The Daily Audio Bible

Jehoahaz’s Reign and Imprisonment

^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 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(C)according to all that his fathers had done. ^33 (D)And 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 ^[a]talents of silver and one talent of gold.

Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh

³⁴ Then 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 and ^[b](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 ^[c]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 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(L)according to all that his fathers had done.

Jehoiakim Rebels Against Nebuchadnezzar

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. ² And Yahweh sent against him ^(N)marauding bands of Chaldeans, ^(O)marauding bands of Arameans, ^(P)marauding bands of Moabites, and marauding bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(Q)according to the word of Yahweh which He had spoken by the hand of His slaves the prophets. ^3 (R)Surely at the ^[d]command of Yahweh it came upon Judah, to remove them from His presence ^(S)because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ⁴ and ^(T)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and Yahweh 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?

Jehoiachin Reigns over Judah

⁶ So ^(U)Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. ^7 (V)And the king of Egypt did not go 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.

^8 (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. ⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(AA)according to all that his father had done.

Judah Exiled 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)Then Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his commanders and his officials. So ^(AC)the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. ^13 (AD)And he brought out from there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, 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 Yahweh, just as Yahweh had spoken. ¹⁴ Then ^(AG)he took away into exile all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the mighty men of valor, ^(AH)10,000 captives, and ^(AI)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None was left ^(AJ)except the poorest people of the land.

¹⁵ So ^(AK)he took 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 Now all the valiant men, ^(AL)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all mighty men who could wage war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Reigns over Judah

^17 (AM)Then the king of Babylon made ^[e]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 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(AP)according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For ^(AQ)through the anger of Yahweh 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 military force, against Jerusalem, and he camped against it and ^(AU)built a siege wall all around ^[f]it. ² So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(AV)the famine was so strong in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ^4 (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 ^[g]they went by way of the Arabah. ⁵ But the military force of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his military force was scattered from him. ⁶ Then ^(AY)they seized the king and ^(AZ)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(BA)Riblah, and they spoke their judgment on him. ^7 (BB)And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; then he ^(BC)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned

^8 (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. ^9 (BF)And he burned the house of Yahweh, ^(BG)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁰ So all the military force of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^(BH)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Then ^(BI)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the defectors who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took 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 Yahweh, and the stands and ^(BL)the bronze sea which were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans shattered and carried the ^[h]bronze to Babylon. ^14 (BM)They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used to minister. ¹⁵ The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the bowls, 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 Yahweh—^(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]doorkeepers of the temple. ¹⁹ And 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 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 led 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 went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Appointed Judah’s 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)Then all the commanders of the military forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor. So 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 Then 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 happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came ^[n]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 commanders of the military forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

^27 (BZ)Now it happened 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, ^(CB)lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; ²⁸ and he ^(CC)spoke to him good words, and he set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So ^[o]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and ^[p](CD)had his meals in ^[q]the king’s presence continually all the days of his life; ³⁰ and for his ^(CE)allowance, a continual allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

¹⁷ “Now 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)Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness 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 guarding the garments of those who were slaying him.’ ²¹ And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^(G)to the Gentiles.’”

Paul, a Citizen of Rome

²² And they were listening 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 garments 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 flogging 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 leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ^[c]lawful for you to flog ^(N)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” ²⁶ And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” ²⁷ And the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸ And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I have been born a citizen.” ²⁹ Therefore those who were about to ^(O)examine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also ^(P)was afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had ^(Q)bound him.

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

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 Sanhedrin to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

23 Now Paul, looking intently at ^(U)the Sanhedrin, said, “^(V)Brothers, ^(W)I have ^[d]lived my life in all good conscience before God up to this day.” ² And the high priest ^(X)Ananias commanded those standing beside him ^(Y)to strike him on the mouth. ³ 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?” ⁴ But those standing nearby said, “Do you revile the high priest of God?” ⁵ And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘^(AB)You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ But knowing that one group were ^(AC)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in ^(AD)the Sanhedrin, “^(AE)Brothers, ^(AF)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for ^(AG)the hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ As he said this, there was dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For ^(AH)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ And there occurred a great outcry; 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, because the ^[e]commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them, he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ^(AL)the barracks.

The Reign of Yahweh’s Anointed