1. While Jehoiakim was king, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia invaded Judah, and for three years Jehoiakim was forced to submit to his rule; then he rebelled.
2. The Lord sent armed bands of Babylonians, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim to destroy Judah, as the Lord had said through his servants the prophets that he would do.
3. This happened at the Lord's command, in order to banish the people of Judah from his sight because of all the sins that King Manasseh had committed,
4. and especially because of all the innocent people he had killed. The Lord could not forgive Manasseh for that.