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Zedekiah King of Judah(A)

11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king of Judah, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for eleven years. 12 Zedekiah did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]. The prophet Jeremiah spoke ·messages from [L from the mouth of] the Lord, but Zedekiah did not ·obey [L humble himself]. 13 Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had forced him to ·swear [vow; take an oath] in God’s name to be loyal to him. But Zedekiah ·became stubborn [L stiffened his neck] and ·refused to obey [L hardened his heart against seeking] the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Also, all the ·leaders [officials] of the priests and the people of Judah became more ·wicked [unfaithful], following the ·evil example [detestable/abominable practices] of the other nations. The Lord had ·made holy [consecrated; sanctified] the ·Temple [L house] in Jerusalem, but the leaders ·made it unholy [defiled/polluted it].

The Fall of Jerusalem

15 The Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers], sent ·prophets [L messengers] again and again to warn his people, because he had ·pity [compassion] on them and on his ·Temple [dwelling place]. 16 But they ·made fun of [mocked] God’s ·prophets [L messengers] and hated God’s ·messages [L words]. They ·refused to listen to the [ridiculed/scoffed at his] prophets until, finally, the Lord became so angry with his people that ·he could not be stopped [there was no remedy/L healer]. 17 So God brought the king of ·Babylon [the Chaldeans] to attack them. The king ·killed [slaughtered; L killed with the sword] the young men even when they were in the ·Temple [L house of their sanctuary]. He had no ·mercy [pity; compassion] on the young men or women, the old men or those who were ·sick [infirm]. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. 18 Nebuchadnezzar carried away to Babylon all the ·things [articles; vessels] from the ·Temple [L house] of God, both large and small, and all the treasures from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and from the king and his ·officers [officials]. 19 Nebuchadnezzar and his army ·set fire to [burned down] God’s ·Temple [L house] and broke down Jerusalem’s wall and burned all the ·palaces [or fortifications; L houses]. They destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem.

20 Nebuchadnezzar took ·captive [into exile] to Babylon the people who ·were left alive [L escaped the sword], and he forced them to be ·slaves [servants] for him and his descendants. They remained there as ·slaves [servants] until the Persian kingdom ·defeated Babylon [L came/rose to power]. 21 And so ·what the Lord had told Israel through the prophet Jeremiah happened [L the word of the Lord through the mouth of Jeremiah was fulfilled; C he prophesied the fall of Jerusalem]: The country ·was an empty wasteland [lay desolate/fallow] for seventy years ·to make up for the years of Sabbath rest [Lev. 25:1–7] that the people had not kept [or enjoying its sabbath rest; C a bitter observation that the land experienced an ironic “rest” while the Israelites were in exile; Lev. 25:4, 26:33–35].

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Zedekiah King of Judah(A)

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah [C not the prophet Jeremiah] from Libnah. 19 Zedekiah did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 All this happened in Jerusalem and Judah because the Lord was angry with them. Finally, he ·threw [banished; cast] them out of his presence.

Zedekiah ·turned [rebelled] against the king of Babylon.

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The Fall of Jerusalem

52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he was king in Jerusalem for eleven years [C from 597–586 bc]. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah [C not the prophet], and she was from Libnah. Zedekiah did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes of the Lord], just as Jehoiakim [C his brother who ruled from 609–597 bc] had done. All this happened in Jerusalem and Judah because the Lord was angry with them. Finally, he threw them out of his presence.

Zedekiah ·turned [rebelled] against the king of Babylon.

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