2Ki 15:29, 17:1-6, 18:9-12, 2Ki 24-25, Dan 2:37-43, 7:3-8, 8:3-14 | ESV | STEP | In the days of Pekah king of Israel , Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon , Abel-beth-maacah , Janoah , Kedesh , Hazor , Gilead , and Galilee , all the land of Naphtali , and he carried the people captive to Assyria .

29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, ^aTiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured ^bIjon, ^cAbel-beth-maacah, Janoah, ^dKedesh, ^eHazor, Gilead, and ^fGalilee, all the land of Naphtali, and he carried the people captive to Assyria.

2 Kings 17:1-6

Hoshea Reigns in Israel

1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, ^gHoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 ^hAgainst him came up ⁱShalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it.

The Fall of Israel

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria ^jcaptured Samaria, ^kand he carried the Israelites away to Assyria ^land placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of ^mGozan, and in the cities of ⁿthe Medes.

2 Kings 18:9-12

9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, ^oShalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, 10 and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in ^pHalah, and on the ^qHabor, ^rthe river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed.

2 Kings 24

1 ^sIn 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 ^tChaldeans and ^ubands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^vaccording 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, ^wfor the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also ^xfor the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. 5 ^yNow 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 ^zslept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 ^aaAnd the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, ^abfor the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt ^acfrom the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

8 ^adJehoiachin was ^aeeighteen 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, ^afaccording to all that his father had done.

Jerusalem Captured

10 At that time the servants of ^agNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And ^ahNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 ^aiand 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. ^ajThe king of Babylon took him prisoner ^akin the eighth year of his reign 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord ^aland the treasures of the king’s house, ^amand cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, ^anwhich Solomon king of Israel had made, ^aoas the Lord had foretold. 14 ^apHe carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, ^aq10,000 captives, ^arand all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, ^asexcept the poorest people of the land. 15 ^atAnd 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, ^au7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. 17 ^avAnd the king of Babylon ^awmade Mattaniah, ^axJehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, ^ayand changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

18 ^azZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^baHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^bbaccording 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.

^bcAnd Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

2 Kings 25

Fall and Captivity of Judah

1 ^bdAnd in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, ^beNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ^bfAnd 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 ^bgthe 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 ^bhthe king’s garden, and ^bithe Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the ^bjArabah. 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 ^bkand brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^blRiblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, ^bmand put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.

8 ^bnIn the fifth month, on ^bothe 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 ^bpAnd he burned the house of the Lord ^bqand 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, ^brbroke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 ^bsAnd 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 ^btsome of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

13 ^buAnd the pillars ^bvof bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and ^bwthe stands and ^bxthe bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 ^byAnd 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, ^bzthe bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 ^caThe height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, ^{▼▼A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} 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 ^ccAnd the captain of the guard took ^cdSeraiah the chief priest and ^ceZephaniah 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 ^cffive 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 ^cgRiblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at ^chRiblah in the land of Hamath. ^ciSo 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 ^cjGedaliah the son of ^ckAhikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 ^clNow 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 ^cmMizpah, 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 ^cnBut in the seventh month, ^coIshmael 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 ^cpThen 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 ^cqAnd in the thirty-seventh year of ^crthe 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 ^csfreed ^{▼▼Hebrew reign, lifted up the head of} 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 ^cuhe 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.

Daniel 2:37-43

37 You, O king, ^cvthe king of kings, to whom ^cwthe God of heaven ^cxhas given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, ^cythe beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are ^czthe head of gold. 39 ^daAnother kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom ^dbof bronze, ^dcwhich shall rule over all the earth. 40 And ^ddthere shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron ^debreaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall ^dfbreak and crush all these. 41 And as you saw ^dgthe feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the ^dhfirmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, ^{▼▼Aramaic by the seed of men} but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

Daniel 7:3-8

3 And four great beasts ^djcame up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, ^dkanother beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a ^dlleopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and ^dmdominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ^dnterrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ^doit devoured and broke in pieces ^dpand stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ^dqit had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, ^drthere came up among them another horn, a little one, ^dsbefore which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and ^dta mouth speaking great things.

Daniel 8:3-14

3 I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, ^dua ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw ^dvthe ram charging westward and northward and southward. No ^dwbeast ^dxcould stand before him, ^dyand there was no one who could rescue from his power. ^dzHe did as he pleased and ^eabecame great.

5 As I was considering, behold, a ^ebmale goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had ^eca conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came to ^edthe ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, ^eeand he ran at him in his powerful wrath. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, ^efand he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. ^egAnd the ram had no power to stand before him, but he ^ehcast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. 8 Then ^eithe goat ^ejbecame exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four ^ekconspicuous horns toward ^elthe four winds of heaven.

9 Out of one of them came ^ema little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward ^enthe south, toward the east, and toward ^eothe glorious land. 10 ^epIt grew great, ^eqeven to the host of heaven. And some of the host ^erand some ^{▼▼Or host, that is, some} of ^etthe stars it threw down to the ground and ^eutrampled on them. 11 ^evIt became great, even as great as ^ewthe Prince of the host. ^exAnd the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, ^{▼▼Or in an act of rebellion} and it will throw truth to the ground, and ^ezit will act and prosper. 13 Then I heard ^faa holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, ^fb“For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, ^fcthe transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me, ^{▼▼Hebrew; Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate to him} “For 2,300 ^feevenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”