2 Chronicles 36:10, commentary and pictures

When the year expired Nebuchadnezzar came again to Jerusalem after Jehoiachin's brief three-month reign, carried him to Babylon with the costly vessels of the house of the Lord, and set his uncle Mattaniah on the throne under the name Zedekiah. The carrying away took the royal family and court with the wealthy, the skilled workmen and much treasure, leaving only the poorest in the land, and Ezekiel went among those captives. It was the second plundering of the sanctuary after the first taking in the third year of Jehoiakim in B.C. 606 when Daniel and his companions were removed, followed by the final destruction in B.C. 586, from which first captivity the seventy years run to the first year of Cyrus in B.C. 536. Judah was thus conquered and exiled for turning from God to idolatry and wickedness under its last kings, chiefly for Sabbath transgression that denied allegiance to Jehovah as Creator and Sanctifier. To seize vessels dedicated to the service of God was to rob God, which is not mere injustice toward man but sacrilege and treason against the King.

Judah Taken to Babylon

After Jehoiachin had reigned three months, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Jerusalem when the year was expired and took him to Babylon with the goodly vessels of the house of the Lord. He suspected Jehoiachin's loyalty, deposed him, and set Mattaniah — Jehoiachin's uncle — on the throne over Judah and Jerusalem under the name Zedekiah. This was a stage in Judah's subjection to Babylon after Josiah's reign and the beginning of Israel's scattering through disobedience, though its completion extended to Jerusalem's later destruction.

The deportation carried away the royal family and the court with many people and much treasure, including wealthy people and skilled artisans, and left only the poorest people in the land. It was the second captivity, in which Ezekiel and many others were taken captive.

It belongs to a succession of rebellions and Babylonian campaigns, for Jehoiachin rebelled and was deported with his court and many people, and Zedekiah whom Nebuchadnezzar placed on the throne later rebelled, leading to Jerusalem's siege and destruction. The siege and invasion are documented in 2 Chronicles 36 even though 2 Kings 24:1 does not use the word siege, since that verse plainly identifies Nebuchadnezzar's coming against Jehoiakim and Jehoiakim's submission and rebellion.

Jehoiachin's removal to Babylon and Zedekiah's rise stand within Judah's rapid final decline, which ran through Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. That decline ended with Jerusalem laid waste and the holy house burned in 586 B.C.

Captivity Dates and Prophecy

At the first captivity in the third year of Jehoiakim only part of the vessels of God's house was taken to Babylon, during the earlier capture of Jerusalem that removed leading people including Daniel and his companions. The taking described here continues that plunder in a second invasion, and Jerusalem was taken twice subsequently, when the last of the treasures were taken. That second invasion followed Jehoiachin's evil conduct and occurred in 599 B.C.

This taking is the second stage of God forsaking the sanctuary at Jerusalem, after the first taking under Jehoiakim in B.C. 606 and before the final destruction under Zedekiah. Jehoiachin's conduct as son of Jehoiakim brought Nebuchadnezzar up again against Jerusalem in about B.C. 599, when he further ravaged the house of the Lord and its goodly vessels. The second captivity is dated in B.C. 598, when Ezekiel and many others were taken captive with much treasure.

The third captivity and final destruction, with the taking of many to Babylon and the complete destruction of Jerusalem, is dated in B.C. 586. That final decline ending under Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah is distinct from the first great captivity in B.C. 606 that began the seventy years' captivity. The carrying away into Babylon from which Matthew counts to Christ is dated from that first captivity in B.C. 606, which was 602 years before Christ's birth four years before the common era. By another reckoning Jerusalem was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 606 B.C. and the people were removed to Babylon by 588 B.C., when Jerusalem was taken and the last of the treasures were taken.

The seventy years of captivity run from the first captivity in B.C. 606, when Daniel and his companions were taken, to B.C. 536, the first year of Cyrus in his rule over all Medo-Persia including Babylon. After the captivity the people were allowed to return, but the Jews never again became an independent nation, remaining subject to successive empires until Rome destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The subjection of Judah after Josiah's reign, when Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon, the temple vessels carried away, and Zedekiah made king, is used to date the end of the Jewish years of release and jubilees to 607 B.C.; thereafter the people and land could not be redeemed, and the land lay desolate while the people were in enemy territory. The deportation began Israel's scattering and fulfilled the warning that disobedience to God's commandments would bring national calamity and exile, though its completion may have extended to Jerusalem's later destruction by the Romans.

Sin Judgment and Lessons

2 Chronicles 36:10 belongs to the account of Judah's failure to obey God and the punishment that followed, when the people were taken into exile and captivity in Babylon. It records a stage in that defeat, when Nebuchadnezzar took the king and the temple's valuable vessels to Babylon and set Zedekiah as king. The history of the chapter is bound up with the people's turning from God, neglecting His Sabbath, and falling into idolatry, and their unfaithfulness led to Jerusalem's destruction and exile. It belongs to the account of Judah's final kings and the consequences of their wickedness, when Jerusalem was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 606 B.C. and the people were removed to Babylon by 588 B.C. After the seventy-year captivity they were allowed to return, but the Jews never again became an independent nation, remaining subject to successive empires until Rome destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

The overthrow and Babylonian captivity resulted chiefly from Sabbath transgression. The Sabbath marked Israel's allegiance to Jehovah as Creator and Sanctifier, in contrast to the Babylonians' worship of another god, and keeping it was associated with remembering the Lord. The verse is part of the historical record of Judah's kings and the events shaping the chosen people's destiny. Such history provides the setting for Scripture's events and carries spiritual lessons within God's revelation, which culminates in Christ.

By carrying away the vessels of the sanctuary to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar robbed God. To steal from a man is injustice, but to steal from God is sacrilege and treason against the King. His act added profaneness to violence by breaking into the temple and taking things dedicated to the service of the Deity. It stands among the open crimes charged with robbing God, yet that charge falls not only on notorious criminals like him but on common people in their own houses and in the house of God.