Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul^[a] left Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named ^(A)Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife ^(B)Priscilla, because ^(C)Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, ³ and ^(D)because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. ⁴ And ^(E)he reasoned in the synagogue ^(F)every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

^5 (G)When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul ^(H)was occupied with the word, ^(I)testifying to the Jews that the Christ was ^(J)Jesus. ⁶ And when they opposed and reviled him, ^(K)he shook out his garments and said to them, ^(L)“Your blood be on your own heads! ^(M)I am innocent. ^(N)From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius ^(O)Justus, ^(P)a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. ^8 (Q)Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together ^(R)with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul ^(S)one night in ^(T)a vision, ^(U)“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, ^10 (V)for I am with you, and ^(W)no one will attack you to harm you, for ^(X)I have many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But when Gallio was ^(Y)proconsul of Achaia, ^(Z)the Jews^[b] made a united attack on Paul and ^(AA)brought him before the tribunal, ¹³ saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to ^(AB)the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ^(AC)crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. ¹⁵ But ^(AD)since it is a matter of questions about words and names and ^(AE)your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” ¹⁶ And he drove them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸ After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of ^(AF)the brothers^[c] and set sail for Syria, and with him ^(AG)Priscilla and Aquila. At ^(AH)Cenchreae ^(AI)he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.

David Hears of Saul's Death

1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned ^(A)from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. ² And on the third day, behold, ^(B)a man came from Saul's camp, ^(C)with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, ^(D)he fell to the ground and paid homage. ³ David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” ⁴ And David said to him, ^(E)“How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” ⁵ Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ⁶ And the young man who told him said, ^(F)“By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. ⁷ And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ And he said to me, ^(G)‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ ¹⁰ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. ^(H)And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and ^(I)tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they mourned and wept ^(J)and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ David said to him, “How is it you were not ^(K)afraid to put out your hand to destroy ^(L)the Lord's anointed?” ¹⁵ Then ^(M)David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. ¹⁶ And David said to him, ^(N)“Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed ^(O)the Lord's anointed.’”

David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ And David ^(P)lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, ¹⁸ and he said it^[a] should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in ^(Q)the Book of Jashar.^[b] He said:

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the ^(B)Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

^(C)Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians' Faith and Example

^2 (D)We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly^{[a] (E)}mentioning you in our prayers, ³ remembering before ^(F)our God and Father ^(G)your work of faith and labor of ^(H)love and ^(I)steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, ^(J)brothers^[b] loved by God, ^(K)that he has chosen you, ⁵ because ^(L)our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and ^(M)in the Holy Spirit and with full ^(N)conviction. You know ^(O)what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶ And ^(P)you became imitators of us ^(Q)and of the Lord, for ^(R)you received the word in much affliction, ^(S)with the ^(T)joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For not only has the word of the Lord ^(U)sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth ^(V)everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹ For they themselves report concerning us the kind of ^(W)reception we had among you, and how ^(X)you turned to God ^(Y)from idols to serve the living and ^(Z)true God, ¹⁰ and ^(AA)to wait for his Son ^(AB)from heaven, ^(AC)whom he raised from the dead, Jesus ^(AD)who delivers us from ^(AE)the wrath to come.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

11 ^(A)Now when ^(B)Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. ² But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took ^(C)Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being put to death, and she put^[a] him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they^[b] hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. ³ And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Anointed King in Judah

^4 (D)But in the seventh year ^(E)Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of ^(F)the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the Lord. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the king's son. ⁵ And he commanded them, “This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, ^(G)those who come off duty on the Sabbath and guard the king's house ⁶ (^(H)another third being at the gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the guards) shall guard the palace.^{[c] 7} And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord on behalf of the king, ⁸ shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king ^(I)when he goes out and when he comes in.”

⁹ The captains did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest gave to the captains the spears and ^(J)shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of the Lord. ¹¹ And the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house on behalf of the king. ¹² Then he brought out the king's son and put ^(K)the crown on him and gave him ^(L)the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, ^(M)“Long live the king!”

¹³ When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people. ¹⁴ And when she looked, there was the king standing ^(N)by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and ^(O)blowing trumpets. And Athaliah ^(P)tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” ¹⁵ Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁶ So they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses' entrance to the king's house, and there she was put to death.

¹⁷ And Jehoiada ^(Q)made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord's people, and also ^(R)between the king and the people. ¹⁸ Then all the people of the land went to ^(S)the house of Baal and tore it down; ^(T)his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the Lord. ¹⁹ And he took the captains, ^(U)the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through ^(V)the gate of the guards to the king's house. And he took his seat on the throne of the kings. ²⁰ So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword at the king's house.

Jehoash Reigns in Judah

^{21 [d] (W)}Jehoash^[e] was seven years old when he began to reign.

Abominations in the Temple

8 ^(A)In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(B)as I sat in my house, with ^(C)the elders of Judah sitting before me, ^(D)the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and behold, ^(E)a form that had the appearance of a man.^{[a] (F)}Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like ^(G)gleaming metal.^{[b] 3} He ^(H)put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up ^(I)between earth and heaven and ^(J)brought me in ^(K)visions of God to Jerusalem, ^(L)to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, ^(M)where was the seat of the ^(N)image of jealousy, ^(O)which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, ^(P)the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw ^(Q)in the valley.

⁵ Then he said to me, ^(R)“Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of ^(S)the altar gate, in the entrance, was this ^(T)image of jealousy. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, ^(U)do you see what they are doing, ^(V)the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, ^(W)to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

⁷ And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then he said to me, “Son of man, ^(X)dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. ⁹ And he said to me, “Go in, and see ^(Y)the vile abominations that they are committing here.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw. And there, ^(Z)engraved on the wall all around, was ^(AA)every form of ^(AB)creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. ¹¹ And before them stood ^(AC)seventy men of ^(AD)the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of ^(AE)Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and ^(AF)the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing ^(AG)in the dark, each ^(AH)in his room of pictures? For they say, ^(AI)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ¹³ He said also to me, ^(AJ)“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

¹⁴ Then he brought me to ^(AK)the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(AL)son of man? ^(AM)You will see still greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ And he brought me into ^(AN)the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, ^(AO)between the ^(AP)porch and ^(AQ)the altar, were about twenty-five men, ^(AR)with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping ^(AS)the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(AT)son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit ^(AU)the abominations that they commit here, that ^(AV)they should fill the land with violence and ^(AW)provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their^[c] nose. ¹⁸ Therefore ^(AX)I will act in wrath. ^(AY)My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. ^(AZ)And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”