Sennacherib’s Invasion

¹³ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Assyria’s King Sennacherib attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.^{(A) 14} So King Hezekiah of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish:^(B) “I have done wrong;^(C) withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded eleven tons^[a] of silver and one ton^[b] of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah. ¹⁵ So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.

¹⁶ At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.^(D)

¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent the field marshal,^(E) the chief of staff, and his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.^(F) They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and^[c] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer’s Field.^{(G) 18} They called for the king, but Eliakim^(H) son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah^(I) the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.^(J)

The Royal Spokesman’s Speech

¹⁹ Then^(K) the royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?^{[d](L) 20} You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?^{(M) 21} Now look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff^(N) that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it.^(O) This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. ²² Suppose you say to me, “We rely on the Lord our God.” Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,^(P) saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem”?’

²³ “So now, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! ²⁴ How then can you drive back a single officer^(Q) among the least of my master’s servants? How can you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ²⁵ Now, have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval?^(R) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

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Sennacherib’s Invasion

32 After Hezekiah’s faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended^[a] to break into them.^{(A) 2} Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned^[b] war on Jerusalem, ³ so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him. ⁴ Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs^(B) and the stream that flowed through the land;^(C) they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” ⁵ Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall^(D) and heightening the towers and the other outside wall.^(E) He repaired the supporting terraces^(F) of the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields.

⁶ He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them,^[c](G) saying, ⁷ “Be strong and courageous!^(H) Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.^{(I) 8} He has only human strength,^[d] but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”^(J) So the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.

Sennacherib’s Servant’s Speech

⁹ After this,^(K) while King Sennacherib of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged^[e] Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, ¹⁰ “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? ¹¹ Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, “The Lord our God will keep us from the grasp of the king of Assyria”? ¹² Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove his high places and his altars^(L) and say to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before one altar, and you must burn incense on it”?

¹³ “‘Don’t you know^(M) what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to rescue their land from my power? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power?^{(N) 15} So now,^(O) don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, and don’t let him mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!’”

¹⁶ His servants said more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ He also wrote letters to mock the Lord, the God of Israel, saying against him:

Just like the national gods of the lands that did not rescue their people from my power, so Hezekiah’s God will not rescue his people from my power.^(P)

¹⁸ Then they called out loudly in Hebrew^[f] to the people of Jerusalem, who were on the wall, to frighten and discourage them in order that he might capture the city. ¹⁹ They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which were made by human hands.

Deliverance from Sennacherib

²⁰ King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven,^{(Q) 21} and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.^(R)

²² So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from the power of all others. He gave them rest^[g](S) on every side. ²³ Many were bringing an offering to the Lord to Jerusalem and valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after that.^(T)

Hezekiah’s Illness and Pride

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became sick to the point of death, so he prayed to the Lord, who spoke to him and gave him a miraculous sign.^{(U) 25} However, because his heart was proud,^(V) Hezekiah didn’t respond according to the benefit that had come to him. So there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem.^{(W) 26} Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart—he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—so the Lord’s wrath didn’t come^(X) on them during Hezekiah’s lifetime.^(Y)

Hezekiah’s Wealth and Works

²⁷ Hezekiah had abundant riches and glory, and he made himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and every desirable item. ²⁸ He made warehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and pens for flocks. ²⁹ He made cities for himself, and he acquired vast numbers of flocks and herds, for God gave him abundant possessions.

³⁰ This same Hezekiah blocked the upper outlet of the water from the Gihon Spring^(Z) and channeled it smoothly downward and westward to the city of David.^(AA) Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did. ³¹ When the ambassadors of Babylon’s rulers^(AB) were sent^[h] to him to inquire about the miraculous sign^(AC) that happened in the land, God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart.^(AD)

Hezekiah’s Death

³² As for the rest of the events^(AE) of Hezekiah’s reign and his deeds of faithful love, note that they are written in the Visions of the Prophet Isaiah son of Amoz,^(AF) and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.^{(AG) 33} Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the ascent to the tombs of David’s descendants. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. His son Manasseh became king in his place.

Judah’s King Manasseh

33 Manasseh was twelve years old^(AH) when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.^{(AI) 3} He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down^(AJ) and reestablished the altars for the Baals. He made Asherah poles, and he bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served them. ⁴ He built altars^(AK) in the Lord’s temple, where the Lord had said, “Jerusalem is where my name will remain forever.”^{(AL) 5} He built altars to all the stars in the sky in both courtyards^(AM) of the Lord’s temple. ⁶ He passed his sons through the fire in Ben Hinnom Valley.^(AN) He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists.^(AO) He did a huge amount of evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him.

