The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday July 4, 2020 (NIV)

Judah’s King Jehoahaz

³¹ Jehoahaz^(A) was^(B) twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(C) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ³² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.^{(D) 33} Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah^(E) in the land of Hamath^(F) to keep him from reigning in Jerusalem, and he imposed on the land a fine of seventy-five hundred pounds^[a] of silver and seventy-five pounds^[b] of gold.

Judah’s King Jehoiakim

³⁴ Then^(G) Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim^(H) son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.^(I) But Neco took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.^{(J) 35} So Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but at Pharaoh’s command he taxed the land to give it. He exacted the silver and the gold from the common people, each according to his assessment,^(K) to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

³⁶ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. ³⁷ He did what was evil^(L) in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

Jehoiakim’s Rebellion and Death

24 During^(M) Jehoiakim’s reign,^(N) King Nebuchadnezzar^(O) of Babylon^(P) attacked.^(Q) Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him. ² The Lord sent Chaldean, Aramean,^(R) Moabite,^(S) and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through his servants the prophets.^{(T) 3} Indeed, this happened to Judah at the Lord’s command to remove them from his presence.^(U) It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,^{(V) 4} and also because of all the innocent blood he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,^(W) and the Lord was not willing to forgive.

⁵ The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(X) 6} Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.^(Y)

⁷ Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again,^(Z) for the king of Babylon took everything that had belonged to the king of Egypt,^(AA) from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.^(AB)

Judah’s King Jehoiachin

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem.^{(AC) 9} He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his father had done.

Deportations to Babylon

¹⁰ At that time^(AD) the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar^(AE) of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. ¹¹ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. ¹² King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials,^[c] surrendered to the king of Babylon.^(AF)

So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. ¹³ He also carried off from there all the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king’s palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that King Solomon of Israel had made^(AG) for the Lord’s sanctuary, just as the Lord had predicted.^{(AH) 14} He deported all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the best soldiers^(AI)—ten thousand captives^(AJ) including all the craftsmen and metalsmiths.^(AK) Except for the poorest people of the land,^(AL) no one remained.

¹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. He took the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.^{(AM) 16} The king of Babylon brought captive into Babylon all seven thousand of the best soldiers and one thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for war. ¹⁷ And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s^[d] uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.^(AN)

Judah’s King Zedekiah

¹⁸ Zedekiah^(AO) was twenty-one years old when he became king,^(AP) and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(AQ) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ¹⁹ Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done.^{(AR) 20} Because of the Lord’s anger,^(AS) it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he finally banished them from his presence.^(AT) Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.^(AU)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Siege of Jerusalem

25 In the ninth year^(AV) of Zedekiah’s reign,^(AW) on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army.^(AX) They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around.^{(AY) 2} The city was under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

³ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the common people had no food.^{(AZ) 4} Then the city was broken into,^(BA) and all the warriors fled^(BB) at night by way of the city gate between the two walls near the king’s garden,^(BC) even though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. As the king made his way along the route to the Arabah,^{(BD) 5} the Chaldean army pursued him and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah’s entire army left him and scattered.^{(BE) 6} The Chaldeans seized the king^(BF) and brought him up to the king of Babylon^(BG) at Riblah,^(BH) and they passed sentence on him. ⁷ They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes. Finally, the king of Babylon blinded Zedekiah, bound him in bronze chains, and took him to Babylon.^(BI)

Jerusalem Destroyed

⁸ On^(BJ) the seventh day of the fifth month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.^{(BK) 9} He burned the Lord’s temple,^(BL) the king’s palace,^(BM) and all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned down^(BN) all the great houses. ¹⁰ The whole Chaldean army with the captain of the guards tore down the walls^(BO) surrounding Jerusalem. ¹¹ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, deported the rest of the people who remained in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.^{(BP) 12} But the captain of the guards left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.^(BQ)

¹³ Now^(BR) the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars^(BS) of the Lord’s temple, the water carts, and the bronze basin,^[e](BT) which were in the Lord’s temple, and carried the bronze to Babylon.^{(BU) 14} They also took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and all the bronze articles used in the priests’ service.^{(BV) 15} The captain of the guards took away the firepans and sprinkling basins—whatever was gold or silver.^(BW)

¹⁶ As for the two pillars, the one basin, and the water carts that Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.^{(BX) 17} One pillar was twenty-seven feet^[f] tall and had a bronze capital on top of it. The capital, encircled by a grating and pomegranates of bronze, stood five feet^[g] high. The second pillar was the same, with its own grating.^(BY)

¹⁸ The captain of the guards^(BZ) also took away Seraiah^(CA) the chief priest, Zephaniah^(CB) the priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁹ From the city he took a court official^[h] who had been appointed over the warriors; five trusted royal aides^[i](CC) found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and sixty men from the common people^[j] who were found within the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.^{(CD) 21} The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.^(CE)

Gedaliah Made Governor

²² King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah^(CF) son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over the rest of the people he left in the land of Judah.^{(CG) 23} When all the commanders of the armies—they and their men—heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.^(CH) The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.^{(CI) 24} Gedaliah swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”^(CJ)

²⁵ In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah, and he died. Also, they killed the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.^{(CK) 26} Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, and the commanders of the army, left and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.^(CL)

Jehoiachin Pardoned

²⁷ On^(CM) the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he pardoned King Jehoiachin^(CN) of Judah and released him^[k] from prison.^{(CO) 28} He spoke kindly^(CP) to him and set his throne over the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.^{(CQ) 29} So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life.^{(CR) 30} As for his allowance, a regular allowance^(CS) was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, for the rest of his life.

¹⁷ “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance^{(A) 18} and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹ “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.^{(B) 20} And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval^[a] and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’^(C)

²¹ “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”^(D)

Paul’s Roman Protection

²² They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!” ^(E)

²³ As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,^{(F) 24} the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” ^(G)

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes,” he said.

²⁸ The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.

²⁹ So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.^(H)

Paul before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him^[b] and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene.^(I) He brought Paul down and placed him before them.

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience^(J) to this day.” ² The high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth.^{(K) 3} Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?” ^(L)

⁴ Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?”

⁵ “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”^{[c](M) 6} When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees.^(N) I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” ^{(O) 7} When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection,^(P) and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.

⁹ The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’^(Q) party got up and argued vehemently, “We find nothing evil in this man.^(R) What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ^[d](S)

¹⁰ When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.^(T)

Psalm 2

Coronation of the Son