1. The people of Judah chose Josiah’s son Jehoahaz. They made him king in Jerusalem in his father’s place.
2. Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months.
3. Then King Neco of Egypt made Jehoahaz no longer a king in Jerusalem. Neco made the people of Judah pay about 7,500 pounds of silver and about 75 pounds of gold.
4. The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim the king of Judah and Jerusalem. Then Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz to Egypt.
5. Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. He did what the Lord his God said was wrong.
6. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Judah. He captured Jehoiakim and put bronze chains on him. Then Nebuchadnezzar took him to Babylon.
7. Nebuchadnezzar took some of the things from the Temple of the Lord. And he took them to Babylon and put them in his own palace.
8. The other things Jehoiakim did as king are written down. The hated things he did and everything he was guilty of doing are recorded. They are in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
9. Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did what the Lord said was wrong.
10. In the spring King Nebuchadnezzar sent some servants to get Jehoiachin. They took him and some valuable treasures from the Temple of the Lord to Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah the king of Judah and Jerusalem.
11. Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king in Jerusalem for 11 years.
12. Zedekiah did what the Lord his God said was wrong. The prophet Jeremiah spoke messages from the Lord. But Zedekiah did not obey.
13. Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had forced Zedekiah to promise to be loyal to him. And Zedekiah had promised, using God’s name. But Zedekiah became stubborn. He refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel.
14. Also, all the leaders of the priests and the people of Judah became more wicked. They followed the evil example of the other nations. The Lord had made the Temple in Jerusalem holy. But the leaders made the Temple unholy.
15. The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn his people. He did this because he had pity for them and for his Temple.