The people of the land take Jehoahaz son of Josiah and make him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz is twenty-three years old when he becomes king and reigns three months in Jerusalem. The king of Egypt removes him in Jerusalem and imposes on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. The king of Egypt makes Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem and changes his name to Jehoiakim. Neco takes Jehoahaz his brother and carries him to Egypt. Jehoiakim is twenty-five years old when he becomes king and reigns eleven years in Jerusalem. He does evil in the eyes of the LORD his God. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon comes up against him and binds him in bronze chains to take him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also carries some of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon and puts them in his temple in Babylon. The rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations he commits, and what is found against him — they are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiachin his son reigns in his place. Jehoiachin is eight years old when he becomes king and reigns three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He does evil in the eyes of the LORD. At the turn of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sends and brings him to Babylon along with the precious vessels of the house of the LORD, and makes Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah is twenty-one years old when he becomes king and reigns eleven years in Jerusalem. He does evil in the eyes of the LORD his God. He does not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who speaks from the mouth of the LORD. He also rebels against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffens his neck and hardens his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel. Moreover, all the leading priests and the people increase their unfaithfulness, following all the abominations of the nations. They defile the house of the LORD that he has consecrated in Jerusalem. The LORD, the God of their fathers, sends word to them persistently by his messengers, because he has compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mock the messengers of God, despise his words, and scoff at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rises against his people and there is no remedy. He brings up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who kills their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He has no compassion on young man or young woman, old man or aged — God gives them all into his hand. All the vessels of the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, the treasures of the king and his officials — all these he brings to Babylon. They burn the house of God, demolish the wall of Jerusalem, burn all its palaces with fire, and destroy all its precious vessels. He carries into exile to Babylon those who survive the sword, and they become servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia — to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land has enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia — to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah — the LORD stirs up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he makes a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also puts it in writing: 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever among you is of all his people — the LORD his God be with him — let him go up.'
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
This is the final chapter of the entire Hebrew Bible in the Jewish canonical order (Tanakh), where Chronicles (Divrei Ha-Yamim) stands as the last book. The chapter compresses the final twenty-three years of Judah's existence into a rapid narrative of four kings — Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah — each worse than the last, each receiving the verdict 'he did evil in the eyes of the LORD.' The Chronicler's theological summary (verses 15-16) is one of the most poignant passages in the Hebrew Bible: God sends messengers 'persistently' (hashkem ve-shaloach, literally 'rising early and sending' — an image of divine urgency), because he has compassion (chamal) on his people and his dwelling place. But they mock, despise, and scoff — va-yihyu mal'ivim be-mal'akhei ha-Elohim u-vozim devarav u-mit'at'im bi-nevi'av ('they mocked the messengers of God, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets') — until ad ein marpeh ('there is no healing, no remedy'). The destruction that follows is total: Temple burned, walls demolished, people exiled. Yet the Hebrew Bible does not end in destruction. The final two verses (22-23) — the Cyrus decree — transform the ending from despair to hope. The LORD stirs the spirit of a Persian king, who declares: 'Let him go up' (ya'al). These are the last words of the Hebrew Bible: an invitation to ascend, to return, to rebuild. The Jewish Bible ends not with exile but with the possibility of homecoming. The phrase ya'al ('let him go up') is an open door — a perpetual invitation that echoes through Jewish history. Every generation that reads these final words hears the call: go up.
Translation Friction
The age of Jehoiachin at accession is given as eight in Chronicles but eighteen in 2 Kings 24:8 — a well-known textual discrepancy, with most scholars favoring eighteen as the original reading. The compressed treatment of four reigns in a single chapter omits enormous amounts of material found in 2 Kings 23-25 (Jeremiah's activity, the multiple Babylonian campaigns, the Gedaliah administration, the flight to Egypt). The Chronicler is not writing history in the modern sense but a theological meditation on why Jerusalem fell. The land-Sabbath theology (verse 21) interprets the seventy years of exile as the land 'making up' the Sabbath years Israel had failed to observe — connecting to Leviticus 26:34-35, 43. This mathematical theology (490 years of missed Sabbaths = 70 years of exile) may be symbolic rather than literal. The duplication of the opening verses of Ezra (Ezra 1:1-3) in the closing verses of Chronicles (36:22-23) is likely intentional — creating a bridge between the two books (Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah may have originally been one work) and ensuring that the Hebrew Bible ends with hope rather than destruction.
