²¹ Then the king commanded all the people, saying, ^(A)“Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, ^(B)as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” ^22 (C)Such a Passover surely had never been held 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 held before the Lord in Jerusalem. ²⁴ Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of ^(D)the law which were written in the book ^(E)that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. ^25 (F)Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.

Impending Judgment on Judah

²⁶ Nevertheless the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, ^(G)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. ²⁷ And the Lord said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, as ^(H)I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, ^(I)‘My name shall be there.’ ”

Josiah Dies in Battle^(J)

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 (K)In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went ^[a]to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh Necho killed him at ^(L)Megiddo when he ^(M)confronted him. ^30 (N)Then his servants moved his body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And ^(O)the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz^(P)

^31 (Q)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^(R)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. ³³ Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison ^(S)at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ³⁴ Then ^(T)Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and ^(U)changed his name to ^(V)Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz ^(W)and went to Egypt, and ^[b]he died there.

Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah^(X)

³⁵ So Jehoiakim gave ^(Y)the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho.

The Mystery Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— ² if indeed you have heard of the ^[a]dispensation of the grace of God ^(A)which was given to me for you, ^3 (B)how that by revelation ^(C)He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, ⁴ by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), ⁵ which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: ⁶ that the Gentiles ^(D)should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, ^7 (E)of which I became a minister ^(F)according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by ^(G)the effective working of His power.

Purpose of the Mystery

⁸ To me, ^(H)who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles ^(I)the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make all see what is the ^[b]fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who ^(J)created all things ^[c]through Jesus Christ; ^10 (K)to the intent that now ^(L)the ^[d]manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church ^(M)to the ^[e]principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ^11 (N)according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access ^(O)with confidence through faith in Him. ^13 (P)Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, ^(Q)which is your glory.

Appreciation of the Mystery

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the ^(R)Father ^[f]of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, ^(S)according to the riches of His glory, ^(T)to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in ^(U)the inner man, ^17 (V)that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, ^(W)being rooted and grounded in love, ^18 (X)may be able to comprehend with all the saints ^(Y)what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled ^(Z)with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now ^(AA)to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly ^(AB)above all that we ask or think, ^(AC)according to the power that works in us, ^21 (AD)to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Impending Judgment on Judah

²⁶ Nevertheless the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused 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, as ^(B)I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, ^(C)‘My name shall be there.’ ”

Josiah Dies in Battle^(D)

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 (E)In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went ^[a]to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh Necho killed him at ^(F)Megiddo when he ^(G)confronted him. ^30 (H)Then his servants moved his body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And ^(I)the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz^(J)

^31 (K)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^(L)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. ³³ Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison ^(M)at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ³⁴ Then ^(N)Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and ^(O)changed his name to ^(P)Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz ^(Q)and went to Egypt, and ^[b]he died there.

Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah^(R)

³⁵ So Jehoiakim gave ^(S)the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho. ^36 (T)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

Judah Overrun by Enemies

24 In ^(U)his days Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(V)Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. ^2 (W)And the Lord sent against him raiding ^[c]bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(X)according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. ³ Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight ^(Y)because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ^4 (Z)and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon.

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? ^6 (AA)So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

⁷ And ^(AB)the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for ^(AC)the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin^(AD)

^8 (AE)Jehoiachin^[d] was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

^10 (AF)At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city ^[e]was besieged. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. ^12 (AG)Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, ^(AH)in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.

The Captivity of Jerusalem

^13 (AI)And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he ^(AJ)cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, ^(AK)as the Lord had said. ¹⁴ Also ^(AL)he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ^(AM)ten thousand captives, and ^(AN)all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except ^(AO)the poorest people of the land. ¹⁵ And ^(AP)he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ^16 (AQ)All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah^(AR)

¹⁷ Then ^(AS)the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, ^(AT)Jehoiachin’s^[f] uncle, king in his place, and ^(AU)changed his name to Zedekiah.

The Bread from Heaven

²² On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except ^[a]that one ^[b]which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— ²³ however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— ²⁴ when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, ^(A)seeking Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ^27 (B)Do not labor for the food which perishes, but ^(C)for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, ^(D)because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, ^(E)“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

³⁰ Therefore they said to Him, ^(F)“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ^31 (G)Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ^(H)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³² Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but ^(I)My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

^34 (J)Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ And Jesus said to them, ^(K)“I am the bread of life. ^(L)He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never ^(M)thirst. ^36 (N)But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet ^(O)do not believe. ^37 (P)All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and ^(Q)the one who comes to Me I will ^[c]by no means cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, ^(R)not to do My own will, ^(S)but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, ^(T)that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, ^(U)that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”