A Walk Through The Word

19 Jehoshaphat returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem. ² But the prophet Jehu son of Hanani met him and said:

By helping that wicked Ahab, you have made friends with someone who hates the Lord. Now the Lord God is angry with you! ³ But not everything about you is bad. You destroyed the sacred poles^[a] used in worshiping the goddess Asherah—that shows you have tried to obey the Lord.

Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges To Settle Cases

⁴ Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he often traveled through his kingdom, from Beersheba in the south to the edge of the hill country of Ephraim in the north. He talked with the people and convinced them to turn back to the Lord God and worship him, just as their ancestors had done.

⁵ He assigned judges to each of the fortified cities in Judah ⁶ and told them:

Be careful when you make your decisions in court, because you are judging by the Lord's standards and not by human standards, and he will know what you decide. ⁷ So do your work in honor of him and know that he won't allow you to be unfair to anyone or to take bribes.

⁸ Jehoshaphat also chose some Levites, some priests, and some of the family leaders, and he appointed them to serve as judges in Jerusalem. ⁹ He told them:

Faithfully serve the Lord! ¹⁰ The people of Judah will bring you legal cases that involve every type of crime, including murder. You must settle these cases and warn the people to stop sinning against the Lord, so that he won't get angry and punish Judah. Remember, if you follow these instructions, you won't be held responsible for anything that happens.

¹¹ Amariah the high priest will have the final say in any religious case. And Zebadiah, the leader^[b] of the Judah tribe, will have the final say in all other cases. The rest of the Levites will serve as your assistants. Be brave, and I pray that the Lord will help you do right.

Moab and Ammon Are Defeated

20 Some time later, the armies of Moab and Ammon, together with the Meunites,^[c] went to war against Jehoshaphat. ² Messengers told Jehoshaphat, “A large army from Edom^[d] east of the Dead Sea has invaded our country. They have already reached En-Gedi.”^[e]

³ Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he asked the Lord what to do. He then told the people of Judah to go without eating to show their sorrow. ⁴ They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask for the Lord's help.

⁵ After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem had come together at the Lord's temple, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the new courtyard ⁶ and prayed:

You, Lord, are the God our ancestors worshiped, and from heaven you rule every nation in the world. You are so powerful that no one can defeat you. ^7 (A) Our God, you forced out the nations who lived in this land before your people Israel came here, and you gave it to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. ⁸ Our ancestors lived in this land and built a temple to honor you. ⁹ They believed that whenever this land is struck by war or disease or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple, and you will hear their prayer and save them.

^10 (B) You can see that the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Edom are attacking us! Those are the nations you would not let our ancestors invade on their way from Egypt, so these nations were not destroyed. ¹¹ Now they are coming to take back the land you gave us. ¹² Aren't you going to punish them? We won't stand a chance when this army attacks. We don't know what to do—we are begging for your help.

¹³ While every man, woman, and child of Judah was standing there at the temple, ¹⁴ the Lord's Spirit suddenly spoke to Jahaziel, a Levite from the Asaph clan.^{[f] 15 (C)} Then Jahaziel said:

Your Majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem, the Lord says that you don't need to be afraid or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight on your side! ¹⁶ So here's what you must do. Tomorrow the enemy armies will march through the desert around the town of Jeruel. March down and meet them at the town of Ziz as they come up the valley. ^17 (D) You won't even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the Lord rescue you from your enemy. Don't be afraid. Just do as you're told. And as you march out tomorrow, the Lord will be there with you.

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed low to the ground and everyone worshiped the Lord. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohath and Korah clans stood up and shouted praises to the Lord God of Israel.

²⁰ Early the next morning, as everyone got ready to leave for the desert near Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Listen my friends, if we trust the Lord God and believe what these prophets have told us, the Lord will help us, and we will be successful.” ²¹ Then he explained his plan and appointed men to march in front of the army and praise the Lord for his holy power by singing:^[g]

²² As soon as they began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp, ²³ so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out!

