King Amaziah of Judah^(A)

25 Amaziah became king at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. ² He did what was pleasing to the Lord, but did it reluctantly. ³ As soon as he was firmly in power, he executed the officials who had murdered his father. ^4 (B)He did not, however, execute their children, but followed what the Lord had commanded in the Law of Moses: “Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; people are to be put to death only for crimes they themselves have committed.”

War against Edom^(C)

⁵ King Amaziah organized all the men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin into army units, according to the clans they belonged to, and placed officers in command of units of a thousand and units of a hundred. This included all men twenty years of age or older, 300,000 in all. They were picked troops, ready for battle, skilled in using spears and shields. ⁶ In addition, he hired 100,000 soldiers from Israel at a cost of about four tons of silver. ⁷ But a prophet went to the king and said to him, “Don't take these Israelite soldiers with you. The Lord is not with these people from the Northern Kingdom. ⁸ You may think that they will make you stronger^[a] in battle, but it is God who has the power to give victory or defeat, and he will let your enemies defeat you.”

⁹ Amaziah asked the prophet, “But what about all that silver I have already paid for them?”

The prophet replied, “The Lord can give you back more than that!” ¹⁰ So Amaziah sent the hired troops away and told them to go home. At this they went home, bitterly angry with the people of Judah.

¹¹ Amaziah summoned up his courage and led his army to Salt Valley. There they fought and killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers ¹² and captured another ten thousand. They took the prisoners to the top of the cliff at the city of Sela and threw them off, so that they were killed on the rocks below.

¹³ Meanwhile the Israelite soldiers that Amaziah had not allowed to go into battle with him attacked the Judean cities between Samaria and Beth Horon, killed three thousand men, and captured quantities of loot.

¹⁴ When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought their idols back with him, set them up, worshiped them, and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ This made the Lord angry, so he sent a prophet to Amaziah. The prophet demanded, “Why have you worshiped foreign gods that could not even save their own people from your power?”

¹⁶ “Since when,” Amaziah interrupted, “have we made you adviser to the king? Stop talking, or I'll have you killed!”

The prophet stopped, but not before saying, “Now I know that God has decided to destroy you because you have done all this and have ignored my advice.”

War against Israel^(D)

¹⁷ King Amaziah of Judah and his advisers plotted against Israel. He then sent a message to King Jehoash of Israel, who was the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu, challenging him to fight.^{[b] 18} Jehoash sent this answer to Amaziah: “Once a thorn bush in the Lebanon Mountains sent a message to a cedar: ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ A wild animal passed by and trampled the bush down. ¹⁹ Now Amaziah, you boast that you have defeated the Edomites, but I advise you to stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and your people?”

²⁰ But Amaziah refused to listen. It was God's will for Amaziah to be defeated, because he had worshiped the Edomite idols. ²¹ So King Jehoash of Israel went into battle against King Amaziah of Judah. They met at Beth Shemesh in Judah, ²² the Judean army was defeated, and the soldiers fled to their homes. ²³ Jehoash captured Amaziah and took him to Jerusalem. There he tore down the city wall from Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a distance of two hundred yards. ²⁴ He took back to Samaria as loot all the gold and silver in the Temple, the Temple equipment guarded by the descendants of Obed Edom, and the palace treasures. He also took hostages with him.

²⁵ King Amaziah of Judah outlived King Jehoash of Israel by fifteen years. ²⁶ All the other things that Amaziah did from the beginning to the end of his reign are recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ever since the time when he rebelled against the Lord, there had been a plot against him in Jerusalem. Finally he fled to the city of Lachish, but his enemies followed him there and killed him.

²⁸ His body was carried to Jerusalem on a horse, and he was buried in the royal tombs in David's City.

The Woman and the Dragon

12 Then a great and mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a woman, whose dress was the sun and who had the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was soon to give birth, and the pains and suffering of childbirth made her cry out.

^3 (A)Another mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and a crown on each of his heads. ^4 (B)With his tail he dragged a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. He stood in front of the woman, in order to eat her child as soon as it was born. ^5 (C)Then she gave birth to a son, who will rule over all nations with an iron rod. But the child was snatched away and taken to God and his throne. ⁶ The woman fled to the desert, to a place God had prepared for her, where she will be taken care of for 1,260 days.

^7 (D)Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels; ⁸ but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angels were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer. ^9 (E)The huge dragon was thrown out—that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him.

^10 (F)Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now God's salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has been thrown out of heaven. ¹¹ They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die. ¹² And so be glad, you heavens, and all you that live there! But how terrible for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, and he is filled with rage, because he knows that he has only a little time left.”

¹³ When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he began to pursue the woman who had given birth to the boy. ^14 (G)She was given the two wings of a large eagle in order to fly to her place in the desert, where she will be taken care of for three and a half years, safe from the dragon's attack. ¹⁵ And then from his mouth the dragon poured out a flood of water after the woman, so that it would carry her away. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the water that had come from the dragon's mouth. ¹⁷ The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus. ¹⁸ And the dragon stood^[a] on the seashore.

The Lord Promises to Restore Jerusalem

8 The Lord Almighty gave this message to Zechariah: ² “I have longed to help Jerusalem because of my deep love for her people, a love which has made me angry with her enemies. ³ I will return to Jerusalem, my holy city, and live there. It will be known as the faithful city, and the hill of the Lord Almighty^[a] will be called the sacred hill. ⁴ Once again old men and women, so old that they use canes when they walk, will be sitting in the city squares. ⁵ And the streets will again be full of boys and girls playing.

