Discovery Box2 Kings 18:1--25:30
Context18:1 In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah. 18:2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 1 His mother 2 was Abi, 3 the daughter of Zechariah. 18:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. 4 18:4 He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. 5 He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time 6 the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. 7 18:5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. 8 18:6 He was loyal to 9 the Lord and did not abandon him. 10 He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to 11 Moses. 18:7 The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. 12 He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. 13 18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress. 14
18:9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched 15 up against Samaria 16 and besieged it. 18:10 After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel Samaria was captured. 18:11 The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel 17 to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 18:12 This happened because they did not obey 18 the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. 19 They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. 20
18:13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 18:14 King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty. 21 If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” 22 So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents 23 of silver and thirty talents of gold. 18:15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver in 24 the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 18:16 At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the Lord’s temple and from the posts which he had plated 25 and gave them to the king of Assyria.
18:17 The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser 26 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 27 along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went 28 and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 29 18:18 They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them.
18:19 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 30 18:20 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 31 In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? 18:21 Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 18:22 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’ 18:23 Now make a deal 32 with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 18:24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 33 18:25 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March 34 up against this land and destroy it.’”’” 35
18:26 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, 36 for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect 37 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 18:27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 38 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” 39
18:28 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 40 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 18:29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! 41 18:30 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 18:31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. 42 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 18:32 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” 18:33 Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 43 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? 44 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria 45 from my power? 46 18:35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 47 18:36 The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
18:37 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn 48 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 19:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 49 clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 19:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 50 ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 51 and humiliation, 52 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 53 19:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. 54 When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 55 So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 56
19:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 19:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. 57 19:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 58 he will receive 59 a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 60 with a sword in his own land.”’”
19:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 61 19:9 The king 62 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. 63 He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 19:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over 64 to the king of Assyria.” 19:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. 65 Do you really think you will be rescued? 66 19:12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? 67 19:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, 68 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
19:14 Hezekiah took the letter 69 from the messengers and read it. 70 Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 19:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! 71 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky 72 and the earth. 19:16 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 73 19:17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 19:18 They have burned the gods of the nations, 74 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 75 19:19 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
19:20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. 76 19:21 This is what the Lord says about him: 77
“The virgin daughter Zion 78
despises you, she makes fun of you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 79
19:22 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted, 80
and looked so arrogantly? 81
At the Holy One of Israel! 82
19:23 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 83
‘With my many chariots 84
I climbed up the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars,
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions, 85
its thickest woods.
19:24 I dug wells and drank
water in foreign lands. 86
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
19:25 87 Certainly you must have heard! 88
Long ago I worked it out,
In ancient times I planned 89 it;
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 90
19:26 Their residents are powerless, 91
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field,
or green vegetation. 92
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 93
when it is scorched by the east wind. 94
19:27 I know where you live,
and everything you do. 95
19:28 Because you rage against me,
and the uproar you create has reached my ears; 96
I will put my hook in your nose, 97
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way
you came.”
19:29 98 This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: 99 This year you will eat what grows wild, 100 and next year 101 what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 102 19:30 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 103
19:31 For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the sovereign Lord 104 to his people 105 will accomplish this.
19:32 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. 106
He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, 107
nor will he build siege works against it.
19:33 He will go back the way he came.
He will not enter this city,” says the Lord.
19:34 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.’” 108
19:35 That very night the Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When they 109 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses. 110 19:36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 111 19:37 One day, 112 as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, 113 his sons 114 Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 115 They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
20:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. 116 The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 117 20:2 He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 20:3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you 118 faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, 119 and how I have carried out your will.” 120 Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. 121
20:4 Isaiah was still in the middle courtyard when the Lord told him, 122 20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow 123 you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 20:6 I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 124 20:7 Isaiah ordered, “Get a fig cake.” So they did as he ordered 125 and placed it on the ulcerated sore, and he recovered. 126
20:8 Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple the day after tomorrow?” 20:9 Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps?” 127 20:10 Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it 128 to go back ten steps.” 20:11 Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and the Lord 129 made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz. 130
20:12 At that time Merodach-Baladan 131 son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill. 20:13 Hezekiah welcomed 132 them and showed them his whole storehouse, with its silver, gold, spices, and high quality olive oil, as well as his armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. 133 20:14 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 20:15 Isaiah 134 asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything 135 in my treasuries.” 20:16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord, 20:17 ‘Look, a time is 136 coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 20:18 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father 137 will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 20:19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” 138 Then he added, 139 “At least there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.” 140
20:20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign and all his accomplishments, including how he built a pool and conduit to bring 141 water into the city, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 142 20:21 Hezekiah passed away 143 and his son Manasseh replaced him as king.
