Jehu Rebukes Jehoshaphat

19 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ^2 (A)And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “^(B)Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord, and ^[a](C)by doing so bring wrath on yourself from the Lord? ³ But ^[b](D)there is some good in you, for ^(E)you have removed the ^[c]Asheroth from the land and you ^(F)have set your heart to seek God.”

⁴ So Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and ^(G)brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Reforms Instituted

⁵ He appointed ^(H)judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. ⁶ He said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for ^(I)you do not judge for mankind but for the Lord who is with you ^[d]when you render judgment. ⁷ Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be careful ^[e]about what you do, for ^[f]the Lord our God will ^(J)have no part in injustice ^(K)or partiality, or in the taking of a bribe.”

⁸ In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat also appointed some ^(L)of the Levites and priests, and some of the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord, and ^[g]to judge disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ⁹ Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and wholeheartedly. ^10 (M)Whenever any dispute comes to you from your countrymen who live in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you shall warn them so that they will not be guilty before the Lord, and ^(N)wrath will not come on you and your countrymen. This you shall do and you will not be guilty. ¹¹ Behold, Amariah the chief priest will be over you in ^(O)every matter ^[h]that pertains to the Lord, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all that pertains to the king. Also the Levites shall be officers before you. ^[i](P)Act resolutely, and may the Lord be with the upright.”

Judah Invaded

20 Now it came about after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the ^[j](Q)Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. ² Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from ^[k]Aram; and behold, they are in ^(R)Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” ³ Jehoshaphat was afraid and ^[l](S)turned his attention to seek the Lord; and he ^(T)proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah. ⁴ So Judah gathered together to ^(U)seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new courtyard; ⁶ and he said, “Lord, God of our fathers, ^(V)are You not God in the heavens? And ^(W)are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. ⁷ Did You not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land from Your people Israel, and ^(X)give it to the descendants of ^(Y)Your friend Abraham forever? ⁸ They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ⁹ ‘^(Z)If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for ^(AA)Your name is in this house), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us.’ ¹⁰ Now behold, ^(AB)the sons of Ammon, Moab, and ^[m]Mount Seir, ^(AC)whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (for they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), ¹¹ see how they are rewarding us by ^(AD)coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. ¹² Our God, ^(AE)will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but ^(AF)our eyes are on You.”

¹³ All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives, and their children.

Jahaziel Answers the Prayer

¹⁴ Then in the midst of the assembly ^(AG)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; ¹⁵ and he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the Lord says to you: ‘^(AH)Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for ^(AI)the battle is not yours but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You need not fight in this battle; take your position, ^(AJ)stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, ^(AK)for the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat ^(AL)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 The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Enemies Destroy Themselves

²⁰ They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: ^(AM)Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.” ²¹ When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who ^(AN)praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “^(AO)Give thanks to the Lord, for His faithfulness is everlasting.” ²² When they began singing and praising, the Lord ^(AP)set ambushes against the sons of ^(AQ)Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down. ²³ For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, ^(AR)they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they turned toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and there was no survivor. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoils, they found much among them, including goods, ^[n]garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were taking the spoils for three days because there was so much.

Triumphant Return to Jerusalem

²⁶ Then on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for they blessed the Lord there. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of ^[o]Beracah” until today. ²⁷ Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ^(AS)for the Lord had helped them to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ²⁹ And ^(AT)the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, ^(AU)for his God gave him rest on all sides.

^31 (AV)Now Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not deviate from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord. ^33 (AW)The high places, however, were not removed; ^(AX)the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first ^[p]to last, behold, they are written in the annals of ^(AY)Jehu the son of Hanani, which is ^[q]recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

Alliance Displeases God

^35 (AZ)After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly ^[r]in so doing. ³⁶ So he allied himself with him to make ships to go ^(BA)to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and could not go to Tarshish.

The Seventh Seal: Trumpets

8 When the Lamb broke the ^(A)seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw ^(B)the seven angels who stand before God, and seven ^(C)trumpets were given to them.

^3 (D)Another angel came and stood at the ^(E)altar, holding a ^(F)golden censer; and much ^(G)incense was given to him, so that he might ^[a]add it to the ^(H)prayers of all the ^[b]saints on the ^(I)golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴ And ^(J)the smoke of the incense ascended from the angel’s hand with the prayers of the ^[c]saints before God. ⁵ Then the angel ^[d]took the ^[e]censer and ^(K)filled it with the fire of the altar, and ^(L)hurled it to the earth; and there were ^(M)peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning and an ^(N)earthquake.

^6 (O)And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

⁷ The first sounded, and there was ^(P)hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and ^(Q)a third of the earth was burned up, and ^(R)a third of the ^(S)trees were burned up, and all the green ^(T)grass was burned up.

⁸ The second angel sounded, and something like a great ^(U)mountain burning with fire was hurled into the sea; and ^(V)a third of the ^(W)sea became blood, ⁹ and ^(X)a third of the creatures which were in the sea ^[f]and had life, died; and a third of the ^(Y)ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel sounded, and a great star ^(Z)fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a ^(AA)third of the rivers and on the ^(AB)springs of waters. ¹¹ The star is named Wormwood; and a ^(AC)third of the waters became ^(AD)wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter.

¹² The fourth angel sounded, and a ^(AE)third of the ^(AF)sun, a third of the ^(AG)moon, and a ^(AH)third of the ^(AI)stars were struck, so that a ^(AJ)third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a ^(AK)third of it, and the night in the same way.

