^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 (C)He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. ^(D)Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

The Fall and Captivity of Judah^(E)

25 Now it came to pass ^(F)in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. ² So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ By the ninth day of the ^(G)fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

⁴ Then ^(H)the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And ^(I)the king^[a] went by way of the ^[b]plain. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. ⁶ So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon ^(J)at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. ⁷ Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, ^(K)put^[c] out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.

Walk in Unity

4 I, therefore, the prisoner ^[a]of the Lord, ^[b]beseech you to ^(A)walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit ^(B)in the bond of peace. ^4 (C)There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ^5 (D)one Lord, ^(E)one faith, ^(F)one baptism; ^6 (G)one God and Father of all, who is above all, and ^(H)through all, and in ^[c]you all.

Spiritual Gifts

⁷ But ^(I)to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore He says:

^9 (K)(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also ^[d]first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One ^(L)who ascended far above all the heavens, ^(M)that He might fill all things.)

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, ^(N)for the ^[e]edifying of ^(O)the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith ^(P)and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to ^(Q)a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be ^(R)children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of ^(S)deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the ^(T)head—Christ— ^16 (U)from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

⁸ And in the fifth month, ^(A)on the seventh day of the month (which was ^(B)the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ^(C)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ^9 (D)He burned the house of the Lord ^(E)and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, ^(F)he burned with fire. ¹⁰ And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^(G)broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.

¹¹ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive ^(H)the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. ¹² But the captain of the guard ^(I)left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. ^13 (J)The bronze ^(K)pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and ^(L)the carts and ^(M)the bronze Sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and ^(N)carried their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴ They also took away ^(O)the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. ¹⁵ The firepans and the basins, the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. ¹⁶ The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, ^(P)the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. ^17 (Q)The height of one pillar was ^[a]eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network.

^18 (R)And the captain of the guard took ^(S)Seraiah the chief priest, ^(T)Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁹ He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, ^(U)five men of ^[b]the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer 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 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(V)Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah^(W)

²² Then he made Gedaliah the son of ^(X)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over ^(Y)the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. ²³ Now when all the ^(Z)captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and ^[c]Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. ²⁴ And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”

²⁵ But ^(AA)it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶ And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose ^(AB)and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison^(AC)

^27 (AD)Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that ^[d]Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, ^(AE)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. ²⁸ He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ^(AF)ate ^[e]bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. ³⁰ And as for his ^[f]provisions, there was a ^[g]regular ration given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Rejected by His Own

⁴¹ The Jews then ^[a]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴² And they said, ^(A)“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

⁴³ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ^[b]“Do not murmur among yourselves. ^44 (B)No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(C)draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ^(D)‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ ^(E)Therefore everyone who ^[c]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ^46 (F)Not that anyone has seen the Father, ^(G)except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(H)he who believes ^[d]in Me has everlasting life. ^48 (I)I am the bread of life. ^49 (J)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ^50 (K)This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(L)which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and ^(M)the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

⁵² The Jews therefore ^(N)quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless ^(O)you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ^54 (P)Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is ^[e]food indeed, and My blood is ^[f]drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^(Q)abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ^58 (R)This is the bread which came down from heaven—not ^(S)as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Turn Away

^60 (T)Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a ^[g]hard saying; who can understand it?”

⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples ^[h]complained about this, He said to them, “Does this ^[i]offend you? ^62 (U)What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ^63 (V)It is the Spirit who gives life; the ^(W)flesh profits nothing. The ^(X)words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But ^(Y)there are some of you who do not believe.” For ^(Z)Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He said, “Therefore ^(AA)I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

^66 (AB)From that time many of His disciples went ^[j]back and walked with Him no more. ⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

⁶⁸ But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(AC)the words of eternal life. ^69 (AD)Also we have come to believe and know that You are the ^[k]Christ, the Son of the living God.”

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, ^(AE)“Did I not choose you, the twelve, ^(AF)and one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹ He spoke of ^(AG)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would ^(AH)betray Him, being one of the twelve.