John 12:27-50
Contemporary English Version
27 Now I am deeply troubled, and I don't know what to say. But I must not ask my Father to keep me from this time of suffering. In fact, I came into the world to suffer. 28 So Father, bring glory to yourself.
A voice from heaven then said, “I have already brought glory to myself, and I will do it again!” 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder. Others thought an angel had spoken to Jesus.
30 Then Jesus told the crowd, “That voice spoke to help you, not me. 31 This world's people are now being judged, and the ruler of this world[a] is already being thrown out! 32 If I am lifted up above the earth, I will make everyone want to come to me.” 33 Jesus was talking about the way he would be put to death.
34 (A) The crowd said to Jesus, “The Scriptures teach that the Messiah will live forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you for only a little longer. Walk in the light while you can. Then you won't be caught walking blindly in the dark. 36 Have faith in the light while it is with you, and you will be children of the light.”
The People Refuse To Have Faith in Jesus
After Jesus had said these things, he left and went into hiding. 37 He had worked a lot of miracles[b] among the people, but they were still not willing to have faith in him. 38 (B) This happened so that what the prophet Isaiah had said would come true,
“Lord, who has believed
our message?
And who has seen
your mighty strength?”
39 The people could not have faith in Jesus, because Isaiah had also said,
40 (C) “The Lord has blinded
the eyes of the people,
and he has made
the people stubborn.
He did this so that they
could not see
or understand,
and so that they
would not turn to the Lord
and be healed.”
41 Isaiah said this, because he saw the glory of Jesus and spoke about him.[c] 42 Even then, many of the leaders put their faith in Jesus, but they did not tell anyone about it. The Pharisees had already given orders for the people not to have anything to do with anyone who had faith in Jesus. 43 And besides, the leaders liked praise from others more than they liked praise from God.
Jesus Came To Save the World
44 In a loud voice Jesus said:
Everyone who has faith in me also has faith in the one who sent me. 45 And everyone who has seen me has seen the one who sent me. 46 I am the light that has come into the world. No one who has faith in me will stay in the dark.
47 I am not the one who will judge those who refuse to obey my teachings. I came to save the people of this world, not to be their judge. 48 But everyone who rejects me and my teachings will be judged on the last day[d] by what I have said. 49 I don't speak on my own. I say only what the Father who sent me has told me to say. 50 I know that his commands will bring eternal life. This is why I tell you exactly what the Father has told me.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 12.31 world: In the Gospel of John “world” sometimes refers to the people who live in this world and to the evil forces that control their lives.
- 12.37 miracles: See the note at 2.11.
- 12.41 he saw the glory of Jesus and spoke about him: Or “he saw the glory of God and spoke about Jesus.”
- 12.48 the last day: See the note at 6.39.
2 Chronicles 16-17
Contemporary English Version
King Baasha of Israel Invades Judah
(1 Kings 15.16-22)
16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's rule, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, and he put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.
2 When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the Lord's temple. Then he sent it to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria: 3 “I think we should sign a peace treaty, just as our fathers did. This silver and gold is a present for you. Would you please break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel and force him to leave my country?”
4 Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim,[a] and all the towns in Naphtali where supplies were kept. 5 When Baasha heard about it, he stopped his work on the town of Ramah.
6 Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to fortify Ramah. Then he fortified the towns of Geba and Mizpah with these same stones and wood.
Hanani the Prophet Condemns Asa
7 Soon after that happened, Hanani the prophet went to Asa and said:
You depended on the king of Syria instead of depending on the Lord your God. And so, you will never defeat the Syrian army. 8 Remember how powerful the Ethiopian[b] and Libyan army was, with all their chariots and cavalry troops! You trusted the Lord to help you then, and you defeated them. 9 The Lord is constantly watching everyone, and he gives strength to those who faithfully obey him. But you have done a foolish thing, and your kingdom will never be at peace again.
10 When Asa heard this, he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. Asa was also cruel to some of his people.[c]
Asa Dies
(1 Kings 15.23,24)
11 Everything Asa did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, he got a very bad foot disease, but he relied on doctors and refused to ask the Lord for help. 13 He died two years later.