⁶ “This may seem impossible to those of the nation who are now left, but it's not impossible for me. ⁷ I will rescue my people from the lands where they have been taken, ⁸ and will bring them back from east and west to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, ruling over them faithfully and justly.

⁹ “Have courage! You are now hearing the same words the prophets spoke at the time the foundation was being laid for rebuilding my Temple. ¹⁰ Before that time no one could afford to hire either men or animals, and no one was safe from enemies. I turned people against one another. ¹¹ But now I am treating the survivors of this nation differently. ¹² They will plant their crops in peace. Their vines will bear grapes, the earth will produce crops, and there will be plenty of rain. I will give all these blessings to the people of my nation who survive. ¹³ People of Judah and Israel! In the past foreigners have cursed one another by saying, ‘May the same disasters fall on you that fell on Judah and Israel!’ But I will save you, and then those foreigners will say to one another, ‘May you receive the same blessings that came to Judah and Israel!’ So have courage and don't be afraid.”

¹⁴ The Lord Almighty says, “When your ancestors made me angry, I planned disaster for them and did not change my mind, but carried out my plans. ¹⁵ But now I am planning to bless the people of Jerusalem and Judah. So don't be afraid. ^16 (A)These are the things you should do: Speak the truth to one another. In the courts give real justice—the kind that brings peace. ¹⁷ Do not plan ways of harming one another. Do not give false testimony under oath. I hate lying, injustice, and violence.”

¹⁸ The Lord Almighty gave this message to Zechariah: ¹⁹ “The fasts held in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become festivals of joy and gladness for the people of Judah. You must love truth and peace.”

²⁰ The Lord Almighty says, “The time is coming when people from many^[b] cities will come to Jerusalem. ²¹ Those from one city will say to those from another, ‘We are going to worship the Lord Almighty and pray for his blessing. Come with us!’ ²² Many^[c] peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord Almighty and to pray for his blessing. ²³ In those days ten foreigners will come to one Jew and say, ‘We want to share in your destiny, because we have heard that God is with you.’”

The Death of Lazarus

11 ^(A)A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, became sick. Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (^2 (B)This Mary was the one who poured the perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.) ³ The sisters sent Jesus a message: “Lord, your dear friend is sick.”

⁴ When Jesus heard it, he said, “The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory.”

⁵ Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ Yet when he received the news that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. ⁷ Then he said to the disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸ “Teacher,” the disciples answered, “just a short time ago the people there wanted to stone you; and are you planning to go back?”

⁹ Jesus said, “A day has twelve hours, doesn't it? So those who walk in broad daylight do not stumble, for they see the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if they walk during the night they stumble, because they have no light.” ¹¹ Jesus said this and then added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up.”

¹² The disciples answered, “If he is asleep, Lord, he will get well.”

¹³ Jesus meant that Lazarus had died, but they thought he meant natural sleep. ¹⁴ So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵ but for your sake I am glad that I was not with him, so that you will believe. Let us go to him.”

¹⁶ Thomas (called the Twin) said to his fellow disciples, “Let us all go along with the Teacher, so that we may die with him!”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been buried four days before. ¹⁸ Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many Judeans had come to see Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother's death.

²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! ²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for.”

²³ “Your brother will rise to life,” Jesus told her.

^24 (C)“I know,” she replied, “that he will rise to life on the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord!” she answered. “I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

²⁸ After Martha said this, she went back and called her sister Mary privately. “The Teacher is here,” she told her, “and is asking for you.” ²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up and hurried out to meet him. (³⁰ Jesus had not yet arrived in the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.) ³¹ The people who were in the house with Mary comforting her followed her when they saw her get up and hurry out. They thought that she was going to the grave to weep there.

³² Mary arrived where Jesus was, and as soon as she saw him, she fell at his feet. “Lord,” she said, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died!”

³³ Jesus saw her weeping, and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. ³⁴ “Where have you buried him?” he asked them.

“Come and see, Lord,” they answered.

³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ “See how much he loved him!” the people said.

³⁷ But some of them said, “He gave sight to the blind man, didn't he? Could he not have kept Lazarus from dying?”

Lazarus Is Brought to Life

³⁸ Deeply moved once more, Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. ³⁹ “Take the stone away!” Jesus ordered.

Martha, the dead man's sister, answered, “There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days!”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believed?” ⁴¹ They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “I thank you, Father, that you listen to me. ⁴² I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ After he had said this, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. “Untie him,” Jesus told them, “and let him go.”

The Plot against Jesus^(D)

⁴⁵ Many of the people who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did, and they believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them returned to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the Pharisees and the chief priests met with the Council and said, “What shall we do? Look at all the miracles this man is performing! ⁴⁸ If we let him go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Roman authorities will take action and destroy our Temple and our nation!”

⁴⁹ One of them, named Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, said, “What fools you are! ⁵⁰ Don't you realize that it is better for you to have one man die for the people, instead of having the whole nation destroyed?” ⁵¹ Actually, he did not say this of his own accord; rather, as he was High Priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish people, ⁵² and not only for them, but also to bring together into one body all the scattered people of God.

⁵³ From that day on the Jewish authorities made plans to kill Jesus. ⁵⁴ So Jesus did not travel openly in Judea, but left and went to a place near the desert, to a town named Ephraim, where he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ The time for the Passover Festival was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to perform the ritual of purification before the festival. ⁵⁶ They were looking for Jesus, and as they gathered in the Temple, they asked one another, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” ⁵⁷ The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he must report it, so that they could arrest him.