Abijah Reigns in Judah

13 ^(A)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, ^(B)Abijah began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(C)Micaiah^[a] the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

^(D)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam ^(E)drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. ⁴ Then Abijah stood up on Mount ^(F)Zemaraim that is in ^(G)the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel ^(H)gave the kingship over Israel for ever to David and his sons by ^(I)a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up ^(J)and rebelled against his lord, ⁷ and certain ^(K)worthless scoundrels gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(L)young and irresolute^[b] and could not withstand them.

⁸ “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you ^(M)the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. ^9 (N)Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(O)for ordination^[c] with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are ^(P)no gods. ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. ¹¹ They offer to the Lord ^(Q)every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out ^(R)the showbread on the table of pure gold, ^(S)and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may ^(T)burn every evening. For we ^(U)keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. ¹² Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests ^(V)with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, ^(W)do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

¹³ Jeroboam had sent ^(X)an ambush round to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops^[d] were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. ^(Y)And they cried to the Lord, and the priests ^(Z)blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, ^(AA)God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The men of Israel fled before Judah, ^(AB)and God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. ¹⁸ Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, ^(AC)because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam ^(AD)and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and ^(AE)Ephron^[e] with its villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. ^(AF)And the Lord struck him down, ^(AG)and he died. ²¹ But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the ^(AH)story of the prophet ^(AI)Iddo.

To the Church in Sardis

3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him ^(A)who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation ^(B)of being alive, ^(C)but you are dead. ² Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works ^(D)complete in the sight of my God. ^3 (E)Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, ^(F)I will come ^(G)like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ⁴ Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not ^(H)soiled their garments, and they will walk with me ^(I)in white, for they are ^(J)worthy. ^5 (K)The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never ^(L)blot his name out of ^(M)the book of life. ^(N)I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ^6 (O)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷ “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of ^(P)the holy one, ^(Q)the true one, ^(R)who has the key of David, ^(S)who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

⁸ “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you ^(T)an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ Behold, I will make those of ^(U)the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, ^(V)I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that ^(W)I have loved you. ^10 (X)Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try ^(Y)those who dwell on the earth. ^11 (Z)I am coming soon. ^(AA)Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize ^(AB)your crown. ^12 (AC)The one who conquers, I will make him ^(AD)a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him ^(AE)the name of my God, and ^(AF)the name of the city of my God, ^(AG)the new Jerusalem, ^(AH)which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own ^(AI)new name. ^13 (AJ)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the ^(AK)Amen, ^(AL)the faithful and true witness, ^(AM)the beginning of God's creation.

¹⁵ “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. ^(AN)Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ^17 (AO)For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, ^(AP)blind, and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you ^(AQ)to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and ^(AR)white garments so that you may clothe yourself and ^(AS)the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, ^(AT)so that you may see. ^19 (AU)Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and ^(AV)knock. ^(AW)If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, ^(AX)I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ^21 (AY)The one who conquers, ^(AZ)I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as ^(BA)I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ^22 (BB)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

The Command to Rebuild the Temple

1 ^(A)In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to ^(B)Zerubbabel the son of ^(C)Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to ^(D)Joshua the son of ^(E)Jehozadak, the high priest: ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” ³ Then the word of the Lord came ^(F)by the hand of Haggai the prophet, ^4 (G)“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses, while ^(H)this house lies in ruins? ⁵ Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(I)Consider your ways. ^6 (J)You have sown much, and harvested little. ^(K)You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who ^(L)earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

⁷ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(M)Consider your ways. ⁸ Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that ^(N)I may take pleasure in it and that ^(O)I may be glorified, says the Lord. ^9 (P)You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, ^(Q)I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house ^(R)that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. ¹⁰ Therefore ^(S)the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. ¹¹ And ^(T)I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on ^(U)the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and ^(V)on all their labours.”

The People Obey the Lord

^12 (W)Then ^(X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and ^(Y)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all ^(Z)the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. ¹³ Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, ^(AA)“I am with you, declares the Lord.” ¹⁴ And ^(AB)the Lord stirred up the spirit of ^(AC)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of ^(AD)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all ^(AE)the remnant of the people. And they came and ^(AF)worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, ^15 (AG)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.