²⁴ When Judah's army reached the tower that overlooked the desert, they saw that every soldier in the enemy's army was lying dead on the ground. ²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his troops went into the camp to carry away everything of value. They found a large herd of livestock,^[h] a lot of equipment, clothes,^[i] and other valuable things. It took them three days to carry it all away, and there was still some left over.

²⁶ Then on the fourth day, everyone came together in Beracah Valley and sang praises to the Lord. That's why that place was called Praise Valley.^[j]

^27-28 Jehoshaphat led the crowd back to Jerusalem. And as they marched, they played harps and blew trumpets. They were very happy because the Lord had given them victory over their enemies, so when they reached the city, they went straight to the temple.

²⁹ When the other nations heard how the Lord had fought against Judah's enemies, they were too afraid ³⁰ to invade Judah. The Lord let Jehoshaphat's kingdom be at peace.

Jehoshaphat Dies

(1 Kings 22.41-50)

³¹ Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³² Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord, just as his father Asa had done, ³³ but he did not destroy the local shrines.^[k] So the people still worshiped foreign gods, instead of faithfully serving the God their ancestors had worshiped.

³⁴ Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king is written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani that are included in The History of the Kings of Israel.

³⁵ While Jehoshaphat was king, he signed a peace treaty with Ahaziah the wicked king of Israel. ³⁶ They agreed to build several seagoing ships^[l] at Ezion-Geber. ³⁷ But the prophet Eliezer^[m] warned Jehoshaphat, “The Lord will destroy these ships because you have supported Ahaziah.” The ships were wrecked and never sailed.

¹⁴ How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? ^15 (A) And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news. ^16 (B) Yet not everyone has believed the message. For example, the prophet Isaiah asked, “Lord, has anyone believed what we said?”

¹⁷ No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ. ^18 (C) But am I saying that the people of Israel did not hear? No, I am not! The Scriptures say,

^19 (D) Did the people of Israel understand or not? Moses answered this question when he told that the Lord had said,

“I will make Israel jealous
of people
who are a nation
of nobodies.
I will make them angry
with people
who don't understand
a thing.”

^20 (E) Isaiah was fearless enough to tell that the Lord had said,

“I was found by people
who were not looking
for me.
I appeared to the ones
who were not asking
about me.”

^21 (F) And Isaiah said about the people of Israel,

“All day long the Lord
has reached out
to people who are stubborn
and refuse to obey.”

God Has Not Rejected His People

11 ^(G) Am I saying that God has turned his back on his people? Certainly not! I am one of the people of Israel, and I myself am a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not turn his back on his chosen people. Don't you remember reading in the Scriptures how Elijah complained to God about the people of Israel? ^3 (H) He said, “Lord, they killed your prophets and destroyed your altars. I am the only one left, and now they want to kill me.”

^4 (I) But the Lord told Elijah, “I still have 7,000 followers who have not worshiped Baal.” ⁵ It is the same way now. God treated the people of Israel with undeserved grace, and so a few of them are still his followers. ⁶ This happened because of God's undeserved kindness and not because of anything they have done. It could not have happened except for God's gift of undeserved grace.

⁷ This means that only a chosen few of the people of Israel found what all of them were searching for. And the rest of them were stubborn, ^8 (J) just as the Scriptures say,

“God made them so stupid
that their eyes are blind,
and their ears
are still deaf.”

^9 (K) Then David said,

“Turn their meals
into bait for a trap,
so that they will stumble
and be given
what they deserve.
¹⁰ Blindfold their eyes!
Don't let them see.
Bend their backs
beneath a burden
that will never be lifted.”

Gentiles Will Be Saved

¹¹ Do I mean that the people of Israel fell, never to get up again? Certainly not! Their failure made it possible for the Gentiles to be saved, and this will make the people of Israel jealous. ¹² But if the rest of the world's people were helped so much by their sin and loss, they will be helped even more by their full return.

