Ahab’s Third Campaign against Aram

22 Now ^[a]three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. ^2 (A)In the third year, ^(B)Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³ Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Are you aware that ^(C)Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are hesitant to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” ⁴ So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go to battle with me at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “^[b](D)Consider me yours, my people yours, and my horses yours!”

⁵ However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please request the word of the Lord ^[c]first.” ⁶ So ^(E)the king of Israel assembled the ^[d]prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Should I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead or should I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.” ⁷ But ^(F)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of him?” ⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not say so.” ⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.” ¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and ^(G)all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made ^(H)horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(I)With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’” ¹² All the prophets were prophesying this as well, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”

Micaiah Predicts Defeat

¹³ Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are ^[e]unanimously favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “^(J)As the Lord lives, whatever ^(K)the Lord says to me, I shall speak it.”

¹⁵ When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” And he said, “^(L)Go up and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king!” ¹⁶ Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁷ So he said,

¹⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “^(N)Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad?”

¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. ^(O)I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and ^(P)all the ^[f]angels of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. ²⁰ And the Lord said, ‘Who will ^[g]entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will ^[h]entice him.’ ²² And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and ^(Q)be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall ^[i]entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.’ ²³ Now then, behold, ^(R)the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

²⁴ Then ^(S)Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “^(T)How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” ²⁵ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you ^(U)go from one inner room to ^[j]another trying to hide yourself.” ²⁶ Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; ²⁷ and say, ‘This is what the king says: “^(V)Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I ^[k]return safely.”’” ²⁸ But Micaiah said, “^(W)If you actually return ^[l]safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “^(X)Listen, all you people!”

Defeat and Death of Ahab

²⁹ So ^(Y)the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. ³⁰ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “^(Z)I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. ³¹ Now ^(AA)the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³² So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely he is the king of Israel!” And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³ Then, when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³⁴ Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel ^[m]in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn ^[n]around and take me out of the battle, ^(AB)for I am severely wounded.” ³⁵ The battle ^[o]raged on that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and he died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot. ^36 (AC)Then the word passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his ^[p]country!”

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ They washed out the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (it was there that the prostitutes bathed themselves) ^(AD)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken. ³⁹ Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahab and everything that he did, and ^(AE)the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ So Ahab ^[q]lay down with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

God Gives Most

9 For ^(A)it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ^(B)ministry to the ^[a]saints; ² for I know your willingness, of which I ^(C)boast about you to the ^(D)Macedonians, namely, that ^(E)Achaia has been prepared since ^(F)last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. ³ But I have sent the brothers, in order that our ^(G)boasting about you may not prove empty in this case, so that, ^(H)as I was saying, you will be prepared; ⁴ otherwise, if any ^(I)Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to mention you—would be put to shame by this confidence. ⁵ So I considered it necessary to urge the ^(J)brothers that they go on ahead to you and arrange in advance your previously promised ^[b](K)generous gift, that the same would be ready as a ^[c](L)generous gift, and not as one grudgingly given due to greediness.

⁶ Now I say this: ^(M)the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows ^[d]generously will also reap ^[e]generously. ⁷ Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not ^(N)reluctantly or under compulsion, for ^(O)God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And ^(P)God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; ⁹ as it is written:

¹⁰ Now He who supplies ^(R)seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and ^(S)increase the harvest of your righteousness; ¹¹ you will be ^(T)enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing ^(U)thanksgiving to God. ¹² For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying ^(V)the needs of the ^[g]saints, but is also overflowing ^(W)through many thanksgivings to God. ¹³ Because of the proof given by this ^(X)ministry, they will ^(Y)glorify God for your obedience to your ^(Z)confession of the ^(AA)gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your ^[h]contribution to them and to all, ¹⁴ while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. ^15 (AB)Thanks be to God for His indescribable ^(AC)gift!

Judah Invaded

20 Now it came about after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the ^[a](A)Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. ² Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from ^[b]Aram; and behold, they are in ^(B)Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” ³ Jehoshaphat was afraid and ^[c](C)turned his attention to seek the Lord; and he ^(D)proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah. ⁴ So Judah gathered together to ^(E)seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new courtyard; ⁶ and he said, “Lord, God of our fathers, ^(F)are You not God in the heavens? And ^(G)are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. ⁷ Did You not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land from Your people Israel, and ^(H)give it to the descendants of ^(I)Your friend Abraham forever? ⁸ They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ⁹ ‘^(J)If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for ^(K)Your name is in this house), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us.’ ¹⁰ Now behold, ^(L)the sons of Ammon, Moab, and ^[d]Mount Seir, ^(M)whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (for they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), ¹¹ see how they are rewarding us by ^(N)coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. ¹² Our God, ^(O)will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but ^(P)our eyes are on You.”

¹³ All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives, and their children.

Jahaziel Answers the Prayer

¹⁴ Then in the midst of the assembly ^(Q)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; ¹⁵ and he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the Lord says to you: ‘^(R)Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for ^(S)the battle is not yours but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You need not fight in this battle; take your position, ^(T)stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, ^(U)for the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat ^(V)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Enemies Destroy Themselves

²⁰ They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: ^(W)Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.” ²¹ When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who ^(X)praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “^(Y)Give thanks to the Lord, for His faithfulness is everlasting.” ²² When they began singing and praising, the Lord ^(Z)set ambushes against the sons of ^(AA)Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down. ²³ For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, ^(AB)they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they turned toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and there was no survivor. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoils, they found much among them, including goods, ^[e]garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were taking the spoils for three days because there was so much.

Triumphant Return to Jerusalem

²⁶ Then on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for they blessed the Lord there. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of ^[f]Beracah” until today. ²⁷ Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ^(AC)for the Lord had helped them to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ²⁹ And ^(AD)the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, ^(AE)for his God gave him rest on all sides.

Jesus’ Arrest

^54 (A)Now they arrested Him and led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but ^(B)Peter was following at a distance. ^55 (C)After they kindled a fire in the middle of ^(D)the courtyard and sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. ⁵⁶ And a slave woman, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and staring at him, said, “This man was with Him as well.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “I do not know Him, woman!” ⁵⁸ And a little later, ^(E)another person saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ And after about an hour had passed, some other man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, ^(F)for he, too, is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And then ^(G)the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “^(H)Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.

^63 (I)The men who were holding ^[a]Jesus in custody began mocking Him and beating Him, ⁶⁴ and they blindfolded Him and repeatedly asked Him, saying, “^(J)Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” ⁶⁵ And they were saying many other things against Him, ^(K)blaspheming.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin

^66 (L)When it was day, ^(M)the ^[b]Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their ^(N)council chamber, saying, ⁶⁷ “^(O)If You are the ^[c]Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸ and if I ask a question, you will not answer. ^69 (P)But from now on ^(Q)the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ And they all said, “So You are ^(R)the Son of God?” And He said to them, “^(S)You say correctly that I am.” ⁷¹ And then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth!”