67 Bible Verses about Jerusalem, History Of
Most Relevant Verses
When the man got up to leave with his mistress and servant, his father-in-law, the young woman's father, told him, "Look now, evening is coming, so please spend another night. See how the daylight is fading, so spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Then tomorrow get up early and leave on your journey home." Because the man was unwilling to spend the night, he got up, left, and arrived opposite Jebus (now known as Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys, along with his mistress. As they approached Jebus, the daylight was almost gone, so the servant suggested to his master, "Come on, let's spend the night in this Jebusite city."read more.
But his master replied, "We're not going to turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not part of the Israelis. Instead, we'll go on to Gibeah."
Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, along with the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,
That very day the LORD made this covenant with Abram: "I'm giving this land to your descendants, from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River including the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, read more.
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
The LORD said, "I have certainly seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their slave masters. I really do understand their pain, so I have come down to deliver them from their domination by the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the territory of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
because my angel will go ahead of you and will bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I'll annihilate them.
Obey what I am commanding you today and I'll drive out from before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Amalek lives throughout the Negev, while the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live by the sea and on the bank of the Jordan."
"When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, he will drive out many nations before you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations who are more numerous and stronger than you. So when the LORD your God delivers them to you and you have defeated them, then utterly destroy them. You are not to make any covenant with them nor be gracious to them.
Joshua continued, "This is how you'll know that the living God really is among you: he's going to remove the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites right in front of you.
Eventually all the kings who reigned in the hill country across the Jordan River and in the low-lying coastlands of the Mediterranean Sea facing Lebanon heard about this. So the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites united together as one to fight against both Joshua and Israel.
King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem eventually heard how Joshua had conquered Ai, utterly destroying it, doing to Ai and its king the same thing that he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were now living among them. So they were terrified, since Gibeon was a large city, comparable to one of the royal cities, was larger than Ai, and all of its men had been warriors. So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent word to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon. He told them, read more.
"Come over and help me, and let's attack Gibeon, because it made a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelis." So the five kings of the Amorites the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon gathered their armies together and advanced with all of their armies toward Gideon, camped there, and laid siege to it. The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal: "Don't abandon your servants. Come quickly, save us, and help us, because all of the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have attacked us." So Joshua went up from Gilgal, along with his entire fighting force of mighty warriors with him.
The boundary then went up to Debir from the Achor valley and turned north toward Gilgal opposite the ascent of Adummim in the southern part of the valley. Then the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and terminated at En-rogel. Then the border proceeded up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the southern ascent of the Jebusites (that is, to Jerusalem), and from there to the top of the mountain that faces the valley of Hinnom to the west at the end of the valley of Rephaim toward the north.
Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (also known as Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim, for a total of fourteen towns and villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families.
Now as for the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, the descendants of Judah could not expel them, so Jebusites live with the descendants of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.
When the army of the tribe of Judah went into battle, the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their control, and they defeated 10,000 men at Bezek. They located Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Adoni-bezek ran off, but they pursued him, caught him, and amputated his thumbs and big toes. read more.
Adoni-bezek used to brag, "Seventy kings without thumbs and big toes used to eat what was left under my table. God has repaid me for what I've done." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he later died there. Then the army of Judah attacked Jerusalem, captured it, executed its inhabitants, and set fire to the city.
However, the descendants of Benjamin did not expel the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
Later, David and all of Israel marched to Jerusalem (then known as Jebus, where the Jebusites lived when they inhabited the land). The inhabitants of Jebus told David, "You're not coming in here!" Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, now known as the City of David. David had announced, "Whoever first attacks the Jebusites will be appointed chief and commander." When Zeruiah's son Joab went up first, he became chief. read more.
David occupied the fortress, so it was named the City of David after him. He built up the walls surrounding the city in a complete circle from the terrace ramparts, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. David became more and more prestigious because the LORD of the Heavenly Armies was with him.
Later, the king and his army marched on Jerusalem against the Jebusites, who were inhabiting the territory at that time and who had told David, "You're not coming in here! Even the blind and the lame could turn you away!" because they were thinking "David can't come here." Even so, David captured the stronghold of Zion, which is now known as the City of David. At that time, David had said, "Whoever intends to attack the Jebusites will have to climb up the water shaft to attack the lame and blind, who hate David."read more.
Therefore they say, "The blind and lame are never to come into the house." David occupied the fortress, naming it the City of David. He built up the surroundings from the terrace ramparts inward. David became more and more esteemed because the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies was with him.
