בְּיָמָיו עָלָה נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וַיְהִי־לוֹ יְהוֹיָקִים עֶבֶד שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּמְרָד־בּוֹ

In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land of Judah, or the surrounding area; Yehoyakim became his vassal and remained under his control for a period of three years, but then he reneged and rebelled against him.

וַיְשַׁלַּח ה' בּוֹ אֶת־גְּדוּדֵי כַשְׂדִּים וְאֶת־גְּדוּדֵי אֲרָם וְאֵת גְּדוּדֵי מוֹאָב וְאֵת גְּדוּדֵי בְנֵי־עַמּוֹן וַיְשַׁלְּחֵם בִּיהוּדָה לְהַאֲבִידוֹ כִּדְבַר ה' אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּיַד עֲבָדָיו הַנְּבִיאִים

In the meantime, the Lord sent against him troops of Chaldeans, from the Babylonian army, and troops of Aram, and troops of Moav, and troops of the children of Amon; He sent them against Judah to eradicate it, in accordance with the word of the Lord that He spoke by means of His servants the prophets. Although there was no open warfare with the nations of the region, they repeatedly harassed the Kingdom of Judah.

אַךְ עַל־פִּי ה' הָיְתָה בִּיהוּדָה לְהָסִיר מֵעַל פָּנָיו בְּחַטֹּאת מְנַשֶּׁה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה

Indeed, it was by the word of the Lord that these people came up against Judah, to remove them from before Him for the sins of Menashe, in accordance with everything that he had done,

וְגַם דַּם־הַנָּקִי אֲשֶׁר שָׁפָךְ וַיְמַלֵּא אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם דָּם נָקִי וְלֹא־אָבָה ה' לִסְלֹחַ

and also the innocent blood that he, Menashe, had shed; he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was unwilling to forgive Judah for those sins. Consequently, by the time Yehoyakim reigned, there was no remedy for the Kingdom of Judah.

וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי יְהוֹיָקִים וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הֲלֹא־הֵם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה

The rest of the matters of Yehoyakim, and everything that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

וַיִּשְׁכַּב יְהוֹיָקִים עִם־אֲבֹתָיו וַיִּמְלֹךְ יְהוֹיָכִין בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו

Yehoyakim lay with his fathers, and Yehoyakhin his son became king in his place.

וְלֹא־הֹסִיף עוֹד מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם לָצֵאת מֵאַרְצוֹ כִּי־לָקַח מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל מִנַּחַל מִצְרַיִם עַד־נְהַר פְּרָת כֹּל אֲשֶׁר הָיְתָה לְמֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם

The king of Egypt did not continue to come out from his land. The hope of the residents of Judah that they could rely on the king of Egypt was baseless. The Egyptian empire was in terrible condition, for the king of Babylon had taken over, having conquered the area from the Ravine of Egypt to the Euphrates River, everything that had once been the king of Egypt’s.

בֶּן־שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה יְהוֹיָכִין בְּמָלְכוֹ וּשְׁלֹשָׁה חֳדָשִׁים מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ נְחֻשְׁתָּא בַת־אֶלְנָתָן מִירוּשָׁלִָם

Yehoyakhin was eighteen years old was when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnatan of Jerusalem.

וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי ה' כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה אָבִיו

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, like everything that his father had done. While he did not manage to do much as king, he displayed an indifference to the commandments of God.

בָּעֵת הַהִיא עָלוּ עַבְדֵי נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל יְרוּשָׁלִָם וַתָּבֹא הָעִיר בַּמָּצוֹר

At that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came upon Jerusalem in response to the revolt of Yehoyakim, Yehoyakhin’s father, and the city came under siege.

וַיָּבֹא נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל עַל־הָעִיר וַעֲבָדָיו צָרִים עָלֶיהָ

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city, and his servants were besieging it.

