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.

Qoph

Godlessness in the Last Days

1 But understand this, that ^yin the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be ^zlovers of self, ^alovers of money, ^bproud, ^barrogant, abusive, ^bdisobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 ^cheartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, ^dnot loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, ^eswollen with conceit, ^flovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but ^gdenying its power. ^hAvoid such people. 6 For among them are ⁱthose who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to ^jarrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as ^kJannes and Jambres ^lopposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, ^mmen corrupted in mind and ⁿdisqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, ^oas was that of those two men.

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

10 ^pYou, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me ^qat Antioch, ^rat Iconium, and ^sat Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet ^tfrom them all ^uthe Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to ^vlive a godly life in Christ Jesus ^wwill be persecuted, 13 while ^xevil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and ^ybeing deceived. 14 But as for you, ^zcontinue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom¹ you learned it 15 and how ^afrom childhood you have been acquainted with ^bthe sacred writings, ^cwhich are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 ^dAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that ^ethe man of God² may be complete, ^fequipped ^gfor every good work.

Preach the Word

1 ^hI charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, ⁱwho is to judge the living and the dead, and by ^jhis appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; ^kreprove, rebuke, and ^lexhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 ^mFor the time is coming when people will not endure ⁿsound³ teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and ^owill turn away from listening to the truth and ^pwander off into myths. 5 But as for you, ^qalways be sober-minded, ^rendure suffering, do the work of ^san evangelist, ^tfulfill your ministry.

6 For ^uI am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my ^vdeparture has come. 7 ^wI have fought the good fight, ^xI have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is ^ylaid up for me ^zthe crown of righteousness, which the Lord, ^athe righteous judge, will award to me on ^bthat day, and not only to me but also to all ^cwho have loved his appearing.

Personal Instructions

9 ^dDo your best to come to me soon. 10 For ^eDemas, ^fin love with ^gthis present world, ^hhas deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,^{4 i}Titus to Dalmatia. 11 ^hLuke alone is with me. Get ^jMark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 ^kTychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 ^lAlexander the coppersmith did me great harm; ^mthe Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. ⁿMay it not be charged against them! 17 But ^othe Lord stood by me and ^pstrengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and ^qall the Gentiles might hear it. So ^rI was rescued ^sfrom the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. ^tTo him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

19 Greet ^uPrisca and Aquila, and ^vthe household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left ^wTrophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 ^xDo your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.⁵

22 The Lord be ^ywith your spirit. ^zGrace be with you.⁶