Meditate

25. Fall of Jerusalem

¹And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it; they built siegeworks against it all around.²So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.³On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.⁴Then a breach was made in the city wall; the king with all the soldiers fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah.⁵But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; all his army was scattered, deserting him.⁶Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence on him.⁷They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah; they bound him in fetters and took him to Babylon.

⁸ In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—which 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.⁹He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.¹⁰All the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.¹¹Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon—all the rest of the population.¹²But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and tillers of the soil.

¹³ The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, as well as the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the bronze to Babylon.¹⁴They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the dishes for incense, and all the bronze vessels used in the temple service,¹⁵as well as the firepans and the basins. What was made of gold the captain of the guard took away for the gold, and what was made of silver, for the silver.¹⁶As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weighing.¹⁷The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it was a bronze capital; the height of the capital was three cubits; latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were on the capital all around. The second pillar had the same, with the latticework.

¹⁸ The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three guardians of the threshold;¹⁹from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the soldiers, and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; the secretary who was 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.²⁰Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.²¹The king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile out of its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

²² He appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan as governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left.²³Now when all the captains of the forces and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite.²⁴Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials; live in the land, serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”²⁵But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men; they struck down Gedaliah so that he died, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.²⁶Then all the people, high and low, and the captains of the forces set out and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

²⁷ In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison;²⁸he spoke kindly to him, and gave him a seat above the other seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.²⁹So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes. Every day of his life he dined regularly in the king’s presence.³⁰For his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion every day, as long as he lived.

3. Overseers and Deacons

Qualifications of Bishops

 3

The saying is sure: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.²Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher,³not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.⁴He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way—⁵for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.⁷Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

141. Psalm 141

Psalm 141

Prayer for Preservation from Evil

A Psalm of David.

1

I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;

give ear to my voice when I call to you.

2

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

3

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;

keep watch over the door of my lips.

4

Do not turn my heart to any evil,

to busy myself with wicked deeds

in company with those who work iniquity;

do not let me eat of their delicacies.

5

Let the righteous strike me;

let the faithful correct me.

Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,

for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.

6

When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,

then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.

7

Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,

so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.

8

But my eyes are turned toward you, O God, my Lord;

in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

9

Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me,

and from the snares of evildoers.

10

Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I alone escape.