וַיֵּצֵא יְהוֹיָכִין מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה עַל מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל הוּא וְאִמּוֹ וַעֲבָדָיו וְשָׂרָיו וְסָרִיסָיו וַיִּקַּח אֹתוֹ מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל בִּשְׁנַת שְׁמֹנֶה לְמָלְכוֹ

Yehoyakhin king of Judah came out in submission to the king of Babylon; he, his mother, his servants, his officers, and his officials. The king of Babylon took him during the eighth year of his reign.

וַיּוֹצֵא מִשָּׁם אֶת־כָּל־אוֹצְרוֹת בֵּית ה' וְאוֹצְרוֹת בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיְקַצֵּץ אֶת־כָּל־כְּלֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה שְׁלֹמֹה מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהֵיכַל ה'כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר ה'

He, Nebuchadnezzar, removed from there all the treasures of the House of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s palace, and he stripped all the golden vessels that Solomon king of Israel had crafted in the Sanctuary of the Lord, as the Lord had spoken (20:17).

וְהִגְלָה אֶת־כָּל־יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֶת־כָּל־הַשָּׂרִים וְאֵת כָּל־גִּבּוֹרֵי הַחַיִל עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים גּוֹלֶה וכָל־הֶחָרָשׁ וְהַמַּסְגֵּר לֹא נִשְׁאַר זוּלַת דַּלַּת עַם־הָאָרֶץ

He exiled all of Jerusalem, all the princes, and all the mighty warriors, the army officers, ten thousand exiles, and also all the craftsmen and the smiths, to prevent the residents of Judah from fashioning weapons; no one remained in Judah except the poorest of the people of the land. The Babylonians did not generally take all the inhabitants of a place into exile, but only the upper classes. A focused exile of this kind was designed to break the spirit of those left behind and leave them too weak to rebel against the Babylonian authorities.

וַיֶּגֶל אֶת־יְהוֹיָכִין בָּבֶלָה וְאֶת־אֵם הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶת־נְשֵׁי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶת־סָרִיסָיו וְאֵת אֵילֵי הָאָרֶץ הוֹלִיךְ גּוֹלָה מִירוּשָׁלִַם בָּבֶלָה

He exiled Yehoyakhin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the notables, or the government ministers, of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

וְאֵת כָּל־אַנְשֵׁי הַחַיִל שִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים וְהֶחָרָשׁ וְהַמַּסְגֵּר אֶלֶף הַכֹּל גִּבּוֹרִים עֹשֵׂי מִלְחָמָה וַיְבִיאֵם מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל גּוֹלָה בָּבֶלָה

All the men of the army, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, a thousand, all of them mighty makers of war, the king of Babylon brought them into exile, to Babylon. Perhaps he brought them to Babylon because he thought that he could use them to his benefit in some way.

וַיַּמְלֵךְ מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל אֶת־מַתַּנְיָה דֹדוֹ תַּחְתָּיו וַיַּסֵּב אֶת־שְׁמוֹ צִדְקִיָּהוּ

The king of Babylon crowned Matanya, his, Yehoyakhin’s, uncle in his place. Matanya was another son of Yoshiyahu, a brother to Yeho’ahaz and Yehoyakim. And Nebuchadnezzar changed his, Matanya’s, name to Tzidkiyahu, apparently as an expression of control over him and to remind the new king of Judah that he must act justly [betzedek] toward his patron.

בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים וְאַחַת שָׁנָה צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְמָלְכוֹ וְאַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ חֲמוּטַל בַּת־יִרְמְיָהוּ מִלִּבְנָה

Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Yirmeyahu of Livna.

וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי ה' כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה יְהוֹיָקִים

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, like everything that Yehoyakim had done.

כִּי עַל־אַף ה' הָיְתָה בִירוּשָׁלִַם וּבִיהוּדָה עַד־הִשְׁלִכוֹ אֹתָם מֵעַל פָּנָיו וַיִּמְרֹד צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְּמֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל

It was due to the wrath of the Lord in Jerusalem and Judah, until He cast them, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah, from His presence, that God caused Tzidkiyahu to rely on Egyptian support and to feel overconfident, and he therefore rebelled against the king of Babylon.