⁷ Manasseh^(AP) set up a carved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s temple^(AQ) that God had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever^[i](AR) in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.^{(AS) 8} I will never again remove the feet of the Israelites from the land where I stationed your^[j](AT) ancestors,^(AU) if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them through Moses—all the law, statutes, and judgments.” ⁹ So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

Manasseh’s Repentance

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen.^{(AV) 11} So he brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.^{(AW) 12} When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the Lord his God and earnestly humbled himself^(AX) before the God of his ancestors. ¹³ He prayed to him, and the Lord was receptive to his prayer. He granted his request^(AY) and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So Manasseh came to know that the Lord is God.^(AZ)

¹⁴ After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon^(BA) in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate;^(BB) he brought it around Ophel,^(BC) and he heightened it considerably. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

¹⁵ He removed the foreign gods and the idol^(BD) from the Lord’s temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the Lord’s temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. ¹⁶ He built^[k] the altar of the Lord and offered fellowship and thanksgiving sacrifices on it. Then he told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ However, the people still sacrificed at the high places,^(BE) but only to the Lord their God.

Manasseh’s Death

¹⁸ The rest of the events^(BF) of Manasseh’s reign, along with his prayer^(BG) to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the Events of Israel’s Kings. ¹⁹ His prayer and how God was receptive to his prayer, and all his sin and unfaithfulness and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and carved images before he humbled himself, they are written in the Events of Hozai. ²⁰ Manasseh rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in his own house. His son Amon became king in his place.

Judah’s King Amon

²¹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his father Manasseh had done.^(BH) Amon sacrificed to all the carved images that his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. ²³ But he did not humble himself before the Lord like his father Manasseh humbled himself;^(BI) instead, Amon increased his guilt.

²⁴ So his servants conspired against him and put him to death^(BJ) in his own house. ²⁵ The common people^[l] killed all who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.

Judah’s King Josiah

34 Josiah was eight years old^(BK) when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David;^(BL) he did not turn aside to the right or the left.

Josiah’s Reform

³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David,^(BM) and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images,^(BN) and the cast images. ⁴ Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he chopped down the shrines^[m] that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered^(BO) them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.^{(BP) 5} He burned the bones of the priests on their altars.^(BQ) So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ He did the same in the cities^(BR) of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and on their surrounding mountain shrines.^{[n] 7} He tore down the altars, and he smashed the Asherah poles and the carved images to powder. He chopped down all the shrines throughout the land of Israel and returned to Jerusalem.^(BS)

Josiah’s Repair of the Temple

⁸ In the eighteenth year of his reign,^(BT) in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, along with Maaseiah the governor^(BU) of the city and the court historian Joah son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

⁹ So they went to the high priest Hilkiah^(BV) and gave him the silver brought into God’s temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected it from Manasseh, Ephraim,^(BW) and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They gave it to those doing the work—those who oversaw the Lord’s temple. They gave it to the workmen who were working in the Lord’s temple, to repair and restore the temple; ¹¹ they gave it to the carpenters and builders and also used it to buy quarried stone and timbers—for joining and making beams—for the buildings that Judah’s kings had destroyed.

¹² The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled with musical instruments.^{(BX) 13} They were also over the porters and were supervising all those doing the work task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.

The Recovery of the Book of the Law

¹⁴ When they brought out the silver that had been deposited in the Lord’s temple, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the law of the Lord written by the hand of Moses.^{(BY) 15} Consequently,^(BZ) Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the Lord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported, “Your servants are doing all that was placed in their hands. ¹⁷ They have emptied out the silver that was found in the Lord’s temple and have given it to the overseers and to those doing the work.” ¹⁸ Then the court secretary Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah gave me a book,” and Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.^(CA)

¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.^{(CB) 20} Then he commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, the court secretary Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah, ²¹ “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is poured out on us^(CC) because our ancestors have not kept the word of the Lord in order to do everything written in this book.”

Huldah’s Prophecy of Judgment

²² So Hilkiah and those the king had designated^[o] went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her about this.

²³ She said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants,^(CD) fulfilling^[p] all the curses written in the book that they read in the presence of the king of Judah,^{(CE) 25} because they have abandoned me^(CF) and burned incense to other gods so as to anger me with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.’ ²⁶ Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord: ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard, ²⁷ because^(CG) your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before me, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard’—this is the Lord’s declaration. ²⁸ ‘I will indeed gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place and on its inhabitants.’”^(CH)

Then they reported to the king.

Affirmation of the Covenant by Josiah and the People

²⁹ So the king sent messengers and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ The king went up to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites—all the people from the oldest to the youngest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord’s temple.^{(CI) 31} Then the king stood at his post^(CJ) and made a covenant in the Lord’s presence^(CK) to follow the Lord and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul^(CL) in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.^(CM)

³² He had all those present in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree^[q] to it. So all the inhabitants of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

³³ So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites,^(CN) and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

Josiah’s Passover Observance

35 Josiah observed the Lord’s Passover^(CO) and slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month.^{(CP) 2} He appointed the priests to their responsibilities and encouraged them to serve in the Lord’s temple.^{(CQ) 3} He said to the Levites who taught all Israel^(CR) the holy things of the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. Since you do not have to carry it on your shoulders,^(CS) now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.

