Study Desk

Prepare yourselves by your families according to your divisions, as instructed by King David of Israel and his son Solomon.

From his own royal flocks and herds, Josiah supplied the people with 30,000 lambs and goats for the Passover sacrifice, as well as 3,000 cattle.

His officials also willingly contributed to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the leaders of God's temple, supplied 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 cattle.

Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the officials of the Levites, supplied the Levites with 5,000 Passover sacrifices and 500 cattle.

Archers shot King Josiah; the king ordered his servants, "Take me out of this chariot, for I am seriously wounded."

So his servants took him out of the chariot, put him in another chariot that he owned, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors; all the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned Josiah.

and his accomplishments, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem.

The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Necho seized his brother Jehoahaz and took him to Egypt.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God.

Nebuchadnezzar took some of the items in the Lord 's temple to Babylon and put them in his palace there.

The rest of the events of Jehoiakim's reign, including the horrible sins he committed and his shortcomings, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin replaced him as king.

At the beginning of the year King Nebuchadnezzar ordered him to be brought to Babylon, along with the valuable items in the Lord 's temple. In his place he made his relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord 's spokesman.

The Lord God of their ancestors continually warned them through his messengers, for he felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place.

But they mocked God's messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.

He carried away to Babylon all the items in God's temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord 's temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials.

He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power.

In the first year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the promise he delivered through Jeremiah, the Lord moved King Cyrus of Persia to issue a written decree throughout his kingdom.

It read: "This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord God of the heavens has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build for him a temple in Jerusalem in Judah. May the Lord your God energize you who belong to his people, so you may be able to go back there!"