2 Chronicles 27

English Standard Version

Jotham Reigns in Judah

27 ^(A)Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. ²And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done, ^(B)except he did not enter the temple of the Lord. But the people still followed corrupt practices. ³He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord and did much building on the wall of ^(C)Ophel. ⁴Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. ⁵He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents^[a] of silver, and 10,000 cors^[b] of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years. ⁶So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God. ⁷^(D)Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸He was ^(E)twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 27:5 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
2 Chronicles 27:5 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters

Isaiah 9-12

English Standard Version

For to Us a Child Is Born

9 ^[a] But there will be no ^(A)gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he ^(B)brought into contempt the land of ^(C)Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he ^(D)has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.^[b]

²^[c] ^(E)The people ^(F)who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of ^(G)deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
³^(H)You have multiplied the nation;
    you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
    as with ^(I)joy at the harvest,
    as they ^(J)are glad ^(K)when they divide the spoil.
⁴^(L)For the yoke of his burden,
    ^(M)and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    you have broken as ^(N)on the day of Midian.
⁵^(O)For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned as fuel for the fire.
⁶^(P)For to us a child is born,
    to us ^(Q)a son is given;
^(R)and the government shall be ^(S)upon^[d] his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called^[e]
Wonderful ^(T)Counselor, ^(U)Mighty God,
    ^(V)Everlasting ^(W)Father, Prince of ^(X)Peace.
⁷Of the increase of his government and of peace
    ^(Y)there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
^(Z)with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
^(AA)The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression

⁸The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
    and it will fall on Israel;
⁹and all the people will know,
    ^(AB)Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
    who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
¹⁰“The bricks have fallen,
    but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
    but we will put cedars in their place.”
¹¹But the Lord raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,
    and stirs up his enemies.
¹²^(AC)The Syrians on the east and ^(AD)the Philistines on the west
    devour Israel with open mouth.
^(AE)For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.

¹³The people ^(AF)did not turn to him who struck them,
    nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
¹⁴So the Lord cut off from Israel ^(AG)head and tail,
    palm branch and reed in one day—
¹⁵^(AH)the elder and honored man is the head,
    and ^(AI)the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
¹⁶for those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
    and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
¹⁷Therefore the Lord does not ^(AJ)rejoice over their young men,
    and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is ^(AK)godless and an evildoer,
    and every mouth speaks ^(AL)folly.^[f]
^(AM)For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.

¹⁸For wickedness burns like ^(AN)a fire;
    it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
    and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
¹⁹Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
    the land is scorched,
and ^(AO)the people are like fuel for the fire;
    ^(AP)no one spares another.
²⁰^(AQ)They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,
    and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
^(AR)each devours the flesh of his own arm,
²¹Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
    together they are ^(AS)against Judah.
^(AT)For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.

10 Woe to those who ^(AU)decree iniquitous decrees,
    and the writers who ^(AV)keep writing oppression,
²to turn aside the needy from justice
    and ^(AW)to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
    and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
³What will you do on ^(AX)the day of punishment,
    in the ruin that will come ^(AY)from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
    and where will you leave your wealth?
⁴Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
    or fall among the slain.
^(AZ)For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.

Judgment on Arrogant Assyria

⁵Woe to Assyria, ^(BA)the rod of my anger;
    the staff in their hands is my fury!
⁶Against a ^(BB)godless nation I send him,
    and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take ^(BC)spoil and seize plunder,
    and to ^(BD)tread them down like the mire of the streets.
⁷But he ^(BE)does not so intend,
    and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
    and to cut off nations not a few;
⁸for he says:
^(BF)“Are not my commanders all kings?
⁹^(BG)Is not ^(BH)Calno like ^(BI)Carchemish?
    Is not ^(BJ)Hamath like ^(BK)Arpad?
    ^(BL)Is not ^(BM)Samaria like Damascus?
¹⁰As my hand has reached to ^(BN)the kingdoms of the idols,
    whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
¹¹shall I not do to Jerusalem and ^(BO)her idols
    ^(BP)as I have done to Samaria and her images?”

