24 ^(A)In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. ² And the Lord sent against him bands of the ^(B)Chaldeans and ^(C)bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(D)according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. ³ Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, ^(E)for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ⁴ and also ^(F)for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. ^5 (G)Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ⁶ So Jehoiakim ^(H)slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. ^7 (I)And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, ^(J)for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt ^(K)from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

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

Jerusalem Captured

¹⁰ At that time the servants of ^(O)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. ¹¹ And ^(P)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, ^12 (Q)and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. ^(R)The king of Babylon took him prisoner ^(S)in the eighth year of his reign ¹³ and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord ^(T)and the treasures of the king's house, ^(U)and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, ^(V)which Solomon king of Israel had made, ^(W)as the Lord had foretold. ^14 (X)He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, ^(Y)10,000 captives, ^(Z)and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, ^(AA)except the poorest people of the land. ^15 (AB)And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, ^(AC)7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. ^17 (AD)And the king of Babylon ^(AE)made Mattaniah, ^(AF)Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, ^(AG)and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

^18 (AH)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(AI)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(AJ)according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

^(AK)And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Fall and Captivity of Judah

25 ^(AL)And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, ^(AM)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ^(AN)And they built siegeworks all around it. ² So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(AO)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁴ Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by ^(AP)the king's garden, and ^(AQ)the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the ^(AR)Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁶ Then they captured the king ^(AS)and brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(AT)Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. ⁷ They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, ^(AU)and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.

^8 (AV)In the fifth month, on ^(AW)the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ^9 (AX)And he burned the house of the Lord ^(AY)and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. ¹⁰ And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, ^(AZ)broke down the walls around Jerusalem. ^11 (BA)And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. ¹² But the captain of the guard left ^(BB)some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

^13 (BC)And the pillars ^(BD)of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and ^(BE)the stands and ^(BF)the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. ^14 (BG)And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, ¹⁵ the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. ¹⁶ As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, ^(BH)the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ^17 (BI)The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,^[a] and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.

^18 (BJ)And the captain of the guard took ^(BK)Seraiah the chief priest and ^(BL)Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; ¹⁹ and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and ^(BM)five men of the king's council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander 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 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^(BN)Riblah. ²¹ And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at ^(BO)Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(BP)So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

²² And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^(BQ)Gedaliah the son of ^(BR)Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. ^23 (BS)Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at ^(BT)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. ²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” ^25 (BU)But in the seventh month, ^(BV)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ^26 (BW)Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

^27 (BX)And in the thirty-seventh year of ^(BY)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously ^(BZ)freed^[b] Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. ²⁸ And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life ^(CA)he dined regularly at the king's table, ³⁰ and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

5 After this there was a ^(A)feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now there is in Jerusalem by ^(B)the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic^[a] called Bethesda,^[b] which has five roofed colonnades. ³ In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and ^(C)paralyzed.^{[c] 5} One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” ⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus said to him, ^(D)“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” ^9 (E)And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

^(F)Now that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰ So the Jews^[d] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and ^(G)it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” ¹¹ But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” ¹² They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” ¹³ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for ^(H)Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. ¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! ^(I)Sin no more, ^(J)that nothing worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. ¹⁶ And this was why the Jews ^(K)were persecuting Jesus, ^(L)because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

¹⁸ This was why the Jews ^(M)were seeking all the more to kill him, ^(N)because not only was he ^(O)breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God ^(P)his own Father, ^(Q)making himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

¹⁹ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(R)the Son ^(S)can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[e] does, that the Son does likewise. ²⁰ For ^(T)the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And ^(U)greater works than these will he show him, so that ^(V)you may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father ^(W)raises the dead and ^(X)gives them life, so ^(Y)also the Son gives life ^(Z)to whom he will. ^22 (AA)For the Father judges no one, but ^(AB)has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son, just as they ^(AC)honor the Father. ^(AD)Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AE)whoever hears my word and ^(AF)believes him who sent me has eternal life. He ^(AG)does not come into judgment, but ^(AH)has passed from death to life.

²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AI)an hour is coming, and is now here, when ^(AJ)the dead will hear ^(AK)the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear ^(AL)will live. ^26 (AM)For as the Father has life in himself, ^(AN)so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he ^(AO)has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for ^(AP)an hour is coming when ^(AQ)all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out, ^(AR)those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

^30 (AS)“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and ^(AT)my judgment is just, because ^(AU)I seek not my own will ^(AV)but the will of him who sent me. ^31 (AW)If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is ^(AX)another who bears witness about me, and ^(AY)I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. ^33 (AZ)You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. ³⁴ Not that ^(BA)the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and ^(BB)shining lamp, and ^(BC)you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. ³⁶ But ^(BD)the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For ^(BE)the works that the Father has given me ^(BF)to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, ^(BG)bear witness about me that ^(BH)the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me ^(BI)has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, ^(BJ)his form you have never seen, ³⁸ and ^(BK)you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. ^39 (BL)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and ^(BM)it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰ yet ^(BN)you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ^41 (BO)I do not receive glory from people. ⁴² But ^(BP)I know that you do not have ^(BQ)the love of God within you. ⁴³ I have come ^(BR)in my Father's name, and ^(BS)you do not receive me. ^(BT)If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and ^(BU)do not seek the glory that comes from ^(BV)the only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, ^(BW)on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for ^(BX)he wrote of me. ⁴⁷ But ^(BY)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”