Connections
The four final kings connect to the detailed accounts in 2 Kings 23-25 and to the prophetic narratives of Jeremiah. The mocking of prophets (verse 16) connects to the specific treatment of Jeremiah described in his own book (Jeremiah 20, 26, 37-38). The burning of the Temple reverses Solomon's dedication (2 Chronicles 5-7) — where fire came from heaven to consecrate, now fire from human hands destroys. The exile fulfills the curses of Deuteronomy 28 and the warnings embedded in Solomon's prayer (2 Chronicles 6:36-39). The land-Sabbath theology connects to Leviticus 25-26 and Jeremiah's seventy-year prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10). The Cyrus decree connects to Isaiah 44:28-45:1, where Cyrus is called God's 'anointed' (mashiach) — the only non-Israelite to receive this title. The final words 'let him go up' (ya'al) create an inclusio with the opening of the Torah: God created (Genesis 1:1) and now invites his people to ascend (2 Chronicles 36:23). The Hebrew Bible begins with descent (creation, fall, flood, exile to Egypt) and ends with an invitation to rise.
The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem.
KJV Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The am ha-arets ('people of the land') again exercise their kingmaking role (as in 33:25). Jehoahaz (Yeho'achaz, meaning 'the LORD has seized') is not the eldest son — the people choose him over his older brother Eliakim, suggesting a preference for his political orientation. His reign will last only three months.
Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
KJV Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The regnal formula is bare: sheloshah chodashim ('three months'). No assessment of good or evil is given in the Chronicler's account — the reign is too brief for theological evaluation. The three months (approximately 609 BCE) end when Pharaoh Neco, returning from his campaign, removes him.
The king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and imposed on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
KJV And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb va-yesirehu ('he removed him') indicates forcible deposition by Pharaoh Neco. The tribute — me'ah kikkar kesef ve-kikkar zahav ('a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold') — is the price of Egypt's dominance. One talent was approximately 34 kilograms (75 pounds). The financial penalty underscores Judah's new status as an Egyptian vassal.
The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Neco took his brother Jehoahaz and carried him to Egypt.
KJV And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The name change from Elyaqim ('God raises up') to Yehoyaqim ('the LORD establishes') is a mark of suzerainty — the overlord renames the vassal, asserting ownership. Neco installs the king of his choosing and deports the people's choice (Jehoahaz) to Egypt, where he will die (Jeremiah 22:11-12). The era of Judean self-determination is over.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God.
KJV Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The standard negative assessment — va-ya'as ha-ra be-einei YHWH Elohav ('he did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God') — covers the eleven years (approximately 609-598 BCE) of Jehoiakim's reign. Jeremiah 22:13-19 provides the prophetic indictment: Jehoiakim builds his palace with unpaid labor, sheds innocent blood, and practices oppression. The Chronicler distills all this into the single devastating formula.
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, bound him in bronze chains, and took him to Babylon.
KJV Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Nebuchadnezzar (Nevukhadnetsar) arrives as a new overlord, replacing Egyptian dominance with Babylonian. The bronze chains (nechushtayim) recur as a motif of captivity — the same word used for Manasseh (33:11) and later Zedekiah (2 Kings 25:7). Each successive king experiences the same binding, suggesting that Judah's bondage deepens with each reign.
Nebuchadnezzar carried off some of the vessels from the house of the LORD to Babylon and placed them in his temple there.
KJV Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple in Babylon.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The first removal of Temple vessels — mi-kelei beit YHWH ('from the vessels of the house of the LORD') — begins the process of liturgical dismantling that will culminate in total destruction. Placing them be-hekhalo be-Vavel ('in his palace/temple in Babylon') is the supreme insult: the sacred vessels of the LORD's house serve as trophies in a pagan shrine. This echoes the capture of the ark by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4-5).
The rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations he committed, and what was found against him — these are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
KJV Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The summary mentions to'avotav ('his abominations') and ha-nimtsa alav ('what was found against him') — cryptic references to charges that the full source text apparently detailed. The transition to Jehoiachin is abrupt — the Chronicler does not record Jehoiakim's death, which occurred under unclear circumstances (see Jeremiah 22:18-19).
Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.
KJV Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The age of eight is likely a textual error for eighteen (2 Kings 24:8 reads eighteen). The reign of sheloshah chodashim va-aseret yamim ('three months and ten days') is the most precisely measured short reign in the Bible. Despite its brevity, the Chronicler issues the standard negative verdict: va-ya'as ha-ra be-einei YHWH ('he did evil in the eyes of the LORD').
At the turn of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, along with the precious vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
KJV And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase li-teshuvat ha-shanah ('at the turn/return of the year,' early spring 597 BCE) marks the traditional campaign season. The second deportation of Temple vessels — kelei chemdat beit YHWH ('the precious/desirable vessels of the house of the LORD') — further depletes the sanctuary. Zedekiah (Tsidqiyyahu, 'the LORD is my righteousness') is actually Jehoiachin's uncle, not brother — the term 'brother' (achiv) is used loosely for kinsman. He will be the last king.
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
KJV Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The last king of Judah takes the throne at twenty-one and reigns eleven years (approximately 597-586 BCE). These eleven years are Judah's final period as a kingdom. The siege of Jerusalem begins in the ninth year and ends with the city's destruction in the eleventh.
He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD.
KJV And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The assessment has two parts: the standard formula (va-ya'as ha-ra) and a specific failure — lo nikhna milifnei Yirmeyahu ha-navi mi-pi YHWH ('he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet from the mouth of the LORD'). The verb nikhna ('humble himself') is the Chronicler's key term from 2 Chronicles 7:14. Zedekiah has the opportunity to humble himself — Jeremiah speaks to him repeatedly (Jeremiah 37-38) — but refuses. The phrase mi-pi YHWH ('from the mouth of the LORD') confirms Jeremiah's prophetic authority.
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.
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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Zedekiah's rebellion is doubly damning: he breaks his sworn oath (asher hishbi'o be-Elohim, 'who made him swear by God'). The oath was taken in God's name, making the rebellion both political treason and religious perjury (see Ezekiel 17:12-21). The twin metaphors — va-yeqesh et orpo ('he stiffened his neck') and va-ye'ammets et levavo ('he hardened his heart') — describe complete resistance to God. The neck refuses to bow; the heart refuses to turn (mi-shuv, 'from returning/repenting'). This is the anti-teshuvah.
Moreover, all the leading priests and the people increased their unfaithfulness, following all the abominations of the nations. They defiled the house of the LORD that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
KJV Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The corruption is total: kol sarei ha-kohanim ve-ha-am ('all the leading priests and the people') — leadership and populace together — hirbu lim'ol ma'al ('multiplied unfaithfulness greatly'). The phrase ke-khol to'avot ha-goyim ('according to all the abominations of the nations') echoes the opening condemnation of Manasseh (33:2) and of the pre-conquest Canaanites (Deuteronomy 18:9). The Temple itself is defiled — the house asher hiqdish bi-Yerushalayim ('which he consecrated in Jerusalem') — the divine act of consecration violated by human pollution.
The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them persistently through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.
KJV And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase hashkem ve-shalo'ach appears frequently in Jeremiah (7:13, 25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4) and may be a deliberate echo of Jeremianic language. The Chronicler is borrowing the prophet's own idiom to describe the divine urgency that Jeremiah himself experienced and embodied.
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his words along with scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people and there was no remedy.
KJV But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase ad le-ein marpeh echoes the language of Jeremiah 8:22 ('Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my people not been restored?'). The Chronicler answers Jeremiah's anguished question: the remedy existed, but the patient refused it until it was too late.
He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no compassion on young man or young woman, old man or aged. God gave them all into his hand.
KJV Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The contrast with verse 15 is crushing: God had compassion (chamal) on his people; the Chaldean king has no compassion (lo chamal). The slaughter takes place be-veit miqdashsham ('in the house of their sanctuary') — the Temple itself becomes a killing ground. Four categories of victims — bachur u-vetulah zaqen ve-yashesh ('young man and young woman, old man and elderly') — indicate indiscriminate killing. The phrase ha-kol natan be-yado ('he gave them all into his hand') attributes the defeat to divine agency: God hands over his own people.
All the vessels of the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, the treasures of the king and his officials — all these he brought to Babylon.
