⁴¹ those listed of the tribe of Asher were ^(A)41,500.

⁴² Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ⁴³ those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were ^(B)53,400.

^44 (C)These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers' house. ⁴⁵ So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— ⁴⁶ all those listed were ^(D)603,550.

Levites Exempted

⁴⁷ But ^(E)the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. ⁴⁸ For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁹ “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. ^50 (F)But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it ^(G)and shall camp around the tabernacle. ^51 (H)When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. ^(I)And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. ⁵² The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and ^(J)each man by his own standard. ⁵³ But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no ^(K)wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. ^(L)And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴ Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

^18 (A)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(B)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(C)according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

^(D)And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Fall and Captivity of Judah

25 ^(E)And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, ^(F)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ^(G)And they built siegeworks all around it. ² So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(H)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁴ Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by ^(I)the king's garden, and ^(J)the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the ^(K)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 they captured the king ^(L)and brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(M)Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. ⁷ They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, ^(N)and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.

^8 (O)In the fifth month, on ^(P)the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ^9 (Q)And he burned the house of the Lord ^(R)and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. ¹⁰ And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, ^(S)broke down the walls around Jerusalem. ^11 (T)And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. ¹² But the captain of the guard left ^(U)some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

^13 (V)And the pillars ^(W)of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and ^(X)the stands and ^(Y)the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. ^14 (Z)And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, ¹⁵ the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. ¹⁶ As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, ^(AA)the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ^17 (AB)The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,^[a] and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.

^18 (AC)And the captain of the guard took ^(AD)Seraiah the chief priest and ^(AE)Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; ¹⁹ and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and ^(AF)five men of the king's council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander 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 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^(AG)Riblah. ²¹ And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at ^(AH)Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(AI)So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

²² And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^(AJ)Gedaliah the son of ^(AK)Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. ^23 (AL)Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at ^(AM)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. ²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” ^25 (AN)But in the seventh month, ^(AO)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ^26 (AP)Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

^27 (AQ)And in the thirty-seventh year of ^(AR)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously ^(AS)freed^[b] Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. ²⁸ And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life ^(AT)he dined regularly at the king's table, ³⁰ and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.

Prophecy Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, ^(B)set your face toward ^(C)the Ammonites and prophesy against them. ³ Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: ^(D)Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ^(E)‘Aha!’ over my ^(F)sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, ⁴ therefore behold, I am handing you over to ^(G)the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵ I will make ^(H)Rabbah a ^(I)pasture for camels and Ammon^{[a] (J)}a fold for flocks. ^(K)Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶ For thus says the Lord God: Because ^(L)you have clapped your hands ^(M)and stamped your feet and ^(N)rejoiced with all the ^(O)malice within your soul against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore, behold, ^(P)I have stretched out my hand against you, and ^(Q)will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy Against Moab and Seir

⁸ “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^(R)Moab and ^(S)Seir^[b] said, ‘Behold, the ^(T)house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ ⁹ therefore ^(U)I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, ^(V)Beth-jeshimoth, ^(W)Baal-meon, and ^(X)Kiriathaim. ¹⁰ I will give it ^(Y)along with the Ammonites ^(Z)to the people of the East as a possession, ^(AA)that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations, ^11 (AB)and I will execute judgments upon Moab. ^(AC)Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy Against Edom

¹² “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^(AD)Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended ^(AE)in taking vengeance on them, ¹³ therefore thus says the Lord God, ^(AF)I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from ^(AG)Teman even to ^(AH)Dedan they shall fall by the sword. ¹⁴ And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom ^(AI)by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and ^(AJ)they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.

Prophecy Against Philistia

¹⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^(AK)the Philistines ^(AL)acted revengefully and took vengeance ^(AM)with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, ¹⁶ therefore thus says the Lord God, ^(AN)Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off ^(AO)the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will execute great vengeance on them ^(AP)with wrathful rebukes. ^(AQ)Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”

To Your Name Give Glory

Not Peace, but Division

^49 (A)“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! ^50 (B)I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how ^(C)great is my distress until it is accomplished! ^51 (D)Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? ^(E)No, I tell you, but rather division. ⁵² For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided, ^(F)father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Time

⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds, ^(G)“When you see ^(H)a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. ⁵⁵ And ^(I)when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be ^(J)scorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! ^(K)You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settle with Your Accuser

⁵⁷ “And why ^(L)do you not judge ^(M)for yourselves what is right? ^58 (N)As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, ^(O)you will never get out until you have paid the very last ^(P)penny.”^[a]

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ^(A)It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly ^(B)portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: ^(C)Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by ^(D)hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? ^(E)Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by^[a] the flesh? ^4 (F)Did you suffer^[b] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and ^(G)works miracles among you do so ^(H)by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as ^(I)Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is ^(J)those of faith who are ^(K)the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that ^(L)God would justify^[c] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ^(M)“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are ^(N)under a curse; for it is written, ^(O)“Cursed be everyone who does not ^(P)abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that ^(Q)no one is justified before God by the law, for ^(R)“The righteous shall live by faith.”^{[d] 12} But the law is not of faith, rather ^(S)“The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ ^(T)redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ^(U)“Cursed is everyone who is hanged ^(V)on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^(W)come to the Gentiles, so that ^(X)we might receive ^(Y)the promised Spirit^[e] through faith.