¹²^(BQ)When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, ^(BR)he^[g] will punish the speech^[h] of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. ¹³^(BS)For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
    and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
    and plunder their treasures;
    like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
¹⁴My hand has found like a nest
    the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
    so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing
    or opened the mouth or chirped.”

¹⁵Shall ^(BT)the axe boast over him who hews with it,
    or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
    or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
¹⁶Therefore the Lord God of hosts
    will send wasting sickness among his ^(BU)stout warriors,
and under his glory ^(BV)a burning will be kindled,
    like the burning of fire.
¹⁷^(BW)The light of Israel will become a fire,
    and ^(BX)his Holy One a flame,
and ^(BY)it will burn and devour
    his thorns and briers ^(BZ)in one day.
¹⁸The glory of ^(CA)his forest and of his ^(CB)fruitful land
    the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
    and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
¹⁹The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
    that a child can write them down.

The Remnant of Israel Will Return

²⁰^(CC)In that day ^(CD)the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more ^(CE)lean on him who struck them, but ^(CF)will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. ²¹A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, ^(CG)to the mighty God. ²²^(CH)For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, ^(CI)only a remnant of them will return. ^(CJ)Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. ²³For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

²⁴Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people, ^(CK)who dwell in Zion, ^(CL)be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as ^(CM)the Egyptians did. ²⁵For ^(CN)in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. ²⁶And ^(CO)the Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck ^(CP)Midian ^(CQ)at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it ^(CR)as he did in Egypt. ²⁷And in that day ^(CS)his burden will depart from your shoulder, and ^(CT)his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”^[i]

²⁸He has come to Aiath;
he has passed through ^(CU)Migron;
    at Michmash he stores ^(CV)his baggage;
²⁹they have crossed over ^(CW)the pass;
    at ^(CX)Geba they lodge for the night;
^(CY)Ramah trembles;
    ^(CZ)Gibeah of Saul has fled.
³⁰Cry aloud, O daughter of ^(DA)Gallim!
    Give attention, O Laishah!
    O poor ^(DB)Anathoth!
³¹Madmenah is in flight;
    the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
³²This very day he will halt at ^(DC)Nob;
    he will shake his fist
    at the mount of ^(DD)the daughter of Zion,
    the hill of Jerusalem.

³³Behold, the Lord God of hosts
    ^(DE)will lop ^(DF)the boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
    and the lofty will be brought low.
³⁴He will cut down ^(DG)the thickets of the forest with an axe,
    and ^(DH)Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.

The Righteous Reign of the Branch

11 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of ^(DI)Jesse,
    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
²And ^(DJ)the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
³And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
^(DK)He shall not judge by ^(DL)what his eyes see,
    or decide disputes by ^(DM)what his ears hear,
⁴but ^(DN)with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall ^(DO)strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and ^(DP)with the breath of his lips ^(DQ)he shall kill the wicked.
⁵Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
    and ^(DR)faithfulness the belt of his loins.

⁶^(DS)The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
    and a little child shall lead them.
⁷The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
⁹^(DT)They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all ^(DU)my holy mountain;
^(DV)for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰In that day ^(DW)the root of ^(DX)Jesse, who shall stand as ^(DY)a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

¹¹^(DZ)In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, ^(EA)from Assyria, ^(EB)from Egypt, from ^(EC)Pathros, from ^(ED)Cush,^[j] from ^(EE)Elam, from ^(EF)Shinar, from ^(EG)Hamath, and from ^(EH)the coastlands of the sea.

