^18 (A)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^(B)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(C)in accordance with everything that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For it was ^(D)due to the anger of the Lord that this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He cast them out of His presence. And ^(E)Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25 ^(F)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ^(G)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and ^(H)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 ^(I)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ^4 (J)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 ^(K)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 ^(L)they captured the king and ^(M)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(N)Riblah, and he ^[c]passed sentence on him. ⁷ And ^(O)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then ^(P)put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.

Unity of the Spirit

4 Therefore I, ^(A)the prisoner of the Lord, ^(B)urge you to ^(C)walk in a manner worthy of the ^(D)calling with which you have been ^(E)called, ² with all ^(F)humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another ^(G)in love, ³ being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the ^(H)bond of peace. ⁴ There is ^(I)one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one ^(J)hope of your calling; ^5 (K)one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all ^(L)who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷ But ^(M)to each one of us ^(N)grace was given ^(O)according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore ^[a]it says,

⁹ (Now this expression, “He ^(R)ascended,” what ^[b]does it mean except that He also ^[c]had descended into ^(S)the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended ^(T)far above all the heavens, so that He might ^(U)fill all things.) ¹¹ And He ^(V)gave ^(W)some as apostles, some as prophets, some as ^(X)evangelists, some as ^[d]pastors and ^(Y)teachers, ^12 (Z)for the equipping of the ^[e]saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of ^(AA)the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to ^(AB)the unity of the faith, and of the ^[f](AC)knowledge of the Son of God, to a ^(AD)mature man, to the measure of the stature ^[g]which belongs to the ^(AE)fullness of Christ. ^14 [h]As a result, we are ^(AF)no longer to be children, ^(AG)tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by ^(AH)craftiness ^[i]in ^(AI)deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but ^[j]speaking the truth ^(AJ)in love, ^[k]we are to ^(AK)grow up in all aspects into Him who is the ^(AL)head, that is, Christ, ¹⁶ from whom ^(AM)the whole body, being fitted and held together ^[l]by what every joint supplies, according to the ^[m]proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself ^(AN)in love.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

^8 (A)Now on the seventh day of the ^(B)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 ^(C)he burned the house of the Lord, ^(D)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 ^(E)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile ^(F)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 ^[a]people. ¹² But the captain of the bodyguards left some of ^(G)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

^13 (H)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and ^(I)the bronze ^[b]Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the ^[c]bronze to Babylon. ^14 (J)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the ^[d]shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils ^[e]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—^[f](K)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. ^17 (L)The height of the one pillar was ^[g]eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was ^[h]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 ^(M)Seraiah the chief priest and ^(N)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three ^[i]doorkeepers. ¹⁹ And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and ^(O)five ^[j]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the ^[k]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 ^(P)Riblah. ²¹ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(Q)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 ^(R)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. ^23 (S)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 ^(T)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 (U)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[l]family, came ^[m]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 (V)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 (W)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of ^(X)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, ^[n](Y)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; ²⁸ and he ^(Z)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So ^[o]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and ^[p](AA)had his meals in ^[q]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; ³⁰ and as his ^(AB)allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Words to the Jews

^41 (A)So then the Jews were complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that ^(B)came down out of heaven.” ⁴² And they were saying, “^(C)Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(D)we know? How does He now say, ‘^(E)I have come down out of heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop complaining among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(F)draws him; and I will ^(G)raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written ^(H)in the Prophets: ‘^(I)And they shall all be ^(J)taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. ^46 (K)Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes ^(L)has eternal life. ^48 (M)I am the bread of life. ^49 (N)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that ^(O)comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and ^(P)not die. ^51 (Q)I am the living bread that ^(R)came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, ^(S)he will live forever; and the bread which I will give ^(T)for the life of the world also is ^(U)My flesh.”

^52 (V)Then the Jews ^(W)began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(X)the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will ^(Y)raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^(Z)remains in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the ^(AA)living Father ^(AB)sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that ^(AC)came down out of heaven, not as ^(AD)the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread ^(AE)will live forever.”

Words to the Disciples

⁵⁹ These things He said ^(AF)in the synagogue as He taught ^(AG)in Capernaum.

⁶⁰ So then many of His ^(AH)disciples, when they heard this, said, “^(AI)This statement is very ^[a]unpleasant; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(AJ)aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this ^[b](AK)offensive to you? ⁶² What then if you see ^(AL)the Son of Man ^(AM)ascending to where He was before? ^63 (AN)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; ^(AO)the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are ^(AP)some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus ^(AQ)knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and ^(AR)who it was who would ^[c]betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He was saying, “For this reason I have ^(AS)told you that no one can come to Me unless ^(AT)it has been granted him from the Father.”

Peter’s Confession of Faith

⁶⁶ As a result of this many of His ^(AU)disciples ^(AV)left, and would no longer walk with Him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(AW)the twelve, “You do not want to leave also, do you?” ^68 (AX)Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(AY)words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ And we have already believed and have come to know that You are ^(AZ)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “^(BA)Did I Myself not choose you, ^(BB)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(BC)a devil.” ⁷¹ Now He meant Judas ^(BD)the son of Simon Iscariot; for he, ^(BE)one of ^(BF)the twelve, ^[d]was going to betray Him.