Judah’s King Azariah

15 In the twenty-seventh year of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Azariah^[a](A) son of Amaziah became king of Judah.^{(B) 2} He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. ³ Azariah did what was right in the Lord’s sight^(C) just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴ Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.^(D)

⁵ The Lord afflicted the king, and he had a serious skin disease until the day of his death.^(E) He lived in quarantine,^[b](F) while Jotham,^(G) the king’s son, was over the household governing the people of the land.^(H)

⁶ The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(I) 7} Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham became king in his place.^(J)

Israel’s King Zechariah

⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Zechariah^(K) son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months. ⁹ He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight as his predecessors had done.^(L) He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.^(M)

¹⁰ Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He struck him down publicly,^[c] killed him, and became king in his place.^{(N) 11} As for the rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.^{(O) 12} The word of the Lord that he spoke to Jehu was, “Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel,”^(P) and it was so.

Israel’s King Shallum

¹³ In the thirty-ninth year of Judah’s King Uzziah,^[d] Shallum son of Jabesh became king; he reigned in Samaria^(Q) a full month. ¹⁴ Then Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah^(R) to Samaria and struck down Shallum son of Jabesh there. He killed him and became king in his place. ¹⁵ As for the rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, along with the conspiracy that he formed, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

Israel’s King Menahem

¹⁶ At that time, starting from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah,^(S) all who were in it, and its territory because they wouldn’t surrender.^(T) He ripped open all the pregnant women.^(U)

¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samaria. ¹⁸ He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. Throughout his reign, he did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.^(V)

¹⁹ King Pul^[e](W) of Assyria invaded the land, so Menahem gave Pul seventy-five thousand pounds^[f] of silver so that Pul would support him to strengthen his grasp on the kingdom.^{(X) 20} Then Menahem exacted twenty ounces^[g] of silver from each of the prominent men of Israel to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not stay there in the land.^(Y)

²¹ The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings. ²² Menahem rested with his ancestors, and his son Pekahiah became king in his place.^(Z)

Israel’s King Pekahiah

²³ In the fiftieth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. ²⁴ He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.^(AA)

²⁵ Then his officer, Pekah^(AB) son of Remaliah, conspired against him^(AC) and struck him down in Samaria at the citadel of the king’s palace^(AD)—with Argob and Arieh.^[h] There were fifty Gileadite men with Pekah. He killed Pekahiah and became king in his place.

²⁶ As for the rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

Israel’s King Pekah

²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Judah’s King Azariah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. ²⁸ He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

²⁹ In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser^(AE) of Assyria came and captured Ijon,^(AF) Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee—all the land of Naphtali^(AG)—and deported the people to Assyria.^(AH)

³⁰ Then Hoshea^(AI) son of Elah organized a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked him, killed him,^(AJ) and became king in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.

³¹ As for the rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

Judah’s King Jotham

³² In the second year of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham^(AK) son of Uzziah became king of Judah. ³³ He was twenty-five years old when he became king,^(AL) and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his father Uzziah had done.^{(AM) 35} Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

Jotham built the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple.^{(AN) 36} The rest^(AO) of the events of Jotham’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(AP) 37} In those days the Lord began sending Aram’s King Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.^{(AQ) 38} Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David.^(AR) His son Ahaz became king in his place.

Judah’s King Ahaz

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah,^(AS) Ahaz^(AT) son of Jotham became king of Judah. ² Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God like his ancestor David^{(AU) 3} but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel.^(AV) He even sacrificed his son in the fire,^[i] imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.^{(AW) 4} He sacrificed and burned incense^(AX) on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.^(AY)

⁵ Then^(AZ) Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah came to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but were not able to conquer him.^{(BA) 6} At that time Aram’s King Rezin recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath.^(BB) Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they still live there today.^(BC)

⁷ So Ahaz sent messengers^(BD) to King Tiglath-pileser^(BE) of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the grasp of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” ⁸ Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a bribe.^{(BF) 9} So the king of Assyria listened to him^(BG) and marched up to Damascus and captured it.^(BH) He deported its people to Kir^(BI) but put Rezin to death.

Ahaz’s Idolatry

¹⁰ King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser^(BJ) of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to the priest Uriah.^{(BK) 11} Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, the priest Uriah had completed it. ¹² When the king came back from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then he approached the altar^(BL) and ascended it.^{[j] 13} He offered his burnt offering^(BM) and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his fellowship offerings^(BN) on the altar. ¹⁴ He took the bronze altar^(BO) that was before the Lord in front of the temple between his altar and the Lord’s temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.

¹⁵ Then King Ahaz commanded the priest Uriah, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering. Also offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance.”^{[k] 16} The priest Uriah did everything King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷ Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water carts^[l](BP) and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took the basin^[m](BQ) from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement. ¹⁸ To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the Lord’s temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.

Ahaz’s Death

¹⁹ The rest^(BR) of the events of Ahaz’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(BS) 20} Ahaz rested with his ancestors^(BT) and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.

The Triumphal Entry

21 When they approached Jerusalem^(A) and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives,^(B) Jesus then sent two disciples, ² telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.”

⁴ This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

⁶ The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their clothes on them, and he sat on them. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their clothes on the road; others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. ⁹ Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted:

¹⁰ When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus^(E) from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple

¹² Jesus went into the temple^[c](F) and threw out all those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.^{(G) 13} He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer,^[d] but you are making it a den of thieves!”^(H)[e]

Children Praise Jesus

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and the children shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant ¹⁶ and said to him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

Jesus replied, “Yes, have you never read:

¹⁷ Then he left them, went out of the city to Bethany,^(J) and spent the night there.

The Barren Fig Tree

¹⁸ Early in the morning,^(K) as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it and found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” At once the fig tree withered.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

²¹ Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done.^{(L) 22} And if you believe, you will receive^(M) whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²³ When he entered the temple,^(N) the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?” ^(O)

²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ^{(P) 26} But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd,^(Q) because everyone considers John to be a prophet.”^{(R) 27} So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go work in the vineyard today.’^(S)

²⁹ “He answered, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he answered, but he didn’t go. ³¹ Which of the two did his father’s will?”

They said, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness,^(T) and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

³³ “Listen^(U) to another parable:^(V) There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower.^(W) He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.^{(X) 34} When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. ³⁵ The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.^{(Y) 36} Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’^{(Z) 39} So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁴¹ “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”^(AA)

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; ^(AC) but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”^[j]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,^(AD) they knew he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.^(AE)