Third Dynasty: Zimri Reigns over Israel

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines,^{(A) 16} and the troops who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king”; therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. ¹⁷ So Omri went up from Gibbethon and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house; he burned down the king’s house over himself with fire and died^(B)— ¹⁹ because of the sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for the sin that he committed, causing Israel to sin.^{(C) 20} Now the rest of the acts of Zimri and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?^(D)

Fourth Dynasty: Omri Reigns over Israel

²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni son of Ginath to make him king, and half followed Omri. ²² But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni son of Ginath, so Tibni died, and Omri became king. ²³ In the thirty-first year of King Asa of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel; he reigned for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.^(E)

Samaria the New Capital

²⁴ He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; he fortified the hill and called the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.^(F)

²⁵ Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did more evil than all who were before him. ²⁶ For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in the sins that he caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.^{(G) 27} Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did and the power that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? ²⁸ Omri slept with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria; his son Ahab succeeded him.

Ahab Reigns over Israel

²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah, Ahab son of Omri began to reign over Israel; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.^(H)

Ahab Marries Jezebel and Worships Baal

³¹ And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took as his wife Jezebel daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians and went and served Baal and worshiped him.^{(I) 32} He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal that he built in Samaria.^{(J) 33} Ahab also made a sacred pole.^[a] Ahab did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than had all the kings of Israel who were before him.^{(K) 34} In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Joshua son of Nun.^(L)

²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.^{(A) 21} For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.^(B)

6 As we work together with him,^[a] we entreat you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.^{(C) 2} For he says,

Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation!^{(D) 3} We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry,^{(E) 4} but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: in great endurance, afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;^{(F) 6} in purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, ⁷ truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;^{(G) 8} in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors and yet are true, ⁹ as unknown and yet are well known, as dying and look—we are alive, as punished and yet not killed,^{(H) 10} as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing everything.

¹¹ We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. ¹² There is no restriction in our affections but only in yours. ¹³ In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.^(I)

The Temple of the Living God

¹⁴ Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and lawlessness have in common? Or what partnership is there between light and darkness?^{(J) 15} What agreement does Christ have with Beliar? Or what does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we^[b] are the temple of the living God, as God said,

7 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.^(N)

Elijah Predicts a Drought

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe^[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”^{(A) 2} The word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ⁴ You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” ⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi. ⁷ But after a while the wadi dried up because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there, for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”^{(B) 10} So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹² But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”^{(C) 13} Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said, but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”^{(D) 15} She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ She then said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”^{(E) 19} But he said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ He cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”^{(F) 22} The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.^{(G) 23} Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” ²⁴ So the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”^(H)

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

⁵ When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,^{(A) 6} “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”^(B)

Signs and Persecutions

⁷ They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸ And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’^[a] and, ‘The time is near!’^[b] Do not go after them.^(C)

⁹ “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom;^{(D) 11} there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.^{(E) 13} This will give you an opportunity to testify.^{(F) 14} So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance,^{(G) 15} for I will give you words^[c] and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.^{(H) 16} You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.^{(I) 17} You will be hated by all because of my name.^{(J) 18} But not a hair of your head will perish.^{(K) 19} By your endurance you will gain your souls.^(L)

The Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold

²⁰ “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.^{[d](M) 21} Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it,^{(N) 22} for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written.^{(O) 23} Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; ²⁴ they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the times of the nations are fulfilled.^(P)

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.^{(Q) 26} People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.^{(R) 28} Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”^[e](S)

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁹ Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰ as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.^{(T) 32} Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.^(U)

Exhortation to Watch

³⁴ “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly,^{(V) 35} like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”^(W)

³⁷ Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called.^{(X) 38} And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.