Category: DAB Readings

Sennacherib’s invasion

32 After these things and these faithful acts, Assyria’s King Sennacherib invaded Judah and attacked its fortified cities, intending to capture them. ² When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also planned on fighting Jerusalem, ³ he consulted with his officials and soldiers about stopping up the springs outside the city, and they supported him. ⁴ A large force gathered to stop up all the springs and the streams that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they asked. ⁵ Hezekiah vigorously rebuilt all the broken sections of the wall, erected towers, constructed another wall outside the first, reinforced the terrace of David’s City, and made a large supply of weapons and shields. ⁶ He appointed military officers over the troops, assembled them in the square of the city gate, and spoke these words of encouragement: ⁷ “Be brave and be strong! Don’t let the king of Assyria and all those warriors he brings with him scare you or cause you dismay, because our forces are greater than his.^{[a] 8} All he has is human strength, but we have the Lord our God, who will help us fight our battles!”

The troops trusted Judah’s King Hezekiah.

⁹ After this Assyria’s King Sennacherib, who was attacking Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem with the following message for Judah’s King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem:

¹⁶ The Assyrian king’s servants continued to make fun of the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ He wrote other letters insulting the Lord God of Israel, defying him by saying, “Just as the gods of the nations in other countries couldn’t rescue their people from my power, Hezekiah’s god won’t be able to rescue his people from my power.” ¹⁸ Then they shouted loudly in Hebrew^[b] at the people of Jerusalem gathered on the wall, in an attempt to frighten and demoralize them, in order to capture the city. ¹⁹ They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as though he were the work of human hands, like the gods of the other peoples of the earth. ²⁰ King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, Amoz’s son, prayed about this, crying out to heaven. ²¹ Then the Lord sent a messenger who destroyed every warrior, leader, and officer in the camp of the Assyrian king. When Sennacherib went home in disgrace, he entered the temple of his god, and his own sons killed him with a sword. ²² This is how the Lord rescued Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem from the power of Assyria’s King Sennacherib, and all others, giving them rest^[c] on all sides. ²³ Many people brought offerings to the Lord in Jerusalem and costly gifts to Judah’s King Hezekiah, who was highly regarded by all the nations from then on.

Hezekiah’s illness

²⁴ Around that same time, Hezekiah became deathly ill and prayed to the Lord, who answered him with a miraculous sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah was too proud to respond appropriately to the kindness he had received, and he, along with Judah and Jerusalem, experienced anger. ²⁶ However, Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem humbled themselves in their pride, and so they didn’t experience the Lord’s anger for the rest of Hezekiah’s reign.

²⁷ Hezekiah became very wealthy and greatly respected. He made storehouses for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and other valuables. ²⁸ He made barns to store the harvest of grain, wine, and olive oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle; and pens for flocks. ²⁹ He acquired towns for himself and many flocks and herds because God had given him great wealth. ³⁰ Hezekiah was the one who blocked the upper outlet of the waters of the Gihon Spring, channeling them down to the west side of David’s City. Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did, ³¹ even in the matter of the ambassadors sent from Babylonian officials to find out about the miraculous sign that occurred in the land, when God had abandoned him in order to test him and to discover what was in his heart.

³² The rest of Hezekiah’s deeds, including his faithfulness, are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah, Amoz’s son, in the records of Israel’s and Judah’s kings. ³³ Hezekiah lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the upper area of the tombs of David’s sons. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. His son Manasseh succeeded him as king.

Manasseh rules

33 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king, and he ruled for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ³ He rebuilt the shrines that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, set up altars for the Baals, and made sacred poles.^[d] He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshipped them. ⁴ He even built altars in the Lord’s temple, the very place the Lord was speaking about when he said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵ Manasseh built altars for all the stars in the sky in both courtyards of the Lord’s temple. ⁶ He burned his own sons alive in the Ben-hinnom Valley, consulted sign readers, fortune-tellers, and sorcerers, and used mediums and diviners. He did much evil in the Lord’s eyes and made him angry.

⁷ Manasseh set up the carved image he had made in God’s temple, the very temple God had spoken about to David and his son Solomon, saying: In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have selected out of all Israel’s tribes, I will put my name forever. ⁸ I will never again remove Israel from the fertile land I gave to your ancestors, provided they carefully do everything I have commanded them—keeping all the Instruction, the regulations, and the case laws given through Moses. ⁹ In this way Manasseh led Judah and the residents of Jerusalem into doing even more evil than the nations that the Lord had wiped out before the Israelites.

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they wouldn’t listen. ¹¹ So the Lord brought the army commanders of Assyria’s king against them. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon. ¹² During his distress, Manasseh made peace with the Lord his God, truly submitting himself to the God of his ancestors. ¹³ He prayed, and God was moved by his request. God listened to Manasseh’s prayer and restored him to his rule in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was the true God.

²³ But now, since I don’t have any place to work in these regions anymore, and since I’ve wanted to come to see you for many years, ²⁴ I’ll visit you when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while I’m passing through. And I hope you will send me on my way there, after I have first been reenergized by some time in your company.

²⁵ But now I’m going to Jerusalem, to serve God’s people. ²⁶ Macedonia and Achaia have been happy to make a contribution for the poor among God’s people in Jerusalem. ²⁷ They were happy to do this, and they are actually in debt to God’s people in Jerusalem. If the Gentiles got a share of the Jewish people’s spiritual resources, they ought to minister to them with material resources. ²⁸ So then after I have finished this job and have safely delivered the final amount of the Gentiles’ offering to them, I will leave for Spain, visiting you on the way. ²⁹ And I know that when I come to you I will come with the fullest blessing of Christ.

³⁰ Brothers and sisters, I urge you, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggles in your prayers to God for me. ³¹ Pray that I will be rescued from the people in Judea who don’t believe. Also, pray that my service for Jerusalem will be acceptable to God’s people there ³² so that I can come to you with joy by God’s will and be reenergized with your company. ³³ May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Introduction to Phoebe

16 I’m introducing our sister Phoebe to you, who is a servant^[a] of the church in Cenchreae. ² Welcome her in the Lord in a way that is worthy of God’s people, and give her whatever she needs from you, because she herself has been a sponsor of many people, myself included.

Greetings to Roman Christians

³ Say hello to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their own necks for my life. I’m not the only one who thanks God for them, but all the churches of the Gentiles do the same. ⁵ Also say hello to the church that meets in their house. Say hello to Epaenetus, my dear friend, who was the first convert^[b] in Asia for Christ. ⁶ Say hello to Mary, who has worked very hard for you. ⁷ Say hello to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners. They are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. ⁸ Say hello to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. ⁹ Say hello to Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.

Hezekiah’s Passover

30 Then Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh as well, inviting them to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord God of Israel. ² The king, his officials, and the entire Jerusalem congregation had decided to celebrate Passover in the second month.^{[a] 3} They had been unable to celebrate it at the usual time because the priests had failed to make themselves holy in sufficient numbers, and the people hadn’t gathered at Jerusalem. ⁴ Since the plan seemed good to the king and the entire congregation, ⁵ they made arrangements to circulate an announcement throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord God of Israel, because they hadn’t often kept it as written. ⁶ Under the authority of the king, runners took letters from the king and his officials throughout all Israel and Judah, which read:

¹⁰ So the runners went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, all the way to Zebulun. But they were laughed at and made fun of. ¹¹ Even so, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun were submissive and came to Jerusalem. ¹² Moreover, God’s power was at work in Judah, unifying them to do what the king and his officials had ordered by the Lord’s command.

