The Meaning of 2 Kings 24:14 Explained

2 Kings 24:14

KJV: 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.

YLT: 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.

Darby: And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained but the poorest sort of the people of the land.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 2 Kings 24:14 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 24:10-20 - The Captivity Begins
Jehoiachin followed the evil path of his predecessors. Again Jerusalem was besieged and Deuteronomy 28:48 began to be fulfilled. The ill-advised revolt of the young king ended in bitter disappointment, as Jeremiah had foretold, Jeremiah 22:24-25; and the final tragedy came on apace, in spite of the insistence of the false prophets that the sacred vessels of the Temple should be returned from Babylon, Jeremiah 27:16. Finally, a sad procession issued from the gate of the doomed city, and the king, his nobles and officials, presented themselves before the enemy, sitting on the ground, clothed in black, their faces covered in their mantles, Jeremiah 13:18. They were at once deported to Babylon with thousands more. The treasures in the Temple and the palace were rifled; and a cry of agony and astonishment arose from Jeremiah and the whole land. See Jeremiah 22:24; Jeremiah 22:28; some add Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 43:1-5.
Zedekiah, Josiah's youngest son, enticed into a league with neighboring nations against the conqueror, brought upon himself and his people a yet more disastrous overthrow. How foolish man's wisdom becomes when he departs from the living God! "A wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed," James 1:6. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 24

1  Jehoiakim, first subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, then rebelling against him,
2  procures his own ruin
5  Jehoiachin succeeds him
7  The king of Egypt is vanquished by the king of Babylon
8  Jehoiachin's evil reign
10  Jerusalem is taken and carried captive into Babylon
17  Zedekiah is made king, and reigns ill, unto the utter destruction of Judah

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 24:14 mean?

And he carried into captivity - all Jerusalem and the captains and the mighty men of valor ten ten thousand captives and all the craftsmen and smiths None remained except poorest the people of the land
וְהִגְלָ֣ה אֶת־ כָּל־ יְ֠רוּשָׁלִַם וְֽאֶת־ הַשָּׂרִ֞ים וְאֵ֣ת ׀ גִּבּוֹרֵ֣י הַחַ֗יִל [עשרה] (עֲשֶׂ֤רֶת) אֲלָפִים֙ גּוֹלֶ֔ה וְכָל־ הֶחָרָ֖שׁ וְהַמַּסְגֵּ֑ר לֹ֣א נִשְׁאַ֔ר זוּלַ֖ת דַּלַּ֥ת עַם־ הָאָֽרֶץ

וְהִגְלָ֣ה  And  he  carried  into  captivity 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּלָה  
Sense: to uncover, remove.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יְ֠רוּשָׁלִַם  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
הַשָּׂרִ֞ים  the  captains 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
גִּבּוֹרֵ֣י  the  mighty  men 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: גִּבֹּור  
Sense: strong, mighty.
הַחַ֗יִל  of  valor 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַיִל 
Sense: strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army.
[עשרה]  ten 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
(עֲשֶׂ֤רֶת)  ten 
Parse: Number, masculine singular construct
Root: עֶשֶׂר 
Sense: ten.
אֲלָפִים֙  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine plural
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
גּוֹלֶ֔ה  captives 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: גֹּולָה  
Sense: exiles, exile, captivity.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הֶחָרָ֖שׁ  the  craftsmen 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶרֶשׁ 
Sense: craftsman, artisan, engraver, graver, artificer.
וְהַמַּסְגֵּ֑ר  and  smiths 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַסְגֵּר 
Sense: a shutting up, locksmith, smith, dungeon, enclosure, builder of bulwarks.
לֹ֣א  None 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
נִשְׁאַ֔ר  remained 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁאַר  
Sense: to remain, be left over, be left behind.
זוּלַ֖ת  except 
Parse: Preposition
Root: זוּלָה  
Sense: a removal, a putting away prep.
דַּלַּ֥ת  poorest 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: דַּלָּה 
Sense: hair, threads, thrum (threads of warp hanging in loom).
עַם־  the  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
הָאָֽרֶץ  of  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.