Judah Overrun by Enemies

24 In ^(A)his days Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(B)Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.

Daniel and His Friends Obey God^(A)

1 In the third year of the reign of ^(B)Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

Seventy Years of Desolation

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, ^(A)in the fourth year of ^(B)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),

⁹ behold, I will send and take ^(A)all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(B)My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and ^(C)make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

² Against ^(A)Egypt.

^(B)Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(C)defeated in the ^(D)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

^6 (A)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in ^[a]bronze fetters to ^(B)carry him off to Babylon. ^7 (C)Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. ⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then ^[b]Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin^(D)

^9 (E)Jehoiachin was ^[c]eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁰ At the turn of the year ^(F)King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, ^(G)with the costly articles from the house of the Lord, and made ^(H)Zedekiah,^{[d] [e]}Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah^(I)

^11 (J)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and ^(K)did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. ¹³ And he also ^(L)rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he ^(M)stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴ Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(N)

^15 (O)And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. ¹⁶ But ^(P)they mocked the messengers of God, ^(Q)despised His words, and ^(R)scoffed at His prophets, until the ^(S)wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

^17 (T)Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who ^(U)killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (V)And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. ^19 (W)Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. ²⁰ And ^(X)those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, ^(Y)where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(Z)Jeremiah, until the land ^(AA)had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate ^(AB)she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

Israel Carried Captive to Assyria^(A)

⁵ Now ^(B)the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years.