¹³ A huge crowd gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. A very large congregation gathered. ¹⁴ First, they removed the altars in Jerusalem, and hauled off the incense altars and dumped them in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁵ They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. Ashamed of themselves, the priests and the Levites made themselves holy and brought entirely burned offerings to the Lord’s temple. ¹⁶ They now took their places as laid out in the Instruction from Moses the man of God, and the priests splashed the blood they received from the Levites against the altar. ¹⁷ Since many in the congregation hadn’t made themselves holy, the Levites slaughtered the Passover lambs, making them holy to the Lord for all who weren’t ceremonially clean. ¹⁸ This included most of those who had come from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—people who hadn’t purified themselves and so hadn’t eaten the Passover meal in the prescribed way. But Hezekiah prayed for them: “May the good Lord forgive ¹⁹ everyone who has decided to seek the true God, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they aren’t ceremonially clean by sanctuary standards.” ²⁰ The Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. ²¹ So the Israelites in Jerusalem joyfully celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days, with the Levites and the priests praising the Lord every day, accompanied by the Lord’s mighty instruments. ²² Hezekiah congratulated all the Levites who had performed so skillfully for the Lord. They feasted throughout the seven days of the festival, sacrificing well-being offerings and praising the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

²³ Then the whole congregation agreed to celebrate another seven days, which they joyfully did. ²⁴ Judah’s King Hezekiah contributed one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the congregation, while the officials provided another thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, and great numbers of priests made themselves holy. ²⁵ Then the whole congregation of Judah rejoiced, as did the priests and the Levites, the whole congregation from Israel, the immigrants who had come from the land of Israel, and those who lived in Judah. ²⁶ There was great joy in Jerusalem. Nothing like this had taken place in Jerusalem since the days of Israel’s King Solomon, David’s son. ²⁷ Then the levitical priests blessed the people, and their voice was heard when their prayer reached God’s holy dwelling in heaven.

31 When all of these things were finished, all of the Israelites who were present went out to the cities of Judah, smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the sacred poles,^[b] and completely destroyed the shrines and altars throughout Judah as well as Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Then all the Israelites returned to their individual homes in their own cities.

Hezekiah’s reform

² Hezekiah reappointed the priests and the Levites, each to their divisions and their tasks, to make entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices, to serve, to give thanks, and to offer praise in the gates of the Lord’s camp. ³ As his portion, the king personally contributed the entirely burned offerings for the morning and evening sacrifices, as well as the entirely burned offerings for the Sabbaths, new moons, and festivals, as written in the Lord’s Instruction. ⁴ He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to provide the required portion for the priests and the Levites so they could devote themselves to the Lord’s Instruction. ⁵ As soon as the order was issued, the Israelites generously gave the best of their grain, new wine, oil, honey, and all their crops—a tenth of everything, a huge amount. ⁶ The people of Israel and Judah, living in the cities of Judah, also brought in a tenth of their herds and flocks and a tenth of the items that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, stacking it up in piles. ⁷ They began stacking up the piles in the third month^[c] and finished them in the seventh.^{[d] 8} When Hezekiah and the officials saw the piles, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel.

⁹ When Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles, ¹⁰ the chief priest Azariah, who was from Zadok’s family, answered, “Ever since the people started bringing contributions to the Lord’s temple we’ve had enough to eat with plenty to spare. The Lord has definitely blessed his people! There’s a lot left over.”

¹¹ So Hezekiah ordered them to prepare storerooms in the Lord’s temple. When they finished preparing them, ¹² the priests conscientiously brought in the contributions, the tenth-part gifts, and the dedicated things. Conaniah, a Levite, was put in charge, assisted by his brother Shimei, ¹³ while Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah served as supervisors under them, as appointed by King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of God’s temple. ¹⁴ The Levite Kore, Imnah’s son, who was keeper of the east gate, was in charge of the spontaneous gifts to God. He was responsible for distributing the contribution reserved for the Lord and the dedicated gifts. ¹⁵ Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah faithfully assisted him regarding^[e] the priests by distributing the portions to their relatives, old and young alike, by divisions. ¹⁶ Additionally, they also distributed daily rations to those males, registered by genealogy, three years old and older, all who entered the Lord’s temple to carry out their daily duties as their divisions required. ¹⁷ They also distributed to those priests registered by their families, and to Levites 20 years of age and older according to their divisional responsibilities. ¹⁸ The official genealogy included all their small children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters—the entire congregation—for they had faithfully made themselves holy. ¹⁹ As for Aaron’s descendants, the priests who lived in the outskirts of the cities, men were assigned to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed in the genealogical records. ²⁰ This is what Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, doing what the Lord his God considered good, right, and true. ²¹ Everything that Hezekiah began to do for the service of God’s temple, whether by the Instruction or the commands, in order to seek his God, he did successfully and with all his heart.

15 We who are powerful need to be patient with the weakness of those who don’t have power, and not please ourselves. ² Each of us should please our neighbors for their good in order to build them up. ³ Christ didn’t please himself, but, as it is written, The insults of those who insulted you fell on me.^{[a] 4} Whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction so that we could have hope through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures. ⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude toward each other, similar to Christ Jesus’ attitude. ⁶ That way you can glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ together with one voice.

⁷ So welcome each other, in the same way that Christ also welcomed you, for God’s glory. ⁸ I’m saying that Christ became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, in order to confirm the promises given to the ancestors, ⁹ and so that the Gentiles could glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

¹⁰ And again, it says,

¹¹ And again,

¹² And again, Isaiah says,

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles

¹⁴ My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and are able to teach each other. ¹⁵ But I’ve written to you in a sort of daring way, partly to remind you of what you already know. I’m writing to you in this way because of the grace that was given to me by God. ¹⁶ It helps me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I’m working as a priest of God’s gospel so that the offering of the Gentiles can be acceptable and made holy by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ So in Christ Jesus I brag about things that have to do with God. ¹⁸ I don’t dare speak about anything except what Christ has done through me to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles. He did it by what I’ve said and what I’ve done, ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit. So I’ve completed the circuit of preaching Christ’s gospel from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum. ²⁰ In this way, I have a goal to preach the gospel where they haven’t heard of Christ yet, so that I won’t be building on someone else’s foundation. ²¹ Instead, as it’s written, Those who hadn’t been told about him will see, and those who hadn’t heard will understand.^[f]

Travel plans to visit Rome

²² That’s why I’ve been stopped so many times from coming to see you.

Psalm 25^[a]

Of David.

Hezekiah rules

29 Hezekiah became king when he was 25 years old, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah; she was Zechariah’s daughter. ² He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, just as his ancestor David had done. ³ In the very first year of his rule, during the first month, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Lord’s temple, having repaired them. ⁴ Then he brought in the priests and Levites and assembled them in the eastern square.

⁵ “Listen to me, you Levites!” he said. “Make yourselves holy so you can make holy the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors by removing from the sanctuary any impure thing. ⁶ Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the Lord our God’s eyes. They abandoned him, they ignored the Lord’s dwelling, and they defied him. ⁷ They even closed the doors of the entrance hall, snuffed out the lamps, and stopped burning incense and offering entirely burned offerings in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. ⁸ This angered the Lord so much that he made Judah and Jerusalem an object of terror and horror, something people hiss at, as you can see with your own eyes. ⁹ That’s why our ancestors died violent deaths, while our sons, daughters, and wives were taken captive. ¹⁰ But now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, Israel’s God, so God will no longer be angry with us. ¹¹ Don’t be careless, my sons! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence to serve him, so that you can be his servants and burn incense to him.”