KJV And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The comprehensive plunder: kol kelei veit ha-Elohim ha-gedolim ve-ha-qetannim ('all the vessels of the house of God, great and small'), otsrot beit YHWH ('the treasuries of the house of the LORD'), and otsrot ha-melekh ve-sarav ('the treasuries of the king and his officials'). The word ha-kol ('everything, all') appears twice in two verses (17 and 18) — all the people delivered, all the treasures taken. Nothing and no one remains.
They burned the house of God, demolished the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels.
KJV And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Four acts of destruction: va-yisrefu et beit ha-Elohim ('they burned the house of God'), va-yenatsu et chomat Yerushalayim ('they demolished the wall of Jerusalem'), kol armenoteha sarfu va-esh ('all its palaces they burned with fire'), and kol kelei machamaddeha lehashchit ('all its precious vessels they destroyed'). The Temple, the walls, the palaces, the treasures — the physical infrastructure of Judah's civilization is annihilated. The Chronicler compresses the destruction into a single verse with devastating concision.
He carried into exile to Babylon those who survived the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the kingdom of Persia —
KJV And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
גָּלָהgalah
"carried into exile"—to exile, to deport, to uncover, to go into exile, to reveal, to be stripped bare
galah ('to exile, to uncover') — the root carries a double meaning: exile is both deportation and exposure. To be exiled is to be stripped of home, land, identity, and protection. The land is uncovered — laid bare, emptied of its people. The exile reverses the exodus: what God brought out of slavery in Egypt, Babylon carries back into slavery.
Translator Notes
The survivors (ha-she'erit min ha-cherev, 'the remnant from the sword') are deported to Babylon, where they become avadim ('servants, slaves') to the Babylonian king and his dynasty ad melokh malkhut Paras ('until the reign of the kingdom of Persia'). The servitude spans the entire Neo-Babylonian period (586-539 BCE). The phrase 'him and his sons' covers the reigns from Nebuchadnezzar to Nabonidus.
to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
KJV To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Chronicler provides a theological interpretation of the exile's duration: le-mallot devar YHWH be-fi Yirmeyahu ('to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah') — the seventy-year exile predicted in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10. The land-Sabbath theology — ad ratsatah ha-arets et shabbetoteha ('until the land enjoyed its Sabbaths') — connects to Leviticus 26:34-35, which warned that the land would 'enjoy its Sabbaths' during the exile, making up for the Sabbath years Israel had failed to observe. The personification of the land as needing rest — shabatah ('it kept Sabbath') — portrays the earth itself as a covenant partner that has been denied its rights.
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia — to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah — the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. He issued a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, and also put it in writing:
KJV Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The transition from destruction to hope is sudden and total. The phrase he'ir YHWH et ruach Koresh ('the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus') describes divine initiative acting upon a foreign king's heart. Cyrus II of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BCE. The phrase likhhlot devar YHWH be-fi Yirmeyahu ('to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah') repeats from verse 21 — the same prophetic word that guaranteed exile now guarantees return. The double publication — va-ya'aver qol ('he sent out a voice/proclamation') and gam be-mikhtav ('also in writing') — ensures maximum reach.
'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever among you is of all his people — may the LORD his God be with him — let him go up.'
KJV Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
עָלָהalah
"go up"—to go up, to ascend, to climb, to rise, to offer (a sacrifice), to immigrate to the land of Israel
alah ('to go up, to ascend') — the final verb of the Hebrew Bible. In later Jewish usage, aliyah ('going up') became the technical term for immigration to the Land of Israel. Every Jew who 'makes aliyah' enacts the final word of Scripture. The verb also means 'to offer a sacrifice' (an olah is a 'going-up offering'). The Hebrew Bible ends with a word that means both physical return to the land and spiritual ascent to God.
Translator Notes
The Cyrus Cylinder, an archaeological artifact from 539 BCE, confirms that Cyrus indeed issued decrees allowing exiled peoples to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples, though it attributes the policy to the Babylonian god Marduk rather than to the LORD. The biblical text claims that YHWH was the true agent behind Cyrus's policy. The phrase ve-ya'al — 'let him go up' — stands as the final word of the Hebrew Bible. In the Jewish liturgical tradition, when this passage is read in synagogue, the congregation repeats verse 23 after the reader finishes, so that the public reading ends not with exile but with return.