21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 144 His mother 145 was Hephzibah. 21:2 He did evil in the sight of 146 the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations 147 whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. 21:3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just like King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky 148 and worshiped 149 them. 21:4 He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.” 150 21:5 In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. 21:6 He passed his son 151 through the fire 152 and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it. 153 He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 154 21:7 He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home. 155 21:8 I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, 156 provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.” 21:9 But they did not obey, 157 and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites.
21:10 So the Lord announced through 158 his servants the prophets: 21:11 “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. 159 He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. 160 21:12 So this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it. 161 21:13 I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria 162 and the dynasty of Ahab. 163 I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. 164 21:14 I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people 165 and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies, 166 21:15 because they have done evil in my sight 167 and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’”
21:16 Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, 168 in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 169
21:17 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign and all his accomplishments, as well as the sinful acts he committed, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 170 21:18 Manasseh passed away 171 and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzzah, and his son Amon replaced him as king.
21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. 172 His mother 173 was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 21:20 He did evil in the sight of 174 the Lord, just like his father Manasseh had done. 21:21 He followed in the footsteps of his father 175 and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols 176 which his father had worshiped. 177 21:22 He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not follow the Lord’s instructions. 178 21:23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 21:24 The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they 179 made his son Josiah king in his place.
21:25 The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 180 21:26 He was buried 181 in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and his son Josiah replaced him as king.
22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 182 His mother 183 was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah, from Bozkath. 22:2 He did what the Lord approved 184 and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps; 185 he did not deviate to the right or the left.
22:3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these orders: 186 22:4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him melt down 187 the silver that has been brought by the people to the Lord’s temple and has been collected by the guards at the door. 22:5 Have them hand it over to the construction foremen 188 assigned to the Lord’s temple. They in turn should pay the temple workers to repair it, 189 22:6 including craftsmen, builders, and masons, and should buy wood and chiseled stone for the repair work. 190 22:7 Do not audit the foremen who disburse the silver, for they are honest.” 191
22:8 Hilkiah the high priest informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it. 22:9 Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, 192 “Your servants melted down the silver in the temple 193 and handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple.” 22:10 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king. 22:11 When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes. 22:12 The king ordered Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, 22:13 “Go, seek an oracle from 194 the Lord for me and the people – for all Judah. Find out about 195 the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us, 196 because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this scroll by doing all that it instructs us to do.” 197
22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shullam son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the supervisor of the wardrobe. 198 (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh 199 district.) They stated their business, 200 22:15 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me: 22:16 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which the king of Judah has read. 201 22:17 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices 202 to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. 203 My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’” 22:18 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard: 22:19 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit 204 and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. 205 You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord. 22:20 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. 206 You will not have to witness 207 all the disaster I will bring on this place.’”’” Then they reported back to the king.
23:1 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 208 23:2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud 209 all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple. 23:3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed 210 the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow 211 the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, 212 by carrying out the terms 213 of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant. 214
23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, 215 and the guards 216 to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of 217 Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. 218 The king 219 burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces 220 of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 221 23:5 He eliminated 222 the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices 223 on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices 224 to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.) 23:6 He removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. 225 He smashed it to dust and then threw the dust in the public graveyard. 226 23:7 He tore down the quarters 227 of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord’s temple, where women were weaving shrines 228 for Asherah.
23:8 He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined 229 the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. 230 He tore down the high place of the goat idols 231 situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate. 23:9 (Now the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened cakes among their fellow priests.) 232 23:10 The king 233 ruined Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that no one could pass his son or his daughter through the fire to Molech. 234 23:11 He removed from the entrance to the Lord’s temple the statues of horses 235 that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.) 236 He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god. 237 23:12 The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz’s upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He crushed them up 238 and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley. 23:13 The king ruined the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Destruction, 239 that King Solomon of Israel had built for the detestable Sidonian goddess Astarte, the detestable Moabite god Chemosh, and the horrible Ammonite god Milcom. 23:14 He smashed the sacred pillars to bits, cut down the Asherah pole, and filled those shrines 240 with human bones.
23:15 He also tore down the altar in Bethel 241 at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. 242 He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust; including the Asherah pole. 243 23:16 When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought; 244 he burned them on the altar and defiled it. This fulfilled the Lord’s announcement made by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. King Josiah 245 turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this. 246 23:17 He asked, “What is this grave marker I see?” The men from the city replied, “It’s the grave of the prophet 247 who came from Judah and foretold these very things you have done to the altar of Bethel.” 23:18 The king 248 said, “Leave it alone! No one must touch his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, as well as the bones of the Israelite prophet buried beside him. 249
23:19 Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the Lord. 250 He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel. 251 23:20 He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
23:21 The king ordered all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God, as prescribed in this scroll of the covenant.” 23:22 He issued this edict because 252 a Passover like this had not been observed since the days of the judges; it was neglected for the entire period of the kings of Israel and Judah. 253 23:23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, such a Passover of the Lord was observed in Jerusalem.
