Bible Strands
2 Kings 24:16
The king of Babylon also brought into exile to Babylon all seven thousand men of valor and a thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for battle.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Nebuchadnezzar’s deportation of Judah’s elite to Babylon immediately following the capture of Jehoiachin and his household.
The words — כָּל־ (kol) translates to "all," and אַנְשֵׁי הַחַיִל ('an.Shei haCha.yil) means "men of strength," specifying the exact demographic targeted for exile.
The thread — This deportation list parallels the census in Jeremiah 52:28, expands on the ten thousand taken in 2 Kings 24:14, and aligns with the craftsmen mentioned in Jeremiah 29:2.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that Babylon systematically removed Judah’s fighting force and skilled labor to secure imperial control.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 52:28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar carried away: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
- 2 Kings 24:14 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.
- Jeremiah 29:2 (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)