not with despair but with hope: Cyrus of Persia is stirred by God to issue a decree that any Jew who wishes may return to Jerusalem to rebuild God's house.

Themes

  • God's patience and persistence in sending messengers before judgment
  • The fulfillment of prophecy even through catastrophe
  • Hope and restoration as the final word

Key verses

  • 2 Chr 36:15-16 — “Yahweh, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people... but they mocked God's messengers, despised his words... until there was no remedy.”
  • 2 Chr 36:21 — “...to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths... to fulfill seventy years.”
  • 2 Chr 36:23 — “Whoever is among you of all his people, Yahweh his God be with him, and let him go up.”

Context & background

The fall of Jerusalem occurred in 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon = modern central Iraq) destroyed Solomon's temple and deported the remaining population. The Babylonian exile lasted approximately 70 years (605–538 BC), fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10). Cyrus the Great of Persia (modern Iran) conquered Babylon in 539 BC and issued his famous decree allowing exiled peoples to return to their homelands — confirmed by the Cyrus Cylinder (now in the British Museum, London). Chronicles ends with these words of permission and hope, immediately picked up at the opening of Ezra 1. The Chronicler writes to the very community that returned from this exile, and this ending affirms that their return was God's doing, fulfilling his word.

Cross-references

  • Ezra 1:1-4 — The Cyrus decree in full; 2 Chronicles ends where Ezra begins
  • Isaiah 44:28 — God predicted Cyrus by name 150 years before his birth: "He is my shepherd, he shall fulfill all my purpose"
  • Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10 — The 70-year exile prophecy fulfilled here
  • Leviticus 26:34-35 — The Sabbath rest of the land God promised would come
  • Romans 11:33 — "How unsearchable are his judgments" — God's sovereign working through Cyrus

Check your reading

Log in to take the quiz and save your progress.

  1. Observe

    Why did God repeatedly send messengers to Judah before judgment fell?

  2. Observe

    How does 2 Chronicles end?

  3. Interpret

    What does "rising up early and sending" reveal about God's heart?

  4. Interpret

    What is significant about the book ending with "let him go up" rather than a command?

  5. Apply

    What does "until there was no remedy" mean for your response to God now?

  6. Apply

    As 2 Chronicles ends with an invitation to "go up," what door is God opening for you?

Your journal

Write your own answers — they save automatically, and only you can see them.

Log in to write and save journal answers.

Apply (How does it apply to me?)

Personal notes (anything else about this chapter)