23:24 Josiah also got rid of 254 the ritual pits used to conjure up spirits, 255 the magicians, personal idols, disgusting images, 256 and all the detestable idols that had appeared in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. In this way he carried out the terms of the law 257 recorded on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s temple. 23:25 No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses. 258
23:26 Yet the Lord’s great anger against Judah did not subside; he was still infuriated by all the things Manasseh had done. 259 23:27 The Lord announced, “I will also spurn Judah, 260 just as I spurned Israel. I will reject this city that I chose – both Jerusalem and the temple, about which I said, “I will live there.” 261
23:28 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign and all his accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 262 23:29 During Josiah’s reign Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt marched toward 263 the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to fight him, but Necho 264 killed him at Megiddo 265 when he saw him. 23:30 His servants transported his dead body 266 from Megiddo in a chariot and brought it to Jerusalem, where they buried him in his tomb. The people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz, poured olive oil on his head, 267 and made him king in his father’s place.
23:31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 268 His mother 269 was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 23:32 He did evil in the sight of 270 the Lord as his ancestors had done. 271 23:33 Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him in Riblah in the land of Hamath and prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem. 272 He imposed on the land a special tax 273 of one hundred talents 274 of silver and a talent of gold. 23:34 Pharaoh Necho made Josiah’s son Eliakim king in Josiah’s place, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died. 275 23:35 Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh the required amount of silver and gold, but to meet Pharaoh’s demands Jehoiakim had to tax the land. He collected an assessed amount from each man among the people of the land in order to pay Pharaoh Necho. 276
23:36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. 277 His mother was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah. 23:37 He did evil in the sight of 278 the Lord as his ancestors had done.
24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, 279 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. 280 Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. 281 24:2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets. 282 24:3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins which Manasseh had committed. 283 24:4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them. 284
24:5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 285 24:6 He passed away 286 and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king. 24:7 The king of Egypt did not march out from his land again, for the king of Babylon conquered all the territory that the king of Egypt had formerly controlled between the Brook of Egypt and the Euphrates River.
24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 287 His mother 288 was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. 24:9 He did evil in the sight of 289 the Lord as his ancestors had done.
24:10 At that time the generals 290 of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched to Jerusalem and besieged the city. 291 24:11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his generals were besieging it. 24:12 King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered 292 to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, 293 took Jehoiachin 294 prisoner. 24:13 Nebuchadnezzar 295 took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned. 24:14 He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land. 24:15 He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land. 296 24:16 The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors. 297 24:17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s 298 uncle, king in Jehoiachin’s place. He renamed him Zedekiah.
24:18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. 299 His mother 300 was Hamutal, 301 the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 24:19 He did evil in the sight of 302 the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done. 303
24:20 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger; he finally threw them out of his presence. 304 Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 25:1 So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside 305 it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 306 25:2 The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 25:3 By the ninth day of the fourth month 307 the famine in the city was so severe the residents 308 had no food. 25:4 The enemy broke through the city walls, 309 and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. 310 They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. 311 (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 312 25:5 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, 313 and his entire army deserted him. 25:6 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, 314 where he 315 passed sentence on him. 25:7 Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. 316 The king of Babylon 317 then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.
25:8 On the seventh 318 day of the fifth month, 319 in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard 320 who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. 321 25:9 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 322 25:10 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 25:11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 323 25:12 But he 324 left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards.
25:13 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord’s temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the “The Sea.” 325 They took the bronze to Babylon. 25:14 They also took the pots, shovels, 326 trimming shears, 327 pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. 328 25:15 The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers 329 and basins. 25:16 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple – including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” 330 and the movable stands – was too heavy to be weighed. 25:17 Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feet 331 high. The bronze top of one pillar was about four and a half feet 332 high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.
25:18 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. 25:19 From the city he took a eunuch who was in charge of the soldiers, five 333 of the king’s advisers 334 who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens 335 for military service, and sixty citizens from the people of the land who were discovered in the city. 25:20 Nebuzaradan, captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 25:21 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed 336 at Riblah in the territory 337 of Hamath. So Judah was deported from its land.
25:22 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah. 338 25:23 All of the officers of the Judahite army 339 and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to govern. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite. 25:24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. 340 He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.” 25:25 But in the seventh month 341 Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, 342 came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah, 343 as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. 25:26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as the army officers, left for 344 Egypt, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians might do.
25:27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh 345 day of the twelfth month, 346 King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned 347 King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him 348 from prison. 25:28 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than 349 the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 25:29 Jehoiachin 350 took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 25:30 He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died. 351
[18:2] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:2] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[18:2] 3 tn The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”
[18:3] 1 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[18:4] 1 tn The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.
[18:4] 2 tn Heb “until those days.”
[18:4] 3 tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (nÿkhash hannÿkhoshet), “bronze serpent.”
[18:5] 1 tn Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”
[18:6] 2 tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”
[18:6] 3 tn Heb “had commanded.”