Cross references:

1. 10.15 : Is 52.7.
2. 10.16 : Is 53.1 (LXX).
3. 10.18 : Ps 19.4 (LXX).
4. 10.19 : Dt 32.21.
5. 10.20 : Is 65.1 (LXX).
6. 10.21 : Is 65.2 (LXX).
7. 11.1 : Phil 3.5.
8. 11.3 : 1 K 19.10,14.
9. 11.4 : 1 K 19.18.
10. 11.8 : Dt 29.4-6; Is 29.10.
11. 11.9,10 : Ps 69.22,23 (LXX).

(A psalm by David for the music leader.)

Thanking the Lord for Victory

Jehoshaphat King of Judah

17 Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened^(A) himself against Israel. ² He stationed troops in all the fortified cities^(B) of Judah and put garrisons in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.^(C)

³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David^(D) before him. He did not consult the Baals ⁴ but sought^(E) the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. ⁵ The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts^(F) to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor.^{(G) 6} His heart was devoted^(H) to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places^(I) and the Asherah poles^(J) from Judah.^(K)

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach^(L) in the towns of Judah. ⁸ With them were certain Levites^(M)—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah—and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law^(N) of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰ The fear^(O) of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs^(P) brought him flocks:^(Q) seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats.

¹² Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah ¹³ and had large supplies in the towns of Judah. He also kept experienced fighting men in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Their enrollment^(R) by families was as follows:

¹⁹ These were the men who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities^(U) throughout Judah.^(V)

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab^(W)

18 Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor,^(X) and he allied^(Y) himself with Ahab^(Z) by marriage. ² Some years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead. ³ Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?”

Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.” ⁴ But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”

⁵ So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”

“Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.”

⁶ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”

⁷ The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

“The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.

⁸ So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”

⁹ Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. ¹⁰ Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns, and he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’”

¹¹ All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead^(AA) and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”

¹² The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”

¹³ But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says.”^(AB)

¹⁴ When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”

“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for they will be given into your hand.”

¹⁵ The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁶ Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel^(AC) scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd,^(AD) and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”

¹⁷ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”

¹⁸ Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne^(AE) with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his left. ¹⁹ And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’

“One suggested this, and another that. ²⁰ Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’

“‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.

²¹ “‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit^(AF) in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.

“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’

²² “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours.^(AG) The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

²³ Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped^(AH) Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from^[a] the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.

²⁴ Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”

²⁵ The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son, ²⁶ and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison^(AI) and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’”

²⁷ Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”

Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead^(AJ)

²⁸ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. ²⁹ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised^(AK) himself and went into battle.

³⁰ Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” ³¹ When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out,^(AL) and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, ³² for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.

³³ But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” ³⁴ All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.^(AM)

²⁵ As he says in Hosea:

²⁶ and,

²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

²⁹ It is just as Isaiah said previously:

Israel’s Unbelief

³⁰ What then shall we say?^(H) That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;^{(I) 31} but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,^(J) have not attained their goal.^{(K) 32} Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.^{(L) 33} As it is written:

10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire^(N) and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous^(O) for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.^{(P) 4} Christ is the culmination of the law^(Q) so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.^(R)

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”^{[f](S) 6} But the righteousness that is by faith^(T) says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”^[g](U) (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”^[h](V) (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).^{(W) 8} But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”^[i](X) that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare^(Y) with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”^(Z) and believe^(AA) in your heart that God raised him from the dead,^(AB) you will be saved.^{(AC) 10} For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^{[j](AD) 12} For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile^(AE)—the same Lord is Lord of all^(AF) and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord^(AG) will be saved.”^[k](AH)

Psalm 20^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

14 ^[a]And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

Asa King of Judah^(A)

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.^{(B) 3} He removed the foreign altars^(C) and the high places, smashed the sacred stones^(D) and cut down the Asherah poles.^{[b](E) 4} He commanded Judah to seek the Lord,^(F) the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. ⁵ He removed the high places^(G) and incense altars^(H) in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. ⁶ He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.^(I)

⁷ “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest^(J) on every side.” So they built and prospered.

⁸ Asa had an army of three hundred thousand^(K) men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.

⁹ Zerah the Cushite^(L) marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.^{(M) 10} Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

¹¹ Then Asa called^(N) to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us,^(O) Lord our God, for we rely^(P) on you, and in your name^(Q) we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail^(R) against you.”

¹² The Lord struck down^(S) the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, ¹³ and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar.^(T) Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed^(U) before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.^{(V) 14} They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror^(W) of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. ¹⁵ They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa’s Reform^(X)

15 The Spirit of God came on^(Y) Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you^(Z) when you are with him.^(AA) If you seek^(AB) him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.^{(AC) 3} For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach^(AD) and without the law.^{(AE) 4} But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him,^(AF) and he was found by them. ⁵ In those days it was not safe to travel about,^(AG) for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. ⁶ One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another,^(AH) because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But as for you, be strong^(AI) and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”^(AJ)

⁸ When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of^[c] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols^(AK) from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured^(AL) in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar^(AM) of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

⁹ Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers^(AN) had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰ They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month^(AO) of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ¹¹ At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder^(AP) they had brought back. ¹² They entered into a covenant^(AQ) to seek the Lord,^(AR) the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. ¹³ All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death,^(AS) whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God^(AT) eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest^(AU) on every side.

¹⁶ King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah^(AV) from her position as queen mother,^(AW) because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah.^(AX) Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.^{(AY) 17} Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. ¹⁸ He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.^(AZ)

¹⁹ There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Asa’s Last Years^(BA)(BB)

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha^(BC) king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

² Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus.^{(BD) 3} “Let there be a treaty^(BE) between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

⁴ Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim^[d] and all the store cities of Naphtali.^{(BF) 5} When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.^(BG)

⁷ At that time Hanani^(BH) the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied^(BI) on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were not the Cushites^[e](BJ) and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers^(BK) of chariots and horsemen^[f]? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered^(BL) them into your hand. ⁹ For the eyes^(BM) of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish^(BN) thing, and from now on you will be at war.^(BO)”

¹⁰ Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison.^(BP) At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.

¹¹ The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted^(BQ) with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek^(BR) help from the Lord,^(BS) but only from the physicians. ¹³ Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors. ¹⁴ They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself^(BT) in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes,^(BU) and they made a huge fire^(BV) in his honor.

Paul’s Anguish Over Israel

9 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying,^(A) my conscience confirms^(B) it through the Holy Spirit— ² I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself^(C) were cursed^(D) and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people,^(E) those of my own race,^{(F) 4} the people of Israel.^(G) Theirs is the adoption to sonship;^(H) theirs the divine glory,^(I) the covenants,^(J) the receiving of the law,^(K) the temple worship^(L) and the promises.^{(M) 5} Theirs are the patriarchs,^(N) and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,^(O) who is God over all,^(P) forever praised!^[a](Q) Amen.

God’s Sovereign Choice

⁶ It is not as though God’s word^(R) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.^{(S) 7} Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^{[b](T) 8} In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children,^(U) but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.^{(V) 9} For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”^[c](W)

¹⁰ Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.^{(X) 11} Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad^(Y)—in order that God’s purpose^(Z) in election might stand: ¹² not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”^{[d](AA) 13} Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”^[e](AB)

¹⁴ What then shall we say?^(AC) Is God unjust? Not at all!^{(AD) 15} For he says to Moses,

¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.^{(AF) 17} For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”^{[g](AG) 18} Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.^(AH)

¹⁹ One of you will say to me:^(AI) “Then why does God still blame us?^(AJ) For who is able to resist his will?”^{(AK) 20} But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?^(AL) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,^(AM) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”^{[h](AN) 21} Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?^(AO)

²² What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience^(AP) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?^{(AQ) 23} What if he did this to make the riches of his glory^(AR) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory^(AS)— ²⁴ even us, whom he also called,^(AT) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?^(AU)

Psalm 19^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

11 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem,^(A) he mustered Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam.

² But this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah^(B) the man of God: ³ “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, ⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your fellow Israelites.^(C) Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Fortifies Judah

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: ⁶ Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities^(D) in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. ¹² He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.

