The Daily Audio Bible
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Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.(A) 32 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestors had done. 33 Pharaoh Neco confined him at Riblah in the land of Hamath, so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and imposed tribute on the land of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.(B) 34 Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away; he came to Egypt and died there.(C) 35 Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to meet Pharaoh’s demand for money. He exacted the silver and the gold from the people of the land, from all according to their assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.(D)
Jehoiakim Reigns over Judah
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.(E) 37 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as all his ancestors had done.
Judah Overrun by Enemies
24 In his days King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up; Jehoiakim became his servant for three years, then turned and rebelled against him.(F) 2 He[a] sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Arameans, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites; he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets.(G) 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, for all that he had committed,(H) 4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to pardon.(I) 5 Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors; then his son Jehoiachin succeeded him.(J) 7 The king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken over all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi of Egypt to the River Euphrates.(K)
Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.(L) 9 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father had done.
10 At that time the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.(M) 11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it; 12 King Jehoiachin of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon: himself, his mother, his servants, his officers, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.(N)
Capture of Jerusalem
13 He carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord that King Solomon of Israel had made, all this as the Lord had foretold.(O) 14 He carried away all Jerusalem, all the officials, all the warriors, ten thousand captives, all the artisans and the smiths; no one remained except the poorest people of the land.(P) 15 He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the elite of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.(Q) 16 The king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, the artisans and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war.(R) 17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.(S)
Zedekiah Reigns over Judah
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.(T) 19 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done.(U) 20 Indeed, Jerusalem and Judah so angered the Lord that he expelled them from his presence.
The Fall and Captivity of Judah
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.(V) 25 1
8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—which 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.(AB) 9 He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.(AC) 10 All the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.(AD) 11 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon—all the rest of the multitude.(AE) 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and tillers of the soil.(AF)
13 The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, as well as the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.(AG) 14 They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the dishes for incense, and all the bronze vessels used in the temple service,(AH) 15 as well as the firepans and the basins. What was made of gold the captain of the guard took away for the gold and what was made of silver for the silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weighing.(AI) 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it was a bronze capital; the height of the capital was three cubits; latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were on the capital all around. The second pillar had the same, with the latticework.(AJ)
18 The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three guardians of the threshold;(AK) 19 from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the soldiers and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; the secretary who was 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 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 The king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile out of its land.(AL)
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah
22 He appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan as governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left.(AM) 23 Now when all the captains of the forces and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite.(AN) 24 Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials; live in the land, serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men; they struck down Gedaliah so that he died, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.(AO) 26 Then all the people, high and low,[d] and the captains of the forces set out and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.(AP)
Jehoiachin Released from Prison
27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison;(AQ) 28 he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the other seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes. Every day of his life he dined regularly in the king’s presence.(AR) 30 For his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion every day, as long as he lived.
Paul Sent to the Gentiles
17 “After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance(A) 18 and saw Jesus[a] saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.(B) 20 And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.’(C) 21 Then he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the gentiles.’ ”(D)
Paul and the Roman Tribune
22 Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air,(E) 24 the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. 25 But when they had tied him up with straps,[b] Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman person who is uncondemned?”(F) 26 When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? This man is a Roman.” 27 The tribune came and asked Paul,[c] “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.” 29 Immediately those who were about to examine him drew back from him, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman and that he had bound him.
Paul before the Council
30 Since he wanted to find out what Paul[d] was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them.(G)
23 While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, “Brothers,[e] up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God.”(H) 2 Then the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth.(I) 3 At this Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?”(J) 4 Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not realize, brothers, that he was high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.’ ”(K)
6 When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, “Brothers,[f] I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection[g] of the dead.”(L) 7 When he said this, a dissension began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge all three.)(M) 9 Then a great clamor arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees’ group stood up and contended, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”(N) 10 When the dissension became violent, the tribune, fearing that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered the soldiers to go down, take him by force, and bring him into the barracks.(O)
Psalm 2
God’s Promise to His Anointed
1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?(A)
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,(B)
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.(C)
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath
and terrify them in his fury, saying,(D)
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”(E)
7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.(F)
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage
and the ends of the earth your possession.(G)
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”(H)
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear;
with trembling(I) 12 kiss his feet,[a]
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.(J)
13 If one gives answer before hearing,
it is folly and shame.(A)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.