2 Kings 24 - 25, 2 Chronicles 36, Acts 22 - 23, Psalms 92 - 93

Jehoiakim Rebels Against Nebuchadnezzar

24^aIn his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. ²And Yahweh sent against him ^amarauding bands of Chaldeans, ^bmarauding bands of Arameans, ^cmarauding bands of Moabites, and marauding bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^daccording to the word of Yahweh which He had spoken by the hand of His slaves the prophets. ³^aSurely at the ¹command of Yahweh it came upon Judah, to remove them from His presence ^bbecause of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ⁴and ^aalso for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and Yahweh was not willing to pardon. ⁵Now 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 over Judah

⁶So ^aJehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. ⁷^aAnd the king of Egypt did not go out of his land again, ^bfor the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from ^cthe brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

⁸^aJehoiachin was ^beighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^aaccording to all that his father had done.

Judah Exiled to Babylon

¹⁰At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. ¹¹And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. ¹²^aThen Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his commanders and his officials. So ^bthe king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. ¹³^aAnd he brought out from there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king’s house, and ^bcut in pieces all the vessels of gold ^cwhich Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had spoken. ¹⁴Then ^ahe took away into exile all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the mighty men of valor, ^b10,000 captives, and ^call the craftsmen and the smiths. None was left ^dexcept the poorest people of the land.

¹⁵So ^ahe took Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶Now all the valiant men, ^aseven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all mighty men who could wage war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Reigns over Judah

¹⁷^aThen the king of Babylon made ¹his uncle Mattaniah king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

¹⁸^aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^aaccording to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰For ^athrough the anger of Yahweh this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And ^bZedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25^aNow in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ^bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his military force, against Jerusalem, and he camped against it and ^cbuilt a siege wall all around ¹it. ²So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³On the ninth day of the fourth month ^athe famine was so strong in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁴^aThen the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside ^bthe king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ¹they went by way of the Arabah. ⁵But the military force of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his military force was scattered from him. ⁶Then ^athey seized the king and ^bbrought him up to the king of Babylon at ^cRiblah, and they spoke their judgment on him. ⁷^aAnd they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; then he ^bblinded the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned

⁸^aNow on the seventh day of the ^bfifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹^aAnd he burned the house of Yahweh, ^bthe king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁰So all the military force of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^atore down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹Then ^athe rest of the people who were left in the city and the defectors who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took away into exile. ¹²But the captain of the guard left some of ^athe poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

¹³^aNow the bronze pillars which were in the house of Yahweh, and the stands and ^bthe bronze sea which were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans shattered and carried the ¹bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴^aThey also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used to minister. ¹⁵The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. ¹⁶The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh—^athe bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ¹⁷^aThe height of the one pillar was eighteen ¹cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three ²cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network.

¹⁸Then the captain of the guard took ^aSeraiah the chief priest and ^bZephaniah the second priest, with the three ¹doorkeepers of the temple. ¹⁹And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and ^afive ¹of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the ²scribe 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. ²⁰And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and led them to the king of Babylon at ^aRiblah. ²¹Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^aSo Judah went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Appointed Judah’s Governor

²²Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^aGedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. ²³^aThen all the commanders of the military forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor. So they came to Gedaliah to ^bMizpah, 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, they and their men. ²⁴Then 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 be well with you.”

²⁵^aBut it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came ¹with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died, along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶^aThen all the people, both small and great, and the commanders of the military forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

²⁷^aNow it happened in the thirty-seventh year of ^bthe 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, ^clifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; ²⁸and he ^aspoke to him good words, and he set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹So ¹Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and ²^,^ahad his meals in ³the king’s presence continually all the days of his life; ³⁰and for his ^aallowance, a continual allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Joahaz Reigns over Judah

36^aThen the people of the land took ¹^,^bJoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. ²¹Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³Then the king of Egypt had him removed in Jerusalem and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred ¹talents of silver and one talent of gold. ⁴Then the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But ^aNeco took Joahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt.

Jehoiakim Reigns over Judah

⁵^aJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God. ⁶Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up ^aagainst him and ^bbound him with bronze chains to lead him off to Babylon. ⁷^aNebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of Yahweh to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon. ⁸^aNow the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and ¹the 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.

