Passover Reinstituted

²¹ Then the king commanded all the people, saying, “^(A)Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God ^(B)as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” ^22 (C)Truly such a Passover had not been celebrated since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.

²⁴ Moreover, Josiah removed ^(D)the mediums, the spiritists, the ^[a](E)household idols, ^(F)the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, ^(G)so that he might ^[b]fulfill the words of the Law which were written ^(H)in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. ²⁵ Before him there was no king ^(I)like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart, all his soul, and all his might, in conformity to all the Law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

²⁶ Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, ^(J)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. ²⁷ And the Lord said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, ^(K)just as I have removed Israel. And ^(L)I will reject this city which I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the ^[c]temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there!’”

Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah

²⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^29 (M)In his days ^(N)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria at the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at ^(O)Megiddo. ^30 (P)His servants carried ^[d]his body in a chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. ^(Q)Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

^31 (R)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^(S)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(T)in accordance with all that his forefathers had done. ³³ And ^(U)Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at ^(V)Riblah in the land of ^(W)Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of ^[e]a hundred talents of silver and ^[f]a talent of gold.

Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh

³⁴ Then Pharaoh Neco made ^(X)Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of his father Josiah, and he ^(Y)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and ^[g](Z)brought him to Egypt, and he died there. ³⁵ So Jehoiakim ^(AA)gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he assessed the land in order to give the money at the ^[h]command of Pharaoh. He collected the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his assessment, to give to Pharaoh Neco.

Paul’s Stewardship

3 For this reason I, Paul, ^(A)the prisoner of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^(C)for the sake of you ^(D)Gentiles— ² if indeed you have heard of the ^(E)administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you; ^3 (F)that ^(G)by revelation there was ^(H)made known to me ^(I)the mystery, ^(J)as I wrote before briefly. ^4 [a]By referring to this, when you read you can understand ^(K)my insight ^[b]into the ^(L)mystery of Christ, ⁵ which in other generations was not made known to ^[c]mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy ^(M)apostles and prophets ^[d]in the Spirit; ⁶ to be specific, that the Gentiles are ^(N)fellow heirs and ^(O)fellow members of the body, and ^(P)fellow partakers of the promise in ^(Q)Christ Jesus through the gospel, ^7 (R)of which I was made a ^(S)minister, according to the gift of ^(T)God’s grace which was given to me ^(U)according to the working of His power. ⁸ To me, ^(V)the very least of all ^[e]saints, this grace was given, to ^(W)preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable ^(X)riches of Christ, ⁹ and to ^[f]enlighten all people as to what the plan of the ^(Y)mystery is which for ages has been ^(Z)hidden in God, ^(AA)who created all things; ¹⁰ so that the multifaceted ^(AB)wisdom of God might now be ^(AC)made known through the church to the ^(AD)rulers and the authorities in ^(AE)the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was in ^(AF)accordance with the ^[g]eternal purpose which He ^[h]carried out in ^(AG)Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and ^[i](AH)confident ^(AI)access through faith ^[j]in Him. ¹³ Therefore I ask ^[k]you not ^(AJ)to become discouraged about my tribulations ^(AK)in your behalf, ^[l]since they are your glory.

¹⁴ For this reason I ^(AL)bend my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom ^[m]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to ^(AM)the riches of His glory, to be ^(AN)strengthened with power through His Spirit in ^(AO)the inner ^[n]self, ¹⁷ so that ^(AP)Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being ^(AQ)rooted and ^(AR)grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with ^(AS)all the ^[o]saints what is ^(AT)the width and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know ^(AU)the love of Christ which ^(AV)surpasses knowledge, that you may be ^(AW)filled to all the ^(AX)fullness of God.

^20 (AY)Now to Him who is ^(AZ)able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, ^(BA)according to the power that works within us, ^21 (BB)to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations ^[p]forever and ever. Amen.

²⁶ Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, ^(A)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. ²⁷ And the Lord said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, ^(B)just as I have removed Israel. And ^(C)I will reject this city which I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the ^[a]temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there!’”

Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah

²⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^29 (D)In his days ^(E)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria at the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at ^(F)Megiddo. ^30 (G)His servants carried ^[b]his body in a chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. ^(H)Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

^31 (I)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^(J)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(K)in accordance with all that his forefathers had done. ³³ And ^(L)Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at ^(M)Riblah in the land of ^(N)Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of ^[c]a hundred talents of silver and ^[d]a talent of gold.

Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh

³⁴ Then Pharaoh Neco made ^(O)Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of his father Josiah, and he ^(P)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and ^[e](Q)brought him to Egypt, and he died there. ³⁵ So Jehoiakim ^(R)gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he assessed the land in order to give the money at the ^[f]command of Pharaoh. He collected the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his assessment, to give to Pharaoh Neco.

^36 (S)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(T)in accordance with all that his forefathers had done.

Babylon Controls Jehoiakim

24 ^(U)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and revolted against him. ² And the Lord sent against him ^(V)bands of Chaldeans, ^(W)bands of Arameans, ^(X)bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(Y)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. ^3 (Z)It indeed came upon Judah at the ^[g]command of the Lord, to remove them from His sight ^(AA)due to the sins of Manasseh, in accordance with everything that he had done, ⁴ and ^(AB)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord was unwilling to forgive. ⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Jehoiachin Reigns

⁶ So ^(AC)Jehoiakim ^[h]lay down with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. ⁷ Now ^(AD)the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, ^(AE)because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from ^(AF)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

^8 (AG)Jehoiachin was ^(AH)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(AI)in accordance with all that his father had done.

Deportation to Babylon

¹⁰ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. ¹² Then ^(AJ)Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials. And ^(AK)the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign. ^13 (AL)He also brought out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and he ^(AM)smashed all the articles of gold ^(AN)that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. ¹⁴ Then ^(AO)he led into exile all the people of Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the valiant warriors, ^(AP)ten thousand exiles, and ^(AQ)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None were left ^(AR)except the poorest people of the land.

¹⁵ So ^(AS)he led Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother, the king’s wives, and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ And all the valiant men, ^(AT)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, a thousand, all strong and fit for war, these too the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Made King

^17 (AU)Then the king of Babylon made ^[i]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

²² The next day ^(A)the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus ^(B)had not gotten into the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had departed alone. ²³ Other small boats came from ^(C)Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the ^(D)Lord ^(E)had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and ^(F)came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “^(G)Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Words to the People

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you ^(H)seek Me, not because you saw ^[a](I)signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not ^(J)work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for ^(K)eternal life, which ^(L)the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, ^(M)has set His ^[b]seal.” ²⁸ Therefore they said to Him, “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is ^(N)the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He ^(O)has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to Him, “^(P)What then are You doing as a ^(Q)sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work are You performing? ^31 (R)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘^(S)He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^[c]that which ^(T)comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, always ^(U)give us this bread.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “^(V)I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me ^(W)will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But ^(X)I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe. ^37 (Y)Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. ³⁸ For ^(Z)I have come down from heaven, ^(AA)not to do My own will, but ^(AB)the will of Him who ^(AC)sent Me. ³⁹ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of ^(AD)everything that He has given Me I will ^(AE)lose nothing, but will ^(AF)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who ^(AG)sees the Son and ^(AH)believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will ^(AI)raise him up on the last day.”