¹³ The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. ¹⁴ The Levites^(E) even abandoned their pasturelands and property^(F) and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord ¹⁵ when he appointed^(G) his own priests^(H) for the high places and for the goat^(I) and calf^(J) idols he had made. ¹⁶ Those from every tribe of Israel^(K) who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹⁷ They strengthened^(L) the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. ¹⁹ She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ Then he married Maakah^(M) daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah,^(N) Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives^(O) and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²² Rehoboam appointed Abijah^(P) son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. ²³ He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions^(Q) and took many wives for them.

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem^(R)

12 After Rehoboam’s position as king was established^(S) and he had become strong,^(T) he and all Israel^[a](U) with him abandoned^(V) the law of the Lord. ² Because they had been unfaithful^(W) to the Lord, Shishak^(X) king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. ³ With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans,^(Y) Sukkites and Cushites^[b](Z) that came with him from Egypt, ⁴ he captured the fortified cities^(AA) of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵ Then the prophet Shemaiah^(AB) came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon^(AC) you to Shishak.’”

⁶ The leaders of Israel and the king humbled^(AD) themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”^(AE)

⁷ When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance.^(AF) My wrath^(AG) will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. ⁸ They will, however, become subject^(AH) to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”

⁹ When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields^(AI) Solomon had made. ¹⁰ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. ¹¹ Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

¹² Because Rehoboam humbled^(AJ) himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good^(AK) in Judah.

¹³ King Rehoboam established^(AL) himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name.^(AM) His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. ¹⁴ He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.

¹⁵ As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah^(AN) the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ¹⁶ Rehoboam^(AO) rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Abijah^(AP) his son succeeded him as king.

Abijah King of Judah^(AQ)

13 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah, ² and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah,^[c](AR) a daughter^[d] of Uriel of Gibeah.

There was war between Abijah^(AS) and Jeroboam.^{(AT) 3} Abijah went into battle with an army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops.

⁴ Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim,^(AU) in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel,^(AV) listen to me! ⁵ Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever^(AW) by a covenant of salt?^{(AX) 6} Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled^(AY) against his master. ⁷ Some worthless scoundrels^(AZ) gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive^(BA) and not strong enough to resist them.

⁸ “And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of David’s descendants.^(BB) You are indeed a vast army and have with you^(BC) the golden calves^(BD) that Jeroboam made to be your gods. ⁹ But didn’t you drive out the priests^(BE) of the Lord,^(BF) the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull^(BG) and seven rams^(BH) may become a priest of what are not gods.^(BI)

¹⁰ “As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. ¹¹ Every morning and evening^(BJ) they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense^(BK) to the Lord. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table^(BL) and light the lamps^(BM) on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him. ¹² God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you.^(BN) People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord,^(BO) the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”^(BP)

¹³ Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush^(BQ) was behind them. ¹⁴ Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out^(BR) to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets ¹⁵ and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel^(BS) before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered^(BT) them into their hands. ¹⁷ Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. ¹⁸ The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied^(BU) on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down and he died.

²¹ But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

²² The other events of Abijah’s reign, what he did and what he said, are written in the annotations of the prophet Iddo.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit^(A) himself intercedes for us^(B) through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts^(C) knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes^(D) for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good^(E) of those who love him, who^[a] have been called^(F) according to his purpose.^{(G) 29} For those God foreknew^(H) he also predestined^(I) to be conformed to the image of his Son,^(J) that he might be the firstborn^(K) among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined,^(L) he also called;^(M) those he called, he also justified;^(N) those he justified, he also glorified.^(O)

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things?^(P) If God is for us,^(Q) who can be against us?^{(R) 32} He who did not spare his own Son,^(S) but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge^(T) against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns?^(U) No one. Christ Jesus who died^(V)—more than that, who was raised to life^(W)—is at the right hand of God^(X) and is also interceding for us.^{(Y) 35} Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?^(Z) Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?^{(AA) 36} As it is written:

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors^(AC) through him who loved us.^{(AD) 38} For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[c] neither the present nor the future,^(AE) nor any powers,^{(AF) 39} neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God^(AG) that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.^(AH)

¹¹ Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter^(A) up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

