Josiah's Death in Battle

²⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^29 (A)In his days ^(B)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at ^(C)Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. ^30 (D)And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from ^(E)Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. ^(F)And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.

Jehoahaz's Reign and Captivity

^31 (G)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(H)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(I)according to all that his fathers had done. ³³ And ^(J)Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at ^(K)Riblah in the land of ^(L)Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents^[a] of silver and a talent of gold. ³⁴ And ^(M)Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and ^(N)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, ^(O)and he came to Egypt and died there. ³⁵ And Jehoiakim ^(P)gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah

^36 (Q)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(R)according to all that his fathers had done.

24 ^(S)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 the Lord sent against him bands of the ^(T)Chaldeans and ^(U)bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(V)according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. ³ Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, ^(W)for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ⁴ and also ^(X)for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. ^5 (Y)Now the rest of the deeds 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 ^(Z)slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. ^7 (AA)And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, ^(AB)for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt ^(AC)from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

^8 (AD)Jehoiachin was ^(AE)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(AF)according to all that his father had done.

Jerusalem Captured

¹⁰ At that time the servants of ^(AG)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. ¹¹ And ^(AH)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, ^12 (AI)and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. ^(AJ)The king of Babylon took him prisoner ^(AK)in the eighth year of his reign ¹³ and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord ^(AL)and the treasures of the king's house, ^(AM)and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, ^(AN)which Solomon king of Israel had made, ^(AO)as the Lord had foretold. ^14 (AP)He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, ^(AQ)10,000 captives, ^(AR)and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, ^(AS)except the poorest people of the land. ^15 (AT)And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, ^(AU)7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. ^17 (AV)And the king of Babylon ^(AW)made Mattaniah, ^(AX)Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, ^(AY)and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

^18 (AZ)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(BA)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(BB)according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

^(BC)And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Tsadhe

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God according to ^(C)the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, ^(D)my beloved child:

^(E)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

^3 (F)I thank God ^(G)whom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^(H)with a clear conscience, as I remember you ^(I)constantly in my prayers night and day. ^4 (J)As I remember your tears, ^(K)I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of ^(L)your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^(M)your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you ^(N)to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God gave us ^(O)a spirit not of fear but ^(P)of power and love and self-control.

⁸ Therefore ^(Q)do not be ashamed of ^(R)the testimony about our Lord, nor of ^(S)me his prisoner, but ^(T)share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ^9 (U)who saved us and ^(V)called us to^[a] a holy calling, ^(W)not because of our works but because of ^(X)his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus ^(Y)before the ages began,^{[b] 10} and which now has ^(Z)been manifested through ^(AA)the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, ^(AB)who abolished death and ^(AC)brought life and ^(AD)immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (AE)for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, ^12 (AF)which is why I suffer as I do. But ^(AG)I am not ashamed, for ^(AH)I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until ^(AI)that day ^(AJ)what has been entrusted to me.^{[c] 13 (AK)}Follow ^(AL)the pattern of ^(AM)the sound^[d] words ^(AN)that you have heard from me, in ^(AO)the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ By the Holy Spirit ^(AP)who dwells within us, guard ^(AQ)the good deposit entrusted to you.

¹⁵ You are aware that ^(AR)all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to ^(AS)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often ^(AT)refreshed me and was not ashamed of ^(AU)my chains, ¹⁷ but when he arrived in Rome ^(AV)he searched for me earnestly and found me— ¹⁸ may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on ^(AW)that day!—and you well know all the service he ^(AX)rendered at Ephesus.

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, ^(AY)my child, ^(AZ)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and ^(BA)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^(BB)entrust to faithful men,^{[e] (BC)}who will be able to teach others also. ^3 (BD)Share in suffering as ^(BE)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier ^(BF)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ^5 (BG)An athlete is not ^(BH)crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is ^(BI)the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, ^(BJ)risen from the dead, the ^(BK)offspring of David, ^(BL)as preached in my gospel, ^9 (BM)for which I am suffering, ^(BN)bound with chains as a criminal. But ^(BO)the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰ Therefore ^(BP)I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^(BQ)the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^(BR)eternal glory. ¹¹ The saying is ^(BS)trustworthy, for:

for ^(BZ)he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and ^(CA)charge them before God^{[f] (CB)}not to quarrel about words, ^(CC)which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,^[g] a worker ^(CD)who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶ But ^(CE)avoid ^(CF)irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷ and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are ^(CG)Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have swerved from the truth, ^(CH)saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹ But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ^(CI)“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone ^(CJ)who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

²⁰ Now in ^(CK)a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, ^(CL)some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹ Therefore, ^(CM)if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,^[h] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ^(CN)ready for every good work.

²² So ^(CO)flee ^(CP)youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with ^(CQ)those who call on the Lord ^(CR)from a pure heart. ²³ Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant ^(CS)controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴ And ^(CT)the Lord's servant^[i] must not be quarrelsome but ^(CU)kind to everyone, ^(CV)able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵ correcting his opponents ^(CW)with gentleness. God ^(CX)may perhaps grant them repentance ^(CY)leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from ^(CZ)the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.