2 Kings 24:1-20, Daniel 1:1-21 - LSB - Legacy Standard Bible

2 Kings 24:1-20

Jehoiakim Rebels Against Nebuchadnezzar

^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 Yahweh sent against him ^amarauding bands of Chaldeans, ^bmarauding bands of Arameans, ^cmarauding bands of Moabites, and marauding bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^daccording to the word of Yahweh which He had spoken by the hand of His slaves the prophets. 3 ^aSurely at the ¹command of Yahweh it came upon Judah, to remove them from His presence ^bbecause of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and ^aalso for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and Yahweh was not willing to pardon. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Jehoiachin Reigns over Judah

6 So ^aJehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. 7 ^aAnd the king of Egypt did not go out of his land again, ^bfor the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from ^cthe brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 ^aJehoiachin was ^beighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^aaccording to all that his father had done.

Judah Exiled to Babylon

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 ^aThen Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his commanders and his officials. So ^bthe king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13 ^aAnd he brought out from there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king’s house, and ^bcut in pieces all the vessels of gold ^cwhich Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had spoken. 14 Then ^ahe took away into exile all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the mighty men of valor, ^b10,000 captives, and ^call the craftsmen and the smiths. None was left ^dexcept the poorest people of the land.
15 So ^ahe took Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 Now all the valiant men, ^aseven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all mighty men who could wage war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Reigns over Judah

17 ^aThen the king of Babylon made ¹his uncle Mattaniah king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 ^aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^aaccording to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For ^athrough the anger of Yahweh this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And ^bZedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Daniel 1:1-21

Daniel Brought to Babylon

In the third year of the reign of ^aJehoiakim king of Judah, ^bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the ^aLord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the ^bvessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of ^cShinar, to the house of his ¹god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his ¹^dgod.
3 Then the king said for Ashpenaz, the chief of his ¹officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal ^aseed and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom was ^ano defect, who were good in appearance, showing ^binsight in every branch of wisdom, being thoroughly ¹knowledgeable and discerning knowledge, and who had ability to stand in the king’s palace; and he said for him to teach them the ²literature and ^ctongue of the ^dChaldeans. 5 And the king appointed for them a daily ration from the ^aking’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be ¹educated three years, at the end of which they were to ^bstand before the king. 6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were ^aDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials set names for them; and for Daniel he set the name ^aBelteshazzar, for Hananiah ^bShadrach, for Mishael ^bMeshach, and for Azariah ^bAbed-nego.

Daniel’s Heart

8 But Daniel set in his heart that he would not ^adefile himself with the ^bking’s choice food or with the ^cwine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God granted Daniel ^alovingkindness and compassion before the commander of the officials, 10 and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would ¹make me forfeit my head to the king.” 11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be ^agiven some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be ¹observed before you and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
14 So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that their appearance was ^abetter and that ¹they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. 16 So the overseer continued to ¹withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept ^agiving them vegetables.
17 And as for these four youths, ^aGod gave them knowledge and insight in every branch of ¹literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of ^bvisions and dreams.
18 Then at the end of the days which the king had spoken of for bringing them in, the commander of the officials brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like ^aDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they ^bstood in service before the king. 20 And as for every matter of ^awisdom in understanding which the king sought from them, he found them ^bten times ^cbetter than all the ¹^dmagicians and conjurers who were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel ¹continued until the ^afirst year of Cyrus the king.