[18:7] 1 tn Heb “in all which he went out [to do], he was successful.”
[18:7] 2 tn Heb “and did not serve him.”
[18:8] 1 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:9.
[18:9] 1 tn Heb “went” (also in v. 13).
[18:9] 2 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:11] 1 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
[18:12] 1 tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
[18:12] 2 tn Heb “his covenant.”
[18:12] 3 tn Heb “all that Moses, the
[18:14] 1 tn Or “I have done wrong.”
[18:14] 2 tn Heb “Return from upon me; what you place upon me, I will carry.”
[18:14] 3 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 22,500 pounds of silver and 2,250 pounds of gold.
[18:15] 1 tn Heb “that was found.”
[18:16] 1 tn Heb “At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the
[18:17] 1 sn For a discussion of these titles see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
[18:17] 2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:17] 3 tn Heb “and they went up and came.”
[18:17] 4 tn Heb “the field of the washer.”
[18:19] 1 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
[18:20] 1 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
[18:23] 1 tn Heb “exchange pledges.”
[18:24] 1 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
[18:25] 2 sn In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
[18:26] 1 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empire.
[18:27] 1 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[18:27] 2 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
[18:28] 1 tn The Hebrew text also has, “and he spoke and said.”
[18:29] 1 tc The MT has “his hand,” but this is due to graphic confusion of vav (ו) and yod (י). The translation reads “my hand,” along with many medieval Hebrew
[18:31] 1 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
[18:33] 1 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations really rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the main verb. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[18:34] 1 tn The parallel passage in Isa 36:19 omits “Hena and Ivvah.” The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
[18:34] 2 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:34] 3 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 33, 35).
[18:35] 1 tn Heb “that the
[18:37] 1 sn As a sign of grief and mourning.
[19:2] 1 tn Heb “elders of the priests.”
[19:3] 1 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.”
[19:3] 2 tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.”
[19:3] 4 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
[19:4] 1 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
[19:4] 2 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the
[19:4] 3 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
[19:6] 1 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
[19:7] 1 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the
[19:7] 3 tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”
[19:8] 1 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
[19:9] 1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:9] 2 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”
[19:10] 1 tn Heb “will not be given.”
[19:11] 1 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
[19:11] 2 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
[19:12] 1 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
[19:13] 1 sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[19:14] 1 tc The MT has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular.
[19:14] 2 tc The MT has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix.
[19:15] 1 sn This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant.
[19:15] 2 tn Or “the heavens.”
[19:16] 1 tn Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[19:18] 1 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
[19:18] 2 tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”
[19:20] 1 tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”
[19:21] 1 tn Heb “this is the word which the
[19:21] 2 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
[19:21] 3 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
[19:22] 1 tn Heb “have you raised a voice.”
[19:22] 2 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?”
[19:22] 3 sn This divine title pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
[19:23] 1 tn The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew
[19:23] 2 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּרֶכֶב (bÿrekhev), but this must be dittographic (note the following רִכְבִּי [rikhbi], “my chariots”). The marginal reading (Qere) בְּרֹב (bÿrov), “with many,” is supported by many Hebrew
[19:23] 3 tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”
[19:24] 1 tn Heb “I dug and drank foreign waters.”
[19:25] 1 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
[19:25] 2 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
[19:25] 4 tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְּהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
[19:26] 1 tn Heb “short of hand.”
[19:26] 2 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
[19:26] 3 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
[19:26] 4 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah), “standing grain,” to קָדִים (qadim), “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isaa in Isa 37:27).
[19:27] 1 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The MT also has here, “and how you have raged against me.” However, this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line).
[19:28] 1 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךְ (sha’anankh), “your complacency,” is emended to שַׁאֲוַנְךְ (sha’avankh), “your uproar.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38.
[19:28] 2 sn The word picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
[19:29] 1 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 21-28) ends and the Lord again directly addresses Hezekiah and the people (see v. 20).
[19:29] 2 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot), “sign,” is a future confirmation of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
[19:29] 3 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
[19:29] 4 tn Heb “and in the second year.”
[19:29] 5 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 29b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity. See IBHS 572 §34.4.c.
[19:30] 1 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
[19:31] 1 tn Traditionally “the
[19:31] 2 tn Heb “the zeal of the
[19:32] 2 tn Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it.
[19:34] 1 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[19:35] 1 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
[19:35] 2 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies.”
[19:36] 1 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
[19:37] 1 sn The assassination probably took place in 681
[19:37] 2 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku.
[19:37] 3 tc Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew
[19:37] 4 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
[20:1] 1 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying.”
[20:1] 2 tn Heb “will not live.”
[20:3] 1 tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.
[20:3] 2 tn Heb “and with a complete heart.”
[20:3] 3 tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
[20:3] 4 tn Heb “wept with great weeping.”
[20:4] 1 tc Heb “and Isaiah had not gone out of the middle courtyard, and the word of the
[20:5] 1 tn Heb “on the third day.”
