2Ki 24:1-9, 2Ch 36:5-8, Jer 25:1-3, Jer 26, Jer 35-36 | ESV | STEP | In his days , Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up , and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years . Then he turned and rebelled against him.

1 ^aIn 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 ^bChaldeans and ^cbands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^daccording 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, ^efor the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also ^ffor the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. 5 ^gNow 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 ^hslept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 ⁱAnd the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, ^jfor the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt ^kfrom the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

8 ^lJehoiachin was ^meighteen 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, ⁿaccording to all that his father had done.

2 Chronicles 36:5-8

5 ^oJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6 ^pAgainst him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^qand bound him in chains ^rto take him to Babylon. 7 ^sNebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. 8 ^tNow the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

Jeremiah 25:1-3

Seventy Years of Captivity

1 ^uThe word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3 “For twenty-three years, ^vfrom the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken ^wpersistently to you, ^xbut you have not listened.

Jeremiah 26

Jeremiah Threatened with Death

1 ^yIn the beginning of the reign of ^zJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^aaStand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord ^aball the words that I command you to speak to them; ^acdo not hold back a word. 3 ^adIt may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, ^aethat I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them ^afbecause of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^agIf you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 ^ahand to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you ^aiurgently, ^ajthough you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house ^aklike Shiloh, and I will make this city ^ala curse for all the nations of the earth.’”

7 ^amThe priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then ^anthe priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be ^aolike Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, ^apwithout inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10 When ^aqthe officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the ^arentry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. 11 Then ^asthe priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, ^at“This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13 Now therefore ^aumend your ways and your deeds, ^avand obey the voice of the Lord your God, ^awand the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14 ^axBut as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, ^ayyou will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

16 ^azThen the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ^ba“This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” 17 ^bbAnd certain of ^bcthe elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

^bd“‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? ^beDid he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, ^bfand did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? ^bgBut we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^bhKiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. 21 And when ^biKing Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then ^bjKing Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, ^bkElnathan the son of ^blAchbor and others with him, 23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, ^bmwho struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

24 But the hand of ^bnAhikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

Jeremiah 35

The Obedience of the Rechabites

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of ^boJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Go to the house of the ^bpRechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of ^bqthe chambers; then offer them wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the house of the Lord into ^brthe chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, ^bsthe man of God, which was near ^btthe chamber of the officials, above ^buthe chamber of ^bvMaaseiah the son of Shallum, ^bwkeeper of the threshold. 5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for ^bxJonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. 7 You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, ^bythat you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’ 8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, 10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But ^bzwhen Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of ^cathe army of the Chaldeans and ^cbthe army of the Syrians.’ ^ccSo we are living in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ^cdWill you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. 14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you ^cepersistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them ^cfpersistently, saying, ^cg‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and ^chdo not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ ^ciBut you did not incline your ear or listen to me. 16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. 17 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, ^cjbecause I have spoken to them and they have not listened, ^ckI have called to them and they have not answered.”

18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man ^clto stand before me.”

Jeremiah 36

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

1 In the ^cmfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take ^cna scroll and ^cowrite on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and ^cpJudah ^cqand all the nations, ^crfrom the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3 ^csIt may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, ^ctso that every one may turn from his evil way, and ^cuthat I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

4 Then Jeremiah called ^cvBaruch the son of Neriah, and ^cwBaruch wrote on ^cxa scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. 5 And Jeremiah ordered ^cyBaruch, saying, ^cz“I am banned from going to the house of the Lord, 6 so you are to go, and ^daon a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the Lord’s house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. 7 ^dbIt may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, ^dcand that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

9 ^ddIn the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^dein the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem ^dfproclaimed a fast before the Lord. 10 Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord, in ^dgthe chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

11 When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of ^dhShaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the king’s house, into the secretary’s chamber, and ^diall the officials were sitting there: ^djElishama the secretary, ^dkDelaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^dlElnathan ^dmthe son of Achbor, ^dnGemariah the son of ^doShaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials. 13 And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14 Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of ^dpShelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, ^dq“We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” 18 Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, ^drwhile I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”

20 So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in ^dsthe chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 It was ^dtthe ninth month, and the king was sitting in ^duthe winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. 23 As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. 24 Yet ^dvneither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, ^dwnor did they tear their garments. 25 Even when ^dxElnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah ^dyurged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the ^dzking’s son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and ^eaShelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize ^ebBaruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.

27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, ^ec“Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: ^edHe shall have none ^eeto sit on the throne of David, ^efand his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 ^egAnd I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”

32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to ^ehBaruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who ^eiwrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.