¹² On the altar^(B) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, ¹³ according to the daily requirement^(C) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,^(D) the New Moons^(E) and the three^(F) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(G) the Festival of Weeks^(H) and the Festival of Tabernacles.^{(I) 14} In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions^(J) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites^(K) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers^(L) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God^(M) had ordered.^{(N) 15} They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

¹⁶ All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. ¹⁸ And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents^[a] of gold,^(O) which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon^(P)

9 When the queen of Sheba^(Q) heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. ² Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. ³ When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon,^(R) as well as the palace he had built, ⁴ the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at^[b] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

⁵ She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. ⁶ But I did not believe what they said until I came^(S) and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. ⁷ How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁸ Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne^(T) as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king^(U) over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”

⁹ Then she gave the king 120 talents^[c] of gold,^(V) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir;^(W) they also brought algumwood^[d] and precious stones. ¹¹ The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor^(X)

¹³ The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,^{[e] 14} not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia^(Y) and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels^[f] of hammered gold went into each shield. ¹⁶ He also made three hundred small shields^(Z) of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels^[g] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.^(AA)

¹⁷ Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory^(AB) and overlaid with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. ¹⁹ Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²⁰ All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. ²¹ The king had a fleet of trading ships^[h] manned by Hiram’s^[i] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

²² King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.^{(AC) 23} All the kings^(AD) of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. ²⁴ Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift^(AE)—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots,^(AF) and twelve thousand horses,^[j] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He ruled^(AG) over all the kings from the Euphrates River^(AH) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.^{(AI) 27} The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death^(AJ)

²⁹ As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan^(AK) the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah^(AL) the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam^(AM) son of Nebat? ³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹ Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David^(AN) his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam^(AO)

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. ² When Jeroboam^(AP) son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled^(AQ) from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. ³ So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel^(AR) went to Rehoboam and said to him: ⁴ “Your father put a heavy yoke on us,^(AS) but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵ Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders^(AT) who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

⁷ They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer,^(AU) they will always be your servants.”

⁸ But Rehoboam rejected^(AV) the advice the elders^(AW) gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. ⁹ He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹ My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

¹² Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³ The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, ¹⁴ he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God,^(AX) to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.^(AY)

¹⁶ When all Israel^(AZ) saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

So all the Israelites went home. ¹⁷ But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,^[k](BB) who was in charge of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh^(A) but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.^(B) And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,^(C) they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you,^(D) then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life^[a] because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead^(E) is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies^(F) because of^[b] his Spirit who lives in you.

¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.^{(G) 13} For if you live according to the flesh, you will die;^(H) but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body,^(I) you will live.^(J)

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God^(K) are the children of God.^{(L) 15} The Spirit^(M) you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again;^(N) rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[c] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[d] Father.”^{(O) 16} The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit^(P) that we are God’s children.^{(Q) 17} Now if we are children, then we are heirs^(R)—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings^(S) in order that we may also share in his glory.^(T)

Present Suffering and Future Glory

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.^{(U) 19} For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God^(V) to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,^(W) in hope ²¹ that^[e] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay^(X) and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.^(Y)

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning^(Z) as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,^(AA) groan^(AB) inwardly as we wait eagerly^(AC) for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.^{(AD) 24} For in this hope we were saved.^(AE) But hope that is seen is no hope at all.^(AF) Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.^(AG)

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication^(A)(B)

¹² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. ¹³ Now he had made a bronze platform,^(C) five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high,^[a] and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down^(D) before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. ¹⁴ He said:

The Dedication of the Temple^(AO)

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire^(AP) came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled^(AQ) the temple.^{(AR) 2} The priests could not enter^(AS) the temple of the Lord because the glory^(AT) of the Lord filled it. ³ When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

⁴ Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁵ And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. ⁶ The priests took their positions, as did the Levites^(AV) with the Lord’s musical instruments,^(AW) which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

⁷ Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat^(AX) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

⁸ So Solomon observed the festival^(AY) at that time for seven days, and all Israel^(AZ) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath^(BA) to the Wadi of Egypt.^{(BB) 9} On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated^(BC) the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival^(BD) for seven days more. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon^(BE)

