Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25 ^(A)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ^(B)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and ^(C)built a siege wall all around ^[a]it. ² So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(D)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ^4 (E)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls that were beside ^(F)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ^[b]they went by way of the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁶ Then ^(G)they captured the king and ^(H)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(I)Riblah, and he ^[c]passed sentence on him. ⁷ And ^(J)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then ^(K)put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

^8 (L)Now on the seventh day of the ^(M)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ And ^(N)he burned the house of the Lord, ^(O)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁰ So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards ^(P)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile ^(Q)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the ^[d]people. ¹² But the captain of the bodyguards left some of ^(R)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

^13 (S)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and ^(T)the bronze ^[e]Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the ^[f]bronze to Babylon. ^14 (U)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the ^[g]shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils ^[h]which were used in temple service. ¹⁵ The captain of the bodyguards also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. ¹⁶ The two pillars, the one Sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—^[i](V)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. ^17 (W)The height of the one pillar was ^[j]eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was ^[k]three cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, same features with latticework.

¹⁸ Then the captain of the bodyguards took ^(X)Seraiah the chief priest and ^(Y)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three ^[l]doorkeepers. ¹⁹ And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and ^(Z)five ^[m]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the ^[n]scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^(AA)Riblah. ²¹ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(AB)So Judah went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor

²² Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^(AC)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. ^23 (AD)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at ^(AE)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. ²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”

^25 (AF)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[o]family, came ^[p]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ^26 (AG)Then all the people, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

^27 (AH)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of ^(AI)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, ^[q](AJ)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; ²⁸ and he ^(AK)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So ^[r]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and ^[s](AL)had his meals in ^[t]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; ³⁰ and as his ^(AM)allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Joahaz, Jehoiakim, Then Jehoiachin Rule

36 ^(A)Then the people of the land took ^[a](B)Joahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. ² Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. ³ Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem, and imposed a fine on the land of ^[b]a hundred talents of silver and ^[c]one talent of gold. ⁴ The king of Egypt made ^[d]Joahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But ^(C)Neco took his brother Joahaz and brought him to Egypt.

^5 (D)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ⁶ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up ^(E)against him and ^(F)bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. ^7 (G)Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and he put them in his temple in Babylon. ^8 (H)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and ^[e]the abominations which he committed, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

^9 (I)Jehoiachin was ^[f]eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Captivity in Babylon Begun

^10 (J)At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and had him brought to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the Lord; and he made his relative ^(K)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

^11 (L)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God; ^(M)he did not humble himself ^(N)before Jeremiah the prophet ^[g]who spoke for the Lord. ^13 (O)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance by God. But ^(P)he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴ Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Yet the Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(Q)sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; ¹⁶ but they continually ^(R)mocked the messengers of God, ^(S)despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, ^(T)until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy. ^17 (U)So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or frail; He handed them all over to him. ^18 (V)He brought all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and his officers, to Babylon. ¹⁹ Then ^(W)they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. ²⁰ He ^(X)took into exile those who had escaped from the sword to Babylon; and ^(Y)they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ^21 (Z)to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until ^(AA)the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. ^(AB)All the days of its desolation it kept the Sabbath ^[h](AC)until seventy years were complete.

Cyrus Permits Return

^22 (AD)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord ^(AE)by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord ^(AF)stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ²³ “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him; ^[i]go up then!’”

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after ^(A)Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from ^(B)Ramah, when he had taken him bound in ^(C)chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ² Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The ^(D)Lord your God promised this disaster against this place; ³ and the Lord has brought it and done just as He promised. Because you people ^(E)sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, this thing has happened to you. ⁴ But now, behold, I am ^(F)setting you free today from the chains that are on your hands. If ^[a]you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will ^[b]look after you; but if ^[c]you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, ^[d]do not come. Look, the ^(G)whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.” ⁵ As ^[e]Jeremiah was still not going back, ^[f]he said, “Go on back then to ^(H)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has ^(I)appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ^(J)ration and a ^(K)gift, and let him go. ⁶ Then Jeremiah went to ^(L)Mizpah to ^(M)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

^7 (N)Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and ^[g]children, those of the ^(O)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. ⁸ So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^(P)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(Q)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the ^(R)Netophathite, and ^(S)Jezaniah the son of the ^(T)Maacathite, both they and their men. ⁹ Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(U)swore to them and to their men, saying, “^(V)Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you. ¹⁰ Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to ^(W)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^(X)gather wine, ^(Y)summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.” ¹¹ Likewise, also all the Jews who were in ^(Z)Moab and among the sons of ^(AA)Ammon and in ^(AB)Edom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had ^[h]left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. ¹² Then all the Jews ^(AC)returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