Later on, David was informed, "The LORD has blessed the home of Obed-edom and everything he has since he's in possession of the Ark of God." So David went out joyfully and brought up the Ark of God to the City of David from Obed-edom's home. After those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed oxen and fattened animals, dancing in front of the LORD with all of his strength and wearing a linen ephod. read more.
So David and the entire assembly of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and trumpet blasts. As the ark of the LORD was coming into the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal was peering out a window, watching King David jumping and dancing in the LORD's presence, and she despised him in her heart. They brought in the ark of the LORD, set it in place inside the tent that David had erected for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings in the presence of the LORD. After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies and distributed to all the people the entire multitude of Israel, including both men and women a cake made of bread, one made of dates, and one made of raisins to each one. Then all the people left, each headed for home.
David began to reign when he was 30 years old, and he reigned 40 years. He reigned over Judah for seven years and six months in Hebron, and he reigned over all of Israel including Judah for 33 years in Jerusalem.
Mephibosheth continued to live in Jerusalem, always eating at the king's table, since he was maimed in both feet.
One spring day, during the time of year when kings go off to war, David sent out Joab, along with his personal staff and all of Israel's army. They utterly destroyed the Ammonites and then attacked Rabbah while David remained in Jerusalem.
So David mustered his entire army and marched on Rabbah, attacked it, and captured it. He confiscated the crown of their king from his head it weighed one talent in gold and was set with precious stones and it was placed on David's head. He confiscated a great amount of war booty that had been plundered from the city, brought back the people who had lived in it, placing them under conscripted labor with saws, iron picks, and axes. He did this to every Ammonite city, and then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
Later the next spring, at the time that kings go out to fight, Joab led out the army, ravaged the territory of the Ammonites, and then went out and attacked Rabbah, while David remained behind in Jerusalem. Joab besieged Rabbah and conquered it. David confiscated the crown of their king from his head, and found that its weight was a talent in gold. A precious stone had been set in it, and it was placed on David's head. He also confiscated a great amount of war booty that had been plundered from the city, brought back the people who had lived in it, and put them to conscripted labor with saws, iron picks, and axes. David did this to every Ammonite city, and then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
Then Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, the king said, "Let him return to his own home and not show his face to me." So Absalom returned to his own home and did not show his face to the king.
Then a messenger arrived to inform David, "The loyalties of the men of Israel have shifted to Absalom." So David told all of his staff who were with him in Jerusalem, "Let's get up and get out of here! Otherwise, none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he'll overtake us quickly, bring disaster on all of us, and execute the inhabitants of the city!"
After this, David died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the City of David. David had reigned over Israel for 40 years. He reigned in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for 33 years. Solomon then assumed his father David's throne, and his kingdom was firmly established.
Later, Solomon intermarried with the family of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt by taking his daughter and bringing her to the City of David to live until he had completed building his own palace, the LORD's Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.
Then Solomon gathered together the elders of Israel, including all the heads of the tribes and the leaders of the ancestral households of the Israelis, to meet with him in Jerusalem so they could bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David.
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's reputation with the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. She brought along a large retinue, camels laden with spices, and lots of gold and precious stones. Upon her arrival, she spoke with Solomon about everything that was on her mind. Solomon answered all of her questions. Nothing was hidden from Solomon that he did not explain to her. read more.
When the queen of Sheba had seen all of Solomon's wisdom for herself, the palace that he had built, the food set at his table, his servants who sat with him, his ministers in attendance and how they were dressed, his personal staff and how they were dressed, and even his personal stairway by which he went up to the LORD's Temple, she was breathless!
Now the rest of Solomon's accomplishments, including everything else he did, as well as records of his wisdom, are recorded in the Book of the Acts of Solomon, are they not? Solomon reigned over all of Israel from Jerusalem for a total of 40 years. Then Solomon died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
Meanwhile, Solomon's son Rehoboam reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to place his Name. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah.
When all of Israel saw that the king wasn't listening to them, the people responded to the king's message, "What's the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let's go home, Israel! David, take care of your own household!' So Israel left for home. And so Rehoboam ruled over the Israelis who lived in the cities of Judah. King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of conscripted labor, but all of Israel stoned him to death, and King Rehoboam had to jump in his chariot and flee back in a hurry to Jerusalem. read more.
