Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Kings
Chapter 24: Which the LORD Would Not Pardon
The judgment so long foretold begins to fall. Babylon rises, Egypt retreats, and Judah's kings become pawns of empire. Jehoiakim rebels and dies; his son Jehoiachin surrenders after three months and is carried to Babylon with the treasures of the temple and ten thousand captives. Zedekiah is set up as a vassal king who will also do evil. Behind it all, the text says plainly, is the anger of the LORD against the sins of Manasseh and the innocent blood that filled Jerusalem.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Kings chapter 24. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Jehoiakim's Rebellion and Death (2 Kings 24:1-7)
Babylon subdues Judah, and the LORD sends raiders to destroy it for the sins of Manasseh.
For the Sins of Manasseh
"In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt."
Word Study
"which the LORD would not pardon," Hebrew lo' abah salach (לֹא אָבָה סְלֹחַ), He was not willing to forgive. The verb salach (to pardon, forgive) is used throughout the Old Testament almost exclusively of God, for pardon is His prerogative alone. The sobering phrase here is not that God could not forgive, but that in this case He "would not" — lo' abah, He was not willing — because the measure of Judah's guilt, filled up especially in Manasseh's shedding of "innocent blood," had reached the point of settled judgment. This does not contradict God's mercy; the same God had shown Manasseh himself mercy when he humbled himself (2 Chronicles 33:12-13). But the nation as a whole had passed the point where reprieve would come, and the sentence long deferred now stood. Note that even the raiding "bands" that harass Judah come "according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets" and "at the commandment of the LORD." Babylon, Syria, Moab, and Ammon think they act for their own ends, but they are instruments in the hand of the sovereign God executing the very judgment His prophets foretold. The fall of Judah is not the failure of God's plan; it is the fulfillment of His word.
Explanation
During Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded and forced Judah into vassalage. Jehoiakim served him three years, then rebelled. In response, the LORD sent bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites against Judah, exactly as the prophets had warned. The text states plainly that this disaster came at the LORD's command, to remove Judah from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh, especially the innocent blood he had shed, guilt the LORD would no longer pardon. Jehoiakim died and was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin. Egypt, once Judah's patron, was now powerless, for Babylon had seized all its former territory from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates. The world order had shifted, and Judah was caught in Babylon's grip.
Gospel Focus
"The sins of Manasseh... innocent blood... which the LORD would not pardon" is one of the most solemn lines in Scripture. It warns us that sin, long indulged and never repented of, hardens into judgment; there is a point at which a nation, or a soul, has filled up the measure of its guilt (Genesis 15:16; Matthew 23:32). God is longsuffering, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9), yet His patience is not endless license. The day of grace can close. And yet the gospel shines even against this dark backdrop: the very sin God "would not pardon" in judgment on the nation is the kind of sin He does pardon in Christ. Manasseh himself, the chief of Judah's sinners, found mercy when he humbled himself. The blood of Jesus, the innocent blood of the Son of God shed for the guilty, is the one blood that answers all the innocent blood ever shed, and "cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). The lesson is urgency: do not presume upon grace or defer repentance, for now is the accepted time (2 Corinthians 6:2). Come to the blood that pardons while the door of mercy stands open.
Jehoiachin Carried to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-16)
The young king surrenders, and the treasures of the temple and the flower of the nation are carried into exile.
He Carried Away All Jerusalem
"Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon."
Word Study
"as the LORD had said," Hebrew ka'asher dibber YHWH (כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה), according to what the LORD had spoken. The stripping of the temple's gold vessels — the very vessels "which Solomon king of Israel had made" for the house of the LORD — is marked by the writer as a fulfillment: it happened "as the LORD had said." This looks back to Isaiah's word to Hezekiah after he proudly displayed his treasures to the Babylonian envoys: "all that is in thine house... shall be carried into Babylon" (2 Kings 20:17). What Hezekiah showed off in pride, Nebuchadnezzar now carries off in judgment. The word galah (גָּלָה), to carry away captive, to go into exile, drums through this passage: "he carried away all Jerusalem," "he carried away Jehoiachin," "carried he into captivity." This is the first great deportation (597 BC), which took the young king, the queen mother, the nobility, the warriors, and the skilled craftsmen — "all that were strong and apt for war" — leaving only "the poorest sort of the people." Among these ten thousand captives was Ezekiel the priest, who would prophesy by the river Chebar, and this exile sets the stage for Daniel's companions and the whole ministry of the prophets of the captivity. God's word, spoken in warning generations before, comes to pass to the letter.
Explanation
Jehoiachin became king at eighteen and reigned only three months, doing evil like his father. During his brief reign, Nebuchadnezzar's forces besieged Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin surrendered, going out to the king of Babylon with his mother, servants, and officials. Nebuchadnezzar took him captive and plundered the temple and palace, cutting up the gold vessels Solomon had made, just as the LORD had foretold to Hezekiah. He deported ten thousand captives — the princes, the mighty men of valour, the craftsmen and smiths, seven thousand soldiers and a thousand skilled workers — everyone of standing or ability, leaving only the poorest people in the land. Jehoiachin himself, the royal family, and the leading men were all carried away to Babylon. In this first great deportation, Judah was gutted of its leadership and strength.
Gospel Focus
The stripping of the temple and the carrying away of its people seems like the triumph of Babylon over the God of Israel, but it is nothing of the kind. It is God keeping His word, exercising His discipline upon His own people. And even in this deepest humiliation, grace is at work. Among the exiles God planted the seed of a purified remnant; from this captivity would come Ezekiel's visions, Daniel's testimony in a pagan court, and, in time, the return under Zerubbabel and Ezra. God does not abandon His people in exile; He goes with them. "Yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come" (Ezekiel 11:16), He promised the captives. The vessels of the earthly temple could be carried off, but the true dwelling of God is not made with hands, and no empire can plunder it. This points forward to the gospel truth that God's presence is not confined to a building or a land; in Christ, God tabernacles among us (John 1:14), and by His Spirit believers themselves become the temple of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16). Babylon could take Judah's gold, but it could not take Judah's God. Even in judgment, He was carrying His people toward mercy, keeping alive the line and the promise that would one day bring forth the Christ.
