¹² Now by the hands of the apostles (special messengers) numerous and startling signs and wonders were being performed among the people. And by common consent they all met together [at the temple] in the covered porch (walk) called Solomon’s.

¹³ And none of those who were not of their number dared to join and associate with them, but the people held them in high regard and praised and made much of them.

¹⁴ More and more there were being added to the Lord those who believed [those who acknowledged Jesus as their Savior and devoted themselves to Him joined and gathered with them], crowds both of men and of women,

¹⁵ So that they [even] kept carrying out the sick into the streets and placing them on couches and sleeping pads, [in the hope] that as Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

¹⁶ And the people gathered also from the towns and hamlets around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those troubled with foul spirits, and they were all cured.

¹⁷ But the high priest rose up and all who were his supporters, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and being filled with ^[a]jealousy and indignation and rage,

¹⁸ They seized and arrested the apostles (special messengers) and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and, leading them out, said,

²⁰ Go, take your stand in the temple courts and declare to the people the whole doctrine concerning this Life (the eternal life which Christ revealed).

²¹ And when they heard this, they accordingly went into the temple about daybreak and began to teach. Now the high priest and his supporters who were with him arrived and called together the council (Sanhedrin), even all the senate of the sons of Israel, and they sent to the prison to have [the apostles] brought.

²² But when the attendants arrived there, they failed to find them in the jail; so they came back and reported,

²³ We found the prison quite safely locked up and the guards were on duty outside the doors, but when we opened [it], we found no one on the inside.

²⁴ Now when the military leader of the temple area and the chief priests heard these facts, they were much perplexed and thoroughly at a loss about them, wondering into what this might grow.

²⁵ But some man came and reported to them, saying, Listen! The men whom you put in jail are standing [right here] in the temple and teaching the people!

²⁶ Then the military leader went with the attendants and brought [the prisoners], but without violence, for they dreaded the people lest they be stoned by them.

²⁷ So they brought them and set them before the council (Sanhedrin). And the high priest examined them by questioning,

²⁸ Saying, We definitely commanded and strictly charged you not to teach in or about this Name; yet here you have flooded Jerusalem with your doctrine and you intend to bring this ^[b]Man’s blood upon us.

²⁹ Then Peter and the apostles replied, We must obey God rather than men.

³⁰ The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, Whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree (cross).^(A)

³¹ God exalted Him to His right hand to be Prince and Leader and Savior and Deliverer and Preserver, in order to grant repentance to Israel and to bestow forgiveness and release from sins.

³² And we are witnesses of these things, and the Holy Spirit is also, Whom God has bestowed on those who obey Him.

³³ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and infuriated and wanted to kill the disciples.

³⁴ But a certain Pharisee in the council (Sanhedrin) named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, highly esteemed by all the people, standing up, ordered that the apostles be taken outside for a little while.

³⁵ Then he addressed them [the council, saying]: Men of Israel, take care in regard to what you propose to do concerning these men.

³⁶ For before our time there arose Theudas, asserting himself to be a person of importance, with whom a number of men allied themselves, about 400; but he was killed and all who had listened to and adhered to him were scattered and brought to nothing.

³⁷ And after this one rose up Judas the Galilean, [who led an uprising] during the time of the census, and drew away a popular following after him; he also perished and all his adherents were scattered.

³⁸ Now in the present case let me say to you, stand off (withdraw) from these men and let them alone. For if this doctrine or purpose or undertaking or movement is of human origin, it will fail (be overthrown and come to nothing);

³⁹ But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop or overthrow or destroy them; you might even be found fighting against God!

⁴⁰ So, convinced by him, they took his advice; and summoning the apostles, they flogged them and sternly forbade them to speak in or about the name of Jesus, and allowed them to go.

⁴¹ So they went out from the presence of the council (Sanhedrin), rejoicing that they were being counted worthy [dignified by the indignity] to suffer shame and be exposed to disgrace for [the sake of] His name.

⁴² Yet [in spite of the threats] they never ceased for a single day, both in the temple area and at home, to teach and to proclaim the good news (Gospel) of Jesus [as] the Christ (the Messiah).

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23 In the seventh year Jehoiada [the priest] took strength and courage and made a covenant with the captains of hundreds: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.

² And they went about in Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities, and the chiefs of the fathers’ houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

³ And all the assembly made a covenant in the house of God with the king [little Joash, to suddenly proclaim his sovereignty and overthrow Athaliah’s tyranny]. And Jehoiada the priest said to them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord has said of the offspring of David.

⁴ This is what you shall do: a third of you priests and Levites who are resuming service on the Sabbath shall be doorkeepers,

⁵ A [second] third shall be at the king’s house, and [the final] third at the Foundation Gate; and all the people shall be in the courts [only] of the house of the Lord.

⁶ But let none come into the [main] house of the Lord except the priests and those of the Levites who minister; they may go in, for they are holy, but let all the rest of the people carefully observe the law against entering the holy place of the Lord.

⁷ And the Levites shall surround the young king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house [breaking through the ranks of the guard to get near Joash] shall be put to death. But you be with the king when he comes in [from the temple chamber where he is hiding] and when he goes out.

⁸ So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest had commanded; and took every man his men who were to resume duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions [of priests and Levites].

⁹ Also Jehoiada the priest gave the captains of hundreds spears, bucklers, and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of God.

¹⁰ And he set all the people as a guard for the king, every man having his weapon (missile) in his hand, from the right side to the left side of the temple, around the altar and the temple.

¹¹ Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony or law and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, Long live the king!

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the Lord’s house to the people.