That's how Israel came to be in rebellion against David's dynasty to this day.
All of Israel since the king wasn't going to listen to them the people responded to the king, "What's the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let's go home, Israel! David, take care of your own household!" So all of Israel left for home. And so Rehoboam ruled over the Israelis who lived in the cities of Judah. King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of conscripted labor, but the Israelis stoned him to death, and King Rehoboam had to jump in his chariot and flee back in a hurry to Jerusalem. read more.
That's how Israel came to be in rebellion against David's dynasty to this day.
Later on, Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. He also expanded from there and built Penuel. Jeroboam was thinking to himself, "The kingdom is about to return to David's control. If these people keep going up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD there, the hearts of these people will return to their lord, King Rehoboam of Judah. Then they'll kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah!"
Asa began to reign as Judah's king during the twentieth year of the reign of Jeroboam as king over Israel. He reigned 41 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.
Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king. He reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi.
Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, having become king at the age of 35. He reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
Sometime during the fifth year of the reign of Ahab's son Joram, king of Israel (while Jehoshaphat was still ruling as king of Judah), Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Judah. He was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years.
Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.
ascending to the throne in the seventh year of the reign of Jehu and then reigning for 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah from Beer-sheba.
Joash was seven years old when he began his reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah. She was from Beer-sheba.
Amaziah's son Azariah began reigning during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Jeroboam, king of Israel. He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah. She was from Jerusalem.
Now it happened that during the third year of the reign of Elah's son Hoshea, king of Israel, that Ahaz' son Hezekiah became king. He was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Zechariah's daughter Abi.
Hezekiah began his reign at the age of 25. He reigned for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah, Zechariah's daughter.
During the fourteenth year of the reign of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria approached all of the walled cities of Judah and seized them. So Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: "I have offended you. Withdraw from me, and I'll accept whatever tribute you impose." So the king of Assyria required Hezekiah to pay him 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver that could be removed from the LORD's Temple and from the treasuries in the king's palace. read more.
At that time, Hezekiah removed the doors to the LORD's Temple and the doorposts that he had overlaid with gold, and gave the gold to the king of Assyria. Sometime later, the king of Assyria sent Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, accompanied with a large army. When they called for the King, Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who managed the household, Shebnah the scribe, and Asaph's son Joah the recorder went out to them. Rab-shakeh told them, "Tell Hezekiah right now, "This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: ""Why are you so confident? You're saying but they're only empty words "I have enough advice and resources to conduct warfare!' ""Now who are you relying on, that you have rebelled against me? Look, you're trusting on Egypt to lean on like a staff, but it's a crushed reed, and if you lean on it, it will collapse and pierce your hand. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who relies on him! ""Of course, you might tell me, "We rely on the LORD our God!" But isn't it he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has demolished, all the while telling Jerusalem, "You're to worship in front of this altar in Jerusalem?"' ""Come now, and make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria, and I'll give you 2,000 horses, if you can furnish them with riders. How can you refuse even one official from the least of my master's servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? "Now then, haven't I come up apart from the LORD to attack and destroy this place? The LORD told me, "Go up against this land and destroy it!'"'" At this, Hilkiah's son Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah asked Rab-shakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, because we understand it, but don't speak the language of Judah to us within the hearing of the people who are on the wall." But Rab-shakeh spoke to them, "Has my master sent me to talk about this just to your master and to you, and not also to the men who are sitting on the wall, who will soon be eating their own feces and drinking their own urine along with you?" Then Rab-shakeh stood up and cried out loud, "Listen to what the great king, the king of Assyria has to say. This is what the king says: "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you, because he will prove to be unable to deliver you from my control. And don't let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by telling you, "The LORD will certainly deliver us and this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria." Don't listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make peace with me and come out to me! Each of you will eat from his own vine. Each will eat from his own fig tree. And each of you will drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, one overflowing with grain and new wine, a land filled with bread and vineyards, with olive trees and honey, so you may live and not die." "But don't listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, "The LORD will deliver us!" Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land from control by the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my control? Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered their land from my control, so that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from me?'"
After this, King Sennacherib of Assyria sent his messengers to Jerusalem while he was in the middle of a vigorous attack on Lachish. They delivered this message to King Hezekiah of Judah and to all the people of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem: "This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: "What are you leaning on that makes you stay behind while Jerusalem comes under siege? Isn't Hezekiah lying to you so he can hand you over to die by famine and thirst? After all, he's telling you "The LORD our God will deliver us from the king of Assyria's control." read more.
