Joint Campaign with Judah against Aram

22 For three years Aram and Israel continued without war. ² But in the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to the king of Israel.^{(A) 3} The king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?”^{(B) 4} He said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are; my people are your people; my horses are your horses.”^(C)

⁵ But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” ⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred of them, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” They said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”^{(D) 7} But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire?”^{(E) 8} The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me but only disaster.” Jehoshaphat said, “Let the king not say such a thing.” ⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah.” ¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.^{(F) 11} Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, “Thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.”^{(G) 12} All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

Micaiah Predicts Failure

¹³ The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.”^(H)

¹⁵ When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” He answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”^{(I) 16} But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁷ Then Micaiah^[a] said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each one go home in peace.’ ”^{(J) 18} The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me but only disaster?”^(K)

¹⁹ Then Micaiah^[b] said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him.^{(L) 20} And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing, and another said another, ²¹ until a certain spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ ²² ‘How?’ the Lord asked him. He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then the Lord^[c] said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.’^{(M) 23} So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”^(N)

²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”^{(O) 25} Micaiah replied, “You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber.”^{(P) 26} The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, ²⁷ and say: Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I come in peace.”^{(Q) 28} Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, you peoples, all of you!”^(R)

Defeat and Death of Ahab

²⁹ So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.^{(S) 30} The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. ³¹ Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with no one small or great but only with the king of Israel.”^{(T) 32} When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.^{(U) 33} When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. ³⁴ But a certain man drew his bow and unknowingly struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate; so he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” ³⁵ The battle grew hot that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans until at evening he died; the blood from the wound had flowed into the bottom of the chariot. ³⁶ Then about sunset a shout went through the army, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria; they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it,^[d] according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.^{(V) 39} Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?^{(W) 40} So Ahab slept with his ancestors, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him.

The Collection for Christians at Jerusalem

9 Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints, ² for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.^{(A) 3} But I am sending^[a] the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be;^{(B) 4} otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be put to shame—to say nothing of you—in this undertaking.^{[b] 5} So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a bountiful gift and not as an extortion.

⁶ The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.^{(C) 7} Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.^{(D) 8} And God is able to provide you with every blessing^[c] in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.^{(E) 9} As it is written,

¹⁰ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.^{[e] 11} You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us, ¹² for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. ¹³ Through the testing of this ministry you^[f] glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your partnership with them and with all others,^{(G) 14} while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!^(H)

Invasion from the East

20 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,^[a] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ² Messengers^[b] came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,^[c] from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).^{(A) 3} Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.^{(B) 4} Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory

⁵ Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶ and said, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you.^{(C) 7} Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?^{(D) 8} They have lived in it and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, ⁹ ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,^[d] or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.’^{(E) 10} See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt and whom they avoided and did not destroy,^{(F) 11} they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit.^{(G) 12} O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”^(H)

¹³ Meanwhile, all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴ Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly.^{(I) 15} He said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.^{(J) 16} Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”^(K)

¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.^{(L) 19} And the Levites of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will succeed.”^{(M) 21} When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying,

²² As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.^{(O) 23} For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.^(P)

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found livestock^[e] in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the spoil because of its abundance. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore that place has been called the Valley of Beracah^[f] to this day. ²⁷ Then all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.^{(Q) 28} They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord. ²⁹ The fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.^{(R) 30} And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.^(S)

Peter Denies Jesus

⁵⁴ Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance.^{(A) 55} When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. ⁵⁶ Then a female servant, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” ⁵⁸ A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”^{(B) 62} And he went out and wept bitterly.

The Mocking and Beating of Jesus

⁶³ Now the men who were holding Jesus^[a] began to mock him and beat him;^{(C) 64} they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it who struck you?” ⁶⁵ They kept heaping many other insults on him.

Jesus before the Council

⁶⁶ When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council.^{(D) 67} They said, “If you are the Messiah,^[b] tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe,^{(E) 68} and if I question you, you will not answer.^{[c] 69} But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.”^{(F) 71} Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!”