8 Jehoiachin was eighteen e years old when he became king , and he reigned three months in Jerusalem ; and his mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem . 9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord , according to all that his father had done . 10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem , and the city came under siege . 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city , while his servants were besieging e it. 12 Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon , he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials . So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign . 13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord , 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 temple of the Lord , just as the Lord had said . 14 Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor , ten thousand captives , and all the craftsmen and the smiths . None remained except the poorest people of the land . 15 So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon ; also the king's mother and the king's wives and his officials and the leading men of the land , he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon . 16 All the men of valor , seven thousand , and the craftsmen and the smiths , one thousand , all strong and fit for war , and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon . 17 Then the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place , and changed his name to Zedekiah .
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one e years old when he became king , and he reigned eleven e years in Jerusalem ; and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah . 19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord , according to all that Jehoiakim had done . 20 For through the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence . And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 24:8-20
Commentary on 2 Kings 24:8-20
(Read 2 Kings 24:8-20)
Jehoiachin reigned but three months, yet long enough to show that he justly smarted for his fathers' sins, for he trod in their steps. His uncle was intrusted with the government. This Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Judah. Though the judgments of God upon the three kings before him might have warned him, he did that which was evil, like them. When those intrusted with the counsels of a nation act unwisely, and against their true interest, we ought to notice the displeasure of God in it. It is for the sins of a people that God hides from them the things that belong to the public peace. And in fulfilling the secret purposes of his justice, the Lord needs only leave men to the blindness of their own minds, or to the lusts of their own hearts. The gradual approach of Divine judgments affords sinners space for repentance, and believers leisure to prepare for meeting the calamity, while it shows the obstinacy of those who will not forsake their sins.