Fall and Captivity of Judah

1 ^fAnd in the ninth year of his reign, in the ^gtenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And 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 ^hfourth month the ⁱfamine 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 ^jtwo walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was ^kscattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and ^lput out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and ^mtook him to Babylon.

8 In the ⁿfifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—^oNebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he ^pburned the house of the Lord and 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, ^qbroke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And 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 ^rleft some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

13 And the ^spillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the ^tstands and the bronze ^usea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the ^vpots and the shovels and the ^wsnuffers 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, the bronze of all these vessels was ^xbeyond weight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,¹ and on it was a ^ycapital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A ^zlatticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.

18 And the captain of the guard took ^aSeraiah the chief priest and ^bZephaniah the second priest and the three ^ckeepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five 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 Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So 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 Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now ^dwhen all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, 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 ^eBut in the seventh month, Ishmael 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 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and ^fwent to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

27 ^gAnd in the thirty-seventh year of the ^hexile 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 freed² 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 he 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 lovers of self, lovers of money, ^zproud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, ^aswollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. ^bAvoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a ^cknowledge of the truth. 8 Just as ^dJannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men ^ecorrupted in mind and ^fdisqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

10 ^gYou, however, have ^hfollowed 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 at ⁱAntioch, at ^jIconium, and at ^kLystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord ^lrescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a ^mgodly life in Christ Jesus ⁿwill be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on ^ofrom bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom¹ you learned it 15 and how ^pfrom childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 ^qAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the ^rman of God² may be complete, ^sequipped for every good work.

Preach the Word

1 I ^tcharge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, ^uwho is to judge the living and the dead, and by his ^vappearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; ^wreprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 ^xFor the time is coming when people will not endure ^ysound³ teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and ^zwander off into ^amyths. 5 But as for you, always be sober-minded, ^bendure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, ^cfulfill your ministry.

6 ^dFor I am already being ^epoured out as a drink offering, and the time of my ^fdeparture has come. 7 I have fought the ^ggood fight, I have ^hfinished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is ⁱlaid up for me the ^jcrown of righteousness, which the Lord, the ^krighteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Personal Instructions

9 Do your best ^lto come to me soon. 10 For ^mDemas, ⁿin love with ^othis present world, ^phas deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,^{4 q}Titus to Dalmatia. 11 ^rLuke alone is with me. Get ^sMark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 ^tTychicus 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 ^uAlexander the coppersmith did me great harm; ^vthe Lord will repay him ^waccording to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first ^xdefense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and ^ystrengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and ^zall the Gentiles might hear it. So I was ^arescued ^bfrom the lion’s mouth. 18 ^cThe Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. ^dTo him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

19 Greet ^ePrisca and Aquila, and the household of ^fOnesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do 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 with your spirit. ^gGrace be with you.⁶