¹³ Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, ¹⁴ and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of ^(AD)Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “^(AE)Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he ^(AF)take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^(AG)remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “^(AH)Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”

Gedaliah Is Murdered

41 ^(AI)Now in the seventh month ^(AJ)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[i]family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to ^(AK)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they ^(AL)were eating bread together there in Mizpah, ² Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him rose up, and ^(AM)struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and ^(AN)put to death the one ^(AO)whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. ³ Ishmael also struck and killed all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

⁴ Now it happened on the ^[j]next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it, ⁵ that eighty men ^(AP)came from ^(AQ)Shechem, from ^(AR)Shiloh, and from ^(AS)Samaria with ^(AT)their beards shaved off, their clothes torn, and ^[k]their bodies ^(AU)gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the ^(AV)house of the Lord. ⁶ Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them, ^(AW)weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” ⁷ Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him ^(AX)slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern. ⁸ But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have ^(AY)supplies of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field.” So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

⁹ Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck and killed ^[l]because of Gedaliah, it was the ^(AZ)one that King Asa had constructed on ^(BA)account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead. ¹⁰ Then Ishmael took captive all the ^(BB)remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the ^(BC)king’s daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put in the custody of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of ^(BD)Ammon.

Johanan Rescues the People

¹¹ But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the ^(BE)commanders of the forces that were with him heard about all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done. ¹² So they took all the men and went to ^(BF)fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the ^(BG)large ^[m]pool that is in Gibeon. ¹³ Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were joyful. ¹⁴ So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. ¹⁵ But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah ^(BH)escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the sons of Ammon. ¹⁶ Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah ^(BI)all the remnant of the people whom he had ^[n]recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were ^[o]soldiers, the women, the ^[p]children, and the high officials, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. ¹⁷ And they went and stayed in ^[q](BJ)Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to ^(BK)proceed into Egypt ¹⁸ because of the Chaldeans; for they were ^(BL)afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom ^(BM)the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

The Woman, Israel

12 A great ^(A)sign appeared ^(B)in heaven: ^(C)a woman ^(D)clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; ² and she was pregnant and she *^(E)cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

The Red Dragon, Satan

³ Then ^(F)another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red ^(G)dragon having ^(H)seven heads and ^(I)ten horns, and on his heads were ^(J)seven crowns. ⁴ And his tail *swept away a ^(K)third of the stars of heaven and ^(L)hurled them to the earth. And the ^(M)dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth ^(N)he might devour her Child.

The Male Child, Christ

⁵ And ^(O)she gave birth to a Son, a male, who is going to ^[a](P)rule all the ^[b]nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was ^(Q)caught up to God and to His throne. ⁶ Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there ^[c]she would be nourished for ^(R)1,260 days.

The Angel, Michael

⁷ And there was war in heaven, ^(S)Michael and his angels waging war with the ^(T)dragon. The dragon and ^(U)his angels waged war, ⁸ and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. ⁹ And the great ^(V)dragon was thrown down, the ^(W)serpent of old who is called the devil and ^(X)Satan, who ^(Y)deceives the whole ^[d]world; he was ^(Z)thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ¹⁰ Then I heard ^(AA)a loud voice in heaven, saying,

“Now the ^(AB)salvation, and the power, and the ^(AC)kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the ^(AD)accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night. ¹¹ And they ^(AE)overcame him because of ^(AF)the blood of the Lamb and because of ^(AG)the word of their testimony, and they ^(AH)did not love their life even ^[e]when faced with death. ¹² For this reason, ^(AI)rejoice, you heavens and ^(AJ)you who dwell in them. ^(AK)Woe to the earth and the sea, because ^(AL)the devil has come down to you with great wrath, knowing that he has only ^(AM)a short time.”

¹³ And when the ^(AN)dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted ^(AO)the woman who gave birth to the male Child. ¹⁴ But the ^(AP)two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly ^(AQ)into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for ^(AR)a time, times, and half a time, away from the presence of the serpent. ¹⁵ And the ^(AS)serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. ^16 [f]But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth. ¹⁷ So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to ^(AT)make war with the rest of her ^[g](AU)children, who ^(AV)keep the commandments of God and ^(AW)hold to the testimony of Jesus.