¹² Then the following Levites got up:

¹⁵ These men gathered their relatives, made themselves holy, and went in to purify the Lord’s temple by obeying the king’s command as the Lord had told him. ¹⁶ The priests went in to purify the inner portion of the Lord’s temple. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple all the impurities they discovered inside. Then the Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ They began to make things holy on the first day of the first month.^[a] On the eighth day of the month they reached the Lord’s entrance hall. They made holy the Lord’s temple for eight days, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.

¹⁸ Then they went before King Hezekiah. “We have purified the Lord’s entire temple,” they said, “and the altar for the entirely burned offering together with all its equipment, and the table for the stacks of bread together with all its equipment. ¹⁹ We have also restored and made holy all the items King Ahaz threw out during his rule in his unfaithfulness. They are now before the Lord’s altar.”

Hezekiah rededicates the temple

²⁰ Early the next morning Hezekiah gathered the city leaders and went to the Lord’s temple. ²¹ They brought seven bulls, seven rams, and seven lambs, along with seven male goats, for a purification offering on behalf of the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. Hezekiah ordered the priests, Aaron’s sons, to offer them up on the Lord’s altar. ²² When they slaughtered the bulls, the priests took the blood and splashed it against the altar. Next they slaughtered the rams and splashed their blood against the altar, and also slaughtered the lambs, splashing their blood against the altar as well. ²³ Finally, they brought the goats for the purification offering before the king and the assembly. After laying their hands on them, ²⁴ the priests slaughtered them and smeared the blood on the altar as a purification offering to take away the sin of all Israel, because the king had specifically ordered that the entirely burned sacrifice and the purification offering should be on behalf of all Israel. ²⁵ Hezekiah had the Levites stand in the Lord’s temple with cymbals, harps, and zithers, just as the Lord had ordered through David, the king’s seer Gad, and the prophet Nathan. ²⁶ While the Levites took their places holding David’s instruments, and the priests their trumpets, ²⁷ Hezekiah ordered the entirely burned offering to be offered up on the altar. As they began to offer the entirely burned offering, the Lord’s song also began, accompanied by the trumpets and the other instruments of Israel’s King David. ²⁸ The whole congregation worshipped with singing choirs and blaring trumpets until the end of the entirely burned offering. ²⁹ After the entirely burned offering was complete, the king and all who were with him bowed down in worship. ³⁰ Then King Hezekiah and the leaders ordered the Levites to praise the Lord by using the words of David and the seer Asaph. They did so joyously; then they bowed down in worship too.

³¹ “Now that you have dedicated yourselves to the Lord,” King Hezekiah told them, “bring sacrificial thank offerings to the Lord’s temple.” So the assembly brought sacrificial thank offerings, with some people volunteering to provide entirely burned offerings. ³² All in all, the congregation brought seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs as entirely burned offerings for the Lord, ³³ as well as six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep as holy offerings. ³⁴ Unfortunately, there weren’t enough priests to skin all these entirely burned offerings. So their relatives the Levites (who had been more conscientious about preparing themselves than the priests) stepped in and helped them until the work was done or additional priests had made themselves holy. ³⁵ In addition to the wealth of entirely burned offerings, there was the fat of the well-being sacrifices and drink offerings accompanying the entirely burned offerings. In this way, the service of the Lord’s temple was restored, ³⁶ and Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had done for them, since it had happened so quickly.

Welcoming each other like Christ

14 Welcome the person who is weak in faith—but not in order to argue about differences of opinion. ² One person believes in eating everything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³ Those who eat must not look down on the ones who don’t, and the ones who don’t eat must not judge the ones who do, because God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servants? They stand or fall before their own Lord (and they will stand, because the Lord has the power to make them stand). ⁵ One person considers some days to be more sacred than others, while another person considers all days to be the same. Each person must have their own convictions. ⁶ Someone who thinks that a day is sacred, thinks that way for the Lord. Those who eat, eat for the Lord, because they thank God. And those who don’t eat, don’t eat for the Lord, and they thank the Lord too. ⁷ We don’t live for ourselves and we don’t die for ourselves. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to God. ⁹ This is why Christ died and lived: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ But why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you look down on your brother or sister? We all will stand in front of the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ Because it is written,

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

¹³ So stop judging each other. Instead, this is what you should decide: never put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of your brother or sister. ¹⁴ I know and I’m convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is wrong to eat in itself. But if someone thinks something is wrong to eat, it becomes wrong for that person. ¹⁵ If your brother or sister is upset by your food, you are no longer walking in love. Don’t let your food destroy someone for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ And don’t let something you consider to be good be criticized as wrong. ¹⁷ God’s kingdom isn’t about eating food and drinking but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Whoever serves Christ this way pleases God and gets human approval.

¹⁹ So let’s strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up. ²⁰ Don’t destroy what God has done because of food. All food is acceptable, but it’s a bad thing if it trips someone else. ²¹ It’s a good thing not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that trips your brother or sister. ²² Keep the belief that you have to yourself—it’s between you and God. People are blessed who don’t convict themselves by the things they approve. ²³ But those who have doubts are convicted if they go ahead and eat, because they aren’t acting on the basis of faith. Everything that isn’t based on faith is sin.

Psalm 24

A psalm of David.

Uzziah rules Judah

26 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah,^[a] who was 16 years old, and made him king after his father Amaziah. ² He rebuilt Eloth, restoring it to Judah after King Amaziah had lain down with his ancestors.

³ Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king, and he ruled for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. ⁴ He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He sought God as long as Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear^[b] of God, was alive. And as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. ⁶ He marched against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against the Philistines, the Arabs who inhabited Gur,^[c] and the Meunites. ⁸ The Meunites^[d] paid taxes to Uzziah, whose fame spread even to Egypt because he had grown so powerful. ⁹ He built towers in Jerusalem, at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and reinforced them. ¹⁰ He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many wells for his large herds in the lowlands and the plain. He had many workers who tended his farms and vineyards, because he loved the soil. ¹¹ Uzziah had a standing army equipped for combat whose units went to war according to the number determined by the scribe Jeiel and Maaseiah, an officer under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king’s officials. ¹² The grand total of family heads in charge of these courageous warriors was twenty-six hundred. ¹³ They commanded an army of three hundred seven thousand five hundred. They formed a powerful force that could support the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Uzziah supplied the entire force with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and sling stones. ¹⁵ He set up clever devices in Jerusalem on the towers and corners of the wall designed to shoot arrows and large stones. And so Uzziah’s fame spread far and wide, because he had received wonderful help until he became powerful.

¹⁶ But as soon as he became powerful, he grew so arrogant that he acted corruptly. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God by entering the Lord’s sanctuary to burn incense upon the incense altar. ¹⁷ The priest Azariah, accompanied by eighty other of the Lord’s courageous priests, went in after him ¹⁸ and confronted King Uzziah.

“You have no right, Uzziah,” he said, “to burn incense to the Lord! That privilege belongs to the priests, Aaron’s descendants, who have been ordained to burn incense. Get out of this holy place because you have been unfaithful! The Lord God won’t honor you for this.”

¹⁹ Then Uzziah, who already had a censer in his hand ready to burn the incense, became angry. While he was fuming at the priests, skin disease^[e] erupted on his forehead in the presence of the priests before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple. ²⁰ When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests turned and saw the skin disease on his forehead, they rushed him out of there. Uzziah also was anxious to leave because the Lord had afflicted him. ²¹ King Uzziah had skin disease until the day he died. He lived in a separate house,^[f] diseased in his skin, because he was barred from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham supervised the palace administration and governed the people of the land. ²² The rest of Uzziah’s deeds, from beginning to end, were written down by the prophet Isaiah, Amoz’s son. ²³ Uzziah died and was buried with his ancestors in a field belonging to the kings, because people said, “He had skin disease.” His son Jotham succeeded him as king.

