Judgment, Exile, and the Decree of Cyrus
2 Chronicles 36:15-23
2 C.36.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אבותיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מלאכיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- השכם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ושלוח: CONJ+INFABS,qal
- כי: CONJ
- חמל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- עמו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- מעונו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff3ms
Parallels
- Jeremiah 25:4 (verbal): Uses nearly identical wording: 'the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them' — a direct verbal parallel about God repeatedly sending messengers/prophets.
- Jeremiah 7:25 (verbal): 'From the days of your fathers... I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets' — same formula of God sending prophets repeatedly to warn the people, matching 2 Chr 36:15.
- Nehemiah 9:26-30 (allusion): Retells Israel's history of God sending prophets who were rejected and the ensuing judgment; thematically parallels the pattern and reason (God's compassion followed by the people's refusal) reflected in 2 Chr 36:15–16.
- Psalm 78:38 (thematic): Highlights God's compassion and repeated forbearance ('he was merciful... he forgave their iniquity'), echoing the motive in 2 Chr 36:15 that God sent messengers because he had compassion for his people and his dwelling place.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers—rising early and sending—because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling-place.
- The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers—early and often—because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.
2 C.36.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מלעבים: VERB,piel,ptcp,0,m,pl
- במלאכי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ובוזים: VERB,piel,ptcp,0,m,pl
- דבריו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3m
- ומתעתעים: VERB,hithpael,ptcp,0,m,pl
- בנבאיו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,prsfx:3,m,s
- עד: PREP
- עלות: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- חמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בעמו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss,3,m,sg
- עד: PREP
- לאין: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מרפא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 17:13-14 (verbal): God sent prophets and warnings to Israel and Judah but they would not listen—parallels the motif of rejecting God's messengers that leads to judgment and exile.
- Jeremiah 25:4-7 (thematic): Jeremiah recounts that God sent his servants the prophets continually and the people did not listen, provoking the LORD’s anger—same causal link between rejecting prophets and divine wrath.
- Nehemiah 9:26 (thematic): Summarizes Israel’s repeated disobedience: they opposed and killed God’s prophets, bringing God’s punishment—echoes the account of despising and mistreating messengers until wrath came.
- Jeremiah 7:25-26 (allusion): God declares that from Egypt onward he sent prophets repeatedly but they refused to listen and even 'rejected' them—directly parallels the chronic rejection of prophetic warnings described in 2 Chronicles 36:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people and there was no remedy.
- But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose up against his people and there was no remedy.
2 C.36.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- כשדים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ויהרג: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- בחוריהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- בחרב: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- מקדשם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- חמל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- בחור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובתולה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זקן: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- וישש: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בידו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 25:9-12 (verbal): Parallel historical account of the Chaldean destruction of Jerusalem: burning the temple, slaughter and carrying off the remnant — language and actions closely mirror Chronicles' report of the king of the Chaldeans.
- Jeremiah 52:12-13 (verbal): Jeremiah's parallel narration of Nebuchadnezzar's capture and devastation of Jerusalem and the temple; recounts the same Chaldean assault and aftermath found in Chronicles.
- Ezekiel 9:5-6 (thematic): Divine judgment executed by slaughter 'beginning at the sanctuary' and including old and young, maids and women — thematically echoes the cruel, indiscriminate killing 'in the house of their sanctuary'.
- Psalm 74:3-4 (thematic): Poetic lament over enemies invading and profaning God's sanctuary and violent assault on the worshiping community; thematically parallels the temple‑centered slaughter and desecration in Chronicles.
Alternative generated candidates
- So he brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slaughtered their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary; he showed no mercy to young man or virgin—old and gray alike—he gave them all into his hand.
- So he brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary; he showed no mercy to young man or young woman, neither to the old nor to the weak—he gave them all into his hand.
2 C.36.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- כלי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הגדלים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- והקטנים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- ואצרות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואצרות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ושריו: NOUN,m,pl,poss,3,m,sg
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- הביא: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- בבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 24:13 (verbal): Reports Nebuchadnezzar carrying away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king’s house and taking the vessels into Babylon—closely parallels the language and action in 2 Chr 36:18.
- 2 Kings 25:13-17 (structural): Gives a detailed account of the removal of the temple vessels and their being taken to Babylon and placed in the temple of the conqueror’s god, paralleling Chronicles’ report of the same spoils.
- Jeremiah 52:17-23 (quotation): Repeats the report of the temple vessels taken to Babylon, essentially echoing the historical details found in Kings and Chronicles.
- Ezra 1:7-11 (thematic): Describes Cyrus’s later return of the vessels taken to Babylon—theological and historical sequel to the removal described in 2 Chr 36:18.
Alternative generated candidates
- He carried off to Babylon all the vessels of the house of the LORD, great and small, and the treasuries of the house of the LORD, and the treasuries of the king and his officials.
- All the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and his princes—these he brought to Babylon.
2 C.36.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישרפו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וינתצו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- חומת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- ארמנותיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- שרפו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- כלי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- מחמדיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3fs
- להשחית: VERB,hif,inf
Parallels
- 2 Kings 25:9-17 (verbal): Near-verbatim parallel: Babylonian troops burn the house of the LORD, break down Jerusalem's walls, burn the palace complexes, and carry off/destroy the temple vessels.
- Jeremiah 52:13-16 (verbal): Parallel account repeating the burning of the temple, destruction of the city, and the removal/destruction of the sacred vessels by the Babylonians.
- Psalm 79:1-5 (thematic): A communal lament over foreign nations invading and defiling Jerusalem and God's sanctuary, leaving the city desolate and its people slaughtered—echoing the devastation in Chronicles 36:19.
- Lamentations 2:5-6 (allusion): Describes the LORD’s furious destruction of Jacob’s dwellings and the ruin of Judah’s strongholds and sanctuary—an interpretive/theological reflection on the same catastrophe.
- Nehemiah 1:3 (thematic): Early postexilic report: the remnant in the province distressed, Jerusalem’s wall broken down and its gates burned—focuses on the ruined city and its need for restoration after the destruction described in 2 Chronicles 36:19.
Alternative generated candidates
- They burned the house of the LORD, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels.
- They set fire to the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed every choice vessel.
2 C.36.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויגל: VERB,qal,wayyiq,3,m,sg
- השארית: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מן: PREP
- החרב: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- בבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ולבניו: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,constr,3ms
- לעבדים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עד: PREP
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- מלכות: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- פרס: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 24:14-16 (verbal): Narrative account of Judah's remnant being carried to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar—language and situation closely parallel the Chronicler's statement about the remnant going to Babylon.
- 2 Kings 25:11 (verbal): Explicit report that Nebuzaradan carried the remaining people into exile to Babylon, matching 2 Chronicles' summary of deportation and servitude.
- Jeremiah 25:11-12 (thematic): Prophetic declaration that the nations, including Judah, would serve the king of Babylon for seventy years—provides theological context for the exile 'until' the rise of another power.
- Ezra 1:1-2 (thematic): Opening of the Persian period with Cyrus's decree allowing the exiles to return; connects to Chronicles' remark that exile continued 'until the kingdom of Persia.'
- Isaiah 45:1 (allusion): Isaiah names Cyrus as the LORD's anointed who will subdue nations and enable restoration—links the end of Babylonian servitude to the rise of Persia.
Alternative generated candidates
- The remnant was carried away into Babylon by the sword; they became servants to him and to his sons until the reign of the king of Persia.
- The remnant that survived the sword were taken captive to Babylon; they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia.
2 C.36.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למלאות: VERB,qal,inf
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בפי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,construct
- ירמיהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- רצתה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- שבתותיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3f
- כל: DET
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- השמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- שבתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- למלאות: VERB,qal,inf
- שבעים: NUM,card,m,pl
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 25:11-12 (quotation): Jeremiah explicitly predicts that Jerusalem and Judah will serve Babylon for seventy years and then be punished/relieved — the seventy‑year exile referenced in 2 Chr 36:21 derives from this prophecy.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (quotation): God’s promise that after seventy years He will bring the people back; 2 Chr 36:21 cites the same seventy‑year time frame as the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s word.