Isn't this the very same Hezekiah who removed this god's high places and altars? Isn't this the same Hezekiah who issued this order to Judah and Jerusalem: "You are to worship in front of only one altar and burn your sacrifices only on it."? Don't you know what my predecessors have done to all the other people in other lands? Were the gods of the people who lived in those lands able to deliver their countries out of my control? What god, out of all the gods of those nations that my predecessors utterly destroyed, has been able to deliver his people from my control or from the control of my predecessors? Now therefore, don't let Hezekiah lie to you or mislead you like this. Don't believe him, because no god of any nation has been able to deliver his people from my control or from the control of my predecessors. So how much less will your God deliver you from me?'" King Sennacherib's spokesmen said even worse things against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah. Sennacherib also wrote letters like this that insulted and slandered the LORD God of Israel: "Just as the gods of the nations in other lands haven't delivered their people from my control, so also the god of Hezekiah won't deliver his people from me!" His spokesmen shouted these things out with loud voices in the language of Judah to frighten and terrify the people of Jerusalem who were stationed on the city walls, to make it easier to conquer the city. In doing so, they spoke about the God of Jerusalem as if he were like the gods of the nations of the earth that are made by the hands of human beings.
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander, along with a very large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the field commander stopped at the aqueduct at the Upper Pool on the road to Laundryman's Field, Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph's son Joah, the recorder, went out to him.read more.
The field commander told them: "Tell Hezekiah, king of Judah, "This is what the mighty king, the king of Assyria, has to say: What is this "guarantee" that makes you yourself rely on it? Do you really think that guarantees alone can withstand strategy and military strength? On whom are you now depending, that you're rebelling against me? Take note: you're relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the palm of anyone who leans on it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like to everybody who depends on him! But if you all say to me, "We are depending on the LORD our God" - isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, while he kept on telling Judah and Jerusalem, "You are to worship in front of this altar in Jerusalem'? Come now, all of you, make a bet with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you can furnish riders for them! How, then, can you repulse even one officer from the least of my master's officials, when you are depending for yourselves on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? One other thing: have I really marched against this country to destroy it apart from the LORD's direction? The LORD himself ordered me, "March against this country to destroy it.'" Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah replied to him, "Please speak with your servants with us in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew where the people sitting on the wall can hear." But the field commander asked, "Was it only to all of you and to your master that my master sent me to speak these things? Wasn't it also to the men sitting on the wall who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?" Then the commander stood up and shouted out loud in Hebrew: "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! This is what the king of Assyria says: "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you for he cannot save you! Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the LORD when he says, "The LORD will really deliver us!" and "This city will never be handed over to the king of Assyria!" Don't listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then everyone will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and everyone will drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land to a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.' Be careful not to let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, "The LORD will save us." Has any god of any nation ever delivered his country from the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim? Have they saved Samaria from me? Who among all the gods of these countries has delivered their land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from me?'" But the people remained silent and didn't respond to him with so much as a single word, because the king had commanded, "Don't answer him." Then Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph's son Joah, the recorder, approached Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and let him know what the field commander had said.
Manasseh began to reign at the age of twelve, and he reigned for 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hephzibah.
Manasseh began to reign at the age of twelve years, and continued to reign for 55 years in Jerusalem.
The people of the land took Josiah's son Jehoahaz, anointed him, and installed him as king in his father's place. Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. He reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. He practiced what the LORD considered to be evil, just as all of his ancestors had done. Pharaoah Neco placed him in custody at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem, and imposed a tribute of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold.
Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem, after which the king of Egypt dethroned him and imposed a fine on the land of 100 talents of silver and one talent of gold.
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. Zedekiah practiced what the LORD considered to be evil, just as Jehoiakim had done, because through the LORD's anger these things happened to Jerusalem and Judah until he threw them from his presence.read more.
Zedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon, so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city. The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month, the resulting famine had become so severe in the city that no food remained for the people who lived in the land. The city was breached, and the entire army left during the night through the gate that stood between the two walls beside the royal garden, even though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city. They escaped through the Arabah, but the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the Jericho plains, where his entire army was scattered.
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil and never humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD. Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance in the name of God. Instead, he stiffened his resolve, and hardened his heart, and would not return to the LORD God of Israel.read more.
