Judah Overrun by Enemies

24 In his days Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoi′akim became his servant three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. ² And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chalde′ans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which 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, for the sins of Manas′seh, according to all that he had done, ⁴ and also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. ⁵ Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoi′akim, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ⁶ So Jehoi′akim slept with his fathers, and Jehoi′achin his son reigned in his stead. ⁷ And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphra′tes.

Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin

⁸ Jehoi′achin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehush′ta the daughter of Elna′than of Jerusalem. ⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

Capture of Jerusalem

¹⁰ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it; ¹² and Jehoi′achin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign, ¹³ and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold. ¹⁴ He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, except the poorest people of the land. ¹⁵ And he carried away Jehoi′achin 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, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war. ¹⁷ And the king of Babylon made Mattani′ah, Jehoi′achin’s uncle, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedeki′ah.

Zedekiah Reigns over Judah

¹⁸ Zedeki′ah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamu′tal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoi′akim 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.

The Fall and Captivity of Judah

And Zedeki′ah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Celebration of the Passover

35 Josi′ah kept a passover to the Lord in Jerusalem; and they killed the passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² He appointed the priests to their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. ³ And he said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built; you need no longer carry it upon your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. ⁴ Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses by your divisions, following the directions of David king of Israel and the directions of Solomon his son. ⁵ And stand in the holy place according to the groupings of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and let there be for each a part of a father’s house of the Levites.^{[a] 6} And kill the passover lamb, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, to do according to the word of the Lord by Moses.”

⁷ Then Josi′ah contributed to the lay people, as passover offerings for all that were present, lambs and kids from the flock to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bulls; these were from the king’s possessions. ⁸ And his princes contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilki′ah, Zechari′ah, and Jehi′el, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the passover offerings two thousand six hundred lambs and kids and three hundred bulls. ⁹ Conani′ah also, and Shemai′ah and Nethan′el his brothers, and Hashabi′ah and Je-i′el and Jo′zabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the passover offerings five thousand lambs and kids and five hundred bulls.

¹⁰ When the service had been prepared for, the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command. ¹¹ And they killed the passover lamb, and the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from them while the Levites flayed the victims. ¹² And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so they did with the bulls. ¹³ And they roasted the passover lamb with fire according to the ordinance; and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. ¹⁴ And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jedu′thun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not need to depart from their service, for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁶ So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josi′ah. ¹⁷ And the people of Israel who were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days. ¹⁸ No passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; none of the kings of Israel had kept such a passover as was kept by Josi′ah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josi′ah this passover was kept.

Defeat by Pharaoh Neco and Death of Josiah

²⁰ After all this, when Josi′ah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Car′chemish on the Euphra′tes and Josi′ah went out against him. ²¹ But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war; and God has commanded me to make haste. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” ²² Nevertheless Josi′ah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but joined battle in the plain of Megid′do. ²³ And the archers shot King Josi′ah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” ²⁴ So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died, and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josi′ah. ²⁵ Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josi′ah; and all the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josi′ah in their laments to this day. They made these an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Josi′ah, and his good deeds according to what is written in the law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Wisdom’s Part in Creation