- Leviticus 26:34-35 (verbal): The law declares the land will ‘enjoy its sabbaths’ while lying desolate as punishment; 2 Chr 36:21 applies this Levitical idea to the Babylonian desolation and the land keeping its sabbaths.
- Ezra 1:1 (quotation): The opening of Ezra says Cyrus’s decree and the end of exile fulfilled ‘the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah,’ echoing 2 Chr 36:21’s claim that Jeremiah’s prophecy about the seventy years was accomplished.
Alternative generated candidates
- This was to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah: until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths—while it lay desolate it kept sabbath—to fulfill seventy years.
- This fulfilled the word of the LORD by Jeremiah: until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
2 C.36.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובשנת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- לכורש: PREP
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- פרס: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לכלות: VERB,qal,inf
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בפי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,construct
- ירמיהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כורש: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- פרס: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ויעבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכותו: NOUN,f,sg,suff-3ms
- וגם: CONJ
- במכתב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Ezra 1:1-2 (quotation): Ezra preserves virtually the same wording about Cyrus's proclamation and explicitly links it to the fulfillment of the LORD's word spoken by Jeremiah (a near-verbatim parallel).
- Ezra 6:3-5 (verbal): Contains the archival confirmation of Cyrus's decree authorizing the rebuilding of the temple; repeats the administrative/epistolary material related to Cyrus's order described in 2 Chronicles 36:22–23.
- Isaiah 45:1 (allusion): God declares He will 'stir up' Cyrus and calls him His anointed, using similar language and the theological motif of God directing a foreign ruler to accomplish Israel's restoration.
- Isaiah 44:28 (allusion): Explicitly names Cyrus as the one who will say to Jerusalem 'You shall be built' and to the temple 'Be established,' anticipating the role attributed to Cyrus in 2 Chronicles 36:22–23.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (thematic): Predicts the end of the seventy-year exile and God's return of the people to their land; 2 Chronicles 36:22 frames Cyrus's proclamation as the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophetic timetable.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his whole realm and put it also in writing, saying:
- In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia; he issued a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it in writing, saying:
2 C.36.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כורש: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- פרס: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כל: DET
- ממלכות: NOUN,f,pl,cs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- פקד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לבנות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בירושלם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ביהודה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- בכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- מכל: PREP
- עמו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- עמו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ויעל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezra 1:1-4 (quotation): Nearly identical decree: Cyrus proclaims that the LORD has given him all kingdoms and issues a command allowing exiles to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple — Chronicles repeats this announcement.
- Isaiah 45:1 (verbal): God designates Cyrus as his 'anointed' and speaks of giving nations to him; presents Cyrus as God's chosen instrument, paralleling Chronicles' language that the LORD gave all kingdoms to him.
- Isaiah 44:28 (verbal): Explicit prophecy naming Cyrus and predicting he will rebuild Jerusalem and the temple — a prophetic precursor to the decree reported in Chronicles.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (thematic): Promises that after seventy years Babylonian exile the LORD will return his people to their land; Cyrus's edict in Chronicles functions as the historical fulfillment of this prophetic timetable.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you of all his people, whose God the LORD is with him, let him go up.”
- Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people—may the LORD his God be with him—let him go up.”
But the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers—early and sent again—because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling.
Yet they mocked the messengers of God, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD arose against his people and there was no remedy. So he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary; he showed no mercy—neither young nor maiden, neither old nor aged—and he gave all into his hand.
He carried to Babylon all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes.
They burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, set all its palaces on fire, and ruined all its precious vessels.
He deported the remnant—those left by the sword—to Babylon, where they became servants to him and to his descendants until the rule of the kingdom of Persia. Thus was fulfilled the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia; and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing: Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you of his people—may the LORD his God be with him; let him go up.”