2 Kings 24:14

Verse

He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.

American Standard Version (1901)

And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

Bible in Basic English

And he took away all the people of Jerusalem and all the chiefs and all the men of war, ten thousand prisoners; and all the expert workmen and the metal-workers; only the poorest sort of the people of the land were not taken away.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the valiant men of the army, to the number of ten thousand into captivity: and every artificer and smith: and none were left, but the poor sort of the people of the land.

Free Bible Version

He deported all of Jerusalem, all the commanders and experienced soldiers, all the craftsmen and metalworkers, a total of ten thousand prisoners. Only the very poor people of the land were left.

Geneva Bible 1599

And he caryed away all Ierusalem, and all the princes, and all the strong men of warre, euen ten thousande into captiuitie, and all the workemen, and cunning men: so none remained sauing the poore people of the lande.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

Translation for Translators

They took from Jerusalem to Babylon 10,000 people, including the important officials and the best soldiers and the people who made and repaired things that were made of metal. Only the very poor people were left in Judah.

Unlocked Literal Bible

He took into exile all Jerusalem, all the leaders, and all the fighting men, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. No one was left except the poorest people in the land.

Noah Webster Bible

And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the artificers, and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

World English Bible

He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. No one remained except the poorest people of the land.

Young's Literal Translation

And he hath removed all Jerusalem, and all the chiefs, and all the mighty ones of valour — ten thousand [is] the removal — and every artificer and smith, none hath been left save the poor of the people of the land.

Context

The Captivity of Jerusalem

¹³As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD.¹⁴He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.

Summary

This verse describes how King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took captive King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, wives, officials, and craftsmen, leading to the exile of the people of Judah to Babylon. The Babylonians also took all the treasures from the temple of the Lord, fulfilling the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem due to the sins of the people. This event marked a significant turning point in the history of Judah, highlighting the consequences of disobedience to God's commands and the fulfillment of divine judgment.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

He carried away all Jerusalem - That is, all the chief men, the nobles, and artificers. Among these there were of mighty men seven thousand; of craftsmen and smiths, one thousand.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Beside these treasures, he carried away captive to Babylon the cream of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, not only the most affluent, but, as is evident from Jer 24:1-10, the best portion in a moral respect. In Kg2 24:14 the number of those who were carried off is simply given in a general form, according to its sum-total, as 10,000; and then in Kg2 24:15, Kg2 24:16 the details are more minutely specified. "All Jerusalem" is the whole of the population of Jerusalem, which is first of all divided into two leading classes, and then more precisely defined by the clause, "nothing was left except the common people," and reduced to the cream of the citizens. The king, queen-mother, and king's wives being passed over and mentioned for the first time in the special list in Kg2 24:15, there are noticed here כּל־השּׂרים and החיל גּבּורי כּל, who form the first of the leading classes. By the שׂרים are meant, according to Kg2 24:15, the סריסים, chamberlains, i.e., the officials of the king's court in general, and by הארץ אוּלי ("the mighty of the land") all the heads of the tribes and families of the nation that were found in Jerusalem; and under the last the priests and prophets, who were also carried away according to Jer 29:1, with Ezekiel among them (Eze 1:1), are included as the spiritual heads of the people. The החיל גּבּורי are called החיל אנשׁי in Kg2 24:16; their number was 7000. The persons intended are not warriors, but men of property, as in Kg2 15:20. The second class of those who ere carried away consisted of כּל־החרשׁ, all the workers in stone, metal, and wood, that is to say, masons, smiths, and carpenters; and המּסגּר, the locksmiths, including probably not actual locksmiths only, but makers of weapons also. There is no need for any serious refutation of the marvellous explanation given of מסגּר by Hitzig (on Jer 24:1), who derives it from מס and גּר, and supposes it to be an epithet applied to the remnant of the Canaanites, who had been made into tributary labourers, although it has been adopted by Thenius and Graf, who make them into artisans of the foreign socagers. עם־הארץ דּלּת = דלּת־הארץ (Kg2 25:12), the poor people of the land, i.e., the lower portion of the population of Jerusalem, from whom Nebuchadnezzar did not fear any rebellion, because they possessed nothing (Jer 39:10), i.e., neither property (money nor other possessions), nor strength and ability to organize a revolt. The antithesis to these formed by the מלחמה עשׂי מ גּבּורים, the strong or powerful men, who were in a condition to originate and carry on a war; for this category includes all who were carried away, not merely the thousand workmen, but also the seven thousand החיל אנשׁי, and the king's officers and the chiefs of the nation, whose number amounted to two thousand, since the total number of the exiles was then thousand. There is no special allusion to warriors or military, because in the struggle for the rescue of the capital and the kingdom from destruction every man who could bear arms performed military service, so that the distinction between warriors and non-warriors was swept away, and the actual warriors are swallowed up in the ten thousand. Babel is the country of Babylonia, or rather the Babylonian empire.

2 Kings 24:14

The Captivity of Jerusalem

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.

American Standard Version (1901)

Bible in Basic English

Douay-Rheims 1899

Free Bible Version

He deported all of Jerusalem, all the commanders and experienced soldiers, all the craftsmen and metalworkers, a total of ten thousand prisoners. Only the very poor people of the land were left.

Geneva Bible 1599

King James (Authorized) Version

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

He took into exile all Jerusalem, all the leaders, and all the fighting men, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. No one was left except the poorest people in the land.

Noah Webster Bible

World English Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

He carried away all Jerusalem - That is, all the chief men, the nobles, and artificers. Among these there were of mighty men seven thousand; of craftsmen and smiths, one thousand.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

2 Kings 24:14

Verse

Context

The Captivity of Jerusalem

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

2 Kings 24:14

The Captivity of Jerusalem

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes