Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

17 Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel. ² He placed forces in all the ^(A)fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim ^(B)that Asa his father had captured. ³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, ^(C)and not according to the practices of Israel. ⁵ Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah ^(D)brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, ^(E)and he had great riches and honor. ⁶ His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, ^(F)he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, ^(G)to teach in the cities of Judah; ^8 (H)and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ And ^(I)they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

^10 (J)And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines ^(K)brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats. ¹² And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, ¹³ and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was the muster of them by fathers' houses: Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ and next to him Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000; ¹⁶ and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^(L)a volunteer for the service of the Lord, with 200,000 mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ Of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, with 200,000 men ^(M)armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him Jehozabad with 180,000 armed for war. ¹⁹ These were in the service of the king, besides ^(N)those whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ^(A)the seven seals, and I heard ^(B)one of the four living creatures say ^(C)with a voice like thunder, ^(D)“Come!” ² And I looked, and behold, ^(E)a white horse! And ^(F)its rider had a bow, and ^(G)a crown was given to him, and he came out ^(H)conquering, and to conquer.

³ When he opened the second seal, I heard ^(I)the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ And out came another horse, ^(J)bright red. Its rider was permitted ^(K)to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the ^(L)third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, ^(M)a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^(N)“A quart^[a] of wheat for a denarius,^[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^(O)do not harm the oil and wine!”

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of ^(P)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ And I looked, and behold, ^(Q)a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^(R)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and ^(S)by wild beasts of the earth.

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^(T)the altar ^(U)the souls of those who had been slain ^(V)for the word of God and for ^(W)the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^(X)holy and true, ^(Y)how long ^(Z)before you will judge and ^(AA)avenge our blood on ^(AB)those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given ^(AC)a white robe and ^(AD)told to rest a little longer, ^(AE)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^{[c] (AF)}should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ^(AG)there was a great earthquake, and ^(AH)the sun became black as ^(AI)sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and ^(AJ)the stars of the sky fell to the earth ^(AK)as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ^14 (AL)The sky vanished ^(AM)like a scroll that is being rolled up, and ^(AN)every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave^[d] and free, ^(AO)hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ^16 (AP)calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of ^(AQ)him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for ^(AR)the great day of their wrath has come, and ^(AS)who can stand?”

A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line

2 ^[a] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, ^(A)a man with a measuring line in his hand! ² Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, ^(B)“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” ³ And behold, ^(C)the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him ⁴ and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ^(D)‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited ^(E)as villages without walls, because of ^(F)the multitude of people and livestock in it. ⁵ And I will be to her ^(G)a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

⁶ Up! Up! ^(H)Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have ^(I)spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. ^7 (J)Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. ⁸ For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me^[b] to the nations who plundered you, ^(K)for he who touches you touches ^(L)the apple of his eye: ⁹ “Behold, ^(M)I will shake my hand over them, ^(N)and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then ^(O)you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. ^10 (P)Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for ^(Q)behold, I come ^(R)and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. ^11 (S)And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. ^(T)And I will dwell in your midst, and ^(U)you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ^12 (V)And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again ^(W)choose Jerusalem.”

¹³ Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

5 After this there was a ^(A)feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now there is in Jerusalem by ^(B)the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic^[a] called Bethesda,^[b] which has five roofed colonnades. ³ In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and ^(C)paralyzed.^{[c] 5} One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” ⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus said to him, ^(D)“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” ^9 (E)And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

^(F)Now that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰ So the Jews^[d] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and ^(G)it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” ¹¹ But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” ¹² They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” ¹³ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for ^(H)Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. ¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! ^(I)Sin no more, ^(J)that nothing worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. ¹⁶ And this was why the Jews ^(K)were persecuting Jesus, ^(L)because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

¹⁸ This was why the Jews ^(M)were seeking all the more to kill him, ^(N)because not only was he ^(O)breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God ^(P)his own Father, ^(Q)making himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

¹⁹ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(R)the Son ^(S)can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[e] does, that the Son does likewise. ²⁰ For ^(T)the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And ^(U)greater works than these will he show him, so that ^(V)you may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father ^(W)raises the dead and ^(X)gives them life, so ^(Y)also the Son gives life ^(Z)to whom he will. ^22 (AA)For the Father judges no one, but ^(AB)has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son, just as they ^(AC)honor the Father. ^(AD)Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AE)whoever hears my word and ^(AF)believes him who sent me has eternal life. He ^(AG)does not come into judgment, but ^(AH)has passed from death to life.

²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AI)an hour is coming, and is now here, when ^(AJ)the dead will hear ^(AK)the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear ^(AL)will live. ^26 (AM)For as the Father has life in himself, ^(AN)so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he ^(AO)has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for ^(AP)an hour is coming when ^(AQ)all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out, ^(AR)those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

^30 (AS)“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and ^(AT)my judgment is just, because ^(AU)I seek not my own will ^(AV)but the will of him who sent me. ^31 (AW)If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is ^(AX)another who bears witness about me, and ^(AY)I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. ^33 (AZ)You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. ³⁴ Not that ^(BA)the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and ^(BB)shining lamp, and ^(BC)you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. ³⁶ But ^(BD)the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For ^(BE)the works that the Father has given me ^(BF)to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, ^(BG)bear witness about me that ^(BH)the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me ^(BI)has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, ^(BJ)his form you have never seen, ³⁸ and ^(BK)you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. ^39 (BL)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and ^(BM)it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰ yet ^(BN)you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ^41 (BO)I do not receive glory from people. ⁴² But ^(BP)I know that you do not have ^(BQ)the love of God within you. ⁴³ I have come ^(BR)in my Father's name, and ^(BS)you do not receive me. ^(BT)If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and ^(BU)do not seek the glory that comes from ^(BV)the only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, ^(BW)on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for ^(BX)he wrote of me. ⁴⁷ But ^(BY)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”