³⁴ When the Lord heard^(A) what you said, he was angry^(B) and solemnly swore:^{(C) 35} “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land^(D) I swore to give your ancestors, ³⁶ except Caleb^(E) son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.^(F)”

³⁷ Because of you the Lord became angry^(G) with me also and said, “You shall not enter^(H) it, either. ³⁸ But your assistant, Joshua^(I) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage^(J) him, because he will lead^(K) Israel to inherit^(L) it. ³⁹ And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,^(M) your children who do not yet know^(N) good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. ⁴⁰ But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.^[a](O)”

⁴¹ Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

⁴² But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”^(P)

⁴³ So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees^(Q) and beat you down from Seir^(R) all the way to Hormah.^{(S) 45} You came back and wept before the Lord,^(T) but he paid no attention^(U) to your weeping and turned a deaf ear^(V) to you.

⁸ The men of Israel took captive from their fellow Israelites who were from Judah^(A) two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.^(B)

⁹ But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry^(C) with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven.^{(D) 10} And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves.^(E) But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? ¹¹ Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord’s fierce anger rests on you.^(F)”

¹² Then some of the leaders in Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—confronted those who were arriving from the war. ¹³ “You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.”

¹⁴ So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. ¹⁵ The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink,^(G) and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms,^(H) and returned to Samaria.^(I)

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings^[a] of Assyria^(J) for help. ¹⁷ The Edomites^(K) had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,^{(L) 18} while the Philistines^(M) had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon^(N) and Gederoth,^(O) as well as Soko,^(P) Timnah^(Q) and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages. ¹⁹ The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel,^[b] for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful^(R) to the Lord. ²⁰ Tiglath-Pileser^[c](S) king of Assyria^(T) came to him, but he gave him trouble^(U) instead of help.^{(V) 21} Ahaz^(W) took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.^(X)

²² In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful^(Y) to the Lord. ²³ He offered sacrifices to the gods^(Z) of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.”^(AA) But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.^(AB)

²⁴ Ahaz gathered together the furnishings^(AC) from the temple of God^(AD) and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors^(AE) of the Lord’s temple and set up altars^(AF) at every street corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

²⁶ The other events of his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz rested^(AG) with his ancestors and was buried^(AH) in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.

Repentance to Bring Blessing

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus^(A) and asking, “Where is he?”

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”^{(B) 13} But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.^(C)

Jesus Teaches at the Festival

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.^{(D) 15} The Jews^(E) there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning^(F) without having been taught?”^(G)

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.^{(H) 17} Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out^(I) whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory,^(J) but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law?^(K) Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”^(L)

²⁰ “You are demon-possessed,”^(M) the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle,^(N) and you are all amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision^(O) (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs),^(P) you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”^(Q)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God^(A) our Savior^(B) and of Christ Jesus our hope,^(C)

² To Timothy^(D) my true son^(E) in the faith:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.^(F)

Timothy Charged to Oppose False Teachers

³ As I urged you when I went into Macedonia,^(G) stay there in Ephesus^(H) so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines^(I) any longer ⁴ or to devote themselves to myths^(J) and endless genealogies.^(K) Such things promote controversial speculations^(L) rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. ⁵ The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart^(M) and a good conscience^(N) and a sincere faith.^{(O) 6} Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. ⁷ They want to be teachers^(P) of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.^(Q)

⁸ We know that the law is good^(R) if one uses it properly. ⁹ We also know that the law is made not for the righteous^(S) but for lawbreakers and rebels,^(T) the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine^{(U) 11} that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.^(V)