[20:6] 1 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[20:7] 1 tn Heb “and they got [a fig cake].”
[20:7] 2 tn Heb “and he lived.”
[20:9] 1 tn The Hebrew הָלַךְ (halakh, a perfect), “it has moved ahead,” should be emended to הֲיֵלֵךְ (hayelekh, an imperfect with interrogative he [ה] prefixed), “shall it move ahead.”
[20:10] 1 tn Heb “the shadow.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[20:11] 1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[20:11] 2 tn Heb “on the steps which [the sun] had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, back ten steps.”
[20:12] 1 tc The MT has “Berodach-Baladan,” but several Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:1 and read “Merodach-Baladan.”
[20:13] 1 tc Heb “listened to.” Some Hebrew
[20:13] 2 tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
[20:15] 1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:15] 2 tn Heb “there was nothing I did not show them.”
[20:18] 1 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
[20:19] 2 tn Heb “and he said.” Many English versions translate, “for he thought.” The verb אָמַר (’amar), “say,” is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself). Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT.
[20:19] 3 tn Heb “Is it not [true] there will be peace and stability in my days?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, there will be peace and stability.”
[20:20] 1 tn Heb “and he brought.”
[20:20] 2 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Hezekiah, and all his strength, and how he made a pool and a conduit and brought water to the city, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[20:21] 1 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[21:1] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:1] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[21:2] 1 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[21:2] 2 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
[21:3] 1 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:16.
[21:4] 1 tn Heb “In Jerusalem I will place my name.”
[21:6] 1 tc The LXX has the plural “his sons” here.
[21:6] 2 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.
[21:6] 3 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with conjurers.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov), “ritual pit,” refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַעֲלַת אוֹב (ba’alat ’ov), “owner of a ritual pit.” See H. Hoffner, “Second millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967), 385-401.
[21:6] 4 tc Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the
[21:7] 1 tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name perpetually (or perhaps “forever”).”
[21:8] 1 tn Heb “I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I gave to their fathers.”
[21:10] 1 tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
[21:11] 1 tn Heb “these horrible sins.”
[21:11] 2 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
[21:12] 1 tn Heb “so that everyone who hears it, his two ears will quiver.”
[21:13] 1 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[21:13] 2 tn Heb “I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab.” The measuring line and plumb line are normally used in building a structure, not tearing it down. But here they are used ironically as metaphors of judgment, emphasizing that he will give careful attention to the task of judgment.
[21:13] 3 tn Heb “just as one wipes a plate, wiping and turning [it] on its face.” The word picture emphasizes how thoroughly the Lord will judge the city.
[21:14] 1 tn Heb “the remnant of my inheritance.” In this context the Lord’s remnant is the tribe of Judah, which had been preserved when the Assyrians conquered and deported the northern tribes. See 17:18 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 269.
[21:14] 2 tn Heb “they will become plunder and spoils of war for all their enemies.”
[21:15] 1 tn Heb “in my eyes.”
[21:16] 1 tn Heb “and also Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem from mouth to mouth.”
[21:16] 2 tn Heb “apart from his sin which he caused Judah to commit, by doing what is evil in the eyes of the
[21:17] 1 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Manasseh, and all which he did, and his sin which he committed, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[21:18] 1 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[21:19] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:19] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[21:20] 1 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[21:21] 1 tn Heb “walked in all the way which his father walked.”
[21:21] 2 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
[21:21] 3 tn Heb “and he served the disgusting idols which his father served and he bowed down to them.”
[21:22] 1 tn Heb “and did not walk in the way of the
[21:24] 1 tn Heb “the people of the land.” The pronoun “they” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid the repetition of the phrase “the people of the land” from the beginning of the verse.
[21:25] 1 tc Heb “As for the rest of the things of Amon which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?” Many Hebrew
[21:26] 1 tn Heb “he buried him.” Here “he” probably refers to Amon’s son Josiah.
[22:1] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:1] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[22:2] 1 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[22:2] 2 tn Heb “and walked in all the way of David his father.”
[22:3] 1 tn Heb “with these orders, saying.”
[22:4] 1 tc The MT has וְיַתֵּם (vÿyattem), “and let them add up” (Hiphil of תָּמָם [tammam], “be complete”), but the appearance of הִתִּיכוּ (hitikhu), “they melted down” (Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh], “pour out”) in v. 9 suggests that the verb form should be emended to וְיַתֵּךְ (vÿyattekh), “and let him melt down” (a Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh]). For a discussion of this and other options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 281.
[22:5] 1 tn Heb “doers of the work.”
[22:5] 2 tn Heb “and let them give it to the doers of the work who are in the house of the
[22:6] 1 tn Heb “and to buy wood and chiseled stone to repair the house.”
[22:7] 1 tn Heb “only the silver that is given into their hand should not be reckoned with them, for in faithfulness they are acting.”