Jotham rules

27 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah; she was Zadok’s daughter. ² Jotham did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, just as his father Uzziah had done. Unlike Uzziah, Jotham didn’t enter the Lord’s temple. But the people continued their crooked practices. ³ Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple and did extensive work on the wall of the elevated fortress.^{[g] 4} He built towns in Judah’s highlands and fortresses and towers in the wooded areas. ⁵ He fought against the king of the Ammonites and defeated the Ammonites. They paid him one hundred kikkars of silver, ten thousand kors^[h] of wheat, and ten thousand kors of barley that year and for the next two years. ⁶ Jotham was securely established because he maintained a faithful life before the Lord his God. ⁷ The rest of Jotham’s deeds, including all his wars and accomplishments, are written in the official records of Israel’s and Judah’s kings. ⁸ He was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled for sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹ Jotham lay down with his ancestors and was buried in David’s City. His son Ahaz succeeded him as king.

Ahaz rules

28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he ruled for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He didn’t do what was right in the Lord’s eyes, unlike his ancestor David. ² Instead, he walked in the ways of Israel’s kings, making images of the Baals ³ and burning incense in the Ben-hinnom Valley. He even burned his own sons alive, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ⁴ He also sacrificed and burned incense at the shrines on every hill and beneath every shady tree. ⁵ So the Lord his God handed him over to Aram’s king, who defeated him and carried off many prisoners, bringing them to Damascus. Ahaz was also handed over to Israel’s king, who defeated him with a severe beating. ⁶ In Judah, Pekah, Remaliah’s son, killed one hundred twenty thousand warriors in the course of a single day because they had abandoned the Lord, God of their ancestors. ⁷ An Ephraimite warrior named Zichri killed the king’s son Maaseiah, the palace administrator Azrikam, and Elkanah, the king’s second in command. ⁸ The Israelites took captive two hundred thousand women, boys, and girls from their Judean relatives and seized enormous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.

⁹ One of the Lord’s prophets named Oded lived in Samaria. When the army arrived there, he went to meet them and said, “Don’t you see that the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah and let you defeat them? But look what you’ve done! Your merciless slaughter of them stinks to high heaven! ¹⁰ And now you think you can enslave the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem? What about your own guilt before the Lord your God? ¹¹ Listen to me! Send back the captives you took from your relatives, because the Lord is furious with you.”

¹² At this, some of the Ephraimite leaders—Johanan’s son Azariah, Meshillemoth’s son Berechiah, Shallum’s son Jehizkiah, and Hadlai’s son Amasa—confronted those returning from battle. ¹³ “Don’t bring the captives here,” they told them. “Your plan will only add to our sin and guilt before the Lord. We’re already guilty enough, and great anger is already directed at Israel.” ¹⁴ So the warriors released the captives and brought the loot before the officers and the whole assembly. ¹⁵ Then people named for this task took charge of the captives and dressed everyone who was naked with items taken from the loot. They gave them clothing, sandals, food and drink, and bandaged their wounds. Everyone who couldn’t walk they placed on donkeys, and they brought them to Jericho, Palm City, near their Judean relatives. Then they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent for help from the king^[i] of Assyria. ¹⁷ Once again, the Edomites had invaded Judah, defeating Judah and carrying off captives. ¹⁸ The Philistines had raided the towns in the lowlands and the arid southern plain of Judah, capturing Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, along with Soco and its surrounding villages, Timnah and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages, and occupying all of these cities. ¹⁹ The Lord was humiliating Judah on account of Israel’s King Ahaz, because he had exercised no restraint in Judah and had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ Assyria’s King Tiglath-pileser^[j] came to Ahaz, but he brought trouble, not support. ²¹ Even though Ahaz took items from the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and the officials to buy off the king of Assyria, it was of no help.

²² It was during this troubled time that King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord ²³ by sacrificing to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him.

“Since the gods of Aram’s kings are helping them,” he said, “I’ll sacrifice to them too, so that they will help me.”

But they became the ruin of both him and all Israel. ²⁴ Ahaz gathered the objects from God’s temple, cut them up, shut the doors of the Lord’s temple, and made himself altars on every corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵ He made shrines in all the towns of Judah for burning incense to other gods. This made the Lord, the God of his ancestors, very angry.

²⁶ The rest of Ahaz’s deeds, from beginning to end, are written in the official records of Israel’s and Judah’s kings. ²⁷ Ahaz lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the city, in Jerusalem, but not in the royal cemetery of Israel’s kings. His son Hezekiah succeeded him as king.

13 Every person should place themselves under the authority of the government. There isn’t any authority unless it comes from God, and the authorities that are there have been put in place by God. ² So anyone who opposes the authority is standing against what God has established. People who take this kind of stand will get punished. ³ The authorities don’t frighten people who are doing the right thing. Rather, they frighten people who are doing wrong. Would you rather not be afraid of authority? Do what’s right, and you will receive its approval. ⁴ It is God’s servant given for your benefit. But if you do what’s wrong, be afraid because it doesn’t have weapons to enforce the law for nothing. It is God’s servant put in place to carry out his punishment on those who do what is wrong. ⁵ That is why it is necessary to place yourself under the government’s authority, not only to avoid God’s punishment but also for the sake of your conscience. ⁶ You should also pay taxes for the same reason, because the authorities are God’s assistants, concerned with this very thing. ⁷ So pay everyone what you owe them. Pay the taxes you owe, pay the duties you are charged, give respect to those you should respect, and honor those you should honor.

⁸ Don’t be in debt to anyone, except for the obligation to love each other. Whoever loves another person has fulfilled the Law. ⁹ The commandments, Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t desire what others have,^[a] and any other commandments, are all summed up in one word: You must love your neighbor as yourself.^{[b] 10} Love doesn’t do anything wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is what fulfills the Law.

The day is near

¹¹ As you do all this, you know what time it is. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your sleep. Now our salvation is nearer than when we first had faith. ¹² The night is almost over, and the day is near. So let’s get rid of the actions that belong to the darkness and put on the weapons of light. ¹³ Let’s behave appropriately as people who live in the day, not in partying and getting drunk, not in sleeping around and obscene behavior, not in fighting and obsession. ¹⁴ Instead, dress yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t plan to indulge your selfish desires.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

Jehoash rules

24 Jehoash^[a] was 7 years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba. ² Jehoash did what was right in the Lord’s eyes as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. ³ Jehoiada had him marry two wives, and Jehoash fathered sons and daughters.

⁴ Sometime later, Jehoash wanted to renovate the Lord’s temple. ⁵ He gathered the priests and the Levites and said, “Go to the cities of Judah and collect the annual tax of silver due from all Israel for the upkeep of God’s temple. Do it right away.”

But the Levites procrastinated. ⁶ So the king summoned the chief priest Jehoiada and asked him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by the Lord’s servant Moses and the Israelite assembly for the covenant tent?” (⁷ Now wicked Athaliah and her followers had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy objects of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.) ⁸ So at the king’s command a box was made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple. ⁹ Then a proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that God’s servant Moses had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ This so pleased all the leaders and all the people that they gladly dropped their money in the box until it was full. ¹¹ Whenever the box was brought by the Levites to the royal accountants, as soon as they saw that a large amount of money was in the box, the royal scribe and the representative of the high priest would come, empty the box, and return it to its place. This took place day after day, and a large amount of money was collected. ¹² The king and Jehoiada would give it to those in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple who in turn hired masons and carpenters to renovate the Lord’s temple, as well as metalworkers for the iron and bronze to repair the Lord’s temple. ¹³ The workers labored hard, and the restoration progressed smoothly under their control until they had brought God’s temple back to its original state and reinforced it. ¹⁴ As soon as they finished, they brought the remaining money to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make equipment for the Lord’s temple, including what was used for the service and the entirely burned offerings, pans, and other objects made of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, the entirely burned offerings were regularly offered in the Lord’s temple.