Zedekiah Set Up to Fall (2 Kings 24:17-20)
Babylon installs a puppet king, and through the anger of the LORD Judah is cast out of His presence.
Through the Anger of the LORD
"And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon."
Word Study
"through the anger of the LORD," Hebrew al aph YHWH (עַל־אַף יְהוָה), because of the anger of the LORD. The word aph (אַף) literally means "nose" or "nostril," and by extension the flaring of the nostrils in anger — a vivid picture of the settled, righteous wrath of God against persistent sin. The writer draws back the curtain on the political events to show the divine cause: Zedekiah's evil reign and his ill-fated rebellion "came to pass... through the anger of the LORD," whose purpose was to cast Judah "out from his presence" (mippanav, from His face). Note that Babylon renames Mattaniah "Zedekiah" (which means "the LORD is my righteousness" or "the LORD is righteous") — an ironic name for the king in whose days the LORD's righteous judgment falls in full. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah, uncle to the deported Jehoiachin, set on the throne as Nebuchadnezzar's vassal. His rebellion against Babylon, humanly a reckless political gamble, is here shown as the outworking of God's judicial anger bringing the nation to its end. The same LORD who had brought Israel into His presence at the temple now casts them out of it — the most terrible reversal a covenant people can know.
Explanation
Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah as king, renaming him Zedekiah, to rule as a Babylonian vassal. Zedekiah was twenty-one when he began his eleven-year reign, and like Jehoiakim he did evil in the LORD's sight. The narrator interprets what followed: it was because of the LORD's anger against Jerusalem and Judah, and His determination to cast them out of His presence, that events unfolded as they did, culminating in Zedekiah's rebellion against Babylon. That rebellion would bring the final catastrophe described in the next chapter. Judah's last king, set up by a foreign power and given a name meaning "the LORD is righteous," would preside over the vindication of God's righteousness in the fall of Jerusalem.
Gospel Focus
To be "cast out from his presence" is the essence of judgment, for the presence of God is the source of all life, light, and blessing. This is what sin does: it separates from God (Isaiah 59:2), and unrepented, it ends in being cast out. Adam was driven from the garden, Israel from the land, and the finally impenitent will hear, "Depart from me" (Matthew 7:23). Yet the whole gospel is God's answer to this exile. The name forced on the last king, "the LORD is our righteousness," is precisely the name Jeremiah gives to the coming Messiah: "this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6). Where Zedekiah was a righteous name over an unrighteous king, Jesus is the righteousness of God Himself made flesh, the one LORD come to save. He bore our casting out — "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" — that we might be brought near. The exile from God's presence, which sin earned, He endured on the cross so that in Him we are "made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). Judah's tragedy of being cast out becomes the dark frame around the gospel's glory: the LORD our righteousness came to bring the outcast home.
Chapter in Review
Second Kings 24 records the beginning of the end for Judah. Babylon rises to dominance, Egypt is swept aside, and Judah's kings become vassals and pawns. Jehoiakim rebels and dies, and the LORD sends raiding bands against Judah, the text stating flatly that this came at His command for the sins of Manasseh and the innocent blood that filled Jerusalem, guilt He would not pardon. Jehoiachin reigns only three months before surrendering; Nebuchadnezzar strips the temple of Solomon's gold vessels, exactly as foretold to Hezekiah, and carries away ten thousand captives, the whole leadership and strength of the nation, leaving only the poorest behind. Babylon then sets up Zedekiah as a puppet king, whose evil and eventual rebellion, "through the anger of the LORD," will bring the final ruin. Through it all the chapter insists that these are not mere political events but the outworking of God's righteous judgment and the fulfillment of His prophetic word, even as it preserves the frame in which the gospel of the LORD our righteousness will shine.
Key Takeaways
- Sin, long indulged, hardens into judgment. The blood Manasseh shed was guilt "the LORD would not pardon"; the day of grace can close, so do not defer repentance.
- God rules the empires. Babylon's raids and conquests came "according to the word of the LORD"; the nations are instruments in His hand.
- God's word comes to pass to the letter. The temple vessels went to Babylon "as the LORD had said" through Isaiah a century before.
- God goes with His people into exile. From the captives came Ezekiel, Daniel, and the returning remnant; His presence is not confined to a place.
- The LORD our righteousness redeems the outcast. The name forced on Zedekiah names the Messiah, who bore our casting out to bring us near.
Questions for Reflection
- Are you presuming upon God's patience, treating His longsuffering as permission to delay repentance?
- Do you see the hand of the sovereign God behind the rise and fall of nations and rulers in your own day?
- How does the exact fulfillment of the word to Hezekiah strengthen your trust in all of Scripture?
- When you face a "Babylon" that seems to strip everything away, do you know that God goes with His people?
- Have you come to Christ, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, who bore your casting out to bring you into God's presence?
References
- Scripture: 2 Kings 24:1-20, King James Version.
- Cross-references: Genesis 15:16; 2 Kings 20:17; 21:16; 2 Chronicles 33:12-13; 36:5-10; Isaiah 59:2; Jeremiah 23:6; 25:9; Ezekiel 11:16; Matthew 7:23; 23:32; John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Ephesians 2:13; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 1:7.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for salach, galah, and aph; historical background of Nebuchadnezzar, the 597 BC deportation, and the vassalage of Judah.