14 Earlier, Asa had his own tomb cut out of a rock hill in Jerusalem. So he was buried there, and the tomb was filled with spices and sweet-smelling oils. Then the people built a bonfire in his honor.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah
17 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king and strengthened his defenses against Israel. 2 He assigned troops to the fortified cities in Judah, as well as to other towns in Judah and to those towns in Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
3-4 When Jehoshaphat's father had first become king of Judah, he was faithful to the Lord and refused to worship the god Baal as the kings of Israel did. Jehoshaphat followed his father's example and obeyed and worshiped the Lord. And so the Lord blessed Jehoshaphat 5 and helped him keep firm control of his kingdom. The people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, but even after he became very rich and respected, 6 he remained completely faithful to the Lord. He destroyed all the local shrines[d] in Judah, including the places where the goddess Asherah was worshiped.
7 In the third year of Jehoshaphat's rule, he chose five officials and gave them orders to teach the Lord's Law in every city and town in Judah. They were Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. 8 Their assistants were the following nine Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. Two priests, Elishama and Jehoram, also went along. 9 They carried with them a copy of the Lord's Law wherever they went and taught the people from it.
10 The nations around Judah were afraid of the Lord's power, so none of them attacked Jehoshaphat. 11 Philistines brought him silver and other gifts to keep peace. Some of the Arab people brought him 7,700 rams and the same number of goats.
12 As Jehoshaphat became more powerful, he built fortresses and cities 13 where he stored supplies. He also kept in Jerusalem some experienced soldiers 14 from the Judah and Benjamin tribes. These soldiers were grouped according to their clans.
Adnah was the commander of the troops from Judah, and he had 300,000 soldiers under his command. 15 Jehohanan was second in command, with 280,000 soldiers under him. 16 Amasiah son of Zichri, who had volunteered to serve the Lord, was third in command, with 200,000 soldiers under him.
17 Eliada was a brave warrior who commanded the troops from Benjamin. He had 200,000 soldiers under his command, all of them armed with bows and shields. 18 Jehozabad was second in command, with 180,000 soldiers under him. 19 These were the troops who protected the king in Jerusalem, not counting those he had assigned to the fortified cities throughout the country.
Psalm 78:1-20
Contemporary English Version
(A special psalm by Asaph.)
What God Has Done for His People
1 My friends, I beg you
to listen as I teach.
2 (A) I will give instruction
and explain the mystery
of what happened long ago.
3 These are things we learned
from our ancestors,
4 and we will tell them
to the next generation.
We won't keep secret
the glorious deeds
and the mighty miracles
of the Lord.
5 God gave his Law
to Jacob's descendants,
the people of Israel.
And he told our ancestors
to teach their children,
6 so that each new generation
would know his Law
and tell it to the next.
7 Then they would trust God
and obey his teachings,
without forgetting anything
God had done.
8 They would be different
from their ancestors,
who were stubborn, rebellious,
and unfaithful to God.
9 The warriors from Ephraim
were armed with arrows,
but they ran away
when the battle began.
10 They broke their agreement
with God,
and they turned their backs
on his teaching.
11 They forgot all he had done,
even the mighty miracles
12 (B)(C) he did for their ancestors
near Zoan[a] in Egypt.
13 (D) God made a path in the sea
and piled up the water
as he led them across.
14 (E) He guided them during the day
with a cloud,
and each night he led them
with a flaming fire.
15 (F) God made water flow
from rocks he split open
in the desert,
and his people drank freely,
as though from a lake.
16 He made streams gush out
like rivers from rocks.
17 But in the desert,
the people of God Most High
kept sinning and rebelling.
18 (G) They stubbornly tested God
and demanded from him
what they wanted to eat.
19 They challenged God by saying,
“Can God provide food
out here in the desert?
20 It's true God struck the rock
and water gushed out
like a river,
but can he give his people
bread and meat?”
Footnotes
- 78.12 Zoan: A city in the eastern part of the Nile Delta.
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