¹¹ When Solomon had finished^(BF) the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹² the Lord appeared^(BG) to him at night and said:

Solomon’s Other Activities^(CG)

8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,^{(CH) 2} Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram^[e] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. ³ Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. ⁴ He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.^{(CI) 5} He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon^(CJ) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, ⁶ as well as Baalath^(CK) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses^[f]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

⁷ There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites^(CL) (these people were not Israelites). ⁸ Solomon conscripted^(CM) the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. ⁹ But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. ¹⁰ They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual,^(A) sold^(B) as a slave to sin.^{(C) 15} I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.^{(D) 16} And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.^{(E) 17} As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.^{(F) 18} For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[a](G) For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.^{(H) 20} Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.^(I)

²¹ So I find this law at work:^(J) Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being^(K) I delight in God’s law;^{(L) 23} but I see another law at work in me, waging war^(M) against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin^(N) at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?^{(O) 25} Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!^(P)

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law,^(Q) but in my sinful nature^[b] a slave to the law of sin.^(R)

Life Through the Spirit

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation^(S) for those who are in Christ Jesus,^{(T) 2} because through Christ Jesus^(U) the law of the Spirit who gives life^(V) has set you^[c] free^(W) from the law of sin^(X) and death. ³ For what the law was powerless^(Y) to do because it was weakened by the flesh,^[d](Z) God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh^(AA) to be a sin offering.^[e](AB) And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement^(AC) of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.^(AD)

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;^(AE) but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.^{(AF) 6} The mind governed by the flesh is death,^(AG) but the mind governed by the Spirit is life^(AH) and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God;^(AI) it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh^(AJ) cannot please God.

Psalm 18^[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

The Temple’s Furnishings^(A)

4 He made a bronze altar^(B) twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.^{[a] 2} He made the Sea^(C) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits^[b] high. It took a line of thirty cubits^[c] to measure around it. ³ Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.^[d] The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

⁴ The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east.^(D) The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. ⁵ It was a handbreadth^[e] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.^[f]

⁶ He then made ten basins^(E) for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings^(F) were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

⁷ He made ten gold lampstands^(G) according to the specifications^(H) for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

⁸ He made ten tables^(I) and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.^(J)

⁹ He made the courtyard^(K) of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. ¹⁰ He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

¹¹ And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished^(L) the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:

All the objects that Huram-Abi^(N) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze. ¹⁷ The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth^(O) and Zarethan.^{[g] 18} All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze^(P) could not be calculated.

¹⁹ Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple:

5 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished,^(U) he brought in the things his father David had dedicated^(V)—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple^(W)

² Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark^(X) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. ³ And all the Israelites^(Y) came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.

⁴ When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, ⁵ and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests^(Z) carried them up; ⁶ and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

⁷ The priests then brought the ark^(AA) of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ The cherubim^(AB) spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. ⁹ These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. ¹⁰ There was nothing in the ark except^(AC) the two tablets^(AD) that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

¹¹ The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.^{(AE) 12} All the Levites who were musicians^(AF)—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.^{(AG) 13} The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,^{(AI) 14} and the priests could not perform^(AJ) their service because of the cloud,^(AK) for the glory^(AL) of the Lord filled the temple of God.

6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;^{(AM) 2} I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.^(AN)”

³ While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. ⁴ Then he said:

Released From the Law, Bound to Christ

7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters^(A)—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? ² For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.^{(B) 3} So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress.^(C) But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

⁴ So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law^(D) through the body of Christ,^(E) that you might belong to another,^(F) to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. ⁵ For when we were in the realm of the flesh,^[a](G) the sinful passions aroused by the law^(H) were at work in us,^(I) so that we bore fruit for death.^{(J) 6} But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law^(K) so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.^(L)

The Law and Sin

⁷ What shall we say, then?^(M) Is the law sinful? Certainly not!^(N) Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.^(O) For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”^{[b](P) 8} But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,^(Q) produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.^{(R) 9} Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life^(S) actually brought death. ¹¹ For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,^(T) deceived me,^(U) and through the commandment put me to death. ¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.^(V)

¹³ Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good^(W) to bring about my death,^(X) so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

Psalm 17

A prayer of David.

