^16 (A)“But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁷ And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ^19 (B)The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰ And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, ^(C)lying in wait, so that he died, ²¹ or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. ^(D)The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him ^(E)without lying in wait ²³ or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, ²⁴ then ^(F)the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and ^(G)the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. ²⁵ And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it ^(H)until the death of the high priest ^(I)who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, ²⁷ and ^(J)the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. ²⁸ For he must remain in his city of refuge ^(K)until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. ²⁹ And these things shall be for ^(L)a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

³⁰ “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the ^(M)evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. ³¹ Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. ³² And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. ³³ You shall not ^(N)pollute the land in which you live, for blood ^(O)pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except ^(P)by the blood of the one who shed it. ^34 (Q)You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, ^(R)for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”

Joash Assassinated

²³ At the end of the year ^(A)the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. 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, ^(B)the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, ^(C)because Judah^[a] had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they ^(D)executed judgment on Joash.

²⁵ When they had departed from him, leaving him ^(E)severely wounded, ^(F)his servants conspired against him because of the blood of ^(G)the son^[b] of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, ^(H)but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶ Those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabite. ²⁷ Accounts of his sons and of the many oracles against him and of ^(I)the rebuilding^[c] of the house of God are written in the ^(J)Story^[d] of the Book of the Kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

25 ^(K)Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, ^(L)yet not with a whole heart. ³ And as soon as the royal power was firmly his, he killed his servants who had struck down the king his father. ⁴ But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, ^(M)“Fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children die because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.”

Amaziah's Victories

⁵ Then Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers' houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those ^(N)twenty years old and upward, and found that they were ^(O)300,000 choice men, fit for war, ^(P)able to handle spear and shield. ⁶ He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents^[e] of silver. ⁷ But ^(Q)a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites. ⁸ But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? ^(R)For God has power to help or to cast down.” ⁹ And Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” ¹⁰ Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah and returned home in fierce anger. ¹¹ But Amaziah took courage and led out his people and went to the ^(S)Valley of Salt and struck down ^(T)10,000 men of Seir. ¹² The men of Judah captured another 10,000 alive and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, and they were all dashed to pieces. ¹³ But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, ^(U)from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 people in them and took much spoil.

Amaziah's Idolatry

¹⁴ After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, ^(V)he brought the gods ^(W)of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them. ¹⁵ Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people ^(X)who did not deliver their own people from your hand?” ¹⁶ But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that ^(Y)God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, ^(A)“I am the bread of life; ^(B)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ^37 (C)All that ^(D)the Father gives me will come to me, and ^(E)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸ For ^(F)I have come down from heaven, not to do ^(G)my own will but ^(H)the will of him ^(I)who sent me. ³⁹ And ^(J)this is the will of him who sent me, ^(K)that I should lose nothing of ^(L)all that he has given me, but ^(M)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who ^(N)looks on the Son and ^(O)believes in him ^(P)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ^(Q)“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, ^(R)“Is not this Jesus, ^(S)the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(T)we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me ^(U)draws him. And ^(V)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ^(W)‘And they will all be ^(X)taught by God.’ ^(Y)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

^14 (A)Strive for peace with everyone, and for the ^(B)holiness ^(C)without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one ^(D)fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ^(E)“root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶ that no one is ^(F)sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that ^(G)afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

¹⁸ For you have not come to ^(H)what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹ and ^(I)the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words ^(J)made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not endure the order that was given, ^(K)“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹ Indeed, ^(L)so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ²² But you have come to ^(M)Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, ^(N)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to ^(O)innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to ^(P)the assembly^[a] of the firstborn who are ^(Q)enrolled in heaven, and to ^(R)God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, ^(S)the mediator of a new covenant, and to ^(T)the sprinkled blood ^(U)that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For ^(V)if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶ At that time ^(W)his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ^(X)“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates ^(Y)the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving ^(Z)a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus ^(AA)let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our ^(AB)God is a consuming fire.