2 Chronicles 36 13

2 Chronicles 36:13 kjv

And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.

2 Chronicles 36:13 nkjv

And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel.

2 Chronicles 36:13 niv

He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God's name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel.

2 Chronicles 36:13 esv

He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.

2 Chronicles 36:13 nlt

He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God's name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the LORD, the God of Israel.

2 Chronicles 36 verses

2 Chronicles 36 13 Meaning

2 Chronicles 36:13 details King Zedekiah's profound rebellion, highlighting its multi-faceted nature. It states that Zedekiah not only rebelled politically against his Babylonian overlord, King Nebuchadnezzar, but also committed a grave spiritual transgression by breaking a solemn oath made in God's name. This act of defiance was compounded by his obstinate spiritual hardening – he became stubbornly resistant and refused to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel, despite clear divine warnings and the evident signs of impending judgment. His actions thus epitomize a rejection of both human authority and divine covenant, leading directly to Judah's downfall.

2 Chronicles 36 13 Context

2 Chronicles 36 marks the final, tragic chapter of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, recounting the reigns of its last four kings leading to the Babylonian exile. The overall narrative portrays a downward spiral of increasing idolatry, disobedience, and rejection of God's repeated warnings through His prophets. Zedekiah is the last in this line, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar as a vassal king after his predecessor, Jehoiachin, was taken into captivity. Verse 13 specifically highlights Zedekiah's personal culpability in the kingdom's ultimate demise. It underscores his deliberate defiance not only against his human overlord, thereby inviting political retribution, but, more significantly, against the very covenant and commands of the Lord God. His stubbornness sealed the fate of Jerusalem and its people, serving as the immediate catalyst for the temple's destruction and the nation's seventy-year exile to Babylon.

2 Chronicles 36 13 Word analysis

• Also: Connects Zedekiah's actions in verse 13 with the description of his wickedness and refusal to humble himself in verse 12. It emphasizes continuity in his rebellion.
• rebelled: (Hebrew: מָרַד, marad) Signifies active defiance, both politically (against a suzerain) and spiritually (against God). This word denotes a breaking away from authority or obligation, a mutiny. Its use here points to a deliberate choice, not merely an accidental deviation.
• King Zedekiah: The last king of Judah, installed as a puppet ruler by Nebuchadnezzar. His rebellion signifies the end of Judah's monarchy.
• against King Nebuchadnezzar: The specific target of Zedekiah's political rebellion. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the neo-Babylonian Empire, the dominant power of the time, to whom Zedekiah owed fealty.
• who had made him swear: (Hebrew: הִשְׁבִּיעַ, hishbi'a) Indicates a solemn covenant or oath imposed by Nebuchadnezzar on Zedekiah. In the ancient Near East, such oaths of vassalage were incredibly binding, often invoking deities. Breaking them was considered a grave act with severe consequences.
• by God: This is the crucial point of the spiritual transgression. Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king, ironically used the name of Israel's God, Yahweh, in the oath. By breaking this oath, Zedekiah was not merely defaulting on a human promise but directly profaning the name of the Lord. This demonstrates that Zedekiah’s treachery against Nebuchadnezzar was, in essence, an act against God himself. This divine endorsement made the oath unbreakable in biblical understanding.
• but he stiffened his neck: (Hebrew: וַיְקַשּׁ עֹרֶף, vayəqašš ‘oref) An idiom for stubbornness, defiance, and obstinacy. It describes a posture of resistance, refusing to bend or yield. This imagery often appears in the Bible to describe Israel's repeated defiance against God's commands (Exo 32:9; Jer 7:26). It implies a proud, unyielding will.
• and hardened his heart: (Hebrew: וַיְחַזֵּק אֶת לְבָבוֹ, vayəḥazzeq et ləbabo) Literally, "and he made strong his heart." This signifies a resolute decision not to listen, not to repent, and not to submit. It's a deliberate act of closing oneself off to divine influence and instruction, often resulting in spiritual blindness. This parallels Pharaoh's hardened heart (Exo 8:15).
• from turning to the Lord, the God of Israel.: This clarifies the ultimate target of Zedekiah's obstinacy. His stiff-necked and hardened heart prevented him from returning to allegiance and obedience to God. "Turning" (שׁוּב, shuv) implies repentance, conversion, and returning to the covenant. By refusing to turn, Zedekiah willfully rejected divine mercy and sealing Judah's fate. "The God of Israel" emphasizes God's covenantal relationship with His people, which Zedekiah disregarded.

2 Chronicles 36 13 Bonus section

The Chronicler places immense theological emphasis on Zedekiah's stubborn refusal to "turn to the Lord." This stubbornness is not a one-time lapse but the culmination of a pattern of rejecting God's messengers described in the following verse (36:16). The "hardening of heart" motif is recurrent throughout Scripture, from Pharaoh in Egypt to Israel in the wilderness, always denoting an internal disposition of resistance against divine will and instruction. Zedekiah's particular hardness is against "the Lord, the God of Israel," reinforcing the idea that he broke the covenant relationship established between Yahweh and His chosen people, ultimately resulting in the removal of the kingdom's blessing. This verse powerfully portrays the interconnectedness of political loyalty and spiritual fidelity within the Old Testament worldview – an oath sworn "by God" transcended mere geopolitical strategy, becoming a matter of profound spiritual accountability.

2 Chronicles 36 13 Commentary

2 Chronicles 36:13 acts as a powerful summary statement of King Zedekiah's profound and multi-layered rebellion, ultimately providing the theological justification for Jerusalem's destruction and the Babylonian exile. Zedekiah's actions are presented not merely as a political blunder but as a direct affront to God Himself. By breaking his oath to Nebuchadnezzar, he desecrated the divine name invoked in that oath, thereby committing a grave spiritual offense (as reiterated in Eze 17). This act revealed a deep-seated spiritual condition: a heart hardened and a neck stiffened against any counsel or call to repentance from the Lord, despite repeated prophetic warnings, especially through Jeremiah. His defiance of God's covenant, manifested in this persistent rejection of turning back to Yahweh, highlights the severity of willful spiritual stubbornness and how it brings about the consequences of divine judgment upon an individual and, in this case, an entire nation. It illustrates that ultimately, Israel's covenant with God was paramount, and continued rebellion against it inevitably led to discipline.