1 kIn his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the Lord sent against him bands of the lChaldeans and mbands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, naccording to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, ofor the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also pfor the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. 5 qNow the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim rslept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 sAnd the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, tfor the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt ufrom the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah
8 vJehoiachin was weighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, xaccording to all that his father had done.
Jerusalem Captured
10 At that time the servants of yNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And yNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 zand Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. aThe king of Babylon took him prisoner bin the eighth year of his reign 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord cand the treasures of the king’s house, dand cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, ewhich Solomon king of Israel had made, fas the Lord had foretold. 14 gHe carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, h10,000 captives, iand all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, jexcept the poorest people of the land. 15 kAnd he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, l7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. 17 mAnd the king of Babylon nmade Mattaniah, oJehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, pand changed his name to Zedekiah.
Zedekiah Reigns in Judah
18 qZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was rHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, saccording to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.
tAnd Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Fall and Captivity of Judah
1 uAnd in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, vNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. wAnd they built siegeworks all around it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month xthe famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by ythe king’s garden, and zthe Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the aArabah. 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 they captured the king band brought him up to the king of Babylon at cRiblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, dand put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.
8 eIn the fifth month, on fthe seventh day of the month—that 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. 9 gAnd he burned the house of the Lord hand the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, ibroke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 jAnd the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left ksome of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
13 lAnd the pillars mof bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and nthe stands and othe bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 pAnd they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, qthe bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 rThe height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,1 and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.
18 sAnd the captain of the guard took tSeraiah the chief priest and uZephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and vfive men of the king’s council who were found in the city; and the secretary 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. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at wRiblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at wRiblah in the land of Hamath. xSo Judah was taken into exile out of its land.
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah
22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed yGedaliah the son of zAhikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 aNow when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at 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. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 cBut in the seventh month, dIshmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 eThen all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
Jehoiachin Released from Prison
27 fAnd in the thirty-seventh year of gthe exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously hfreed2 Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life ihe dined regularly at the king’s table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.
The Transfiguration
1 gAnd after six days Jesus took with him hPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was itransfigured before them, and jhis face shone like the sun, and khis clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for lElijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, ma bright cloud overshadowed them, and ma voice from the cloud said, n“This is my beloved Son,1 with whom I am well pleased; olisten to him.” 6 When pthe disciples heard this, qthey fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and rtouched them, saying, “Rise, and shave no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 tAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, u“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say vthat first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and whe will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but xdid to him whatever they pleased. ySo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 zThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon
14 aAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has bseizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and cthey could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and dtwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? eHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus frebuked the demon,2 and it3 came out of him, and gthe boy was healed instantly.4 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, h“Because of your little faith. For itruly, I say to you, jif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, kyou will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and lnothing will be impossible for you.”5
Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection
22 mAs they were gathering6 in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on nthe third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
The Temple Tax
24 oWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of pthe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, q“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or rtax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.7 Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
