Day 250: Final Wave of Exile (2026)

Fr. Mike Schmitz (0:00)

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Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to The Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using The Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 250 It's awesome. You guys, congratulations. You have 115 days left. I think that's right. Anyways, we are trucking through Jeremiah and Judith. We're almost at the end of Judith, Jeremiah 39 and 40, the fall of Jerusalem. And man, it's ups and downs, you know, highs and lows, incredible, a lot of lows actually, Jeremiah 39 and 40, as well as Judith 10 and 11, Proverbs 17 verses 9 through 12 As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the revised standard version, second Catholic edition. I'm using The Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com/bible in a Year. And you can subscribe to the podcast by clicking on subscribe and receive daily updates and daily episodes and all the daily, daily things. As I said, it's Day 250, we're reading Jeremiah 39 and 40, Judith 10 and 11, and Proverbs 17 verses 9 through 12

The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 39, The Fall of Jerusalem.

In the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. When Jerusalem was taken, all the princes of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate. Nergal-Sherazer, Sam-Garnibo, Sar-Sachim the Rapsaris, Nergal-Sherazer the Rab-Meg, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. When Zedekiah, king of Judah, and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls. And they went toward the Ereba. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, at Ribla, in the land of Hamath. And he passed sentence upon him. The king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah at Ribla before his eyes. And the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him and the people who remained. Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

Jeremiah is sent to Abed-Mellek.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you. So Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, Nebuchadnezzar, the rabbeseris, Nergal-Sherazar, the rab-meg, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to get Eliah, the son of Ahikam, son of Shafan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard. Go and say to Abed-Mellek, the Ethiopian. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for evil and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. But I will deliver you on that day, says the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword. But you shall have your life as a prize of war because you have put your trust in me, says the Lord.