The One Year Bible for Men - Flipbook - Page 15
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son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the
Netophathite, Jezaniah* son of the Maaca
thite, and all their men.
24
G ed
a
l i
a h vowed to them that the
Babylonian officials meant them no harm.
“Don’t be afraid of them. Live in the land and
serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well
for you,” he promised.
25 But in midautumn of that year,* Ishmael
son of Nethaniah and grandson of E
lishama,
who was a member of the royal family, went
to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah.
He also killed all the J udeans and Babylonians
who were with him at Mizpah.
26 Then all the people of Ju
dah, from the
least to the greatest, as well as the army com
manders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were
afraid of what the Babylonians would do to
them.
27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of
King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach as
cended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind
to* Jehoiachin and released him* from prison
on April 2 of that year.* 28 He spoke kindly to
Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than
all the other exiled kings in Babylon. 29 He sup
plied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace
his prison garb and allowed him to dine in
the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 30 So
the king gave him a regular food allowance as
long as he lived.
23:33a The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 23:33b Hebrew
100 talents [3,400 kilograms] of silver and 1 talent [34 kilograms]
24:2 Or Chaldean.
24:13 Or He cut apart.
of gold.
24:17 Hebrew his.
25:1 Hebrew on the tenth day of the tenth
month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of
events in 2 Kings can be cross-checked with dates in surviving
Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern
calendar. This day was January 15, 588 b.c.
25:3 Hebrew By the
ninth day of the [fourth] month [in the eleventh year of Z edekiah’s
reign] (compare Jer 39:2; 52:6 and the notes there). This day was
July 18, 586 b.c.; also see note on 25:1. 25:4a Or the Chaldeans;
also in 25:13, 25, 26. 25:4b As in Greek version (see also Jer
25:4c Hebrew the Arabah.
39:4; 52:7); Hebrew lacks escaped.
25:5 Or Chaldean; also in 25:10, 24. 25:8 Hebrew On the seventh
day of the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar.
This day was August 14, 586 b.c.; also see note on 25:1. 25:9 Or
25:17a Hebrew
destroyed the houses of all the important people.
18 cubits [8.3 meters]. 25:17b As in parallel texts at 1 Kgs 7:16,
2 Chr 3:15, and Jer 52:22, all of which read 5 cubits [2.3 meters];
Hebrew reads 3 cubits, which is 4.5 feet or 1.4 meters. 25:23 As
in parallel text at Jer 40:8; Hebrew reads Jaazaniah, a variant
spelling of Jezaniah. 25:25 Hebrew in the seventh month, of the
ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This month occurred within
the months of October and November 586 b.c.; also see note on
25:27a Hebrew He raised the head of.
25:27b As in some
25:1.
Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions (see also
Jer 52:31); Masoretic Text lacks released him.
25:27c Hebrew
on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, of the ancient
Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was April 2, 561 b.c.; also see
note on 25:1.
ACTS 22:17–23:10
[Paul continued:] “After I returned to Jerusa
lem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a
trance. 18 I saw a vision of Jesus* saying to me,
07_Jul_OY_Men.indd 593
July 4
‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here
won’t accept your testimony about me.’
19 “‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know
that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat
those who believed in you. 20 And I was in com
plete agreement when your witness Stephen
was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they
took off when they stoned him.’
21 “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send
you far away to the Gentiles!’”
22 The crowd listened until Paul said that
word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with
such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” 23 They yelled,
threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of
dust into the air.
24 The commander brought Paul inside and
ordered him lashed with whips to make him
confess his crime. He wanted to find out why
the crowd had become so furious. 25 When
they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to
the officer* standing there, “Is it legal for you
to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been
tried?”
26 When the officer heard this, he went to
the commander and asked, “What are you
doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 So the commander went over and asked
Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied.
28 “I am, too,” the commander muttered,
“and it cost me plenty!”
Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!”
29 The soldiers who were about to interro
gate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard
he was a Roman citizen, and the commander
was frightened because he had ordered him
bound and whipped.
30 The next day the commander ordered the
leading priests into session with the Jewish
high council.* He wanted to find out what the
trouble was all about, so he released Paul to
have him stand before them.
23:1 Gazing intently at the high council,* Paul
began: “Brothers, I have always lived before
God with a clear conscience!”
2 Instantly A
nanias the high priest com
manded those close to Paul to slap him on
the mouth. 3 But Paul said to him, “God will
slap you, you corrupt hypocrite!* What kind
of judge are you to break the law yourself by
ordering me struck like that?”
4 Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do
you dare to insult God’s high priest?”
5 “I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was
the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scrip
tures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of
your rulers.’*”
5/19/2022 3:46:52 PM
