2 Kings 24; Hebrews 6; Joel 3; Psalm 143

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2 Kings 24

kIn his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 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. 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, and also pfor the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. 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? So Jehoiakim rslept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 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

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. 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.


Hebrews 6

Therefore ilet us leave jthe elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance kfrom dead works and of faith toward God, and of linstruction about washings,1 mthe laying on of hands, nthe resurrection of the dead, and oeternal judgment. And this we will do pif God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those qwho have once been enlightened, who have tasted rthe heavenly gift, and shave shared in the Holy Spirit, and thave tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and uthen have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since vthey are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For wland that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But xif it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, yand its end is to be burned.

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better thingsthings that belong to salvation. 10 For zGod is not unjust so as to overlook ayour work and the love that you have shown for his name in bserving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance cof hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but dimitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, ehe swore by himself, 14 saying, fSurely I will bless you and multiply you. 15 And thus Abraham,2 ghaving patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes han oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to ithe heirs of the promise jthe unchangeable character of his purpose, khe guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which lit is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope mset before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into nthe inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone oas a forerunner on our behalf, phaving become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.


Joel 3

The Lord Judges the Nations

For behold, iin those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, jI will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And kI will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, and lhave cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.

What are you to me, mO Tyre and Sidon, and all nthe regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, oI will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. For pyou have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.1 You have sold qthe people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and oI will return your payment on your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the rSabeans, to a nation far away, for the Lord has spoken.

Proclaim this among the nations:

sConsecrate for war;2

stir up the mighty men.

Let all the men of war draw near;

let them come up.

10  tBeat your plowshares into swords,

and tyour pruning hooks into spears;

let the weak say, I am a warrior.

11  uHasten and come,

all you surrounding nations,

and gather yourselves there.

vBring down your warriors, O Lord.

12  Let the nations stir themselves up

and come up to wthe Valley of Jehoshaphat;

xfor there I will sit to judge

all the surrounding nations.

13  yPut in the sickle,

zfor the harvest is ripe.

aGo in, tread,

afor the winepress is full.

The vats overflow,

for their evil is great.

14  Multitudes, multitudes,

in the valley of decision!

For bthe day of the Lord is near

in the valley of decision.

15  cThe sun and the moon are darkened,

and the stars withdraw their shining.

16  dThe Lord roars from Zion,

and dutters his voice from Jerusalem,

eand the heavens and the earth quake.

But the Lord is fa refuge to his people,

a stronghold to the people of Israel.

The Glorious Future of Judah

17  gSo you shall know that I am the Lord your God,

hwho dwells in Zion, imy holy mountain.

And Jerusalem shall be holy,

and jstrangers shall never again pass through it.

18  And in that day

kthe mountains shall drip sweet wine,

and the hills shall flow with milk,

and lall the streambeds of Judah

shall flow with water;

mand a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord

and water the Valley of nShittim.

19  oEgypt shall become a desolation

and pEdom a desolate wilderness,

qfor the violence done to the people of Judah,

because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

20  rBut Judah shall be inhabited forever,

and Jerusalem to all generations.

21  sI will avenge their blood,

blood I have not avenged,3

hfor the Lord dwells in Zion.


Psalm 143

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

Hear my prayer, O Lord;

cgive ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your dfaithfulness answer me, in your drighteousness!

eEnter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous fbefore you.

For the enemy has pursued my soul;

ghe has crushed my life to the ground;

hhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

Therefore my spirit ifaints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

jI remember the days of old;

kI meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

lI stretch out my hands to you;

mmy soul thirsts for you like na parched land. Selah

oAnswer me quickly, O Lord!

pMy spirit fails!

qHide not your face from me,

rlest I be like those who go down to the pit.

sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I ttrust.

uMake me know the way I should go,

vfor to you I lift up my soul.

wDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.1

10  xTeach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

yLet your good Spirit zlead me

on alevel ground!

11  bFor your name’s sake, O Lord, cpreserve my life!

In your righteousness dbring my soul out of trouble!

12  And in your steadfast love you will ecut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your fservant.