Nebuchadnezzar and Jehoiakim

In the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, a man named Nebuchadnezzar took the government of the Babylonians. At the same time he went up with a great army to the city of Carchemish, on the Euphrates, having resolved to fight Neco king of Egypt, under whom all Syria then was. When Neco learned the intention of the king of Babylon, and that this expedition was aimed at him, he did not make light of the attempt, but hurried to the Euphrates with a great force to defend himself against Nebuchadnezzar. When they joined battle, he was beaten and lost many tens of thousands in the battle. So the king of Babylon crossed the Euphrates and took all Syria as far as Pelusium, except Judea. But when Nebuchadnezzar had already reigned four years, which was the eighth year of Jehoiakim’s rule over the Hebrews, the king of Babylon marched with mighty forces against the Jews. He demanded tribute from Jehoiakim and threatened to make war on him if he refused. Jehoiakim was frightened at his threats, bought peace with money, and brought the tribute he was ordered to bring for three years. [a]

But in the third year, hearing that the Egyptians were marching against the king of Babylon, he did not pay his tribute. Yet he was disappointed in his hope, for the Egyptians did not dare to make the campaign. And indeed the prophet Jeremiah foretold every day how vainly they relied on their hopes from Egypt, and how the city would be overthrown by the king of Babylon and King Jehoiakim would be subdued by him. But what he said was of no use to them, because there were none who were to escape. For both the people and the rulers, when they heard him, paid no heed to what they heard; but displeased at what was said, as if the prophet were a soothsayer working against the king, they accused Jeremiah, brought him before the court, and demanded that sentence and punishment be passed on him. All the rest voted for his condemnation, but the elders refused. They wisely sent the prophet away from the court and persuaded the rest to do Jeremiah no harm. For they said that he was not the only one who had foretold what would come on the city, but that Micah had declared the same before him, as had many others; and none of them had suffered anything from the kings who reigned then, but they had been honored as prophets of God. With these words they calmed the people and delivered Jeremiah from the punishment to which he had been condemned. [c]

Now when this prophet had written down all his prophecies, and the people were fasting and assembled at the temple in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim, he read the book he had composed of his predictions of what was to happen to the city, the temple and the people. When the rulers heard of it, they took the book from him and told him and Baruch the scribe to get out of the way, so that no one would know where they were. But they took the book and gave it to the king, and he ordered his scribe, in the presence of his friends, to take it and read it. When the king heard what it contained, he was angry, tore it, and threw it into the fire, where it was burned up. He also ordered that they search for Jeremiah and Baruch the scribe and bring them to him to be punished. They escaped his anger, however.

A little time afterward the king of Babylon marched against Jehoiakim, and Jehoiakim received him into the city. He did this out of fear of this prophet’s predictions, supposing that he would suffer nothing terrible since he neither shut the gates nor fought against him. Yet when the king of Babylon had come into the city, he did not keep the agreements he had made. He killed the people of Jerusalem who were in the prime of life and those who excelled in good looks, together with their king Jehoiakim, whom he ordered to be thrown out in front of the walls without any burial. He made Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin king of the country and of the city. He also took the leading men in rank as captives, three thousand in number, and led them away to Babylon; among them was the prophet Ezekiel, who was then still young. This was the end of King Jehoiakim, when he had lived thirty-six years and reigned eleven of them. Jehoiachin succeeded him in the kingdom; his mother’s name was Nehushta, and she was a citizen of Jerusalem. He reigned three months and ten days. [f]