¹²He will raise ^(EI)a signal for the nations
    and will assemble ^(EJ)the banished of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
    from the four corners of the earth.
¹³^(EK)The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
    and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
    and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
¹⁴^(EL)But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
    and together they shall plunder ^(EM)the people of the east.
They shall put out their hand ^(EN)against ^(EO)Edom and ^(EP)Moab,
    and ^(EQ)the Ammonites shall obey them.
¹⁵And the Lord will utterly destroy^[k]
    ^(ER)the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over ^(ES)the River^[l]
    with his scorching breath,^[m]
and strike it into seven channels,
    and he will lead people across in sandals.
¹⁶And there will be ^(ET)a highway from Assyria
    for the remnant that remains of his people,
^(EU)as there was for Israel
    when they came up from the land of Egypt.

The Lord Is My Strength and My Song

12 You^[n] will say ^(EV)in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
^(EW)your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.

²“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for ^(EX)the Lord God^[o] is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

³^(EY)With joy you^[p] will draw water from the wells of salvation. ⁴^(EZ)And you will say in that day:

^(FA)“Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
^(FB)make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim ^(FC)that his name is exalted.

⁵^(FD)“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known^[q] in all the earth.
⁶Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great ^(FE)in your^[r] midst is ^(FF)the Holy One of Israel.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew
Isaiah 9:1 Or of the Gentiles
Isaiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew
Isaiah 9:6 Or is upon
Isaiah 9:6 Or is called
Isaiah 9:17 Or speaks disgraceful things
Isaiah 10:12 Hebrew I
Isaiah 10:12 Hebrew fruit
Isaiah 10:27 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Isaiah 11:11 Probably Nubia
Isaiah 11:15 Hebrew devote to destruction
Isaiah 11:15 That is, the Euphrates
Isaiah 11:15 Or wind
Isaiah 12:1 The Hebrew for you is singular in verse 1
Isaiah 12:2 Hebrew for Yah, the Lord
Isaiah 12:3 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 3, 4
Isaiah 12:5 Or this is made known
Isaiah 12:6 The Hebrew for your in verse 6 is singular, referring to the inhabitant of Zion

Acts 23

English Standard Version

23 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, ^(A)I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” ²And the high priest ^(B)Ananias commanded those who stood by him ^(C)to strike him on the mouth. ³Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you ^(D)whitewashed ^(E)wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ^(F)contrary to the law you ^(G)order me to be struck?” ⁴Those who stood by said, “Would you revile ^(H)God's high priest?” ⁵And Paul said, ^(I)“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ^(J)‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶Now when Paul perceived that one part were ^(K)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, ^(L)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ^(M)with respect to the ^(N)hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” ⁷And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸For the Sadducees ^(O)say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹Then a great clamor arose, and some of ^(P)the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, ^(Q)“We find nothing wrong in this man. What ^(R)if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” ¹⁰And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ^(S)the barracks.

¹¹^(T)The following night ^(U)the Lord stood by him and said, ^(V)“Take courage, for ^(W)as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ^(X)testify also in Rome.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

¹²When it was day, ^(Y)the Jews made a plot and ^(Z)bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. ¹³There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. ¹⁴They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. ¹⁵Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered ^(AA)the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul ^(AB)the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” ¹⁹The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” ²⁰And he said, ^(AC)“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. ²¹But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who ^(AD)have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” ²²So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

²³Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.^[a] ²⁴Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to ^(AE)Felix ^(AF)the governor.” ²⁵And he wrote a letter to this effect:

²⁶“Claudius Lysias, to ^(AG)his Excellency the governor Felix, ^(AH)greetings. ²⁷^(AI)This man was seized by the Jews and ^(AJ)was about to be killed by them ^(AK)when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ^(AL)having learned that he was a Roman citizen. ²⁸And ^(AM)desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. ²⁹I found that he was being accused ^(AN)about questions of their law, but ^(AO)charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. ³⁰^(AP)And when it was disclosed to me ^(AQ)that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ^(AR)ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”

³¹So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³²And on the next day they returned to ^(AS)the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. ³³When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. ³⁴On reading the letter, he asked what ^(AT)province he was from. And when he learned ^(AU)that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵he said, “I will give you a hearing ^(AV)when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's ^(AW)praetorium.