¹⁵ Jehoiada grew old, and when he reached the age of 130, he died. ¹⁶ He was buried among the kings in David’s City because of his exemplary service to Israel, God, and God’s temple.

¹⁷ After Jehoiada’s death, however, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before the king, and the king listened to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned the temple of the Lord, their ancestors’ God, and worshipped sacred poles^[b] and idols. Anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem as a consequence of their sin, ¹⁹ and though God sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord and to warn them, they refused to listen. ²⁰ Then the spirit of God enwrapped Zechariah the son of the priest Jehoiada. Standing before the people, he told them, “This is what God says: Why do you defy the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you!” ²¹ But the people plotted against Zechariah, and at the king’s command stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. ²² King Jehoash failed to remember the loyalty that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him and murdered Jehoiada’s son, who cried out as he lay dying, “May the Lord see and seek vengeance!”

²³ That spring the Aramean army marched against Jehoash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the people’s leaders, and sent all the loot to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Although the Aramean forces were relatively small, the Lord handed over to them a very large army, because the people of Judah had abandoned the Lord, their ancestors’ God. Jehoash was justly punished. ²⁵ The Arameans left him badly wounded, but his own officials plotted against him for murdering the son^[c] of the priest Jehoiada. So they killed him in his bed. He died and was buried in David’s City but not in the royal cemetery. ²⁶ Those who plotted against him were the Ammonite Zabad, Shimeath’s son, and the Moabite Jehozabad, Shimrith’s son. ²⁷ The list of Jehoash’s sons, the many prophecies against him, and the account of his restoration of God’s temple are written in the comments on the records of the kings. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.

Amaziah rules

25 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes but not with all his heart. ³ Once he had secured control over his kingdom, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father the king. ⁴ However, he didn’t kill their children because of what is written in the Instruction scroll from Moses, where the Lord commanded, Parents shouldn’t be executed because of what their children have done; neither should children be executed because of what their parents have done. Each person should be executed for their own guilty acts.^[d]

⁵ Amaziah gathered the people of Judah, organizing them into family units under captains of thousands and hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He summoned everyone 20 years old and older and found that there were three hundred thousand select troops, ready for service and able to handle spears and body-sized shields. ⁶ He also hired one hundred thousand warriors from Israel for one hundred kikkars of silver.

⁷ But a man of God confronted him. “King,” he said, “the troops from Israel must not go with you, because the Lord isn’t on the side of Israel or any Ephraimite. ⁸ Should you go with them anyway, even if you fight fiercely, God will make you stumble before the enemy, because God has the ability to either help or make someone stumble.”

⁹ Amaziah asked the man of God, “What about the hundred kikkars I paid for the Israelite troops?”

“God can give you much more than that,” the man of God replied.

¹⁰ Amaziah released the Ephraimite troops who had joined him so they could go home, but this only infuriated them against Judah, and they left in a rage. ¹¹ Amaziah courageously led his people to the Salt Valley, where they killed ten thousand people from Seir. ¹² The Judean forces captured another ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of a cliff, and threw them off so that all were dashed to pieces. ¹³ Meanwhile, the troops Amaziah had released from fighting alongside him raided cities in Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, killing three thousand people and carrying off a large amount of loot. ¹⁴ When Amaziah returned after defeating the Edomites, he brought the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down before them, and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ As a result, the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent a prophet to him.

“Why do you seek the gods of this people?” the prophet asked. “They couldn’t even deliver their own people from you!”

¹⁶ “Since when do you give me advice?” Amaziah interrupted. “You better quit before you end up dead!”

So the prophet stopped, but not until he said, “I know God plans to destroy you because you’ve done this and because you’ve refused to listen to my advice.”

¹⁷ After Judah’s King Amaziah consulted with his advisors, he sent a challenge to Israel’s King Joash, Jehoahaz’s son and Jehu’s grandson. “Come on,” he said, “let’s go head-to-head!”

¹⁸ Israel’s King Joash sent the following reply to Judah’s King Amaziah: “Once upon a time, a thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar: ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ But then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle. ¹⁹ Do you think that because you’ve defeated Edom, you can arrogantly seek even more? Stay home! Why invite disaster when both you and Judah will fall?” ²⁰ But Amaziah wouldn’t listen, because God intended to use this to destroy them since they had sought Edom’s gods. ²¹ So Israel’s King Joash moved against Judah’s King Amaziah and went head-to-head in battle at Beth-shemesh in Judah. ²² Judah was defeated by Israel, and everyone ran home. ²³ At Beth-shemesh, Israel’s King Joash captured Judah’s King Amaziah, Jehoash’s^[e] son and Ahaziah’s^[f] grandson. Joash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down six hundred feet of the Jerusalem wall from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. ²⁴ Joash took^[g] all the gold and silver, and all the objects he could find in God’s temple in the care of Obed-edom, and in the treasuries of the palace, along with some hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.

²⁵ Judah’s King Amaziah, Jehoash’s son, lived fifteen years after the death of Israel’s King Joash, Jehoahaz’s son. ²⁶ The rest of Amaziah’s deeds, from beginning to end, aren’t they written in the official records of Israel’s and Judah’s kings? ²⁷ From the time Amaziah turned away from the Lord, some people conspired against him in Jerusalem. When Amaziah fled to Lachish, they sent men after him, and they murdered him in Lachish. ²⁸ They carried him back on horses and he was buried with his ancestors in David’s City.^[h]

Living sacrifice and transformed lives

12 So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. ² Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.

Transformed relationships

³ Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. ⁴ We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. ⁵ In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. ⁶ We have different gifts that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. ⁷ If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. ⁸ If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful.

⁹ Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. ¹⁰ Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. ¹¹ Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! ¹² Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. ¹⁴ Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. ¹⁵ Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. ¹⁶ Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart. ¹⁷ Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good.

¹⁸ If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. ¹⁹ Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord.^{[a] 20} Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head.^{[b] 21} Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.

21 Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in David’s City. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king.

Jehoram rules

² Jehoram’s brothers, the other sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All of these were the sons of Israel’s King Jehoshaphat. ³ Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold, and other valuables, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the oldest son.

⁴ When Jehoram had taken control of his father’s kingdom, he established his rule by killing all his brothers, along with some other leaders of Israel. ⁵ Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶ He walked in the ways of Israel’s kings, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, because he married Ahab’s daughter. He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. ⁷ Nevertheless, because of the covenant he had made with David, the Lord wasn’t willing to destroy David’s dynasty. He had promised to preserve a lamp for David and his sons forever. ⁸ During Jehoram’s rule, Edom rebelled against Judah’s power and appointed its own king. ⁹ Jehoram, along with all his chariots, crossed over to Zair.^[a] The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night, defeating him^[b] and his chariot officers. ¹⁰ So Edom has been independent of Judah to this day. Libnah rebelled against Jehoram’s rule at the same time because he had abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors. ¹¹ As if that wasn’t enough, Jehoram constructed shrines throughout Judah’s highlands, encouraged Jerusalem’s citizens to be unfaithful, and led Judah astray.

