After reigning for three months and ten days, he was removed from office by the Babylonians, and Zedekiah was placed as king in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 36:9). Jeconiah, with his household, many of the rulers of Judah, and many craftsmen, were taken captive to Babylon. Cuneiform records dated to 592 BC mention Jeconiah ("Ia-'-ú-kinu") and his five sons as recipients of food rations in Babylon. He was still called king while in captivity.

In the thirty-seventh year of his captivity, he was removed from prison by Evil-merodach, King of Babylon.