Azariah King of Judah^(A)

15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah^[a](B) son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. ² He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. ³ He did what was right^(C) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴ The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

⁵ The Lord afflicted^(D) the king with leprosy^[b] until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house.^[c](E) Jotham^(F) the king’s son had charge of the palace^(G) and governed the people of the land.

⁶ As for the other events of Azariah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ⁷ Azariah rested^(H) with his ancestors and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham^(I) his son succeeded him as king.

Zechariah King of Israel

⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. ⁹ He did evil^(J) in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.

¹⁰ Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people,^[d] assassinated^(K) him and succeeded him as king. ¹¹ The other events of Zechariah’s reign are written in the book of the annals^(L) of the kings of Israel. ¹² So the word of the Lord spoken to Jehu was fulfilled:^(M) “Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”^[e]

Shallum King of Israel

¹³ Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria^(N) one month. ¹⁴ Then Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah^(O) up to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, assassinated^(P) him and succeeded him as king.

¹⁵ The other events of Shallum’s reign, and the conspiracy he led, are written in the book of the annals^(Q) of the kings of Israel.

¹⁶ At that time Menahem, starting out from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah^(R) and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open^(S) their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.

¹³ Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits^(A) tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus^(B) whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

¹⁷ When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus,^(C) they were all seized with fear,^(D) and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. ¹⁸ Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. ¹⁹ A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.^{[a] 20} In this way the word of the Lord^(E) spread widely and grew in power.^(F)

²¹ After all this had happened, Paul decided^[b] to go to Jerusalem,^(G) passing through Macedonia^(H) and Achaia.^(I) “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”^{(J) 22} He sent two of his helpers,^(K) Timothy^(L) and Erastus,^(M) to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia^(N) a little longer.

The Riot in Ephesus

²³ About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.^{(O) 24} A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. ²⁵ He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.^{(P) 26} And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus^(Q) and in practically the whole province of Asia.^(R) He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.^{(S) 27} There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

²⁸ When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”^{(T) 29} Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius^(U) and Aristarchus,^(V) Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia,^(W) and all of them rushed into the theater together. ³⁰ Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples^(X) would not let him. ³¹ Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.

³² The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another.^(Y) Most of the people did not even know why they were there. ³³ The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned^(Z) for silence in order to make a defense before the people. ³⁴ But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”^(AA)

³⁵ The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians,^(AB) doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? ³⁶ Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. ³⁷ You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples^(AC) nor blasphemed our goddess. ³⁸ If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen^(AD) have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.^(AE) They can press charges. ³⁹ If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. ⁴⁰ As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” ⁴¹ After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Psalm 147