Jehoiachin Reigns over Judah

⁹^aJehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. ¹⁰^aAnd at the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of Yahweh, and he made his relative ^bZedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Reigns over Judah

¹¹^aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹²And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God; ^ahe did not humble himself ^bbefore Jeremiah the prophet who spoke from the mouth of Yahweh. ¹³^aHe also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But ^bhe stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁴Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of Yahweh which He had set apart as holy in Jerusalem.

The Chaldeans Destroy Jerusalem

¹⁵And Yahweh, the God of their fathers, ^asent word to them ¹again and again by the hand of His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His habitation; ¹⁶but they continually ^amocked the messengers of God, ^bdespised His words and scoffed at His prophets, ^cuntil the wrath of Yahweh arose against His people, until there was no remedy. ¹⁷^aTherefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who killed their choice men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on choice man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. ¹⁸^aAnd all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king and of his officials, he brought them all to Babylon. ¹⁹Then ^athey burned the house of God and tore down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. ²⁰And those who had escaped from the sword he ^atook away into exile to Babylon; and ^bthey were slaves to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹^ato fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until ^bthe land had made up for its sabbaths. ^cAll the days of its desolation it kept sabbath ¹^,^duntil seventy years were fulfilled.

The Proclamation of Cyrus

²²^aNow in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to complete the word of Yahweh ^bby the mouth of Jeremiah—Yahweh ^cstirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he had a proclamation pass throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ²³“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘Yahweh, 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 Yahweh his God be with him, and let him go up!’”

22“^aMen, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

²And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^aHebrew language, they became even quieter; and he *said,

³“^aI am ^ba Jew, born in ^cTarsus of ^dCilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of ^eGamaliel according to the ^fstrictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today, ⁴^aI persecuted this ^bWay to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons, ⁵as also ^athe high priest and all ^bthe Council of the elders ¹can testify. From them I also ^creceived letters to ^dthe brothers, and started off for ^eDamascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ²as prisoners to be punished.

⁶“^aBut it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, ⁷and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸“And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am ^aJesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹“And those who were with me ^abeheld the light, to be sure, but ^bdid not ¹understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. ¹⁰“And I said, ‘^aWhat should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do.’ ¹¹“But since I ^acould not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹²“Now a certain ^aAnanias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^bwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ¹³came to me, and standing near, said to me, ‘^aBrother Saul, regain your sight!’ And ¹^,^bat that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. ¹⁴“And he said, ‘^aThe God of our fathers has ^bappointed you to know His will and to ^csee the ^dRighteous One and to hear a ¹voice from His mouth. ¹⁵‘For you will be ^aa witness for Him to all men of ^bwhat you have seen and heard. ¹⁶‘Now why do you delay? ^aRise up and be baptized, and ^bwash away your sins, ^ccalling on His name.’

¹⁷“Now it happened when I ^areturned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^bfell into a trance, ¹⁸and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^aHurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.’ ¹⁹“And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^aI used to imprison and ^bbeat those who believed in You. ²⁰‘And ^awhen the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and guarding the garments of those who were slaying him.’ ²¹“And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^ato the Gentiles.’”

Paul, a Citizen of Rome

²²And they were listening to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “^aAway with such a fellow from the earth, for ^bhe should not be allowed to live!” ²³And as they were crying out and ^athrowing off their garments and ^btossing dust into the air, ²⁴the ¹commander ordered him to be brought into ^athe barracks, stating that he should be ^bexamined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. ²⁵But when they stretched him out ¹with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ²lawful for you to flog ^aa man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” ²⁶And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” ²⁷And the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I have been born a citizen.” ²⁹Therefore those who were about to ^aexamine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also ^bwas afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had ^cbound him.

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰But on the next day, ^awishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he ^breleased him and ordered the chief priests and all ^cthe Sanhedrin to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

23Now Paul, looking intently at ^athe Sanhedrin, said, “^bBrothers, ^cI have ¹lived my life in all good conscience before God up to this day.” ²And the high priest ^aAnanias commanded those standing beside him ^bto strike him on the mouth. ³Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, ^ayou whitewashed wall! Do you ^bsit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” ⁴But those standing nearby said, “Do you revile the high priest of God?” ⁵And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘^aYou shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶But knowing that one group were ^aSadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in ^bthe Sanhedrin, “^cBrothers, ^dI am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for ^ethe hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷As he said this, there was dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸For ^athe Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹And there occurred a great outcry; and some of ^athe scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “^bWe find nothing wrong with this man. ^cSuppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰And as a great dissension was developing, because the ¹commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them, he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ^athe barracks.