¹³ Then I looked, and I heard ^[g]an eagle flying in ^(AL)midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “^(AM)Woe, woe, woe to ^(AN)those who live on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the ^(AO)three angels who are about to sound!”

The Golden Lampstand and the Olive Trees

4 Then ^(A)the angel who had been speaking with me returned and ^(B)woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep. ² And he said to me, “^(C)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a ^(D)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its ^(E)seven lamps on it with seven ^[a]spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; ³ also ^(F)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, “What are these, ^(G)my lord?” ⁵ So ^(H)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “^(I)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he said to ^[b]me, “This is the word of the Lord to ^(J)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘^(K)Not by might nor by power, but by My ^(L)Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies. ⁷ ‘What are you, you great ^(M)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with ^(N)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

⁸ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have ^(O)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will ^(P)finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to ^[c]you. ¹⁰ For who has shown contempt for the day of ^(Q)small things? ^[d]But these ^(R)seven will rejoice when they see the ^[e](S)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the ^(T)eyes of the Lord ^(U)roaming throughout the earth.”

¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these ^(V)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” ¹² And I responded the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive ^[f]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” ¹³ So he answered me, saying, “^(W)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, ^(X)my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two ^[g](Y)anointed ones, who are ^(Z)standing by the ^(AA)Lord of the whole earth.”

Jesus Teaches at the Feast

7 After these things Jesus ^(A)was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because ^(B)the Jews ^(C)were seeking to kill Him. ² Now the feast of the Jews, ^(D)the Feast of Booths, was near. ³ So His ^(E)brothers said to Him, “Move on from here and go into Judea, so that Your ^(F)disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret ^[a]when he himself is striving to be known publicly. If You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even His ^(G)brothers believed in Him. ⁶ So Jesus *said to them, “^(H)My time is not yet here, but your time is always ready. ^7 (I)The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify about it, that ^(J)its deeds are evil. ⁸ Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, because ^(K)My time has not yet fully arrived.” ⁹ Now having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ But when His ^(L)brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as though in secret. ^11 (M)So the Jews ^(N)were looking for Him at the feast and saying, “Where is He?” ¹² And there was a great deal of talk about Him in secret among the crowds: ^(O)some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He is misleading the people.” ¹³ However, no one was speaking openly about Him, for ^(P)fear of ^[b]the Jews.

¹⁴ But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple area, and began to ^(Q)teach. ^15 (R)The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man ^(S)become learned, not having been educated?” ¹⁶ So Jesus answered them and said, “^(T)My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me. ^17 (U)If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God, or I am speaking from Myself. ¹⁸ The one who speaks from himself ^(V)seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

¹⁹ “^(W)Did Moses not give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why are you ^(X)seeking to kill Me?” ²⁰ The crowd answered, “^(Y)You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill You?” ²¹ Jesus answered them, “I did ^(Z)one ^[c]deed, and you all are astonished. ²² For this reason ^(AA)Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from ^(AB)the fathers), and even on a Sabbath you circumcise a man. ^23 (AC)If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man well on a Sabbath? ²⁴ Do not ^(AD)judge by the outward appearance, but judge ^[d]with righteous judgment.”

²⁵ So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this man not the one whom they are seeking to kill? ²⁶ And yet look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. ^(AE)The rulers do not really know that this is the ^[e]Christ, do they? ²⁷ However, ^(AF)we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” ²⁸ Then Jesus cried out in the temple, ^(AG)teaching and saying, “^(AH)You both know Me and you know where I am from; and ^(AI)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. ^29 (AJ)I do know Him, because ^(AK)I am from Him, and ^(AL)He sent Me.” ³⁰ So they ^(AM)were seeking to arrest Him; and yet no one laid a hand on Him, because His ^(AN)hour had not yet come. ³¹ But ^(AO)many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “^(AP)When the ^[f]Christ comes, He will not perform more ^[g](AQ)signs than those which this man has done, will He?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent ^(AR)officers to ^(AS)arrest Him. ³³ Therefore Jesus said, “^(AT)For a little while longer I am going to be with you, and then ^(AU)I am going to Him who sent Me. ^34 (AV)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” ^35 (AW)The Jews then said to one another, “^(AX)Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He does not intend to go to ^(AY)the Dispersion among ^(AZ)the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, does He? ³⁶ What is this statement that He said, ‘^(BA)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

³⁷ Now on ^(BB)the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “^(BC)If anyone is thirsty, ^[h]let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ The one who believes in Me, ^(BD)as the Scripture said, ‘^[i]From his innermost being will flow rivers of ^(BE)living water.’” ³⁹ But this He said ^(BF)in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for ^(BG)the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet ^(BH)glorified.

People’s Division over Jesus

⁴⁰ Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is ^(BI)the Prophet.” ⁴¹ Others were saying, “This is the ^[j]Christ.” But others were saying, “^(BJ)Surely the ^[k]Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? ⁴² Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from ^(BK)the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” ⁴³ So ^(BL)a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. ⁴⁴ And ^(BM)some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

⁴⁵ The ^(BN)officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” ⁴⁶ The ^(BO)officers answered, “^(BP)Never has a man spoken in this way!” ⁴⁷ The Pharisees then replied to them, “^(BQ)You have not been led astray too, have you? ^48 (BR)Not one of ^(BS)the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? ⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!” ^50 (BT)Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, ⁵¹ “^(BU)Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” ⁵² They answered and said to him, “^(BV)You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” ⁵³ [[^[l]And everyone went to his home.