¹² A letter from the prophet Elijah came to Jehoram that read, “This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: Because you haven’t walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or the ways of Judah’s King Asa, ¹³ but have walked in the ways of Israel’s kings and have encouraged Judah and Jerusalem’s citizens to be unfaithful, just as the house of Ahab did, and because you have even murdered your own brothers, your father’s family, who were better than you, ¹⁴ the Lord will now strike your family, your children, your wives, and all your possessions with a heavy blow. ¹⁵ You yourself will become deathly ill with a chronic disease that will cause your intestines to fall out.”

¹⁶ Then the Lord made the Philistines and the Arabs, who lived near the Cushites, angry with Jehoram. ¹⁷ They attacked Judah, broke down its defenses, and hauled off all the goods that were found in the royal palace, along with the king’s children and wives. Only Jehoahaz, Jehoram’s youngest son, was spared. ¹⁸ After all this, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable intestinal disease. ¹⁹ For almost two years he grew steadily worse, until two days before his death, when his intestines fell out, causing him to die in horrible pain. His people didn’t make a fire in his honor as they had done for his ancestors. ²⁰ He was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eight years in Jerusalem. No one was sorry he died. He was buried in David’s City but not in the royal cemetery.

22 The inhabitants of Jerusalem made his youngest son Ahaziah succeed him as king because the raiding party that had invaded the camp with the Arabs had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah, Jehoram’s son, became king of Judah.

Ahaziah rules

² Ahaziah was 22 years old^[c] when he became king, and he ruled for one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah; she was the granddaughter of Omri. ³ Ahaziah walked in the ways of Ahab’s dynasty, encouraged in this wickedness by his mother. ⁴ He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, because after his father’s death they gave him advice that led to his downfall. ⁵ Ahaziah was following their advice when he went with Israel’s King Joram,^[d] Ahab’s son, to fight against Aram’s King Hazael at Ramoth-gilead, where the Arameans wounded Joram. ⁶ Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he suffered at Ramah in his battle with Aram’s King Hazael. Then Judah’s King Ahaziah,^[e] Jehoram’s son, went down to visit Joram, Ahab’s son, at Jezreel because he had been wounded. ⁷ But God used this visit to Joram to bring about Ahaziah’s downfall. After his arrival, Ahaziah went with Joram to meet Jehu, Nimshi’s son, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy Ahab’s dynasty. ⁸ While Jehu was executing judgment on Ahab’s dynasty, he discovered the princes of Judah, Ahaziah’s nephews, serving Ahaziah, and Jehu killed them. ⁹ Jehu went looking for Ahaziah, who was captured while hiding in Samaria. He was then brought to Jehu and executed. He was given a decent burial, however, because people said, “He was the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.”

There were now no members of Ahaziah’s dynasty strong enough to rule the kingdom.

Queen Athaliah rules Judah

¹⁰ When Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, learned of her son’s death, she immediately destroyed the entire royal family of Judah’s dynasty. ¹¹ But Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter secretly took Ahaziah’s son Jehoash^[f] from the rest of the royal children who were about to be murdered, and hid him in a bedroom, along with his nurse. In this way Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of the priest Jehoiada and the sister of Ahaziah, hid Jehoash from Athaliah so she couldn’t murder him. ¹² He remained hidden with them in God’s temple for six years while Athaliah ruled the country.

23 But in the seventh year Jehoiada boldly formed a conspiracy with the following unit commanders: Jeroham’s son Azariah, Jehohanan’s son Ishmael, Obed’s son Azariah, Adaiah’s son Maaseiah, and Zichri’s son Elishaphat. ² They went throughout Judah recruiting the Levites from all the cities of Judah, as well as the family heads of Israel, who then came to Jerusalem. ³ The entire assembly made a covenant with the king in God’s temple. Jehoiada said, “Look! Here is the king’s son. He must be king, just as the Lord promised about David’s descendants. ⁴ This is what you must do: A third of you priests and Levites coming on sabbath duty will guard the gates, ⁵ another third will be at the royal palace, and another third will be at the Foundation Gate. Meanwhile, all the people will be in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple. ⁶ Don’t enter the Lord’s temple, because only the priests or Levites on duty can do that. They are allowed to enter because they are holy, but the rest of the people must follow the Lord’s requirements. ⁷ The Levites must surround the king, each with his weapons drawn. Whoever comes near your ranks must be killed; stay near the king wherever he goes.”

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did everything that the priest Jehoiada ordered. They each took charge of those men reporting for duty on the Sabbath, as well as those going off duty, since Jehoiada hadn’t released any divisions from duty. ⁹ Then the priest Jehoiada gave the unit commanders King David’s spears and large and small shields that were kept in God’s temple. ¹⁰ He positioned all the people, each with their weapons drawn, near the altar and the temple, stretching from the south side of the temple to the north side, so as to protect the king. ¹¹ Then they brought out the king’s son, crowned him, gave him the royal law,^[g] and made him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him as everyone cried out, “Long live the king!”

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise made by the people running and cheering the king, she went to the people at the Lord’s temple ¹³ and saw the king standing by the royal pillar at the entrance, with the commanders and trumpeters beside the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and singers accompanied by musical instruments were leading the praise. Athaliah ripped her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁴ Then the priest Jehoiada brought out the unit commanders who were in charge of the army. “Take her out under guard,”^[h] he told them, “and kill anyone who follows her.” This was because the priest had said, “She must not be executed in the Lord’s temple.” ¹⁵ They arrested her when she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate at the royal palace. She was executed there.

¹⁶ Jehoiada then made a covenant between himself, all the people, and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ Then all the people went to Baal’s temple and tore it down, smashing its altars and images into pieces. They executed Baal’s priest Mattan in front of the altars. ¹⁸ Jehoiada appointed the priests and^[i] Levites in charge of the Lord’s temple, and then appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites^[j] that David had assigned to the Lord’s temple to offer entirely burned sacrifices to the Lord, as written in the Instruction from Moses, with rejoicing and singing, just as David had ordered. ¹⁹ He posted guards at the gates of the Lord’s temple so that no one who was unclean in any way could enter. ²⁰ Then he took the unit commanders, the officials, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and they led the king down from the Lord’s temple, processing through the Upper Gate to the palace, where the king sat upon the royal throne. ²¹ All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was at peace now that Athaliah had been executed at the palace.

¹³ I’m speaking to you Gentiles. Considering that I’m an apostle to the Gentiles, I publicize my own ministry ¹⁴ in the hope that somehow I might make my own people jealous and save some of them. ¹⁵ If their rejection has brought about a close relationship between God and the world, how can their acceptance mean anything less than life from the dead?

¹⁶ But if part of a batch of dough is offered to God as holy, the whole batch of dough is holy too. If a root is holy, the branches will be holy too. ¹⁷ If some of the branches were broken off, and you were a wild olive branch, and you were grafted in among the other branches and shared the root that produces the rich oil of the olive tree, ¹⁸ then don’t brag like you’re better than the other branches. If you do brag, be careful: it’s not you that sustains the root, but it’s the root that sustains you. ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰ Fine. They were broken off because they weren’t faithful, but you stand only by your faithfulness.^[a] So don’t think in a proud way; instead be afraid. ²¹ If God didn’t spare the natural branches, he won’t spare you either. ²² So look at God’s kindness and harshness. It’s harshness toward those who fell, but it’s God’s kindness for you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise, you could be cut off too. ²³ And even those who were cut off will be grafted back in if they don’t continue to be unfaithful, because God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ If you were naturally part of a wild olive tree and you were cut off from it, and then, contrary to nature, you were grafted into the cultivated olive tree, won’t these natural branches stand an even better chance of being grafted back onto their own olive tree?