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

1 Solomon son of David took firm control of his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him very powerful.

² Solomon called together all the leaders of Israel—the generals and captains of the army,^[a] the judges, and all the political and clan leaders. ³ Then he led the entire assembly to the place of worship in Gibeon, for God’s Tabernacle^[b] was located there. (This was the Tabernacle that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had made in the wilderness.)

⁴ David had already moved the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the tent he had prepared for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur was there^[c] at Gibeon in front of the Tabernacle of the Lord. So Solomon and the people gathered in front of it to consult the Lord.^{[d] 6} There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the Lord’s presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it.

⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

⁸ Solomon replied to God, “You showed great and faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place. ⁹ O Lord God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! ¹⁰ Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly,^[e] for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people— ¹² I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!”

¹³ Then Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the Tabernacle at the place of worship in Gibeon, and he reigned over Israel.

¹⁴ Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses.^[f] He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.^{[g] 16} Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt^[h] and from Cilicia^[i]; the king’s traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price. ¹⁷ At that time chariots from Egypt could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver,^[j] and horses for 150 pieces of silver.^[k] They were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

Preparations for Building the Temple

2 ^[l]Solomon decided to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord, and also a royal palace for himself. ^2 [m]He enlisted a force of 70,000 laborers, 80,000 men to quarry stone in the hill country, and 3,600 foremen.

³ Solomon also sent this message to King Hiram^[n] at Tyre:

¹¹ King Hiram sent this letter of reply to Solomon:

¹⁷ Solomon took a census of all foreigners in the land of Israel, like the census his father had taken, and he counted 153,600. ¹⁸ He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 as quarry workers in the hill country, and 3,600 as foremen.

Solomon Builds the Temple

3 So Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David, his father. The Temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah^[s] the Jebusite, the site that David had selected. ² The construction began in midspring,^[t] during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign.

³ These are the dimensions Solomon used for the foundation of the Temple of God (using the old standard of measurement).^[u] It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide.^{[v] 4} The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet^[w] wide, running across the entire width of the Temple, and 30 feet^[x] high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

⁵ He paneled the main room of the Temple with cypress wood, overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with carvings of palm trees and chains. ⁶ He decorated the walls of the Temple with beautiful jewels and with gold from the land of Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid the beams, thresholds, walls, and doors throughout the Temple with gold, and he carved figures of cherubim on the walls.

⁸ He made the Most Holy Place 30 feet wide, corresponding to the width of the Temple, and 30 feet deep. He overlaid its interior with 23 tons^[y] of fine gold. ⁹ The gold nails that were used weighed 20 ounces^[z] each. He also overlaid the walls of the upper rooms with gold.

¹⁰ He made two figures shaped like cherubim, overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the Most Holy Place. ¹¹ The total wingspan of the two cherubim standing side by side was 30 feet. One wing of the first figure was 7 1⁄2 feet^[aa] long, and it touched the Temple wall. The other wing, also 7 1⁄2 feet long, touched one of the wings of the second figure. ¹² In the same way, the second figure had one wing 7 1⁄2 feet long that touched the opposite wall. The other wing, also 7 1⁄2 feet long, touched the wing of the first figure. ¹³ So the wingspan of the two cherubim side by side was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced out toward the main room of the Temple.

¹⁴ Across the entrance of the Most Holy Place he hung a curtain made of fine linen, decorated with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and embroidered with figures of cherubim.

¹⁵ For the front of the Temple, he made two pillars that were 27 feet^[ab] tall, each topped by a capital extending upward another 7 1⁄2 feet. ¹⁶ He made a network of interwoven chains^[ac] and used them to decorate the tops of the pillars. He also made 100 decorative pomegranates and attached them to the chains. ¹⁷ Then he set up the two pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one to the south of the entrance and the other to the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.^[ad]