Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah

14 ^[a](A)So Abijah ^[b]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.

^2 [c]And Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, ³ for he removed ^(B)the foreign altars and ^(C)high places, tore down the memorial stones, cut down the ^[d](D)Asherim, ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to ^[e]comply with the Law and the commandment. ⁵ He also removed the high places and the ^(E)incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. ^6 (F)He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and ^[f]there was no one at war with him during those years, ^(G)because the Lord had given him rest. ⁷ For he said to Judah, “^(H)Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ^[g]ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. ⁸ Now Asa had an army of ^(I)three hundred thousand from Judah, carrying large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, carrying shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

⁹ Now Zerah the Ethiopian ^(J)went out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to ^(K)Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out ^[h]to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Then Asa ^(L)called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; help us, Lord our God, ^(M)for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You.” ¹² So ^(N)the Lord ^[i]routed 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 ^(O)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^[j]they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away a very large amount of plunder. ¹⁴ They ^[k]destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^(P)for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they pillaged all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ They also fatally struck ^[l]those who owned livestock, and they led away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Azariah the Prophet Warns Asa

15 Now ^(Q)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out ^[m]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(R)the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And ^(S)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. ^3 (T)For many days Israel was without the true God and without ^(U)a teaching priest and without the Law. ⁴ But ^(V)in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. ^5 (W)In those times there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because many disturbances ^[n]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ^6 (X)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But you, ^(Y)be strong and do not ^[o]lose courage, for there is a ^(Z)reward for your work.”

Asa’s Reforms

⁸ Now when Asa heard these words and the ^[p]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from ^(AA)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^(AB)He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. ⁹ And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon ^(AC)who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ¹⁰ So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ^11 (AD)They sacrificed to the Lord on that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the spoils they had brought. ^12 (AE)They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; ¹³ and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel ^(AF)was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and with horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him ^[q]earnestly, and He let them find Him. So ^(AG)the Lord gave them rest on every side.

^16 (AH)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image ^[r]as ^(AI)an Asherah, and ^(AJ)Asa cut down her abominable image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. ¹⁸ He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver, gold, and utensils. ¹⁹ And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Scene in Heaven

4 After ^(A)these things I looked, and behold, ^(B)a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, ^(C)like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “^(D)Come up here, and I will ^(E)show you what must take place after these things.” ² Immediately I was ^(F)in the ^[a]Spirit; and behold, ^(G)a throne was standing in heaven, and ^(H)someone was sitting on the throne. ³ And He who was sitting was like a ^(I)jasper stone and a ^(J)sardius in appearance; and there was a ^[b](K)rainbow around the throne, like an ^(L)emerald in appearance. ^4 (M)Around the throne were ^(N)twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw ^(O)twenty-four elders ^(P)sitting, clothed in ^(Q)white garments, and ^(R)golden crowns on their heads.

The Throne and Worship of the Creator

⁵ Out from the throne *came ^(S)flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were ^(T)seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are ^[c](U)the seven spirits of God; ⁶ and before the throne there was something like a ^(V)sea of glass, like crystal; and in the ^[d]center and ^(W)around the throne, ^(X)four living creatures ^(Y)full of eyes in front and behind. ^7 (Z)The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ And the ^(AA)four living creatures, each one of them having ^(AB)six wings, are ^(AC)full of eyes around and within; and ^(AD)day and night ^[e]they do not cease to say,

⁹ And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who ^(AH)sits on the throne, to ^(AI)Him who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the ^(AJ)twenty-four elders will ^(AK)fall down before Him who ^(AL)sits on the throne, and they will worship ^(AM)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their ^(AN)crowns before the throne, saying,

The Builders Encouraged

2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by ^(A)Haggai the prophet, saying, ² “Speak now to ^(B)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(C)governor of Judah, and to ^(D)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^(E)remnant of the people, saying, ³ ‘Who is ^(F)left among you who saw this ^[a]temple in its ^(G)former glory? And how do you see it now? ^[b]Does it not seem to you like nothing ^[c]in comparison? ⁴ But now ^[d](H)take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for ^(I)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of armies. ⁵ ‘As for the ^[e](J)promise which I ^[f]made you when you came out of Egypt, ^[g]My ^(K)Spirit remains in your midst; ^(L)do not fear!’ ⁶ For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘^(M)Once more ^[h]in a ^(N)little while, I am going to ^(O)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake ^(P)all the nations; and ^[i]they will come with the ^(Q)wealth of all nations, and I will ^(R)fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of armies. ⁸ ‘The ^(S)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of armies. ⁹ ‘The latter ^(T)glory of this house will be greater than the ^(U)former,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and in this place I will give ^(V)peace,’ declares the Lord of armies.”

