Jotham Succeeds Uzziah in Judah

27 ^(A)Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. ² He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; ^(B)however he did not enter the temple of the Lord. But the people continued acting corruptly. ³ He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord, and he built the wall of ^(C)Ophel extensively. ⁴ Moreover, he built ^(D)cities in the hill country of Judah, and he built fortresses and towers on the wooded hills. ⁵ He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed over them so that during that year the Ammonites gave him ^[a]a hundred talents of silver, ^[b]ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The Ammonites also paid him this amount in the second year and in the third. ^6 (E)So Jotham became powerful because he directed his ways before the Lord his God. ^7 (F)Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ He was ^(G)twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. ⁹ And Jotham ^[c]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and his son Ahaz became king in his place.

Ahaz Succeeds Jotham in Judah

28 ^(H)Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. ^(I)He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord as his father David had done. ^2 (J)But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also ^(K)made cast metal images for the Baals. ³ Furthermore, ^(L)he burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and ^(M)burned his sons in fire, ^(N)according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel. ⁴ He sacrificed and ^(O)burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Judah Is Invaded

⁵ Therefore ^(P)the Lord his God handed him over to the king of Aram; and they ^[d]defeated him and carried from him a great number of captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with heavy casualties. ⁶ For ^(Q)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 in Judah in one day, all valiant men, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their fathers. ⁷ And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the ruler of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king.

^8 (R)The sons of Israel led away captive two hundred thousand of ^(S)their relatives, women, sons, and daughters; and they also ^[e]took a great deal of spoils from them, and brought the spoils to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and ^(T)he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, ^(U)was angry with Judah, He has handed them over to you, and you have killed them in a rage ^(V)which has even reached heaven. ¹⁰ Now you are proposing to ^(W)subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. Are you not, however guilty yourselves of offenses against the Lord your God? ¹¹ Now then, listen to me and return the captives ^(X)whom you captured from your brothers, ^(Y)for the burning anger of the Lord is against you.” ¹² Then some of the leading men of the sons of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—rose up against those who were coming from the battle, ¹³ and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing to bring guilt upon us before the Lord, adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great, and His burning anger is against Israel.” ¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the spoils before the officers and all the assembly. ¹⁵ Then ^(Z)the men who were designated by name got up, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked people from the spoils; they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and ^(AA)gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, ^(AB)the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.

Compromise with Assyria

^16 (AC)At that time King Ahaz sent word to the ^[f]kings of Assyria for help. ^17 (AD)For the Edomites had come again and attacked Judah, and led away captives. ^18 (AE)The Philistines had also invaded the cities of the ^[g]lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they had settled there. ¹⁹ For the Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of ^(AF)Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ So ^(AG)Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. ^21 (AH)Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the Lord and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

²² Now during the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz ^(AI)became even more unfaithful to the Lord. ^23 (AJ)For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had ^[h]defeated him, and said, “^(AK)Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they became the ^[i]downfall of him and all Israel. ²⁴ Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he ^(AL)cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he ^(AM)closed the doors of the house of the Lord, and ^(AN)made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger. ^26 (AO)Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ^27 (AP)So Ahaz ^[j]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of ^(AQ)Israel; and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion

14 Then I looked, and behold, ^(A)the Lamb was standing on ^(B)Mount Zion, and with Him ^(C)144,000 who had ^(D)His name and the ^(E)name of His Father written ^(F)on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven, like ^(G)the sound of many waters and like the ^(H)sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of ^(I)harpists playing on their harps. ³ And they *sang ^[a](J)a new song before the throne and before the ^(K)four living creatures and the ^(L)elders; and ^(M)no one was able to learn the song except the ^(N)144,000 who had been ^(O)purchased from the earth. ^4 (P)These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are celibate. These are the ones who ^(Q)follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been ^(R)purchased from mankind ^(S)as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ And ^(T)no lie was found in their mouths; they are ^(U)blameless.

Vision of the Angel with the Gospel

⁶ And I saw another angel flying in ^(V)midheaven with ^(W)an eternal gospel to preach to ^(X)those who ^[b]live on the earth, and to ^(Y)every nation, tribe, language, and people; ⁷ and he said with a loud voice, “^(Z)Fear God and ^(AA)give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who ^(AB)made the heaven and the earth, and sea and ^(AC)springs of waters.”

⁸ And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “^[c](AD)Fallen, fallen is ^(AE)Babylon the great, she who has ^(AF)made all the nations drink of the ^(AG)wine of the ^[d]passion of her sexual immorality.”

Doom for Worshipers of the Beast

⁹ Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^(AH)worships the beast and his ^(AI)image, and receives a ^(AJ)mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink of the ^(AK)wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed ^[e]in full strength ^(AL)in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with ^(AM)fire and ^[f]brimstone in the presence of the ^(AN)holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the ^(AO)smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; ^(AP)they have no rest day and night, those who ^(AQ)worship the beast and his ^(AR)image, and ^[g]whoever receives the ^(AS)mark of his name.” ¹² Here is ^(AT)the ^[h]perseverance of the ^[i]saints who ^(AU)keep the commandments of God and ^[j](AV)their faith in Jesus.

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write: ‘^(AW)Blessed are the dead who ^(AX)die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” ^(AY)says the Spirit, “so that they may ^(AZ)rest from their labors, for their ^(BA)deeds follow with them.”

The Harvest

¹⁴ Then I looked, and behold, a ^(BB)white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one ^(BC)like ^[k]a son of man, with a golden ^(BD)crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. ¹⁵ And another angel ^(BE)came out of the ^[l]temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “^[m](BF)Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the ^(BG)harvest of the earth ^[n]is ripe.” ¹⁶ Then He who sat on the cloud ^[o]swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷ And another angel ^(BH)came out of the ^[p]temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Then another angel, ^(BI)the one who has power over fire, came out from ^(BJ)the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “^[q](BK)Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters ^[r]from the vine of the earth, ^(BL)because her grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel ^[s]swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into ^(BM)the great wine press of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And ^(BN)the wine press was trampled ^(BO)outside the city, and ^(BP)blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, ^[t]for a distance of ^[u]1,600 stadia.