The Daily Audio Bible
54 Cries of anguish will come from Babylon,
the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.
55 For the Lord is ready to destroy Babylon,
and put an end to her loud noise.
Their waves[a] will roar like turbulent[b] waters.
They will make a deafening noise.[c]
56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon.[d]
Her warriors will be captured;
their bows will be broken.[e]
For the Lord is a God who punishes;[f]
he pays back in full.[g]
57 “I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
along with her governors, leaders,[h] and warriors.
They will fall asleep forever and never wake up,”[i]
says the King whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[j]
58 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[k] says,
“Babylon’s thick wall[l] will be completely demolished.[m]
Her high gates will be set on fire.
The peoples strive for what does not satisfy.[n]
The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.”[o]
59 This is the order Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to King Zedekiah of Judah in Babylon during the fourth year of his reign.[p] (Seraiah was a quartermaster.)[q] 60 Jeremiah recorded[r] on one scroll all the judgments[s] that would come upon Babylon—all these prophecies[t] written about Babylon. 61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure[u] you read aloud all these prophecies.[v] 62 Then say, ‘O Lord, you have announced that you will destroy this place so that no people or animals live in it any longer. Certainly it will lie desolate forever!’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll aloud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River.[w] 64 Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’”
The prophecies of Jeremiah end here.[x]
The Fall of Jerusalem
52 [y] Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal[z] daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 2 He did what displeased the Lord[aa] just as Jehoiakim had done.
3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight.[ab] Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it.[ac] They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah.[ad] 5 The city remained under siege until Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 6 By the ninth day of the fourth month[ae] the famine in the city was so severe the residents[af] had no food. 7 They broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden.[ag] (The Babylonians had the city surrounded.) Then they headed for the rift valley.[ah] 8 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains[ai] of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him. 9 They captured him and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah[aj] in the territory of Hamath and he passed sentence on him there. 10 The king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah. 11 He had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains.[ak] Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.
12 On the tenth[al] day of the fifth month,[am] in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard[an] who served[ao] the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. 13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 14 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took into exile some of the poor,[ap] the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But he[aq] left behind some of the poor[ar] and gave them fields and vineyards.
17 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the temple of the Lord, as well as the movable stands and the large bronze basin called “The Sea.”[as] They took all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took the pots, shovels,[at] trimming shears,[au] basins, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests.[av] 19 The captain of the royal guard took the gold and silver bowls, censers,[aw] basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and vessels.[ax] 20 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple (including the two pillars, the large bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” and the movable stands[ay]) was too heavy to be weighed. 21 Each of the pillars was about 27 feet[az] high, about 18 feet[ba] in circumference, three inches[bb] thick, and hollow. 22 The bronze top of one pillar was about 7½ feet[bc] high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate-shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its pomegranate-shaped ornaments was like it. 23 There were 96 pomegranate-shaped ornaments on the sides; in all there were 100 pomegranate-shaped ornaments over the latticework that went around it.
24 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers.[bd] 25 From the city he took an official who was in charge of the soldiers, seven of the king’s advisers who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens[be] for military service, and sixty citizens who were discovered in the middle of the city. 26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed[bf] at Riblah in the territory of Hamath.
So Judah was taken into exile away from its land. 28 Here is the official record of the number of people[bg] Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: In the seventh year,[bh] 3,023 Jews; 29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year,[bi] 832 people from Jerusalem; 30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year,[bj] Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, carried into exile 745 Judeans. In all, 4,600 people went into exile.
Jehoiachin in Exile
31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-fifth[bk] day of the twelfth month,[bl] King Evil Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned[bm] King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. 32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than[bn] the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 Jehoiachin[bo] took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 34 He was given daily provisions by the king of Babylon for the rest of his life until the day he died.
Conduct Toward Those Outside the Church
3 Remind them to be subject to rulers and[a] authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work. 2 They must not slander[b] anyone, but be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people. 3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 [c] But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us in full measure[d] through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 And so,[e] since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.”[f]
Summary of the Letter
8 This saying[g] is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on such truths,[h] so that those who have placed their faith in God may be intent on engaging in good works. These things are good and beneficial for all people. 9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies,[i] quarrels, and fights about the law,[j] because they are useless and empty. 10 Reject a divisive person after one or two warnings. 11 You know[k] that such a person is twisted by sin[l] and is conscious of it himself.[m]
Final Instructions and Greeting
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Make every effort to help[n] Zenas the lawyer[o] and Apollos on their way; make sure they have what they need.[p] 14 Here is another way that our people[q] can learn[r] to engage in good works to meet pressing needs and so not be unfruitful. 15 Everyone with me greets you. Greet those who love us in the faith.[s] Grace be with you all.[t]
Psalm 100[a]
A thanksgiving psalm.
100 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship[b] the Lord with joy.
Enter his presence with joyful singing.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
He made us and we belong to him,[c]
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give him thanks.
Praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His loyal love endures,[d]
and he is faithful through all generations.[e]
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