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.

Menahem King of Israel

¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. ¹⁸ He did evil^(T) in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.

¹⁹ Then Pul^[f](U) king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents^[g] of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom. ²⁰ Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy person had to contribute fifty shekels^[h] of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew^(V) and stayed in the land no longer.

²¹ As for the other events of Menahem’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ²² Menahem rested with his ancestors. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king.

Pekahiah King of Israel

²³ In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. ²⁴ Pekahiah did evil^(W) in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ One of his chief officers, Pekah^(X) son of Remaliah, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated^(Y) Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.

²⁶ The other events of Pekahiah’s reign, and all he did, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.

Pekah King of Israel

²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah^(Z) son of Remaliah^(AA) became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. ²⁸ He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.

²⁹ In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser^(AB) king of Assyria came and took Ijon,^(AC) Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali,^(AD) and deported^(AE) the people to Assyria. ³⁰ Then Hoshea^(AF) son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated^(AG) him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.

³¹ As for the other events of Pekah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals^(AH) of the kings of Israel?

Jotham King of Judah^(AI)

³² In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham^(AJ) son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. ³³ He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ He did what was right^(AK) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ The high places,^(AL) however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate^(AM) of the temple of the Lord.

³⁶ As for the other events of Jotham’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ³⁷ (In those days the Lord began to send Rezin^(AN) king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.) ³⁸ Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.

1 The word of the Lord that came^(A) to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah,^(B) Jotham,^(C) Ahaz^(D) and Hezekiah,^(E) kings of Judah,^(F) and during the reign of Jeroboam^(G) son of Jehoash^[a] king of Israel:^(H)

Hosea’s Wife and Children

² When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous^(I) woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness^(J) to the Lord.” ³ So he married Gomer^(K) daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴ Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel,^(L) because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. ⁵ In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.^(M)”

⁶ Gomer^(N) conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”),^(O) for I will no longer show love to Israel,^(P) that I should at all forgive them. ⁷ Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow,^(Q) sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God,^(R) will save them.”

⁸ After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah,^(S) Gomer had another son. ⁹ Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.^[b](T)

¹⁰ “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.^(U) In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’^{(V) 11} The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together;^(W) they will appoint one leader^(X) and will come up out of the land,^(Y) for great will be the day of Jezreel.^[c](Z)

2 ^[a]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’^(A)

Israel Punished and Restored

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.^(A) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.^(B)”

² So I bought her for fifteen shekels^[a] of silver and about a homer and a lethek^[b] of barley. ³ Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

⁴ For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,^(C) without sacrifice^(D) or sacred stones,^(E) without ephod^(F) or household gods.^{(G) 5} Afterward the Israelites will return and seek^(H) the Lord their God and David their king.^(I) They will come trembling^(J) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.^(K)

Paul Ashore on Malta

28 Once safely on shore, we^(A) found out that the island^(B) was called Malta. ² The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. ³ Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand,^(C) they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.”^{(D) 5} But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.^{(E) 6} The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.^(F)

⁷ There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. ⁸ His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer,^(G) placed his hands on him^(H) and healed him.^{(I) 9} When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. ¹⁰ They honored us^(J) in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

Paul’s Arrival at Rome

¹¹ After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship^(K) with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. ¹² We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. ¹³ From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found some brothers and sisters^(L) who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ The brothers and sisters^(M) there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. ¹⁶ When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.^(N)

Paul Preaches at Rome Under Guard

¹⁷ Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders.^(O) When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers,^(P) although I have done nothing against our people^(Q) or against the customs of our ancestors,^(R) I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸ They examined me^(S) and wanted to release me,^(T) because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death.^{(U) 19} The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar.^(V) I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people. ²⁰ For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel^(W) that I am bound with this chain.”^(X)

²¹ They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people^(Y) who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. ²² But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.”^(Z)

²³ They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God,^(AA) and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets^(AB) he tried to persuade them about Jesus.^{(AC) 24} Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.^{(AD) 25} They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said^(AE) through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁸ “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation^(AH) has been sent to the Gentiles,^(AI) and they will listen!” ^[29] [b]

³⁰ For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. ³¹ He proclaimed the kingdom of God^(AJ) and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness^(AK) and without hindrance!