¹³ And behold, there the king stood by his pillar at the entrance, the captains and the trumpeters beside him; and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with musical instruments led in singing of praise. Athaliah rent her clothes and cried, Treason! Treason!

¹⁴ Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were over the army, Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Do not slay her in the Lord’s house.

¹⁵ So they made way for Athaliah, and she went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king’s house; there they slew her.

¹⁶ Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, all the people, and the king, that they should be the Lord’s people.

¹⁷ Then all the people went to the house of Baal, tore it down, and broke its altars and its images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

¹⁸ Also Jehoiada appointed the offices and officers [for the care] of the house of the Lord under the direction of the Levitical priests, whom David had distributed [in his day] in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord as written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, as ordered by David.

¹⁹ Jehoiada set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord so that no one should enter who was in any way unclean.

²⁰ And he took the captains of hundreds and the nobles and governors of the people and all the people of the land and brought down the king from the house of the Lord; and they came through the Upper Gate to the king’s house and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

²¹ So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been slain with the sword.

24 Joash was seven years old when he began his forty-year reign in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah of Beersheba.

² And Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest [his uncle].

³ And Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴ After this, Joash decided to repair the Lord’s house.

⁵ He gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; and see that you hasten the matter. But the Levites did not hasten it.

⁶ So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and said to him, Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?

⁷ For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God and also had used for the Baals all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord.

⁸ And at the king’s command they made a chest and set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord.

⁹ And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to bring in for the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰ And all the princes and people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished.

¹¹ When the Levites brought the chest to the king’s office, and whenever they saw that there was much money, the king’s secretary and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day and collected money in abundance.

¹² And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the temple service; and they hired masons and carpenters and also those who worked in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord.

¹³ So the workmen labored, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands; and they set up the house of God according to its design and strengthened it.

¹⁴ When they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; from it were made utensils for the Lord’s house, vessels for ministering and for offerings, and cups and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ But Jehoiada became old and full of [the handicaps of great] age, and he died. He was 130 years old at his death.

¹⁶ They buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel and toward God and His house.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada [the priest, who had hidden Joash], the princes of Judah came and made obeisance to King Joash; then the king hearkened to them.

¹⁸ They forsook the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for their sin (guilt).

¹⁹ Yet [God] sent prophets to them to bring them again to the Lord; these testified against them, but they would not listen.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood over the people, and he said to them, Thus says God: Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.

²¹ They conspired against Zechariah the priest and stoned him at the command of the king in the court of the Lord’s house!

²² Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had done him, but slew his son. And when [Zechariah the priest] was dying, he said, May the Lord see and avenge!

²³ At the end of the year, the army of Syria came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.

²⁴ Though the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, the Lord delivered a very great host into their hands, because Joash and Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. So the Syrians executed judgment against Joash.

²⁵ And when they had departed from Joash, leaving him very ill, his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and they slew him on his bed. So he died and they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶ The conspirators against Joash were Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

²⁷ Now concerning his sons and the greatness of the prophecies uttered against him and the rebuilding of the house of God, they are written in the commentary on the Book of Kings. And Amaziah his [Joash’s] son reigned in his stead.

25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

² He did right in the Lord’s sight, but not with a perfect or blameless heart.

³ When his kingdom was firmly established, he slew his servants who had killed the king his father.

⁴ But he did not slay their children; he did as it is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, The fathers shall not die for the children, or the children die for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.

⁵ Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers’ houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He numbered them from twenty years old and over and found them to be 300,000 choice men fit for war and able to handle spear and shield.

⁶ He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came to him, saying, O king, do not let all this army of Ephraimites of Israel go with you [of Judah], for the Lord is not with you,

⁸ For if you go [in spite of warning], no matter how strong you are for battle, God will cast you down before the enemy, for God has power to help and to cast down.

⁹ And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do about the 100 talents which I have given to the army of Israel? The man of God answered, The Lord is able to give you much more than this.

¹⁰ So Amaziah discharged the army that came to him from Ephraim to go home. So their anger was greatly kindled against Judah; they returned home in fierce wrath.

¹¹ And Amaziah took courage and led forth his people to the Valley of Salt and smote 10,000 of the men of Seir [Edom].

¹² Another 10,000 the men of Judah captured alive and brought them to the top of a crag and cast them down from it, and they were all dashed to pieces.

¹³ But the soldiers of the band which Amaziah sent back, not allowing them to go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even to Beth-horon, and smote 3,000 [men] and took much spoil.

¹⁴ After Amaziah came back from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought their gods and set them up to be his gods and bowed before them and burned incense to them.

¹⁵ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and He sent to him a prophet, who said, Why have you sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of your hand?

¹⁶ As he was talking, the king said to him, Have we made you the king’s counselor? Stop it! Why should you be put to death? The prophet stopped but said, I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and ignored my counsel.

¹⁷ Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to ^[a]Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come [to battle], let us look one another in the face.^(A)

¹⁸ Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, A little thistle in Lebanon sent to a great cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son as wife. And a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle.

¹⁹ You say, See, [I] have smitten Edom! Your heart lifts you up to boast. Stay at home; why should you meddle [and court disaster], so you will fall and Judah with you?

²⁰ But Amaziah would not hear, for it came from God, that He might deliver Judah into the hands of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom.

²¹ So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth-shemesh of Judah.

²² And Judah was defeated before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent.

²³ And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, 400 cubits.

²⁴ And he took all the gold, the silver, and all the vessels found in God’s house with [the doorkeeper] Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house and hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ And Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.

²⁶ The rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷ Now after Amaziah turned away from the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent to Lachish and slew him there.

²⁸ And they brought him upon horses and buried him with his fathers in the City of [David in] Judah.