The Daily Audio Bible

³¹ Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, as in all that his ancestors had done. ³³ Then Pharaoh Necoh imprisoned him at Riblah in the land of Hamath, so he would not reign in Jerusalem. He also imposed on the land a fine of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold.

³⁴ Then Pharaoh Necoh installed Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away and brought him to Egypt, and he died there. ³⁵ Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money in keeping with Pharaoh’s command. He exacted the silver and the gold from the people of the land, each according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necoh. ³⁶ Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷ But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, just as in all that his ancestors had done.

Judah Exiled to Babylon

24 In his days, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded, so Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But he turned and rebelled against him. ² Then Adonai sent against him marauding bands of the Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites and Ammonites—He sent them against Judah to destroy it, as was the word of Adonai that He had spoken by the hand of His servants the prophets. ³ Surely at the command of Adonai this happened to Judah, to banish them from His presence, because of all the sins of Manasseh and all that he had committed, ⁴ and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed—for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood that Adonai was not willing to pardon. ⁵ 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? ⁶ So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

⁷ No longer did the king of Egypt march out of his country, for the king of Babylon had seized all the land that once belonged to the king of Egypt, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River. ⁸ Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnatan of Jerusalem. ⁹ But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, like all his father had done.

¹⁰ At that time, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon’s troops marched against Jerusalem and the city fell under siege. ¹¹ Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon himself arrived at the city while his troops were besieging it. ¹² Then King Jehoiachin of Judah, his mother, his courtiers, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered to the king of Babylon. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. ¹³ He also carried off from there all the treasures of Adonai’s House and the treasures of the royal palace, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold that King Solomon of Israel had made in the Temple of Adonai—just as Adonai had said. ¹⁴ Then He exiled all Jerusalem—all the captains, all the mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and the smiths—10,000 exiles. None was left except the poorest sort of the people of the land.

¹⁵ So he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon, along with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials and the notables of the land—he deported all as captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ All the men of valor, 7,000 strong and fit for war, and 1,000 craftsmen and smiths, the king of Babylon also took as captives to Babylon.

¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon appointed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah. ¹⁸ Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For through the anger of Adonai it came to a point in Jerusalem and Judah that He finally banished them from His presence.

Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Destruction of Jerusalem

25 Now it came to pass in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army advanced against Jerusalem, set up camp by it, and built a siege wall all around it. ² So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe in the city that there was no bread for the common people.

⁴ Then the city was broken into, and all the warriors fled by night by the way of the gate between the double walls near the king’s garden—though the Chaldeans were all around the city—and they went by the way to the Arabah. ⁵ But the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. ⁶ So they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and passed sentence on him. ⁷ They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains and took him to Babylon.

⁸ Now on the seventh day of the fifth month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the imperial guard, officer of the Babylonian king, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ He burned down the House of Adonai, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem—every notable building he burned with fire. ¹⁰ Then the whole Chaldean army that was with the captain of the guard demolished the walls of Jerusalem on every side. ¹¹ Then the remnant of the people who were left in the city—the deserters who had defected to the Babylonian king and the rest of the populace—Nebuzaradan captain of the guard exiled them. ¹² But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and field hands.

¹³ Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars that were in the House of Adonai, the stands and the bronze sea that were in the House of Adonai, and carried their bronze away to Babylon. ¹⁴ They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the pans and all the bronze vessels that were used in Temple service. ¹⁵ The captain of the guard took away the fire pans and the basins—whatever was gold or silver. ¹⁶ The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the House of Adonai—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ¹⁷ The height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, with a bronze capital on top. The height of the capital was three cubits, with a netting of copper pomegranates encircling the capital. The same was true of the second pillar with its netting.

¹⁸ Then the captain of the guard took away Seraiah the chief kohen, Zephaniah the deputy kohen, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁹ From the city he took an official who had been overseeing the soldiers and five of the royal advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the army captain who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men of the common people that were found in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ The king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was exiled from its land.

²² Now as for the people that were left in the land of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left, he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. ²³ Now when all the captains of the troops, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men. ²⁴ Gedaliah swore to them and to their men and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the Chaldean officials. Stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”

²⁵ But it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of royal descent, came with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah, so he died along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶ So all the people, young and old, and the captains of the troops, got up and fled to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

²⁷ Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, that King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the year he became king, released King Jehoiachin of Judah from Prison. ²⁸ He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So he changed his prison garments, and regularly ate bread in the king’s presence all the days of his life. ³⁰ As for his allowance, a regular allowance was granted to him by the king, an allotment for each day, all the days of his life.

¹⁷ “It happened that when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance; ¹⁸ and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.’

¹⁹ “And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another, I was imprisoning and beating those trusting in You. ²⁰ Even when the blood of Your witness Stephen was spilled, I too was standing by and approving, and guarding the clothing of those who were killing him.’

²¹ “And he said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

²² Up to this statement they listened to him. Then they raised their voices, saying, “Away from the earth with this fellow! For he’s not fit to live!”

The Romans Intervene

²³ As they were crying out and flinging off their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, ^{[a] 24} the commander ordered Paul to be brought into headquarters. He said Paul should be examined by lashing, so that he might find out why they were shouting against him so. ²⁵ But when they stretched him out with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen without due process?”

²⁶ Now when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is Roman.”

²⁷ The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you Roman?”

And he said, “Yes.”

²⁸ The commander answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.”

Paul said, “But I was born so.”

²⁹ Therefore, those who were about to interrogate him instantly drew back from him. And the commander also was afraid when he found out that Paul was a Roman and that he had bound him.

Delivered to the Council

³⁰ But on the next day, desiring to know exactly why Paul had been accused by the Judeans, he released him and commanded the ruling kohanim and all the Sanhedrin to meet together. And he brought Paul and set him before them.

23 Paul, looking intently at the Sanhedrin, said, “Brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience for God up to this day.” ² But the kohen gadol Ananias ordered those standing by him to strike him on the mouth.

³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you on the mouth, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit judging me according to the Torah, and yet in violation of the Torah you order me to be struck?”^[b]

⁴ Those standing nearby said, “Do you insult God’s kohen gadol?”

⁵ Paul said, “I didn’t know, brothers, that he is the kohen gadol. For it has been written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”^[c]

⁶ But recognizing that one group was Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!”

⁷ When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all. ⁹ Then there was a great uproar. Some of the Torah scholars of the Pharisees’ party stood up and protested sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man! What if a spirit or angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰ As a big dispute was developing, the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. So he ordered the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and to bring him into headquarters.

Coronation of Messianic King

Psalm 2