[22:9] 1 tn Heb “returned the king a word and said.”
[22:9] 2 tn Heb “that was found in the house.”
[22:13] 2 tn Heb “concerning.”
[22:13] 3 tn Heb “for great is the anger of the
[22:13] 4 tn Heb “by doing all that is written concerning us.” Perhaps עָלֵינוּ (’alenu), “concerning us,” should be altered to עָלָיו (’alav), “upon it,” in which case one could translate, “by doing all that is written in it.”
[22:14] 1 tn Heb “the keeper of the clothes.”
[22:14] 2 tn Or “second.” For a discussion of the possible location of this district, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 283.
[22:14] 3 tn Heb “and they spoke to her.”
[22:16] 1 tn Heb “all the words of the scroll which the king of Judah has read.”
[22:17] 1 tn Or “burned incense.”
[22:17] 2 tn Heb “angering me with all the work of their hands.” The translation assumes that this refers to idols they have manufactured (note the preceding reference to “other gods,” as well as 19:18). However, it is possible that this is a general reference to their sinful practices, in which case one might translate, “angering me by all the things they do.”
[22:19] 1 tn Heb “Because your heart was tender.”
[22:19] 2 tn Heb “how I said concerning this place and its residents to become [an object of] horror and [an example of] a curse.” The final phrase (“horror and a curse”) refers to Judah becoming a prime example of an accursed people. In curse formulations they would be held up as a prime example of divine judgment. For an example of such a curse, see Jer 29:22.
[22:20] 1 tn Heb “Therefore, look, I am gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your tomb in peace.”
[22:20] 2 tn Heb “your eyes will not see.”
[23:1] 1 tn Heb “and the king sent and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered to him.”
[23:2] 1 tn Heb “read in their ears.”
[23:3] 1 tn Heb “cut,” that is, “made, agreed to.”
[23:3] 5 tn Heb “stood in the covenant.”
[23:4] 1 tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.
[23:4] 4 tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).
[23:4] 5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:4] 6 tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.
[23:4] 7 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[23:5] 1 tn Perhaps, “destroyed.”
[23:5] 2 tn Or “burn incense.”
[23:5] 3 tn Or “burned incense.”
[23:6] 1 tn Heb “and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.”
[23:6] 2 tc Heb “on the grave of the sons of the people.” Some Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses read the plural “graves.”
[23:7] 1 tn Or “cubicles.” Heb “houses.”
[23:7] 2 tn Heb “houses.” Perhaps tent-shrines made from cloth are in view (see BDB 109 s.v. בַּיִת). M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 286) understand this as referring to clothes made for images of the goddess.
[23:8] 1 tn Heb “defiled; desecrated,” that is, “made ritually unclean and unusable.”
[23:8] 2 sn These towns marked Judah’s northern and southern borders, respectively, at the time of Josiah.
[23:8] 3 tc The Hebrew text reads “the high places of the gates,” which is problematic in that the rest of the verse speaks of a specific gate. The translation assumes an emendation to בָּמוֹת הַשְּׁעָרִים (bamot hashÿ’arim), “the high place of the goats” (that is, goat idols). Worship of such images is referred to in Lev 17:7 and 2 Chr 11:15. For a discussion of the textual issue, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 286-87.
[23:9] 1 tn Heb “their brothers.”
[23:10] 1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:10] 2 sn Attempts to identify this deity with a god known from the ancient Near East have not yet yielded a consensus. For brief discussions see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor II Kings (AB), 288 and HALOT 592 s.v. מֹלֶךְ. For more extensive studies see George C. Heider, The Cult of Molek, and John Day, Molech: A God of Human Sacrifice in the Old Testament.
[23:11] 1 tn The MT simply reads “the horses.” The words “statues of” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:11] 2 tn Heb “who/which was in the […?].” The meaning of the Hebrew term פַּרְוָרִים (parvarim), translated here “courtyards,” is uncertain. The relative clause may indicate where the room was located or explain who Nathan Melech was, “the eunuch who was in the courtyards.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 288-89, who translate “the officer of the precincts.”
[23:11] 3 tn Heb “and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire.”
[23:12] 1 tc The MT reads, “he ran from there,” which makes little if any sense in this context. Some prefer to emend the verbal form (Qal of רוּץ [ruts], “run”) to a Hiphil of רוּץ with third plural suffix and translate, “he quickly removed them” (see BDB 930 s.v. רוּץ, and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings [AB], 289). The suffix could have been lost in MT by haplography (note the mem [מ] that immediately follows the verb on the form מִשֳׁם, misham, “from there”). Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to emend the verb to a Piel of רָצַץ (ratsats), “crush,” with third plural suffix.
[23:13] 1 sn This is a derogatory name for the Mount of Olives, involving a wordplay between מָשְׁחָה (mashÿkhah), “anointing,” and מַשְׁחִית (mashÿkhit), “destruction.” See HALOT 644 s.v. מַשְׁחִית and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 289.
