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After Josiah, the end of the southern kingdom is just around the corner. Each of his successors receives negative marks, and a rising power in the ancient world is just waiting to enlarge its territory. Josiah’s son and successor, Jehoahaz, immediately reverses the course established by his father (23:32). After ruling for only a few months, he is banished to Egypt by Neco, who now apparently considers Palestine to be part of his territory. To reign in Jehoahaz’s place, Neco selects his brother Eliakim, renaming him Jehoiakim (v.34).
Meanwhile, Babylon has become the dominant force in the eastern region. Having conquered Assyria, the Babylonians invade Palestine during Jehoiakim’s years in power (24:1), establishing Judah as a vassal state. When the Judahite king chooses to rebel, he is destroyed and replaced by his son Jehoiachin (v.6). Strongly denounced by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 22:24-30), he, along with the leading men of Judah, is taken captive to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar in 597 b.c. (24:15-16). Judah, needless to say, has virtually nothing left. What does remain falls into the hands of one final king.