Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

18 ^(A)In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, ^(B)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was ^(C)twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(D)Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ^3 (E)And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. ^4 (F)He removed the high places and broke the ^(G)pillars and cut down ^(H)the Asherah. And he broke in pieces ^(I)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).^{[a] 5 (J)}He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(K)so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. ^6 (L)For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. ^7 (M)And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, ^(N)he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. ^8 (O)He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, ^(P)from watchtower to fortified city.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and ^(C)are faithful^[a] in Christ Jesus:

^2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

^3 (E)Blessed be ^(F)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing ^(G)in the heavenly places, ^4 (H)even as he ^(I)chose us in him ^(J)before the foundation of the world, that we should be ^(K)holy and blameless before him. In love ^5 (L)he predestined us^[b] for ^(M)adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, ^(N)according to the purpose of his will, ^6 (O)to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in ^(P)the Beloved. ^7 (Q)In him we have ^(R)redemption ^(S)through his blood, ^(T)the forgiveness of our trespasses, ^(U)according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ^9 (V)making known^[c] to us the mystery of his will, ^(W)according to his purpose, which he ^(X)set forth in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for ^(Y)the fullness of time, ^(Z)to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

¹¹ In him we have obtained ^(AA)an inheritance, ^(AB)having been predestined ^(AC)according to the purpose of him who works all things according to ^(AD)the counsel of his will, ¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be ^(AE)to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you heard ^(AF)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, ^(AG)were sealed with the ^(AH)promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is ^(AI)the guarantee^[d] of our ^(AJ)inheritance until ^(AK)we acquire ^(AL)possession of it,^{[e] (AM)}to the praise of his glory.

Passover Celebrated

30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. ² For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover ^(A)in the second month— ³ for they could not keep it ^(B)at that time ^(C)because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— ⁴ and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. ⁵ So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, ^(D)from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. ^6 (E)So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, ^(F)return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of ^(G)the kings of Assyria. ^7 (H)Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. ^8 (I)Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, ^(J)that his fierce anger may turn away from you. ⁹ For ^(K)if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children ^(L)will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For ^(M)the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, ^(N)if you return to him.”

^10 (O)So the couriers went from city to city through the country of ^(P)Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but ^(Q)they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. ¹¹ However, ^(R)some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded ^(S)by the word of the Lord.

¹³ And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^(T)in the second month, a very great assembly. ¹⁴ They set to work and removed ^(U)the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away ^(V)and threw into the brook Kidron. ^15 (W)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. ^(X)And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, ^(Y)so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. ^16 (Z)They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses ^(AA)the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. ¹⁸ For a majority of the people, ^(AB)many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise ^(AC)than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone ^19 (AD)who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.”^{[a] 20} And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. ²¹ And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^(AE)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might^[b] to the Lord. ²² And Hezekiah spoke ^(AF)encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing ^(AG)peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast ^(AH)for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(AI)gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests ^(AJ)consecrated themselves in great numbers. ²⁵ The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, ^(AK)and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. ²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for ^(AL)since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then ^(AM)the priests and the Levites arose and ^(AN)blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to ^(AO)his holy habitation in heaven.

²⁷ Just then ^(A)his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” ²⁸ So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man ^(B)who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” ³⁰ They went out of the town and were coming to him.

³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, ^(C)“Rabbi, eat.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples said to one another, ^(D)“Has anyone brought him something to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, ^(E)“My food is ^(F)to do the will of him who sent me and ^(G)to accomplish his work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that ^(H)the fields are white for harvest. ³⁶ Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that ^(I)sower and ^(J)reaper ^(K)may rejoice together. ³⁷ For here the saying holds true, ^(L)‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap ^(M)that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, ^(N)and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹ Many Samaritans ^(O)from that town believed in him ^(P)because of ^(Q)the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed ^(R)because of his word. ⁴² They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, ^(S)and we know that this is indeed ^(T)the Savior ^(U)of the world.”

⁴³ After ^(V)the two days he departed for Galilee. ⁴⁴ (For Jesus himself had testified ^(W)that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) ⁴⁵ So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, ^(X)having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For ^(Y)they too had gone to the feast.

Jesus Heals an Official's Son

⁴⁶ So he came again to ^(Z)Cana in Galilee, ^(AA)where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus ^(AB)had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ So Jesus said to him, ^(AC)“Unless you^[a] see signs and wonders you will not believe.” ⁴⁹ The official said to him, “Sir, come down ^(AD)before my child dies.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. ⁵¹ As he was going down, his servants^[b] met him and told him that his son was recovering. ⁵² So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour^[c] the fever left him.” ⁵³ The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, ^(AE)and all his household. ^54 (AF)This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.