[23:14] 1 tn Heb “their places.”
[23:15] 1 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[23:15] 2 tn Heb “And also the altar that is in Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin, also that altar and the high place he tore down.” The more repetitive Hebrew text is emphatic.
[23:15] 3 tn Heb “he burned the high place, crushing to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole.” High places per se are never referred to as being burned elsewhere. בָּמָה (bamah) here stands by metonymy for the combustible items located on the high place. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 289.
[23:16] 1 tn Heb “and he sent and took the bones from the tombs.”
[23:16] 2 tn Heb “the king”; this has been specified as “King Josiah” in the translation for clarity (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
[23:16] 3 tc The MT is much shorter than this. It reads, “according to the word of the
[23:17] 1 tn Heb “man of God.”
[23:18] 1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:18] 2 tn Heb “and they left undisturbed his bones, the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.” If the phrase “the bones of the prophet” were appositional to “his bones,” one would expect the sentence to end “from Judah” (see v. 17). Apparently the “prophet” referred to in the second half of the verse is the old prophet from Bethel who buried the man of God from Judah in his own tomb and instructed his sons to bury his bones there as well (1 Kgs 13:30-31). One expects the text to read “from Bethel,” but “Samaria” (which was not even built at the time of the incident recorded in 1 Kgs 13) is probably an anachronistic reference to the northern kingdom in general. See the note at 1 Kgs 13:32 and the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 290.
[23:19] 1 tc Heb “which the kings of Israel had made, angering.” The object has been accidentally omitted in the MT. It appears in the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate versions.
[23:19] 2 tn Heb “and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel.”
[23:22] 1 tn The Hebrew text has simply “because.” The translation attempts to reflect more clearly the logical connection between the king’s order and the narrator’s observation. Another option is to interpret כִּי (ki) as asseverative and translate, “indeed.”
[23:22] 2 tn Heb “because there had not been observed [one] like this Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel and all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.”
[23:24] 1 tn Here בִּעֵר (bi’er) is not the well attested verb “burn,” but the less common homonym meaning “devastate, sweep away, remove.” See HALOT 146 s.v. בער.
[23:24] 2 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 21:6.
[23:24] 3 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
[23:24] 4 tn Heb “carrying out the words of the law.”
[23:25] 1 tn Heb “and like him there was not a king before him who returned to the
[23:26] 1 tn Heb “Yet the
[23:27] 1 tn Heb “Also Judah I will turn away from my face.”
[23:27] 2 tn Heb “My name will be there.”
[23:28] 1 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Josiah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[23:29] 1 tn Heb “went up to.” The idiom עַל…עָלָה (’alah …’al) can sometimes mean “go up against,” but here it refers to Necho’s attempt to aid the Assyrians in their struggle with the Babylonians.
[23:29] 2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Necho) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:29] 3 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[23:30] 2 tn Or “anointed him.”
[23:31] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[23:31] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[23:32] 1 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[23:32] 2 tn Heb “according to all which his fathers had done.”
[23:33] 1 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “when [he was] ruling in Jerusalem,” but the marginal reading (Qere), which has support from Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses, has “[preventing him] from ruling in Jerusalem.”
[23:33] 3 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “almost four tons of silver and about seventy-five pounds of gold.”
[23:34] 1 tn Heb “and he took Jehoahaz, and he came to Egypt and he died there.”
[23:35] 1 tn Heb “And the silver and the gold Jehoiakim gave to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the silver at the command of Pharaoh, [from] each according to his tax he collected the silver and the gold, from the people of the land, to give to Pharaoh Necho.”
[23:36] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[23:37] 1 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[24:1] 1 tn Heb “In his days.”
[24:1] 2 tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.
[24:1] 3 tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”
[24:2] 1 tn Heb “he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the
[24:3] 1 tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the
[24:4] 1 tn Heb “and also the blood of the innocent which he shed, and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the
[24:5] 1 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoiakim, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[24:6] 1 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[24:8] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:8] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[24:9] 1 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[24:10] 2 tn Heb “went up [to] Jerusalem and the city entered into siege.”
[24:12] 2 sn That is, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 597
[24:12] 3 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:13] 1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nebuchadnezzar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:15] 1 tn Heb “and he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the mighty of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
[24:16] 1 tn Heb “the entire [group], mighty men, doers of war.”
[24:18] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:18] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[24:18] 3 tc Some textual witnesses support the consonantal text (Kethib) in reading “Hamital.”
[24:19] 1 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[24:19] 2 tn Heb “according to all which Jehoiakim had done.”
[24:20] 1 tn Heb “Surely [or, ‘for’] because of the anger of the
[25:1] 2 sn This would have been Jan 15, 588
[25:3] 1 tn The MT has simply “of the month,” but the parallel passage in Jer 52:6 has “fourth month,” and this is followed by almost all English translations. The word “fourth,” however, is not actually present in the MT of 2 Kgs 25:3.
