Unlawful Sexual Relations

18 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(A)I am the Lord your God. ^3 (B)You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and ^(C)you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. ^4 (D)You shall follow my rules^[a] and keep my statutes and walk in them. ^(E)I am the Lord your God. ^5 (F)You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; ^(G)if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

⁶ “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. ^7 (H)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^8 (I)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. ^9 (J)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. ¹⁰ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. ¹¹ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. ¹² You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. ¹⁴ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ^15 (K)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

^25 (A)In the ^(B)twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. ²⁶ Ahaziah was ^(C)twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was ^(D)a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. ²⁷ He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.

²⁸ He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against ^(E)Hazael king of Syria at ^(F)Ramoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. ^29 (G)And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at ^(H)Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And ^(I)Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

Jehu Anointed King of Israel

9 Then Elisha the prophet called one of ^(J)the sons of the prophets and said to him, ^(K)“Tie up your garments, and take this ^(L)flask of oil in your hand, and go to ^(M)Ramoth-gilead. ² And when you arrive, look there for Jehu ^(N)the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among ^(O)his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. ³ Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, ^(P)I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.”

⁴ So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. ⁵ And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” ⁶ So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(Q)I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. ⁷ And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge ^(R)on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. ⁸ For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, ^(S)and I will cut off from Ahab ^(T)every male, ^(U)bond or free, in Israel. ⁹ And I will make the house of Ahab like ^(V)the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like ^(W)the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. ^10 (X)And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.

¹¹ When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, ^(Y)“Is all well? Why did ^(Z)this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.” ¹² And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’” ¹³ Then in haste ^(AA)every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare^[a] steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, ^(AB)“Jehu is king.”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^18 (A)“Son of man, ^(B)eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: ^(C)They shall eat their bread with anxiety, ^(D)and drink water in dismay. In this way ^(E)her land will be stripped of all it contains, ^(F)on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ^20 (G)And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²² “Son of man, ^(H)what is this proverb that you^[a] have about the land of Israel, saying, ^(I)‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, ^(J)The days are near, and the fulfillment^[b] of every vision. ^24 (K)For there shall be no more any ^(L)false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the Lord; I will speak ^(M)the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. ^(N)It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, ^(O)O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”

²⁶ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ^(P)‘The vision that he sees is ^(Q)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(R)None of my words will be delayed any longer, ^(S)but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”

False Prophets Condemned

13 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (T)“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those ^(U)who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ³ Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! ⁴ Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. ^5 (V)You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. ^6 (W)They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ ^(X)when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. ⁷ Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, ^(Y)whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, ^(Z)I am against you, declares the Lord God. ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, ^(AA)nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, ^(AB)nor shall they enter the land of Israel. ^(AC)And you shall know that I am the Lord God. ¹⁰ Precisely because they have misled my people, ^(AD)saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, ^(AE)these prophets smear it with whitewash,^{[c] 11} say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! ^(AF)There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out.

The Lord Our God Is Holy

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for ^(X)giving thanks.

The Purpose of the Parables

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, ^(A)“To you it has been given to know ^(B)the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^(C)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ^11 (D)Now the parable is this: The seed is ^(E)the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^(F)believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^(G)with joy. But these have no root; they ^(H)believe for a while, and in time of testing ^(I)fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ^(J)as they go on their way they are choked by the ^(K)cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^(L)bear fruit ^(M)with patience.

2 For I made up my mind ^(A)not to make another painful visit to you. ² For ^(B)if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? ³ And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, ^(C)for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. ⁴ For ^(D)I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Forgive the Sinner

⁵ Now ^(E)if anyone has caused pain, ^(F)he has caused it not to me, but ^(G)in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. ⁶ For such a one, ^(H)this punishment by the majority is enough, ⁷ so ^(I)you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ For this is why I wrote, that I might ^(J)test you and know ^(K)whether you are obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for ^(L)we are not ignorant of his designs.