All Israel will be saved

²⁵ I don’t want you to be unaware of this secret,^[b] brothers and sisters. That way you won’t think too highly of yourselves. A part of Israel has become resistant until the full number of the Gentiles comes in. ²⁶ In this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

²⁸ According to the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but according to God’s choice, they are loved for the sake of their ancestors. ²⁹ God’s gifts and calling can’t be taken back. ³⁰ Once you were disobedient to God, but now you have mercy because they were disobedient. ³¹ In the same way, they have also been disobedient because of the mercy that you received, so now they can receive mercy too. ³² God has locked up all people in disobedience, in order to have mercy on all of them.

³³ God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep! They are as mysterious as his judgments, and they are as hard to track as his paths!

Psalm 22

For the music leader. According to the “Doe of Dawn.” A psalm of David.

Jehoshaphat's Reforms

19 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ² But ^(A)Jehu the son of ^(B)Hanani ^(C)the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you ^(D)help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, ^(E)wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. ³ Nevertheless, ^(F)some good is found in you, for ^(G)you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have ^(H)set your heart to seek God.”

⁴ Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to ^(I)the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. ⁵ He appointed ^(J)judges in the land in all ^(K)the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶ and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, ^(L)for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. ⁷ Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for ^(M)there is no injustice with the Lord our God, ^(N)or partiality or taking bribes.”

⁸ Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat ^(O)appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, ^(P)to give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. ⁹ And he charged them: ^(Q)“Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, ^(R)and with your whole heart: ^10 (S)whenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and ^(T)wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. ¹¹ And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you ^(U)in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers. ^(V)Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”^[a]

Jehoshaphat's Prayer

20 After this ^(W)the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,^[b] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ² Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,^[c] from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in ^(X)Hazazon-tamar” (that is, ^(Y)Engedi). ³ Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face ^(Z)to seek the Lord, and ^(AA)proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

⁵ And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶ and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not ^(AB)God in heaven? You ^(AC)rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. ^(AD)In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. ⁷ Did you not, our God, ^(AE)drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of ^(AF)Abraham your friend? ⁸ And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ^9 (AG)‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,^[d] or pestilence, or famine, ^(AH)we will stand before this house and before you—^(AI)for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ ¹⁰ And now behold, the men of ^(AJ)Ammon and Moab and ^(AK)Mount Seir, whom ^(AL)you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, ^(AM)and whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹ behold, they reward us ^(AN)by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will you not ^(AO)execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but ^(AP)our eyes are on you.”

¹³ Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴ And ^(AQ)the Spirit of the Lord came^[e] upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵ And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ^(AR)‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, ^(AS)for the battle is not yours but God's. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of ^(AT)the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. ^17 (AU)You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ ^(AV)Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, ^(AW)and the Lord will be with you.”

¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat ^(AX)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ And the Levites, of the ^(AY)Kohathites and the ^(AZ)Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went out into ^(BA)the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! ^(BB)Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹ And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him ^(BC)in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

²² And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ^(BE)an ambush against the men of ^(BF)Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. ²³ For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, ^(BG)they all helped to destroy one another.

The Lord Delivers Judah

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there^[f] were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,^[g] for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. ²⁷ Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ^(BH)for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ^29 (BI)And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, ^(BJ)for his God gave him rest all around.

^31 (BK)Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. ^33 (BL)The high places, however, were not taken away; ^(BM)the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of ^(BN)Jehu the son of Hanani, ^(BO)which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

The End of Jehoshaphat's Reign

^35 (BP)After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. ³⁶ He joined him in building ships to go to ^(BQ)Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, ^(BR)“Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him ^(A)of whom they have never heard?^[a] And how are they to hear ^(B)without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ^(C)“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶ But ^(D)they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^(E)“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷ So ^(F)faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

¹⁸ But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

¹⁹ But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

²⁰ Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

²¹ But of Israel he says, ^(M)“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask, then, ^(N)has God rejected his people? By no means! For ^(O)I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,^[b] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ^2 (P)God has not rejected his people whom he ^(Q)foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ^3 (R)“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴ But what is God's reply to him? ^(S)“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too at the present time there is ^(T)a remnant, chosen by grace. ^6 (U)But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? ^(V)Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest ^(W)were hardened, ⁸ as it is written,

⁹ And David says,

Gentiles Grafted In

¹¹ So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass ^(AA)salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. ¹² Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion^[c] mean!

The King Rejoices in the Lord's Strength

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

17 Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel. ² He placed forces in all the ^(A)fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim ^(B)that Asa his father had captured. ³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, ^(C)and not according to the practices of Israel. ⁵ Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah ^(D)brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, ^(E)and he had great riches and honor. ⁶ His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, ^(F)he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, ^(G)to teach in the cities of Judah; ^8 (H)and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ And ^(I)they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

^10 (J)And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines ^(K)brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats. ¹² And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, ¹³ and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was the muster of them by fathers' houses: Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ and next to him Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000; ¹⁶ and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^(L)a volunteer for the service of the Lord, with 200,000 mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ Of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, with 200,000 men ^(M)armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him Jehozabad with 180,000 armed for war. ¹⁹ These were in the service of the king, besides ^(N)those whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

18 Now Jehoshaphat ^(O)had great riches and honor, ^(P)and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. ^2 (Q)After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. ³ Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”

⁴ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” ⁵ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” ⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” ⁷ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” ⁸ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” ⁹ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor ^(R)at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹⁰ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” ¹¹ And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

¹² And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹³ But Micaiah said, ^(S)“As the Lord lives, ^(T)what my God says, that I will speak.” ¹⁴ And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” ¹⁵ But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁶ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, ^(U)as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” ¹⁷ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” ¹⁸ And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: ^(V)I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. ¹⁹ And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. ²⁰ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ ²¹ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be ^(W)a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ ²² Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.”

²³ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near ^(X)and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” ²⁴ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” ²⁵ And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon ^(Y)the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, ²⁶ and say, ‘Thus says the king, ^(Z)Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’” ²⁷ And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, ^(AA)“Hear, all you peoples!”

The Defeat and Death of Ahab

²⁸ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. ²⁹ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. ³⁰ Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³¹ As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; God drew them away from him. ³² For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. ³³ But a certain man drew his bow at random^[a] and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” ³⁴ And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset he died.

²⁵ As indeed he says in Hosea,

²⁷ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ^(D)“Though the number of the sons of Israel^[a] be as the sand of the sea, ^(E)only a remnant of them will be saved, ²⁸ for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” ²⁹ And as Isaiah predicted,

Israel's Unbelief

³⁰ What shall we say, then? ^(I)That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, ^(J)a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but that Israel ^(K)who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^{[b] (L)}did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the ^(M)stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written,

10 Brothers,^[c] my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. ² For I bear them witness that ^(R)they have a zeal for God, ^(S)but not according to knowledge. ³ For, being ignorant of ^(T)the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. ⁴ For ^(U)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.^[d]

The Message of Salvation to All

⁵ For ^(V)Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that ^(W)the person who does the commandments shall live by them. ⁶ But ^(X)the righteousness based on faith says, ^(Y)“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the ^(Z)abyss?’” (that is, ^(AA)to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? ^(AB)“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because, if ^(AC)you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and ^(AD)believe in your heart ^(AE)that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, ^(AF)“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ^12 (AG)For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; ^(AH)for the same Lord is Lord of all, ^(AI)bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For ^(AJ)“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Asa Reigns in Judah

14 ^{[a] (A)}Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. ^2 [b] And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ He took away the foreign altars ^(B)and the high places and broke down ^(C)the pillars and cut down the ^(D)Asherim ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also took out of all the cities of Judah ^(E)the high places and the ^(F)incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. ⁶ He built ^(G)fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, ^(H)for the Lord gave him peace. ⁷ And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with ^(I)walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, ^(J)and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. ⁸ And Asa had an army of ^(K)300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

⁹ Zerah ^(L)the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as ^(M)Mareshah. ¹⁰ And Asa went out to meet him, and ^(N)they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at ^(O)Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa ^(P)cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, ^(Q)for we rely on you, ^(R)and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” ^12 (S)So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^(T)Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah^[c] carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴ And they attacked all the cities around ^(U)Gerar, ^(V)for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa's Religious Reforms

15 ^(W)The Spirit of God came^[d] upon Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(X)The Lord is with you while you are with him. ^(Y)If you seek him, he will be found by you, ^(Z)but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ^3 (AA)For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, ^4 (AB)but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. ⁵ In those times there was no peace ^(AC)to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ⁶ They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. ^7 (AD)But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, ^(AE)for your work shall be rewarded.”