¹⁰ On the ^(W)twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying, ¹¹ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘^(X)Now ask the priests for a ^[j]ruling: ¹² If someone carries ^(Y)holy meat in the ^[k]fold of his garment, and touches bread with ^[l]this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” ¹³ Then Haggai said, “^(Z)If one who is unclean from a ^[m]corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” ¹⁴ Then Haggai responded and said, “‘^(AA)So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. ¹⁵ But now, do ^[n](AB)consider from this day ^[o]onward: before one ^(AC)stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord, ^16 [p]from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty ^[q]measures, there would be only twenty. ¹⁷ I struck you and every work of your hands with ^(AD)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; ^[r]yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘Do ^[s](AE)consider from this day ^[t]onward, from the ^(AF)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was ^(AG)founded, ^[u]consider: ¹⁹ Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will ^(AH)bless you.’”

²⁰ Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the ^(AI)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, ²¹ “Speak to ^(AJ)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^(AK)shake the heavens and the earth. ²² And I will ^(AL)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^(AM)power of the kingdoms of the ^[v]nations; and I will ^(AN)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^(AO)horses and their riders will go down, ^(AP)every one by the sword of another.’ ²³ ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a ^[w](AQ)signet ring, for ^(AR)I have chosen you,’” declares the Lord of armies.

The New Birth

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named ^(A)Nicodemus, a ^(B)ruler of the Jews; ² this man came to ^[a]Jesus at night and said to Him, “^(C)Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these ^[b](D)signs that You do unless ^(E)God is with him.” ³ Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone ^(F)is born ^[c]again he cannot see ^(G)the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of ^(H)water and the Spirit, he cannot enter ^(I)the kingdom of God. ^6 (J)That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born ^[d]again.’ ^8 (K)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “You are ^(L)the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(M)we speak of what we know and ^(N)testify of what we have seen, and ^(O)you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (P)No one has ascended into heaven, except ^(Q)He who descended from heaven: ^(R)the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And just as ^(S)Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must ^(T)the Son of Man ^(U)be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who ^[e]believes will ^(V)have eternal life in Him.

¹⁶ “For God so ^(W)loved the world, that He ^(X)gave His ^(Y)only Son, so that everyone who ^(Z)believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God ^(AA)did not send the Son into the world ^(AB)to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. ^18 (AC)The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of ^(AD)the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that ^(AE)the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for ^(AF)their deeds were evil. ^20 (AG)For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. ²¹ But the one who ^(AH)practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed ^[f]as having been performed in God.”

John the Baptist’s Last Testimony

²² After these things Jesus and His ^(AI)disciples came into the land of Judea; and there He was spending time with them and ^(AJ)baptizing. ²³ Now John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and being baptized— ²⁴ for ^(AK)John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about ^[g](AL)purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, “^(AM)Rabbi, He who was with you ^(AN)beyond the Jordan, to whom you ^(AO)have testified—behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.” ²⁷ John replied, “^(AP)A person can receive not even one thing unless it ^(AQ)has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves ^[h]are my witnesses that I said, ‘^(AR)I am not the ^[i]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is ^(AS)the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this ^(AT)joy of mine has been made full. ³⁰ He must ^[j]increase, but I must ^[k]decrease.

³¹ “^(AU)He who comes from above is above all; ^(AV)the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. ^(AW)He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² What He has seen and heard, of this He ^(AX)testifies; and ^(AY)no one accepts His testimony. ³³ The one who has accepted His testimony ^(AZ)has certified that God is true. ³⁴ For He whom God ^(BA)sent speaks the words of God; ^(BB)for He does not give the Spirit ^[l]sparingly. ^35 (BC)The Father loves the Son and ^(BD)has entrusted all things to His hand. ³⁶ The one who ^(BE)believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who ^(BF)does not ^[m]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”