[25:3] 2 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
[25:4] 1 tn Heb “the city was breached.”
[25:4] 2 tn The Hebrew text is abrupt here: “And all the men of war by the night.” The translation attempts to capture the sense.
[25:4] 3 sn The king’s garden is mentioned again in Neh 3:15 in conjunction with the pool of Siloam and the stairs that go down from the city of David. This would have been in the southern part of the city near the Tyropean Valley which agrees with the reference to the “two walls” which were probably the walls on the eastern and western hills.
[25:4] 4 sn Heb “toward the Arabah.” The Arabah was the rift valley north and south of the Dead Sea. Here the intention was undoubtedly to escape across the Jordan to Moab or Ammon. It appears from Jer 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
[25:5] 1 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[25:6] 1 sn Riblah was a strategic town on the Orontes River in Syria. It was at a crossing of the major roads between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Pharaoh Necho had earlier received Jehoahaz there and put him in chains (2 Kgs 23:33) prior to taking him captive to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar had set up his base camp for conducting his campaigns against the Palestinian states there and was now sitting in judgment on prisoners brought to him.
[25:6] 2 tn The Hebrew text has the plural form of the verb, but the parallel passage in Jer 52:9 has the singular.
[25:7] 1 tn Heb “were killed before his eyes.”
[25:7] 2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:8] 1 tn The parallel account in Jer 52:12 has “tenth.”
[25:8] 2 sn The seventh day of the month would have been August 14, 586
[25:8] 3 tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371 s.v. טַבָּח 2, and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
[25:8] 4 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[25:9] 1 tn Heb “and every large house he burned down with fire.”
[25:11] 1 tc The MT has “the multitude.” But הֶהָמוֹן (hehamon) should probably be emended to הֶאָמוֹן (he’amon).
[25:12] 1 tn Heb “the captain of the royal guard.” However, the subject is clear from the preceding and contemporary English style would normally avoid repeating the proper name and title.
[25:13] 1 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
[25:14] 1 sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.
[25:14] 2 sn These were used to trim the wicks.
[25:14] 3 tn Heb “with which they served [or, ‘fulfilled their duty’].”
[25:15] 1 sn These held the embers used for the incense offerings.
[25:16] 1 tc The MT lacks “the twelve bronze bulls under ‘the Sea,’” but these words have probably been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. The scribe’s eye may have jumped from the וְהָ (vÿha-) on וְהַבָּקָר (vÿhabbaqar), “and the bulls,” to the וְהָ on וְהַמְּכֹנוֹת (vÿhammÿkhonot), “and the movable stands,” causing him to leave out the intervening words. See the parallel passage in Jer 52:20.
[25:17] 1 tn Heb “eighteen cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.
[25:17] 2 tn Heb “three cubits.” The parallel passage in Jer 52:22 has “five.”
[25:19] 1 tn The parallel passage in Jer 52:25 has “seven.”
[25:19] 2 tn Heb “five seers of the king’s face.”
[25:19] 3 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
[25:21] 1 tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”
[25:22] 1 tn Heb “And the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left, he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan.”
[25:23] 1 tn Heb “of the army.” The word “Judahite” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[25:24] 1 tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[25:25] 1 sn It is not altogether clear whether this is in the same year that Jerusalem fell or not. The wall was breached in the fourth month (= early July; Jer 39:2) and Nebuzaradan came and burned the palace, the temple, and many of the houses and tore down the wall in the fifth month (= early August; Jer 52:12). That would have left time between the fifth month and the seventh month (October) to gather in the harvest of grapes, dates and figs, and olives (Jer 40:12). However, many commentators feel that too much activity takes place in too short a time for this to have been in the same year and posit that it happened the following year or even five years later when a further deportation took place, possibly in retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah (Jer 52:30). The assassination of Gedaliah had momentous consequences and was commemorated in one of the post exilic fast days lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (Zech 8:19).
[25:25] 2 tn Heb “[was] from the seed of the kingdom.”
[25:25] 3 tn Heb “and they struck down Gedaliah and he died.”
[25:26] 1 tn Heb “arose and went to.”
[25:27] 1 sn The parallel account in Jer 52:31 has “twenty-fifth.”
[25:27] 2 sn The twenty-seventh day would be March 22, 561
[25:27] 3 tn Heb “lifted up the head of.”
[25:27] 4 tn The words “released him” are supplied in the translation on the basis of Jer 52:31.
[25:28] 1 tn Heb “made his throne above the throne of.”
[25:29] 1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:30] 1 tc The words “until the day he died” do not appear in the MT, but they are included in the parallel passage in Jer 52:34. Probably they have been accidentally omitted by homoioteleuton. A scribe’s eye jumped from the final vav (ו) on בְּיוֹמוֹ (bÿyomo), “in his day,” to the final vav (ו) on מוֹתוֹ (moto), “his death,” leaving out the intervening words.
