List of Defeated Kings

12 These are the kings of the land whom the Israelites had defeated and whose territory they took^(A) over east of the Jordan,^(B) from the Arnon^(C) Gorge to Mount Hermon,^(D) including all the eastern side of the Arabah:^(E)

⁶ Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites conquered them.^(W) And Moses the servant of the Lord gave their land to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to be their possession.^(X)

⁷ Here is a list of the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon^(Y) to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave their lands as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel according to their tribal divisions. ⁸ The lands included the hill country, the western foothills, the Arabah, the mountain slopes, the wilderness and the Negev.^(Z) These were the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. These were the kings:^(AA)

Land Still to Be Taken

13 When Joshua had grown old,^(BC) the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.

⁶ “As for all the inhabitants of the mountain regions from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim,^(BR) that is, all the Sidonians, I myself will drive them out^(BS) before the Israelites. Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have instructed you,^{(BT) 7} and divide it as an inheritance^(BU) among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh.”

Division of the Land East of the Jordan

⁸ The other half of Manasseh,^[b] the Reubenites and the Gadites had received the inheritance that Moses had given them east of the Jordan, as he, the servant of the Lord, had assigned^(BV) it to them.^(BW)

¹⁴ But to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance, since the food offerings presented to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as he promised them.^(CM)

¹⁵ This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Reuben, according to its clans:

²⁴ This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Gad, according to its clans:

²⁹ This is what Moses had given to the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the family of the descendants of Manasseh, according to its clans:

³² This is the inheritance Moses had given when he was in the plains of Moab^(DX) across the Jordan east of Jericho.^{(DY) 33} But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance;^(DZ) the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance,^(EA) as he promised them.^(EB)

Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur^(A), Jehukal^[a](B) son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague,^(C) but whoever goes over to the Babylonians^[b] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’^{(D) 3} And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”^(E)

⁴ Then the officials^(F) said to the king, “This man should be put to death.^(G) He is discouraging^(H) the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”

⁵ “He is in your hands,”^(I) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing^(J) to oppose you.”

⁶ So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard.^(K) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes^(L) into the cistern; it had no water in it,^(M) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.^(N)

⁷ But Ebed-Melek,^(O) a Cushite,^[c] an official^[d](P) in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,^{(Q) 8} Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern,^(R) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread^(S) in the city.”

¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

¹¹ So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes^(T) to Jeremiah in the cistern. ¹² Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, ¹³ and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.^(U)

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah sent^(V) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide^(W) anything from me.”

¹⁵ Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”

¹⁶ But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly^(X) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,^(Y) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”^(Z)

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender^(AA) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.^{(AB) 18} But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands^(AC) of the Babylonians and they will burn^(AD) it down; you yourself will not escape^(AE) from them.’”

¹⁹ King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid^(AF) of the Jews who have gone over^(AG) to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”

²⁰ “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey^(AH) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well^(AI) with you, and your life^(AJ) will be spared. ²¹ But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: ²² All the women^(AK) left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:

²³ “All your wives and children^(AN) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape^(AO) from their hands but will be captured^(AP) by the king of Babylon; and this city will^[e] be burned down.”^(AQ)

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know^(AR) about this conversation, or you may die. ²⁵ If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ ²⁶ then tell^(AS) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house^(AT) to die there.’”

²⁷ All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.

²⁸ And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard^(AU) until the day Jerusalem was captured.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(AV)

This is how Jerusalem^(AW) was taken:

God’s Faithfulness

3 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ² Much in every way!^(A) First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.^(B)

³ What if some were unfaithful?^(C) Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?^{(D) 4} Not at all! Let God be true,^(E) and every human being a liar.^(F) As it is written:

⁵ But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly,^(H) what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)^{(I) 6} Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?^{(J) 7} Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory,^(K) why am I still condemned as a sinner?”^{(L) 8} Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”?^(M) Their condemnation is just!

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?^(N) Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.^{(O) 10} As it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says,^(V) it says to those who are under the law,^(W) so that every mouth may be silenced^(X) and the whole world held accountable to God.^{(Y) 20} Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law;^(Z) rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.^(AA)

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God^(AB) has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.^{(AC) 22} This righteousness^(AD) is given through faith^(AE) in^[h] Jesus Christ^(AF) to all who believe.^(AG) There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,^{(AH) 23} for all have sinned^(AI) and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified^(AJ) freely by his grace^(AK) through the redemption^(AL) that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[i](AM) through the shedding of his blood^(AN)—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished^(AO)— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting?^(AP) It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.^{(AQ) 29} Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,^{(AR) 30} since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.^{(AS) 31} Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.