⁴ “Organize your ancestral families^[r] by your divisions^(CT) according to the written instruction of King David of Israel and that of his son Solomon.^{(CU) 5} Serve in the holy place by the groupings of the ancestral families^[s] for your brothers, the lay people,^[t] and according to the division of the Levites by family.^{(CV) 6} Slaughter the Passover lambs,^(CW) consecrate yourselves,^(CX) and make preparations for your brothers to carry out the word of the Lord through Moses.”

⁷ Then Josiah donated thirty thousand sheep, lambs, and young goats, plus three thousand cattle from his own possessions, for the Passover sacrifices for all the lay people who were present.

⁸ His officials also donated willingly for the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, chief officials of God’s temple, gave twenty-six hundred Passover sacrifices and three hundred cattle for the priests. ⁹ Conaniah^(CY) and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, donated five thousand Passover sacrifices for the Levites, plus five hundred cattle.

¹⁰ So the service was established; the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command.^{(CZ) 11} Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs, and while the Levites were skinning the animals,^(DA) the priests splattered the blood^[u] they had been given.^{[v] 12} They removed the burnt offerings so that they might be given to the groupings of the ancestral families^[w] of the lay people to offer to the Lord, according to what is written in the book of Moses; they did the same with the cattle. ¹³ They roasted the Passover lambs with fire according to regulation.^(DB) They boiled the holy sacrifices in pots, kettles, and bowls; and they quickly brought them to the lay people. ¹⁴ Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering up burnt offerings and fat until night. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

¹⁵ The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer.^(DC) Also, the gatekeepers were at each temple gate.^(DD) None of them left their tasks because their Levite brothers had made preparations for them.

¹⁶ So all the service of the Lord was established that day for observing the Passover and for offering burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁷ The Israelites who were present in Judah also observed the Passover at that time and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.^{(DE) 18} No Passover had been observed^(DF) like it in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present in Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was observed.

Josiah’s Last Deeds and Death

²⁰ After all this^(DG) that Josiah had prepared for the temple, King Neco of Egypt^(DH) marched up to fight at Carchemish^(DI) by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him. ²¹ But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, king of Judah?^(DJ) I have not come against you today^[x] but I am fighting another dynasty.^[y] God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God who is with me; don’t make him destroy you!”

²² But Josiah did not turn away from him; instead, in order to fight with him he disguised himself.^[z](DK) He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God, but went to the Valley of Megiddo^(DL) to fight. ²³ The archers shot King Josiah, and he said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded!” ^{(DM) 24} So his servants took him out of the war chariot, carried him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem. Then he died, and they buried him in the tomb of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned^(DN) for Josiah. ²⁵ Jeremiah chanted a dirge^(DO) over Josiah, and all the male and female singers still speak of Josiah in their dirges today. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Dirges.

²⁶ The rest of the events^(DP) of Josiah’s reign, along with his deeds of faithful love according to what is written in the law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his words, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Judah’s King Jehoahaz

36 Then^(DQ) the common people^[aa] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.

² Jehoahaz^[ab] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ The king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and fined the land seventy-five hundred pounds^[ac] of silver and seventy-five pounds^[ad] of gold.

Judah’s King Jehoiakim

⁴ Then King Neco of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took his brother Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt.^(DR)

⁵ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.^{(DS) 6} Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him^(DT) and bound him in bronze^(DU) shackles to take him to Babylon.^{(DV) 7} Also Nebuchadnezzar took some of the articles of the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his temple in Babylon.^(DW)

⁸ The rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim,^(DX) the detestable actions he committed, and what was found against him, are written in the Book of Israel’s Kings. His son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

Judah’s King Jehoiachin

⁹ Jehoiachin was eighteen^[ae] years old^(DY) when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹⁰ In the spring^[af](DZ) Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon along with the valuable articles of the Lord’s temple. Then he made Jehoiachin’s brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.^(EA)

Judah’s King Zedekiah

¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old^(EB) when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and did not humble himself^(EC) before the prophet Jeremiah at the Lord’s command.^{(ED) 13} He also rebelled against^(EE) King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate^[ag](EF) and hardened his heart against returning to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the Lord’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

¹⁵ But the Lord, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again,^(EG) for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers,^(EH) despising his words,^(EI) and scoffing at his prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.^{(EJ) 17} So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans,^(EK) who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him. ¹⁸ He took everything to Babylon—all the articles of God’s temple, large and small, the treasures of the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹ Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple.^(EL) They tore down Jerusalem’s wall, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.

²⁰ He deported those who escaped from the sword to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the Persian^[ah] kingdom.^{(EM) 21} This fulfilled the word of the Lord through Jeremiah,^(EN) and the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation^(EO) until seventy years were fulfilled.

The Decree of Cyrus

²² In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,^(EP) in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through^[ai] Jeremiah,^(EQ) the Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus^(ER) of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing:

²³ This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord his God be with him.