24 ^(A)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 ^(B)Chaldeans and ^(C)bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(D)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, ^(E)for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ⁴ and also ^(F)for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. ^5 (G)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 ^(H)slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. ^7 (I)And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, ^(J)for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt ^(K)from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

^8 (L)Jehoiachin was ^(M)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, ^(N)according to all that his father had done.

Jerusalem Captured

¹⁰ At that time the servants of ^(O)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. ¹¹ And ^(P)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, ^12 (Q)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. ^(R)The king of Babylon took him prisoner ^(S)in the eighth year of his reign ¹³ and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord ^(T)and the treasures of the king's house, ^(U)and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, ^(V)which Solomon king of Israel had made, ^(W)as the Lord had foretold. ^14 (X)He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, ^(Y)10,000 captives, ^(Z)and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, ^(AA)except the poorest people of the land. ^15 (AB)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, ^(AC)7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. ^17 (AD)And the king of Babylon ^(AE)made Mattaniah, ^(AF)Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, ^(AG)and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

^18 (AH)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(AI)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(AJ)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.

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

Fall and Captivity of Judah

25 ^(AL)And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, ^(AM)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ^(AN)And they built siegeworks all around it. ² So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(AO)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁴ Then 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 ^(AP)the king's garden, and ^(AQ)the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the ^(AR)Arabah. ⁵ 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. ⁶ Then they captured the king ^(AS)and brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(AT)Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. ⁷ They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, ^(AU)and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.

^8 (AV)In the fifth month, on ^(AW)the 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. ^9 (AX)And he burned the house of the Lord ^(AY)and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. ¹⁰ And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, ^(AZ)broke down the walls around Jerusalem. ^11 (BA)And 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. ¹² But the captain of the guard left ^(BB)some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

^13 (BC)And the pillars ^(BD)of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and ^(BE)the stands and ^(BF)the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. ^14 (BG)And 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, ¹⁵ the 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. ¹⁶ As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, ^(BH)the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ^17 (BI)The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,^[a] 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.

^18 (BJ)And the captain of the guard took ^(BK)Seraiah the chief priest and ^(BL)Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; ¹⁹ and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and ^(BM)five 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. ²⁰ And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^(BN)Riblah. ²¹ And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at ^(BO)Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(BP)So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

²² And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^(BQ)Gedaliah the son of ^(BR)Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. ^23 (BS)Now 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 ^(BT)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. ²⁴ And 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.” ^25 (BU)But in the seventh month, ^(BV)Ishmael 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. ^26 (BW)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.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

^27 (BX)And in the thirty-seventh year of ^(BY)the 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 ^(BZ)freed^[b] Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. ²⁸ And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life ^(CA)he dined regularly at the king's table, ³⁰ and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)called ^(B)by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those ^(C)sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^(D)called to be saints together with all those who in every place ^(E)call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

^3 (F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

⁴ I ^(G)give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way ^(H)you were enriched in him in all ^(I)speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as ^(J)the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you ^(K)wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^8 (L)who will sustain you to the end, ^(M)guiltless ^(N)in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^9 (O)God is faithful, by whom you were called into the ^(P)fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers,^[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no ^(Q)divisions among you, but that you be united ^(R)in the same mind and the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is ^(S)quarreling among you, my brothers. ¹² What I mean is that ^(T)each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow ^(U)Apollos,” or “I follow ^(V)Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” ^13 (W)Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^(X)baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^(Y)Crispus and ^(Z)Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (I did baptize also ^(AA)the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and ^(AB)not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is ^(AC)folly to ^(AD)those who are perishing, but to us ^(AE)who are being saved it is ^(AF)the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

^20 (AH)Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^(AI)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach^[b] to save those who believe. ²² For ^(AJ)Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ ^(AK)crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(AL)the power of God and ^(AM)the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: ^(AN)not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[c] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But ^(AO)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(AP)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(AQ)things that are not, to ^(AR)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so ^(AS)that no human being^[d] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(AT)wisdom from God, ^(AU)righteousness and ^(AV)sanctification and ^(AW)redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, ^(AX)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”