Fall and Captivity of Judah

¹uAnd 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. ²So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³On 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. ⁴Then 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. ⁵But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁶Then they captured the king band brought him up to the king of Babylon at cRiblah, and they passed sentence on him. ⁷They 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.

⁸eIn 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. ⁹gAnd he burned the house of the Lord hand the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. ¹⁰And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, ibroke down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹jAnd 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. ¹²But the captain of the guard left ksome of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

¹³lAnd 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. ¹⁴pAnd 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, ¹⁵the 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. ¹⁶As 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. ¹⁷rThe 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.

¹⁸sAnd the captain of the guard took tSeraiah the chief priest and uZephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; ¹⁹and 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. ²⁰And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at wRiblah. ²¹And 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

²²And 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. ²³aNow 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. ²⁴And 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.” ²⁵cBut 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. ²⁶eThen 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

²⁷fAnd 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. ²⁸And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life ihe dined regularly at the king's table, ³⁰and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

¹For this qMelchizedek, king of rSalem, priest of sthe Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ²and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. ³He is without father or mother tor genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

⁴See how great this man was to whom Abraham uthe patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! ⁵And vthose descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,1 though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶But this man wwho does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed xhim who had the promises. ⁷It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one yof whom it is testified that zhe lives. ⁹One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

¹¹aNow if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹²For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord was descended bfrom Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is witnessed of him,

c“You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside dbecause of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹(for ethe law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, fa better hope is introduced, through which gwe draw near to God.

²⁰And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

h“The Lord has sworn

and will not change his mind,

‘You are a priest forever.’”

²²This makes Jesus the guarantor of ia better covenant.

²³The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues jforever. ²⁵Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost2 kthose who draw near to God lthrough him, since he always lives mto make intercession for them.

²⁶For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, nholy, innocent, unstained, oseparated from sinners, and pexalted above the heavens. ²⁷He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, qfirst for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this ronce for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸For the law appoints men sin their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made tperfect forever.

¹The words of Amos, who was among the ashepherds1 of bTekoa, which he saw concerning Israel cin the days of dUzziah king of Judah and in the days of eJeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years2 before fthe earthquake.

Judgment on Israel's Neighbors

²And he said:

g“The Lord roars from Zion

and utters his voice from Jerusalem;

hthe pastures of the shepherds mourn,

and the itop of jCarmel withers.”

³Thus says the Lord:

k“For three transgressions of lDamascus,

and for four, lI will not revoke the punishment,3

because they have threshed mGilead

with threshing sledges of iron.

⁴nSo I will send a fire upon the house of oHazael,

and it shall devour the strongholds of oBen-hadad.

⁵I will pbreak the gate-bar of lDamascus,

and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of qAven,4

and him who holds the scepter from rBeth-eden;

and the people of sSyria shall go into exile to tKir,”

says the Lord.

⁶Thus says the Lord:

k“For three transgressions of uGaza,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because vthey carried into exile a whole people

to deliver them up to Edom.

⁷So I will send a fire upon the wall of uGaza,

and it shall devour her strongholds.

⁸I will cut off the inhabitants from wAshdod,

and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;

I will turn my hand against Ekron,

and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”

says the Lord God.

⁹Thus says the Lord:

k“For three transgressions of xTyre,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,

and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.

¹⁰So I will send a fire upon the wall of xTyre,

and it shall devour her strongholds.”

¹¹Thus says the Lord:

k“For three transgressions of yEdom,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

ybecause he pursued his brother with the sword

zand cast off all pity,

aand his anger tore perpetually,

aand he kept his wrath forever.

¹²So I will send a fire upon bTeman,

and it shall devour the strongholds of cBozrah.”

¹³Thus says the Lord:

k“For three transgressions of the dAmmonites,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because ethey have ripped open pregnant women in fGilead,

that they might enlarge their border.

¹⁴So I will kindle a fire in the wall of gRabbah,

hand it shall devour her strongholds,

with shouting on the day of battle,

hwith a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;

¹⁵and itheir king shall go into exile,

he and his princes5 together,”

says the Lord.

My Rock and My Fortress

Of David.

¹Blessed be the Lord, my grock,

hwho trains my hands for war,

and my fingers for battle;

²he is my isteadfast love and my jfortress,

my kstronghold and my deliverer,

my lshield and he in whom I take refuge,

who msubdues peoples1 under me.

³O Lord, nwhat is man that you oregard him,

or the son of man that you think of him?

⁴pMan is like a breath;

his days are like qa passing rshadow.

⁵sBow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!

tTouch the mountains so that they smoke!

⁶uFlash forth the lightning and scatter them;

usend out your arrows and rout them!

⁷vStretch out your hand from on high;

wrescue me and deliver me from the many waters,

from the hand xof foreigners,

⁸whose mouths speak ylies

and whose right hand is za right hand of falsehood.

⁹I will sing aa new song to you, O God;

upon aa ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

¹⁰who gives victory to kings,

who brescues David his servant from the cruel sword.

¹¹Rescue me and deliver me

from the hand xof foreigners,

whose mouths speak ylies

and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

¹²May our sons in their youth

be like cplants full grown,

our daughters like dcorner pillars

cut for the structure of a palace;

¹³emay our granaries be full,

fproviding all kinds of produce;

may our sheep bring forth thousands

and ten thousands in our fields;

¹⁴may our cattle be heavy with young,

suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2

may there be no gcry of distress in our streets!

¹⁵hBlessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

iBlessed are the people whose God is the Lord!