Judah Overrun by Enemies

24 In ^(A)his days Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(B)Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. ^2 (C)And the Lord sent against him raiding ^[a]bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(D)according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. ³ Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight ^(E)because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ^4 (F)and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon.

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? ^6 (G)So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

⁷ And ^(H)the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for ^(I)the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin^(J)

^8 (K)Jehoiachin^[b] was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

^10 (L)At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city ^[c]was besieged. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. ^12 (M)Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, ^(N)in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.

The Captivity of Jerusalem

^13 (O)And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he ^(P)cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, ^(Q)as the Lord had said. ¹⁴ Also ^(R)he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ^(S)ten thousand captives, and ^(T)all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except ^(U)the poorest people of the land. ¹⁵ And ^(V)he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ^16 (W)All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah^(X)

¹⁷ Then ^(Y)the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, ^(Z)Jehoiachin’s^[d] uncle, king in his place, and ^(AA)changed his name to Zedekiah.

^18 (AB)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^(AC)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ^19 (AD)He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. ^(AE)Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Prophecies Against the Kings of Judah

22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, ² and say, ^(A)‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! ³ Thus says the Lord: ^(B)“Execute^[a] judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the ^(C)fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴ For if you indeed do this thing, ^(D)then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. ⁵ But if you will not ^[b]hear these words, ^(E)I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ”

⁶ For thus says the Lord to the house of the king of Judah:

⁸ And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ^(I)‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ ⁹ Then they will answer, ^(J)‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”

Message to the Sons of Josiah

¹¹ For thus says the Lord concerning ^(M)Shallum^[c] the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, ^(N)who went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore, ¹² but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

¹⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

Message to Coniah

²⁴ “As I live,” says the Lord, ^(Y)“though ^[i]Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, ^(Z)were the ^[j]signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; ^25 (AA)and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the ^[k]Chaldeans. ^26 (AB)So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. ²⁷ But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return.

The Blessed State of the Righteous

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane^(A)

18 When Jesus had spoken these words, ^(B)He went out with His disciples over ^(C)the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. ² And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; ^(D)for Jesus often met there with His disciples. ^3 (E)Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. ⁴ Jesus therefore, ^(F)knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

⁵ They answered Him, ^(G)“Jesus ^[a]of Nazareth.”

Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who ^(H)betrayed Him, also stood with them. ⁶ Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷ Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”

And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁸ Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹ that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, ^(I)“Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.”

^10 (J)Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.

¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink ^(K)the cup which My Father has given Me?”

Before the High Priest

¹² Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. ¹³ And ^(L)they led Him away to ^(M)Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of ^(N)Caiaphas who was high priest that year. ^14 (O)Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was ^[b]expedient that one man should die for the people.

Peter Denies Jesus^(P)

^15 (Q)And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did ^(R)another^[c] disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. ^16 (S)But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷ Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?”

He said, “I am ^(T)not.”

¹⁸ Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.

Jesus Questioned by the High Priest

¹⁹ The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.

²⁰ Jesus answered him, ^(U)“I spoke openly to the world. I always taught ^(V)in synagogues and ^(W)in the temple, where ^[d]the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. ²¹ Why do you ask Me? Ask ^(X)those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.”

²² And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by ^(Y)struck^[e] Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?”

²³ Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?”

^24 (Z)Then Annas sent Him bound to ^(AA)Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter Denies Twice More

²⁵ Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. ^(AB)Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?”

He denied it and said, “I am not!”

²⁶ One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” ²⁷ Peter then denied again; and ^(AC)immediately a rooster crowed.

In Pilate’s Court^(AD)

^28 (AE)Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. ^(AF)But they themselves did not go into the ^[f]Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. ^29 (AG)Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”

³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If He were not ^[g]an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”

³¹ Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”

Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” ^32 (AH)that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, ^(AI)signifying by what death He would die.

^33 (AJ)Then Pilate entered the ^[h]Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

³⁴ Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”

³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”

^36 (AK)Jesus answered, ^(AL)“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

³⁷ Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, ^(AM)that I should bear ^(AN)witness to the truth. Everyone who ^(AO)is of the truth ^(AP)hears My voice.”

³⁸ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ^(AQ)“I find no fault in Him at all.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(AR)

^39 (AS)“But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

^40 (AT)Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” ^(AU)Now Barabbas was a robber.