¹¹But on ^athat very night, the Lord stood at his side and said, “^bTake courage; for ^cas you have ^dsolemnly borne witness to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at Rome also.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

¹²Now when it was day, ^athe Jews formed a ¹conspiracy and ^bbound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³And there were more than forty who formed this scheme. ¹⁴They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have ^abound ourselves under a curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵“So now you, along with ^athe Sanhedrin, notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more carefully; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near.”

¹⁶But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, ¹he came and entered ^athe barracks and reported it to Paul. ¹⁷And Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸So he took him and led him to the ¹commander and *said, “Paul ^athe prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.” ¹⁹And the ¹commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰And he said, “^aThe Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to ^bthe Sanhedrin, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more carefully about him. ²¹“So do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of them—who have ^abound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him—are ^blying in wait for him and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.” ²²So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

Paul Is Brought to Caesarea

²³And when he called to him two of the centurions, he said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers, ¹seventy horsemen, and two hundred ²spearmen to proceed to ^aCaesarea by the ³third hour of the night, ²⁴and provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to ^aFelix the governor.” ²⁵And he wrote a letter having this form:

²⁶“Claudius Lysias, to the ^amost excellent governor Felix, ^bgreetings.

²⁷“When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, ^aI came up to them with the troops and rescued him, ^bhaving learned that he was a Roman. ²⁸“And ^awanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I ^bbrought him down to their ^cSanhedrin; ²⁹and I found him to be accused over ^aquestions about their Law, but ¹under ^bno accusation deserving death or ²imprisonment.

³⁰“And when I was ^ainformed that there would be ^ba plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing ^chis accusers to speak against him before you.”

³¹So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³²But the next day, leaving ^athe horsemen to go on with him, they returned to ^bthe barracks. ³³When these had come to ^aCaesarea and delivered the letter to ^bthe governor, they also presented Paul to him. ³⁴And when he had read it, he asked from what ^aprovince he was, and when he learned that ^bhe was from Cilicia, ³⁵he said, “I will give you a hearing after your ^aaccusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be ^bkept in Herod’s ¹Praetorium.

How Great Are Your Works, O Yahweh

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.

It is ^agood to give thanks to YahwehAnd to ^bsing praises to Your name, O Most High;²To ^adeclare Your lovingkindness in the morningAnd Your ^bfaithfulness ¹by night,³¹With the ^aten-stringed lute and with the ^bharp,²With resounding music ³upon the ^clyre.⁴For You, O Yahweh, have made me glad by ¹what You ^ahave done,I will ^bsing for joy at the ^cworks of Your hands.⁵How ^agreat are Your works, O Yahweh!Your ¹^,^bthoughts are very ^cdeep.⁶A ^asenseless man does not know,And a ^bfool does not understand this:⁷That when the wicked ^aflourished like grassAnd all ^bthe workers of iniquity blossomed,It was only that they might be ^cdestroyed forevermore.⁸But You are ^aon high forever, O Yahweh.⁹For, behold, Your enemies, O Yahweh,For, behold, ^aYour enemies will perish;All the workers of iniquity will be ^bscattered.¹⁰But You have raised up my ^ahorn like that of the wild ox;I have ¹been ^banointed with fresh oil.¹¹And my eye has ^alooked exultantly upon ¹my foes,My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.¹²The ^arighteous man will ¹flourish like the palm tree,He will grow like a ^bcedar in Lebanon.¹³^aPlanted in the house of Yahweh,They will flourish ^bin the courts of our God.¹⁴They will still ¹^,^ayield fruit in old age;They shall be ²rich and fresh,¹⁵To ¹declare that ^aYahweh is upright;He is my ^brock, and there is ^cno unrighteousness in Him.

Yahweh Reigns Forevermore

93^aYahweh ¹reigns, He is ^bclothed with majesty;Yahweh has ^cclothed and girded Himself with strength;Indeed, the ^dworld is established, it will not be shaken.²Your ^athrone is established from of old;You ^bare from everlasting.³The ^arivers have lifted up, O Yahweh,The rivers have lifted up their voice,The rivers lift up their pounding waves.⁴More than the voices of many waters,Than the mighty breakers of the sea,Yahweh ^aon high is mighty.⁵Your ^atestimonies are very faithful;^bHoliness befits Your house,O Yahweh, ¹forevermore.