Cities of Refuge

⁴¹ Then Moses ^(A)set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, ⁴² that ^(B)the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life: ^43 (C)Bezer in the wilderness on the ^(D)tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

⁴⁴ This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. ⁴⁵ These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, ⁴⁶ beyond the Jordan ^(E)in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, ^(F)whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. ⁴⁷ And they took possession of his land and the land ^(G)of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; ^48 (H)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount ^(I)Sirion^[a] (that is, ^(J)Hermon), ⁴⁹ together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as ^(K)the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

33 ^(A)Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to ^(B)the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the high places ^(C)that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made ^(D)Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. ⁴ And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^(E)“In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven in ^(F)the two courts of the house of the Lord. ^6 (G)And he burned his sons as an offering ^(H)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and ^(I)used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with ^(J)mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. ⁷ And ^(K)the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, ^(L)I will put my name forever, ⁸ and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land ^(M)that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” ⁹ Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Manasseh's Repentance

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. ^11 (N)Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and ^(O)bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. ¹² And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God ^(P)and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. ¹³ He prayed to him, and ^(Q)God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. ^(R)Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

¹⁴ Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of ^(S)Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into ^(T)the Fish Gate, and carried it around ^(U)Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. ¹⁵ And ^(V)he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. ¹⁶ He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. ^17 (W)Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and ^(X)his prayer to his God, and the words of ^(Y)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the ^(Z)Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁹ And his prayer, and how ^(AA)God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites ^(AB)on which he built high places and set up the ^(AC)Asherim and the images, before ^(AD)he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.^{[a] 20} So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon's Reign and Death

^21 (AE)Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images ^(AF)that Manasseh his father had made, and served them. ²³ And he did not humble himself before the Lord, ^(AG)as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. ²⁴ And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. ²⁵ But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

Israel's Guilt and Punishment

3 ^(A)Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

¹¹ Therefore thus says the Lord God:

¹² Thus says the Lord: ^(N)“As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, ^(O)so shall the people of Israel ^(P)who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part^[b] of a bed.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^(A)“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will ^(B)know the truth, and the truth ^(C)will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, ^(D)“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(E)everyone who practices sin is a slave^[a] to sin. ^35 (F)The slave does not remain in the house forever; ^(G)the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet ^(H)you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ^38 (I)I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard ^(J)from your father.”

¹⁷ Let the elders ^(A)who rule well be considered worthy of ^(B)double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, ^(C)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, ^(D)“The laborer deserves his wages.” ¹⁹ Do not admit a charge against an elder except ^(E)on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁰ As for those who persist in sin, ^(F)rebuke them in the presence of all, ^(G)so that the rest may stand in fear. ²¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels ^(H)I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, ^(I)doing nothing from partiality. ^22 (J)Do not be hasty in the ^(K)laying on of hands, nor ^(L)take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. ²³ (No longer drink only water, but ^(M)use a little wine ^(N)for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) ²⁴ The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. ²⁵ So also good works are conspicuous, and ^(O)even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

6 ^(P)Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants^[a] regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, ^(Q)so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. ² Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are ^(R)brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

False Teachers and True Contentment

^(S)Teach and urge these things. ³ If anyone ^(T)teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with ^(U)the sound^[b] words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching ^(V)that accords with godliness, ^4 (W)he is puffed up with conceit and ^(X)understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for ^(Y)controversy and for ^(Z)quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, ⁵ and constant friction among people ^(AA)who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, ^(AB)imagining that godliness is a means of gain. ⁶ But ^(AC)godliness ^(AD)with contentment is great gain, ⁷ for ^(AE)we brought nothing into the world, and^[c] we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸ But ^(AF)if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. ⁹ But ^(AG)those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ^(AH)into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that ^(AI)plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of ^(AJ)all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.