Ahaziah’s Reign

22 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahazi′ah his youngest son king in his stead; for the band of men that came with the Arabs to the camp had slain all the older sons. So Ahazi′ah the son of Jehor′am king of Judah reigned. ² Ahazi′ah was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athali′ah, the granddaughter of Omri. ³ He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. ⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done; for after the death of his father they were his counselors, to his undoing. ⁵ He even followed their counsel, and went with Jehor′am the son of Ahab king of Israel to make war against Haz′ael king of Syria at Ra′moth-gil′ead. And the Syrians wounded Joram, ⁶ and he returned to be healed in Jezre′el of the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Haz′ael king of Syria. And Ahazi′ah the son of Jehor′am king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezre′el, because he was sick.

⁷ But it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahazi′ah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there he went out with Jehor′am to meet Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. ⁸ And when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, he met the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahazi′ah’s brothers, who attended Ahazi′ah, and he killed them. ⁹ He searched for Ahazi′ah, and he was captured while hiding in Samar′ia, and he was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehosh′aphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And the house of Ahazi′ah had no one able to rule the kingdom.

Athaliah Seizes the Throne

¹⁰ Now when Athali′ah the mother of Ahazi′ah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah. ¹¹ But Jeho-shab′e-ath, the daughter of the king, took Jo′ash the son of Ahazi′ah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be slain, and she put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. Thus Jeho-shab′e-ath, the daughter of King Jehor′am and wife of Jehoi′ada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahazi′ah, hid him from Athali′ah, so that she did not slay him; ¹² and he remained with them six years, hid in the house of God, while Athali′ah reigned over the land.

23 But in the seventh year Jehoi′ada took courage, and entered into a compact with the commanders of hundreds, Azari′ah the son of Jero′ham, Ish′mael the son of Jeho-ha′nan, Azari′ah the son of Obed, Ma-asei′ah the son of Adai′ah, and Elisha′phat the son of Zichri. ² And they went about through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’ houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. ³ And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoi′ada^[a] said to them, “Behold, the king’s son! Let him reign, as the Lord spoke concerning the sons of David. ⁴ This is the thing that you shall do: of you priests and Levites who come off duty on the sabbath, one third shall be gatekeepers, ⁵ and one third shall be at the king’s house and one third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶ Let no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests and ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the charge of the Lord. ⁷ The Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house shall be slain. Be with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.”

Joash Crowned King

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoi′ada the priest commanded. They each brought his men, who were to go off duty on the sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the sabbath; for Jehoi′ada the priest did not dismiss the divisions. ⁹ And Jehoi′ada the priest delivered to the captains the spears and the large and small shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of God; ¹⁰ and he set all the people as a guard for the king, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house. ¹¹ Then he brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they proclaimed him king, and Jehoi′ada and his sons anointed him, and they said, “Long live the king.”

Athaliah Murdered

¹² When Athali′ah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the Lord to the people; ¹³ and when she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration. And Athali′ah rent her clothes, and cried, “Treason! Treason!” ¹⁴ Then Jehoi′ada the priest brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying to them, “Bring her out between the ranks; any one who follows her is to be slain with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not slay her in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they laid hands on her; and she went into the entrance of the horse gate of the king’s house, and they slew her there.

¹⁶ And Jehoi′ada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ Then all the people went to the house of Ba′al, and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they slew Mattan the priest of Ba′al before the altars. ¹⁸ And Jehoi′ada posted watchmen for the house of the Lord under the direction of the Levitical priests and the Levites whom David had organized to be in charge of the house of the Lord, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David. ¹⁹ He stationed the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord so that no one should enter who was in any way unclean. ²⁰ And he took the captains, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they set the king upon the royal throne. ²¹ So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, after Athali′ah had been slain with the sword.

Joash Repairs the Temple

24 Jo′ash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Zib′iah of Beer-sheba. ² And Jo′ash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoi′ada the priest. ³ Jehoi′ada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴ After this Jo′ash decided to restore the house of the Lord. ⁵ And he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; and see that you hasten the matter.” But the Levites did not hasten it. ⁶ So the king summoned Jehoi′ada the chief, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the Lord, on^[b] the congregation of Israel for the tent of testimony?” ⁷ For the sons of Athali′ah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God; and had also used all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord for the Ba′als.

⁸ So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord. ⁹ And proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished. ¹¹ And whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officers by the Levites, when they saw that there was much money in it, the king’s secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and take it and return it to its place. Thus they did day after day, and collected money in abundance. ¹² And the king and Jehoi′ada gave it to those who had charge of the work of the house of the Lord, and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord. ¹³ So those who were engaged in the work labored, and the repairing went forward in their hands, and they restored the house of God to its proper condition and strengthened it. ¹⁴ And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoi′ada, and with it were made utensils for the house of the Lord, both for the service and for the burnt offerings, and dishes for incense, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoi′ada.

Apostasy of Joash

¹⁵ But Jehoi′ada grew old and full of days, and died; he was a hundred and thirty years old at his death. ¹⁶ And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoi′ada the princes of Judah came and did obeisance to the king; then the king harkened to them. ¹⁸ And they forsook the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Ashe′rim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt. ¹⁹ Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord; these testified against them, but they would not give heed.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God took possession of^[c] Zechari′ah the son of Jehoi′ada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” ²¹ But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² Thus Jo′ash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoi′ada, Zechari′ah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!”

Death of Joash

²³ At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Jo′ash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Jo′ash.

²⁵ When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son^[d] of Jehoi′ada the priest, and slew him on his bed. So he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶ Those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shim′e-ath the Ammonitess, and Jeho′zabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷ Accounts of his sons, and of the many oracles against him, and of the rebuilding^[e] of the house of God are written in the Commentary on the Book of the Kings. And Amazi′ah his son reigned in his stead.

The New Life in Christ

12 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world^[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[b]

³ For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

⁹ Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰ love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;^[c] never be conceited. ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[d] to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.