⁸ As soon as Asa heard these words, ^(AF)the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from ^(AG)the cities that he had taken in ^(AH)the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord ^(AI)that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord.^{[e] 9} And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, ^(AJ)and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ¹⁰ They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. ¹¹ They sacrificed to the Lord on that day ^(AK)from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. ^12 (AL)And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, ¹³ but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(AM)should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. ¹⁴ They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. ¹⁵ And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, ^(AN)and the Lord gave them rest all around.

^16 (AO)Even Maacah, ^(AP)his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image ^(AQ)for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, ^(AR)crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. ^17 (AS)But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. ¹⁸ And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. ¹⁹ And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Asa's Last Years

16 ^(AT)In the ^(AU)thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, ^(AV)that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ² Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “There is a covenant^[f] between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” ⁴ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the ^(AW)store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. ⁶ Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ At that time ^(AX)Hanani ^(AY)the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, ^(AZ)“Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. ⁸ Were not ^(BA)the Ethiopians and ^(BB)the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^(BC)because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. ^9 (BD)For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those ^(BE)whose heart is blameless^[g] toward him. ^(BF)You have done foolishly in this, for from now on ^(BG)you will have wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him ^(BH)in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

^11 (BI)The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. ¹³ And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier ^(BJ)that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art, ^(BK)and they made a very great fire in his honor.

God's Sovereign Choice

9 ^(A)I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For ^(B)I could wish that I myself were ^(C)accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,^[a] my kinsmen ^(D)according to the flesh. ⁴ They are ^(E)Israelites, and to them belong ^(F)the adoption, ^(G)the glory, ^(H)the covenants, ^(I)the giving of the law, ^(J)the worship, and ^(K)the promises. ⁵ To them belong ^(L)the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, ^(M)who is God over all, ^(N)blessed forever. Amen.

⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷ and not all are children of Abraham ^(O)because they are his offspring, but ^(P)“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but ^(Q)the children of the promise are counted as offspring. ⁹ For this is what the promise said: ^(R)“About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁰ And not only so, but ^(S)also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, ¹¹ though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of ^(T)him who calls— ¹² she was told, ^(U)“The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ As it is written, ^(V)“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

¹⁴ What shall we say then? ^(W)Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses, ^(X)“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it depends not on human will or exertion,^[b] but on God, who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ^(Y)“For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

¹⁹ You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For ^(Z)who can resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, O man, ^(AA)to answer back to God? ^(AB)Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ^21 (AC)Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump ^(AD)one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? ²² What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience ^(AE)vessels of wrath ^(AF)prepared for destruction, ²³ in order to make known ^(AG)the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he ^(AH)has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴ even us whom he ^(AI)has called, ^(AJ)not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Rehoboam Secures His Kingdom

11 ^(A)When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. ² But the word of the Lord came to ^(B)Shemaiah the man of God: ³ “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against ^(C)your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned and did not go against Jeroboam.

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built ^(D)cities for defense in Judah. ⁶ He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, ^(E)Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and in Benjamin. ¹¹ He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. ¹² And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

Priests and Levites Come to Jerusalem

¹³ And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. ¹⁴ For the Levites left ^(F)their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, ^(G)because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, ¹⁵ and he appointed his own ^(H)priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for ^(I)the calves that he had made. ^16 (J)And those who had set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. ^17 (K)They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

Rehoboam's Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of ^(L)Eliab the son of Jesse, ¹⁹ and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ After her he took ^(M)Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him ^(N)Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). ^22 (O)And Rehoboam appointed ^(P)Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. ²³ And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he gave them abundant provisions and procured wives for them.^[a]

Egypt Plunders Jerusalem

12 ^(Q)When the rule of Rehoboam was established ^(R)and he was strong, ^(S)he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. ^2 (T)In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, ^(U)Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem ³ with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt—^(V)Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. ⁴ And he took ^(W)the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. ⁵ Then ^(X)Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ^(Y)‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” ⁶ Then the princes of ^(Z)Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, ^(AA)“The Lord is righteous.” ⁷ When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: ^(AB)“They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, ^(AC)and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸ Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, ^(AD)that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

^9 (AE)So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away ^(AF)the shields of gold that Solomon had made, ¹⁰ and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. ¹¹ And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. ¹² And when ^(AG)he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, ^(AH)conditions were good^[b] in Judah.

^13 (AI)So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. ¹⁴ And he did evil, ^(AJ)for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

^15 (AK)Now the acts of Rehoboam, ^(AL)from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of ^(AM)Shemaiah the prophet and of ^(AN)Iddo ^(AO)the seer?^[c] There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ¹⁶ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, and ^(AP)Abijah^[d] his son reigned in his place.

Abijah Reigns in Judah

13 ^(AQ)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, ^(AR)Abijah began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(AS)Micaiah^[e] the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

^(AT)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam ^(AU)drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. ⁴ Then Abijah stood up on Mount ^(AV)Zemaraim that is in ^(AW)the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel ^(AX)gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by ^(AY)a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up ^(AZ)and rebelled against his lord, ⁷ and certain ^(BA)worthless scoundrels^[f] gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(BB)young and irresolute^[g] and could not withstand them.

⁸ “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you ^(BC)the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. ^9 (BD)Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(BE)for ordination^[h] with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are ^(BF)not gods. ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. ¹¹ They offer to the Lord ^(BG)every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out ^(BH)the showbread on the table of pure gold, ^(BI)and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may ^(BJ)burn every evening. For we ^(BK)keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. ¹² Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests ^(BL)with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, ^(BM)do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

¹³ Jeroboam had sent ^(BN)an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops^[i] were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. ^(BO)And they cried to the Lord, and the priests ^(BP)blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, ^(BQ)God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The men of Israel fled before Judah, ^(BR)and God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. ¹⁸ Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, ^(BS)because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam ^(BT)and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and ^(BU)Ephron^[j] with its villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. ^(BV)And the Lord struck him down, ^(BW)and he died. ²¹ But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the ^(BX)story of the prophet ^(BY)Iddo.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For ^(A)we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but ^(B)the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And ^(C)he who searches hearts knows what is ^(D)the mind of the Spirit, because^[a] the Spirit ^(E)intercedes for the saints ^(F)according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^(G)for good,^[b] for ^(H)those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he ^(I)foreknew he also ^(J)predestined ^(K)to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be ^(L)the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also ^(M)justified, and those whom he justified he also ^(N)glorified.

God's Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? ^(O)If God is for us, who can be^[c] against us? ^32 (P)He who did not spare his own Son but ^(Q)gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? ^(R)It is God who justifies. ^34 (S)Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—^(T)who is at the right hand of God, ^(U)who indeed is interceding for us.^{[d] 35} Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than ^(X)conquerors through ^(Y)him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.