Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 24:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14And 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Jerusalem surrenders and Jehoiachin is exiled.”
In three months the king goes out, and the city is emptied of skill
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 24:8–17. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 24:8–17
Read 2 Kings 24:14 with 24:8–17. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Jehoiachin rules three months, Babylon besieges Jerusalem, he surrenders with the royal household, treasures and skilled people are deported, and Mattaniah is renamed Zedekiah.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Jerusalem surrenders and Jehoiachin is exiled,” 2 Kings 24:14 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: Jehoiakim's rebellion, raiders, and Babylonian dominance culminate in the 597 BCE siege, surrender, deportation, plunder, and Zedekiah's appointment.
Read 2 Kings 24:8–17 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 24:8–17 forms one scene or regnal notice: Jehoiachin rules three months, Babylon besieges Jerusalem, he surrenders with the royal household, treasures and skilled people are deported, and Mattaniah is renamed Zedekiah.
Verse 8. 8 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.
Verse 9. 9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.
Verse 10. 10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
Verse 11. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
Verse 12. 12 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.
Verse 13. 13 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.
Verse 14. 14 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.
Verse 15. 15 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.
Verse 16. 16 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.
Verse 17. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
Follow the Context
- Jehoiachin rules three months, Babylon besieges Jerusalem, he surrenders with the royal household, treasures and skilled people are deported, and Mattaniah is renamed Zedekiah.
- The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “Jerusalem surrenders and Jehoiachin is exiled” before the next narrated movement.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 24:14 does not permit the wording “And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The deportation inventory does not reduce exiles, women, workers, soldiers, disabled or poor people to assets, and surrender is not proof of cowardice.
What Remains True
Theological interpretation never makes imperial domination morally clean or turns displaced and subjected people into scenery for a ruler's story. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Jehoiachin rules three months, Babylon besieges Jerusalem, he surrenders with the royal household, treasures and skilled people are deported, and Mattaniah is renamed Zedekiah. In 2 Kings 24:14, the concrete line “And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 24:14's role in 24:8–17. Paraphrase “And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Kings 24:8–17 — Jerusalem surrenders and Jehoiachin is exiledSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The Babylonian Chronicle provides a 597 BCE external control, while biblical totals and social categories require comparison rather than forced numerical harmonization.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 24:8–17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 24:8–17
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 665–666, translation and translator notes for 24:8–17
Open source ↗