Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, then Jehoiachin Rule

36 ^(A)Then the people of the land took ^[a](B)Joahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. ² Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ Then the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. ⁴ The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But ^(C)Neco took Joahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt.

^5 (D)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ⁶ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up ^(E)against him and ^(F)bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. ^7 (G)Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon. ^8 (H)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and ^[b]the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son became king in his place.

^9 (I)Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Captivity in Babylon Begun

^10 (J)At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the Lord, and he made his kinsman ^(K)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

^11 (L)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; ^(M)he did not humble himself ^(N)before Jeremiah the prophet ^[c]who spoke for the Lord. ^13 (O)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But ^(P)he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴ Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(Q)sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; ¹⁶ but they continually ^(R)mocked the messengers of God, ^(S)despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, ^(T)until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy. ^17 (U)Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (V)All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. ¹⁹ Then ^(W)they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. ²⁰ Those who had escaped from the sword he ^(X)carried away to Babylon; and ^(Y)they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ^21 (Z)to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until ^(AA)the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. ^(AB)All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath ^[d](AC)until seventy years were complete.

Cyrus Permits Return

^22 (AD)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord ^(AE)by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord ^(AF)stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ²³ “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!’”

Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.

A Song of Ascents.

Overseers and Deacons

3 ^(A)It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the ^(B)office of ^[a]overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. ^2 [b](C)An overseer, then, must be above reproach, ^(D)the husband of one wife, ^(E)temperate, prudent, respectable, ^(F)hospitable, ^(G)able to teach, ^3 (H)not addicted to wine ^[c]or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, ^(I)free from the love of money. ⁴ He must be one who ^(J)manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity ⁵ (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of ^(K)the church of God?), ⁶ and not a new convert, so that he will not become ^(L)conceited and fall into the ^(M)condemnation ^[d]incurred by the devil. ⁷ And he must ^(N)have a good reputation with ^(O)those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and ^(P)the snare of the devil.

^8 (Q)Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not ^[e]double-tongued, ^[f](R)or addicted to much wine ^[g](S)or fond of sordid gain, ^9 (T)but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ^10 (U)These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. ^11 [h]Women must likewise be dignified, ^(V)not malicious gossips, but ^(W)temperate, faithful in all things. ^12 (X)Deacons must be ^(Y)husbands of only one wife, and ^[i](Z)good managers of their children and their own households. ¹³ For those who have served well as deacons ^(AA)obtain for themselves a ^[j]high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; ¹⁵ but ^[k]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how ^[l]one ought to conduct himself in ^(AB)the household of God, which is the ^(AC)church of ^(AD)the living God, the ^(AE)pillar and support of the truth. ¹⁶ By common confession, great is ^(AF)the mystery of godliness: