Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Then the king gave an order to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said:

The king gave an order to the priest Hilkiah, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said: Go inquire of Jehovah on my behalf and for the people. This is concerning the words in this book that has been found. Jehovah's fierce anger is directed towards us because our ancestors did not obey the things in this book or do everything written in it. So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to talk to the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas. Shallum was in charge of the royal wardrobe. Huldah was living in the Second Part of Jerusalem.

There were people who were still living in the land of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take them captive. He made Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, ruler over them.

Ahikam, son of Shaphan, supported Jeremiah. So Jeremiah was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

had me brought from the palace courtyard. They put me under the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who was to see that I got home safely. Thus I stayed there among the people.

If you wish to remain, then go back to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed to govern the cities of Judah. Live among the people with him, or go anywhere you want. The captain of the guard gave Jeremiah some food and a present and let him go. Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, at Mizpah and lived with him among the people who were left in the land. All the army commanders and their men who were in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, to govern the country and some of the country's poorest men, women, and children who had not been taken away to Babylon. read more.
These are the commanders who went with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai from Netophah, and Jezaniah, who was the son of a man from Maacah. Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men. He said: Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians. Live in this country, serve the king of Babylon, and you will prosper. I am going to live in Mizpah and represent you when the Babylonians come to us. Gather grapes, summer fruit, and olive oil, and put them in storage jars. Live in the cities you have taken over. All the Jews who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and in all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few survivors in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, to govern them. So all the Jews returned from all the places where they had been scattered. They came to Judah and to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They gathered a large harvest of grapes and summer fruit. Kareah's son Johanan and all the army commanders who were still in the country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They asked him: Do you know that King Baalis of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, to kill you? However, Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, did not believe them. Then Johanan, Kareah's son, secretly asked Gedaliah at Mizpah: Let me kill Ishmael, Nethaniah's son. No one will know about it. Why should he kill you? All the Jews who have gathered around you would scatter. What is left of Judah would disappear. Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, told Johanan, Kareah's son: Do not do that! What you are saying about Ishmael is a lie.

They took men, women, children, and the king's daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah.


Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant (egotistical) men said to Jeremiah: You are telling a lie! Jehovah our God has not sent you to say: 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there. Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans. They will put us to death or exile us to Babylon. So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of Jehovah and stay in the land of Judah. read more.
But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah. They took men, women, children, and the king's daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah. They did not listen to Jehovah. They went to Egypt. They went as far as Tahpanhes.


I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle's son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard. I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying: Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel says: Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may be preserved a long time. read more.
Jehovah of Host, the God of Israel says: Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.' After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah I prayed to Jehovah:

Then Jeremiah called Baruch, son of Neriah. Jeremiah dictated everything that Jehovah told him. Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll. Jeremiah told Baruch: I am no longer allowed to go to Jehovah's Temple. On a day of fasting, you must read from the scroll Jehovah's message that you wrote as I dictated. You must read it to the people in Jehovah's Temple. You must also read it to all the people of Judah when they come from their cities. read more.
Maybe their prayers will come into Jehovah's presence, and they will turn from their evil ways. Jehovah has threatened these people with his terrifying anger and fury. Baruch, son of Neriah, did as the prophet Jeremiah commanded him. In Jehovah's Temple he read from the scroll everything that Jehovah had said. In the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah of Judah, a time for fasting was called. It was a time for all the people in Jerusalem and for everyone who was coming from any city in Judah to Jerusalem to fast in Jehovah's presence. Then Baruch read the scroll containing the words of Jeremiah. Baruch read it to all the people in Jehovah's temple in the room of the scribe Gemariah, son of Shaphan, in the upper courtyard at the entrance of New Gate of Jehovah's Temple. Micaiah, who was the son of Gemariah and the grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll everything Jehovah had said. Then he went down to the scribe's room in the king's palace where all the scribes were sitting. The scribe Elishama, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were there. Micaiah told them everything he heard Baruch read from the scroll publicly. Then all the officials sent Jehudi, who was the son of Nethaniah, the grandson of Shelemiah, and the great-grandson of Cushi, to Baruch. Jehudi said to Baruch: Bring the scroll that you read publicly, and come with me. Baruch, son of Neriah, took the scroll and went with him to see the officers. They said to Baruch: Please sit down, and read it to us. So Baruch read it to them. When they heard everything, they turned to each other in terror. They said to Baruch: We must tell the king everything. They asked Baruch: Please tell us how you wrote all this. Did Jeremiah dictate it to you? Baruch answered: He dictated everything to me, and I wrote it on the scroll in ink. The officials said to Baruch: You and Jeremiah must hide. Do not let anyone know where you are. After they put the scroll in the side room of the scribe Elishama, they went to the king in the courtyard and told him everything. Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He took the scroll from the side room of the scribe Elishama. Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials standing by the king. It was the ninth month, and the king was in his winter house sitting in front of the fire in the fireplace. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a scribe's knife and throw them into the fire in the fireplace. He did this until the whole scroll was burned up. The king and all his attendants did not show any fear or tear their clothes in fear when they heard everything being read. Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he refused to listen to them. The king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. But Jehovah had hidden Baruch and Jeremiah. After the king burned up the scroll that Baruch had written and that Jeremiah had dictated, Jehovah spoke his word to Jeremiah: Take another scroll, and write on it everything that was written on the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned. Say about King Jehoiakim of Judah: 'This is what Jehovah says: You burned this scroll, and you asked Jeremiah: Why did you write that the king of Babylon would certainly come to destroy this land and take away people and animals?' This is what Jehovah says about King Jehoiakim of Judah: 'He will have no one to sit on David's throne, and his own corpse will be thrown out and exposed to the heat of day and the cold of night. 'I will punish him, his descendants, and his attendants for their wickedness. They refused to listen. So I will bring on them, on those who live in Jerusalem, and on the people of Judah all the disasters that I have threatened.'' Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch, son of Neriah. As Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it everything that was on the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned. They added many similar messages.

Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans. They will put us to death or exile us to Babylon. So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of Jehovah and stay in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah. read more.
They took men, women, children, and the king's daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah.

This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch, son of Neriah. Baruch wrote these things on a scroll (book) as Jeremiah dictated them during the fourth year that Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, was king of Judah. Jeremiah said: This is what Jehovah the God of Israel says to you, Baruch:


As soon as Jeremiah, whom Jehovah their God had sent, had finished telling all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, that is, all these words, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant (egotistical) men said to Jeremiah: You are telling a lie! Jehovah our God has not sent you to say: 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there. Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans. They will put us to death or exile us to Babylon. read more.
So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of Jehovah and stay in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah. They took men, women, children, and the king's daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah. They did not listen to Jehovah. They went to Egypt. They went as far as Tahpanhes.


As soon as Jeremiah, whom Jehovah their God had sent, had finished telling all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, that is, all these words, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant (egotistical) men said to Jeremiah: You are telling a lie! Jehovah our God has not sent you to say: 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there. Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans. They will put us to death or exile us to Babylon. read more.
So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of Jehovah and stay in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah. They took men, women, children, and the king's daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah. They did not listen to Jehovah. They went to Egypt. They went as far as Tahpanhes.


They took men, women, children, and the king's daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah.

On the tenth day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the guard and an officer of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned down Jehovah's Temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. Every important building was burned down. The entire Babylonian army that was with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem. read more.
Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left some of the poorest people in the land to work in the vineyards and on the farms. The Babylonians broke apart the copper pillars of Jehovah's Temple, the stands, and the copper pool in Jehovah's Temple. They shipped all the copper to Babylon. they took the pots, shovels, snuffers, bowls, dishes, and all the copper utensils used in the Temple service. The captain of the guard also took pans, incense burners, bowls, pots, lamp stands, dishes, and the bowls used for wine offerings. The captain of the guard took all of the trays and bowls that were made of gold or silver. The copper from the two pillars, the pool, and the twelve copper bulls under the stands that King Solomon had made for Jehovah's Temple could not be weighed. One pillar was twenty-seven feet high and eighteen feet in circumference. It was three inches thick and hollow. The crown that was on it was seven and one half feet high with filigree and pomegranates around it. They were all made of copper. The second pillar was the same. It also had pomegranates. There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides. The total number of pomegranates on the surrounding filigree was one hundred. The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three doorkeepers. From the city he also took an army commander, seven men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and sixty common people whom he found in the city. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So the people of Judah were captives as they left their land. These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar took captive: In his seventh year as king, he took three thousand and twenty-three Jews. In his eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar took eight hundred and thirty-two people from Jerusalem. In Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year as king, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took away seven hundred and forty-five Jews. In all, four thousand six hundred people were taken away.

It was the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He had the Temple of Jehovah, the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned with fire. The army of the Chaldaeans under the command of the captain of the army broke down the walls around Jerusalem. read more.
The rest of the people still in the town, and all those who had given themselves up to the king of Babylon, and all the rest of the workmen were taken away as prisoners by Nebuzaradan, the captain of the army. He let the poorest of the land go on living there, to take care of the vines and the fields. The copper pillars in the Temple of Jehovah, and the wheeled bases, and the great copper water-vessel in the Temple of Jehovah were broken up by the Chaldaeans. They took the copper to Babylon. The pots and the spades and the scissors for the lights and the spoons, and all the copper vessels used in Jehovah's Temple were taken away. The captain of the guard took all of the incense burners and bowls that were made of gold or silver. The bronze from the two pillars, the pool, and the stands that Solomon made for Jehovah's Temple could not be weighed. One pillar was twenty-seven feet high and had a copper crown on it that was four and one half feet high. The filigree and the pomegranates around the crown were all made of copper. The second pillar and its filigree were the same. The captain of the guard took the high priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three doorkeepers. From the city he also took an army commander, five men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and sixty of the common people whom he found in the city. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So the people of Judah were captives when they left their land.

Finally Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, took away as prisoners to Babylon the people who were left in the city, together with those who had deserted to him. He left in the land of Judah some of the poorest people, who owned no property, and he gave them vineyards and fields.


The king gave an order to the priest Hilkiah, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said:

Then the king gave an order to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said:

There were people who were still living in the land of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take them captive. He made Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, ruler over them.

Ahikam, son of Shaphan, supported Jeremiah. So Jeremiah was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

had me brought from the palace courtyard. They put me under the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who was to see that I got home safely. Thus I stayed there among the people.

They took men, women, children, and the king's daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah.

All the Jews who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and in all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few survivors in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, to govern them.

Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men. He said: Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians. Live in this country, serve the king of Babylon, and you will prosper.

If you wish to remain, then go back to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed to govern the cities of Judah. Live among the people with him, or go anywhere you want. The captain of the guard gave Jeremiah some food and a present and let him go.

Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him got up, drew their swords, and killed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. So they assassinated the man whom the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the land.