Jehu Slaughters Ahab's Descendants

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in ^(A)Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,^[a] to the elders, and to ^(B)the guardians of the sons^[b] of Ahab, saying, ² “Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons, ³ select the best and fittest of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne and fight for your master's house.” ⁴ But they were exceedingly afraid and said, “Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand?” ⁵ So he who was over the palace, and he who was over the city, together with the elders and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, ^(C)“We are your servants, and we will do all that you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your eyes.” ⁶ Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time.” Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, ^(D)who were bringing them up. ⁷ And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king's sons ^(E)and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. ⁸ When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king's sons,” he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.” ⁹ Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. ^(F)It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? ¹⁰ Know then that there shall ^(G)fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done ^(H)what he said by his servant Elijah.” ¹¹ So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

¹² Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ Jehu met ^(I)the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah, and we came down to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother.” ¹⁴ He said, “Take them alive.” And they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two persons, and he spared none of them.

¹⁵ And when he departed from there, he met ^(J)Jehonadab the son of ^(K)Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said,^[c] “If it is, ^(L)give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot. ¹⁶ And he said, “Come with me, and see ^(M)my zeal for the Lord.” So he^[d] had him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ And when he came to Samaria, ^(N)he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord ^(O)that he spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Strikes Down the Prophets of Baal

¹⁸ Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, ^(P)“Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now therefore call to me all the ^(Q)prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰ And Jehu ordered, ^(R)“Sanctify ^(S)a solemn assembly for Baal.” So ^(T)they proclaimed it. ²¹ And Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered ^(U)the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. ²² He said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the vestments for them. ²³ Then Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” ²⁴ Then they^[e] went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape ^(V)shall forfeit his life.” ²⁵ So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, ^(W)“Go in and strike them down; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room of the house of Baal, ²⁶ and they brought out the ^(X)pillar that was in ^(Y)the house of Baal and burned it. ²⁷ And they demolished the ^(Z)pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it ^(AA)a latrine to this day.

Jehu Reigns in Israel

²⁸ Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. ²⁹ But Jehu did not turn aside from ^(AB)the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(AC)which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan. ³⁰ And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, ^(AD)your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” ³¹ But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. ^(AE)He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

³² In those days the Lord ^(AF)began to cut off parts of Israel. ^(AG)Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: ³³ from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from ^(AH)Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, ^(AI)Gilead and Bashan. ³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ³⁵ So Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. ³⁶ The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Zayin

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by command of ^(C)God our Savior and of Christ Jesus ^(D)our hope,

² To Timothy, ^(E)my true child in the faith:

^(F)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Warning Against False Teachers

^3 (G)As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not ^(H)to teach any different doctrine, ⁴ nor ^(I)to devote themselves to myths and endless ^(J)genealogies, which promote ^(K)speculations rather than the stewardship^[a] from God that is by faith. ⁵ The aim of our charge is love ^(L)that issues from a pure heart and ^(M)a good conscience and ^(N)a sincere faith. ⁶ Certain persons, by ^(O)swerving from these, have wandered away into ^(P)vain discussion, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, ^(Q)without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

⁸ Now we know that ^(R)the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, ⁹ understanding this, that the ^(S)law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,^[b] liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to ^(T)sound^[c] doctrine, ¹¹ in accordance with ^(U)the gospel of the glory of ^(V)the blessed God ^(W)with which I have been entrusted.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

¹² I thank him ^(X)who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, ^(Y)appointing me to his service, ¹³ though formerly I was a blasphemer, ^(Z)persecutor, and insolent opponent. But ^(AA)I received mercy ^(AB)because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and ^(AC)the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the ^(AD)faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is ^(AE)trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus ^(AF)came into the world to save sinners, ^(AG)of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To ^(AH)the King of the ages, ^(AI)immortal, ^(AJ)invisible, ^(AK)the only God, ^(AL)be honor and glory forever and ever.^[d] Amen.

¹⁸ This charge ^(AM)I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with ^(AN)the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may ^(AO)wage the good warfare, ^19 (AP)holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have ^(AQ)made shipwreck of their faith, ²⁰ among whom are ^(AR)Hymenaeus and ^(AS)Alexander, whom I ^(AT)have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to ^(AU)blaspheme.

Pray for All People

2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ^2 (AV)for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and ^(AW)dignified in every way. ³ This is good, and ^(AX)it is pleasing in the sight of ^(AY)God our Savior, ⁴ who desires ^(AZ)all people to be saved and ^(BA)to come to ^(BB)the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For ^(BC)there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man^[e] Christ Jesus, ^6 (BD)who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is ^(BE)the testimony given ^(BF)at the proper time. ^7 (BG)For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (^(BH)I am telling the truth, I am not lying), ^(BI)a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸ I desire then that ^(BJ)in every place the men should pray, ^(BK)lifting ^(BL)holy hands without anger or quarreling; ⁹ likewise also ^(BM)that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, ^10 (BN)but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. ¹¹ Let a woman learn quietly ^(BO)with all submissiveness. ^12 (BP)I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. ^13 (BQ)For Adam was formed first, ^(BR)then Eve; ¹⁴ and Adam was not deceived, but ^(BS)the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. ¹⁵ Yet she will be saved through ^(BT)childbearing—if they continue in ^(BU)faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Qualifications for Overseers

3 The saying is ^(BV)trustworthy: If anyone aspires to ^(BW)the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore ^(BX)an overseer^[f] must be above reproach, ^(BY)the husband of one wife,^{[g] (BZ)}sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, ^(CA)hospitable, ^(CB)able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but ^(CC)gentle, not quarrelsome, ^(CD)not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity ^(CE)keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for ^(CF)God's church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may ^(CG)become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by ^(CH)outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into ^(CI)a snare of the devil.

Qualifications for Deacons

^8 (CJ)Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,^{[h] (CK)}not addicted to much wine, ^(CL)not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must ^(CM)hold the mystery of the faith with ^(CN)a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And ^(CO)let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ^11 (CP)Their wives likewise^[i] must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, ^(CQ)faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons each be ^(CR)the husband of one wife, ^(CS)managing their children and their own households well. ¹³ For ^(CT)those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

The Mystery of Godliness

¹⁴ I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, ¹⁵ if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. ¹⁶ Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: