Babylon Controls Jehoiakim

24 ^(A)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and revolted against him. ² And the Lord sent against him ^(B)bands of Chaldeans, ^(C)bands of Arameans, ^(D)bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(E)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. ^3 (F)It indeed came upon Judah at the ^[a]command of the Lord, to remove them from His sight ^(G)due to the sins of Manasseh, in accordance with everything that he had done, ⁴ and ^(H)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord was unwilling to forgive. 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?

Jehoiachin Reigns

⁶ So ^(I)Jehoiakim ^[b]lay down with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. ⁷ Now ^(J)the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, ^(K)because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from ^(L)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

^8 (M)Jehoiachin was ^(N)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(O)in accordance with all that his father had done.

Deportation to Babylon

¹⁰ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. ¹² Then ^(P)Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials. And ^(Q)the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign. ^13 (R)He also brought out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and he ^(S)smashed all the articles of gold ^(T)that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. ¹⁴ Then ^(U)he led into exile all the people of Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the valiant warriors, ^(V)ten thousand exiles, and ^(W)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None were left ^(X)except the poorest people of the land.

¹⁵ So ^(Y)he led Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother, the king’s wives, and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ And all the valiant men, ^(Z)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, a thousand, all strong and fit for war, these too the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Made King

^17 (AA)Then the king of Babylon made ^[c]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

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

The Danger of Falling Away

6 Therefore ^(A)leaving ^(B)the ^[a]elementary teaching about the ^[b]Christ, let us press on to ^[c](C)maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from ^(D)dead works and of faith toward God, ² of ^(E)instruction about ^[d]washings and ^(F)laying on of hands, and about the ^(G)resurrection of the dead and ^(H)eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do, ^(I)if God permits. ⁴ For it is ^(J)impossible, in the case of those who have once been ^(K)enlightened and have tasted of ^(L)the heavenly gift and have been made ^(M)partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and ^(N)have tasted the good ^(O)word of God and the powers of ^(P)the age to come, ⁶ and then have ^[e]fallen away, to ^(Q)restore them again to repentance, ^[f](R)since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. ⁷ For ground that drinks the rain which often ^[g]falls on it and produces vegetation useful to those ^(S)for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and ^[h](T)close to being cursed, and ^[i]it ends up being burned.

Better Things for You

⁹ But, ^(U)beloved, we are convinced of better things regarding you, and things that ^[j]accompany salvation, even though we are speaking in this way. ¹⁰ For ^(V)God is not unjust so as to forget ^(W)your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having ^(X)served and by still serving the ^[k]saints. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you demonstrate the same diligence ^[l]so as to realize the ^(Y)full assurance of ^(Z)hope until the end, ¹² so that you will not be sluggish, but ^(AA)imitators of those who through ^(AB)faith and endurance ^(AC)inherit the promises.

¹³ For ^(AD)when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear an oath by no one greater, He ^(AE)swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, “^(AF)indeed I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply you.” ¹⁵ And so, ^(AG)having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. ^16 (AH)For people swear an oath by ^[m]one greater than themselves, and with them ^(AI)an oath serving as confirmation is an end of every dispute. ^17 [n]In the same way God, desiring even more to demonstrate to ^(AJ)the heirs of the promise ^[o](AK)the fact that His purpose is unchangeable, ^[p]confirmed it with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things in which ^(AL)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to ^(AM)the hope set before us. ^19 [q]This ^(AN)hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which ^(AO)enters ^[r]within the veil, ^20 (AP)where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a ^(AQ)high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.