Meanwhile, all the officials who supervised the priests and the people remained unfaithful, following the detestable example of the surrounding nations. They polluted the LORD's Temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem. The LORD God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence, but they mocked God's messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people. Therefore he brought up the king of the Chaldeans against them, who executed their young men in the holy Temple, showing no compassion on young man or young virgin, adult men or the aged. God gave them all into the king's control, who took back to Babylon every article in God's Temple, whether large or small, including the treasuries of the LORD's Temple, the king's assets, and those of his officers. After this, they set fire to God's Temple, demolished the wall around Jerusalem, burned all of its fortified buildings, and destroyed everything of value. Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon those who survived the executions, and they served him and his descendants until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
This is how Jerusalem was captured: In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. On the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, the wall of the city was breached. All the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, including Nergal-sarri-usur, governor of Sinmagir, Nabu-sarrussu-ukin the high official, Nergal-sarri-user, the chief official, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.read more.
When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night through the king's garden through the gate between the two walls. Then he went out on the road toward the Arabah. The Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. When they seized him they brought him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed judgment on him. At Riblah, the king of Babylon executed Zedekiah's sons right before his eyes. He also executed all the nobles of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with bronze fetters to take him to Babylon. The Chaldeans burned the palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the Babylonian guard, took into exile in Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to Nebuchadnezzar, and the rest of the people who remained. Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who did not have anything, and he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. Zedekiah had done evil in the LORD's sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. Because Jerusalem and Judah had angered the Lord, he cast them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, read more.
and in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with all his army. He encamped near it and set up siege works all around it. The city was under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe that there was no food for the people of the land. The wall of the city was broken through, and all the soldiers fled, leaving the city at night through the gate between the two walls next to the king's garden, even though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah. The Chaldean army went after the king, overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his troops were scattered from him. They captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where the king of Babylon passed judgment on him. The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, and he also killed all the Judean officials at Riblah. He blinded Zedekiah and bound him in bronze shackles. Then the king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in prison until he died. In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month it was the nineteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. He burned the LORD's Temple, the king's house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building with fire. All the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM CYRUS, KING OF PERSIA All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the LORD God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, who among the LORD's people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem.
During the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in fulfillment of the message from the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD prompted Cyrus, king of Persia, to make this proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, which was also released in written form: AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM CYRUS, KING OF PERSIA All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the LORD God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, who among the LORD's people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem of Judah to rebuild the Temple of the LORD God of Israel, the God of Jerusalem. read more.
Furthermore, everyone who wishes to repatriate from any territory where he now resides is to receive assistance from his fellow residents in the form of silver, gold, equipment, and pack animals, in addition to voluntary offerings for the Temple of the God of Jerusalem.
It came about in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, during the month of Nissan, the king was about to drink some wine that I was preparing for him. Now I had never looked troubled in his presence. The king asked me, "Why do you look so troubled, since you're not ill? This cannot be anything else but troubles of the heart." Then I was filled with fear. I replied to the king, "May the king live forever. Why shouldn't I be troubled, since the city where my ancestral sepulchers are located lies waste, with its gates burned by fire?"read more.
The king answered, "What do you want?" So I prayed to the God of heaven and I replied to the king, "If it seems good to you, and if your servant has found favor with you, would you send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestral sepulchers are located, so I can rebuild it?" With his queen seated beside him, the king asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you return?" The king thought it was a good idea to send me, so I presented him with a prepared plan.
In this document, I, Hacaliah's son Nehemiah, recount what occurred during the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. In the month of Chislev, while I was in Shushan at the palace, Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, about those who had survived the Babylonian captivity, and about Jerusalem. They told me, "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are living in great distress and shame. Furthermore, the Jerusalem wall remains broken down and its gates have been burned by fire."
After this, the non-Israeli inhabitants of the land undermined the people of Judah, harassing them in their construction work by bribing their consultants in order to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia until Darius became king. At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus, they lodged a formal accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
Then they sent word throughout Judah and Jerusalem to everyone who had returned from the exile, to gather together in Jerusalem.
During all of this time, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to the king in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon. After a while I obtained permission from the king to return to Jerusalem. I learned of the evil thing that Eliashib had done for Tobiah in furnishing him with a room in the courts of the Temple of God.
After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod, wise men arrived in Jerusalem from the east and asked, "Where is the one who was born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem.
About this time, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness, "Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!" He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said, "He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'"read more.
John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him, being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins.
