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31 (A)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was (B)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (C)in accordance with all that his forefathers had done. 33 And (D)Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at (E)Riblah in the land of (F)Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of [a]a hundred talents of silver and [b]a talent of gold.
Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh
34 Then Pharaoh Neco made (G)Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of his father Josiah, and he (H)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and [c](I)brought him to Egypt, and he died there. 35 So Jehoiakim (J)gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he assessed the land in order to give the money at the [d]command of Pharaoh. He collected the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his assessment, to give to Pharaoh Neco.
36 (K)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (L)in accordance with all that his forefathers had done.
Babylon Controls Jehoiakim
24 (M)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 (N)bands of Chaldeans, (O)bands of Arameans, (P)bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, (Q)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. 3 (R)It indeed came upon Judah at the [e]command of the Lord, to remove them from His sight (S)due to the sins of Manasseh, in accordance with everything that he had done, 4 and (T)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 (U)Jehoiakim [f]lay down with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. 7 Now (V)the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, (W)because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from (X)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 (Y)Jehoiachin was (Z)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, (AA)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 (AB)Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials. And (AC)the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign. 13 (AD)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 (AE)smashed all the articles of gold (AF)that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then (AG)he led into exile all the people of Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the valiant warriors, (AH)ten thousand exiles, and (AI)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None were left (AJ)except the poorest people of the land.
15 So (AK)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, (AL)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 (AM)Then the king of Babylon made [g]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 (AN)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was (AO)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (AP)in accordance with everything that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For it was (AQ)due to the anger of the Lord that this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He cast them out of His presence. And (AR)Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem
25 (AS)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, (AT)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and (AU)built a siege wall all around [h]it. 2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month (AV)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 (AW)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls that were beside (AX)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And [i]they went by way of the 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 (AY)they captured the king and (AZ)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (BA)Riblah, and he [j]passed sentence on him. 7 And (BB)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then (BC)put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
Jerusalem Burned and Plundered
8 (BD)Now on the seventh day of the (BE)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And (BF)he burned the house of the Lord, (BG)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards (BH)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile (BI)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the [k]people. 12 But the captain of the bodyguards left some of (BJ)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
13 (BK)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and (BL)the bronze [l]Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the [m]bronze to Babylon. 14 (BM)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the [n]shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils [o]which were used in temple service. 15 The captain of the bodyguards also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 16 The two pillars, the one Sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—[p](BN)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. 17 (BO)The height of the one pillar was [q]eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was [r]three cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, same features with latticework.
18 Then the captain of the bodyguards took (BP)Seraiah the chief priest and (BQ)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [s]doorkeepers. 19 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and (BR)five [t]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the [u]scribe of the captain 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 bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at (BS)Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. (BT)So Judah went into exile from its land.
Gedaliah Made Governor
22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed (BU)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 (BV)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at (BW)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”
25 (BX)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal [v]family, came [w]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 (BY)Then all the people, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 (BZ)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of (CA)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, [x](CB)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he (CC)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So [y]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and [z](CD)had his meals in [aa]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30 and as his (CE)allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.
17 “It happened when I (A)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I (B)fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘(C)Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another (D)I used to imprison and (E)beat those who believed in You. 20 And (F)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (G)to the Gentiles.’”
22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(H)Away with such a man from the earth, for (I)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were shouting and (J)throwing off their cloaks and (K)tossing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that he be brought into (L)the barracks, saying that he was to be (M)interrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [a]with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [b]lawful for you to flog (N)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The commander came and said to [c]Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore, those who were about to (O)interrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also (P)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [d](Q)put him in chains.
30 Now on the next day, (R)wanting to know for certain why Paul had been accused by the Jews, he (S)released him and ordered the chief priests and all (T)the [e]Council to assemble, and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.
Paul before the Council
23 Now looking intently at (U)the [f]Council, Paul said, “[g](V)Brothers, (W)I have [h]lived my life with an entirely good conscience before God up to this day.” 2 But the high priest (X)Ananias commanded those standing beside him (Y)to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, (Z)you whitewashed wall! Do you (AA)sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law, order me to be struck?” 4 But those present said, “Are you insulting God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he is high priest; for it is written: ‘(AB)You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
6 But Paul, perceiving that one group were (AC)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, began crying out in (AD)the [i]Council, “[j](AE)Brothers, (AF)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for (AG)the hope and resurrection of the dead!” 7 When he said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For (AH)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 And a great uproar occurred; and some of (AI)the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and started arguing heatedly, saying, “(AJ)We find nothing wrong with this man; (AK)suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 And when a great dissension occurred, the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, and he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into (AL)the barracks.
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are (A)the [a]nations restless
And the peoples (B)plotting in vain?
2 The (C)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
(D)Against the Lord and against His [b](E)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s (F)tear their shackles apart
And throw their ropes away from us!”
4 He who [c]sits in the heavens (G)laughs,
The Lord (H)scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His (I)anger
And (J)terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed (K)My King
Upon Zion, (L)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will announce the [d]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (M)My Son,
Today I have fathered You.
8 Ask it of Me, and (N)I will certainly give (O)the [e]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (P)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [f](Q)break them with a [g]rod of iron,
You shall (R)shatter them like [h]earthenware.’”
10 Now then, you kings, (S)use insight;
Let yourselves be instructed, you [i]judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with [j](T)reverence
And rejoice with (U)trembling.
12 [k]Kiss (V)the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For (W)His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who (X)take refuge in Him!
13 One who (A)gives an answer before he hears,
It is foolishness and shame to him.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.