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New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)
Version
2 Kings 23:31-25:30

31 (A)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was (B)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (C)according to all that his fathers had done. 33 (D)Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at (E)Riblah in the land of (F)Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh

34 Pharaoh Neco made (G)Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and (H)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away and [a](I)brought him to Egypt, and he died there. 35 So Jehoiakim (J)gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the [b]command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 (K)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (L)according to all that his fathers had done.

Babylon Controls Jehoiakim

24 (M)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. The Lord sent against him (N)bands of Chaldeans, (O)bands of Arameans, (P)bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, (Q)according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. (R)Surely at the [c]command of the Lord it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight (S)because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and (T)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Jehoiachin Reigns

So (U)Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. (V)The king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, (W)for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from (X)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

(Y)Jehoiachin was (Z)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (AA)according to all that his father had done.

Deportation to Babylon

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 (AB)Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So (AC)the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13 (AD)He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and (AE)cut in pieces all the vessels of gold (AF)which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then (AG)he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, (AH)ten thousand captives, and (AI)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained (AJ)except the poorest people of the land.

15 So (AK)he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the men of valor, (AL)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Made King

17 (AM)Then the king of Babylon made [d]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

18 (AN)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was (AO)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (AP)according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For (AQ)through the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And (AR)Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25 (AS)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, (AT)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and (AU)built a siege wall all around [e]it. So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month (AV)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. (AW)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside (AX)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And [f]they went by way of the Arabah. 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. Then (AY)they captured the king and (AZ)brought him to the king of Babylon at (BA)Riblah, and [g]he passed sentence on him. (BB)They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then (BC)put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

(BD)Now on the seventh day of the (BE)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. (BF)He burned the house of the Lord, (BG)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard (BH)broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then (BI)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of (BJ)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

13 (BK)Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and (BL)the bronze sea which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the [h]bronze to Babylon. 14 (BM)They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 15 The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord(BN)the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 (BO)The height of the one pillar was eighteen [i]cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three [j]cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network.

18 Then the captain of the guard took (BP)Seraiah the chief priest and (BQ)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [k]officers of the temple. 19 From the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and (BR)five [l]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the [m]scribe of the captain 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 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at (BS)Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. (BT)So Judah was led away into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor

22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed (BU)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 (BV)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to (BW)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, they and their men. 24 Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”

25 (BX)But it came about in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal [n]family, came [o]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 (BY)Then 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.

27 (BZ)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of (CA)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, [p](CB)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he (CC)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 [q]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and [r](CD)had his meals in [s]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30 and for his (CE)allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Acts 22:17-23:10

17 “It happened when I (A)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I (B)fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, (C)Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another (D)I used to imprison and (E)beat those who believed in You. 20 And (F)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (G)to the Gentiles.’

22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(H)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (I)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and (J)throwing off their cloaks and (K)tossing dust into the air, 24 the [a]commander ordered him to be brought into (L)the barracks, stating that he should be (M)examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [b]with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [c]lawful for you to scourge (N)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the [d]commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The [e]commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The [f]commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to (O)examine him immediately [g]let go of him; and the [h]commander also (P)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [i](Q)put him in chains.

30 But on the next day, (R)wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he (S)released him and ordered the chief priests and all (T)the [j]Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

Paul before the Council

23 Paul, looking intently at (U)the [k]Council, said, “(V)Brethren, (W)I have [l]lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” The high priest (X)Ananias commanded those standing beside him (Y)to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, (Z)you whitewashed wall! Do you (AA)sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” But the bystanders said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” And Paul said, “I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘(AB)You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

But perceiving that one group were (AC)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in (AD)the [m]Council, “(AE)Brethren, (AF)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for (AG)the hope and resurrection of the dead!” As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For (AH)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. And there occurred a great uproar; and some of (AI)the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “(AJ)We find nothing wrong with this man; (AK)suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 And as a great dissension was developing, the [n]commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into (AL)the barracks.

Psalm 2

The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.

Why are (A)the [a]nations in an uproar
And the peoples (B)devising a vain thing?
The (C)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
(D)Against the Lord and against His [b](E)Anointed, saying,
“Let us (F)tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”

He who [c]sits in the heavens (G)laughs,
The Lord (H)scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His (I)anger
And (J)terrify them in His fury, saying,
“But as for Me, I have [d]installed (K)My King
Upon Zion, (L)My holy mountain.”

“I will surely tell of the [e]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (M)My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
‘Ask of Me, and (N)I will surely give (O)the [f]nations as Your inheritance,
And the very (P)ends of the earth as Your possession.
‘You shall [g](Q)break them with a [h]rod of iron,
You shall (R)shatter them like [i]earthenware.’”

10 Now therefore, O kings, (S)show discernment;
Take warning, O [j]judges of the earth.
11 [k]Worship the Lord with [l](T)reverence
And rejoice with (U)trembling.
12 [m]Do homage to (V)the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For (W)His wrath may [n]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who (X)take refuge in Him!

Proverbs 18:13

13 He who (A)gives an answer before he hears,
It is folly and shame to him.

New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.