John 14:1-14
Contemporary English Version
Jesus Is the Way to the Father
14 Jesus said to his disciples, “Don't be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me.[a] 2 There are many rooms in my Father's house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. 3 After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together. 4 You know the way to where I am going.”
5 Thomas said, “Lord, we don't even know where you are going! How can we know the way?”
6 (A) “I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. 7 If you had really known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”
9 Jesus replied:
Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? 10 Don't you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn't said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things.
11 Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. 12 I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. 13 Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. 14 I will do whatever you ask me to do.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 14.1 Have faith in God and have faith in me: Or “You have faith in God, so have faith in me.”
2 Chronicles 20:1-21
Contemporary English Version
Moab and Ammon Are Defeated
20 Some time later, the armies of Moab and Ammon, together with the Meunites,[a] went to war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Messengers told Jehoshaphat, “A large army from Edom[b] east of the Dead Sea has invaded our country. They have already reached En-Gedi.”[c]
3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he asked the Lord what to do. He then told the people of Judah to go without eating to show their sorrow. 4 They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask for the Lord's help.
5 After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem had come together at the Lord's temple, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the new courtyard 6 and prayed:
You, Lord, are the God our ancestors worshiped, and from heaven you rule every nation in the world. You are so powerful that no one can defeat you. 7 (A) Our God, you forced out the nations who lived in this land before your people Israel came here, and you gave it to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. 8 Our ancestors lived in this land and built a temple to honor you. 9 They believed that whenever this land is struck by war or disease or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple, and you will hear their prayer and save them.
10 (B) You can see that the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Edom are attacking us! Those are the nations you would not let our ancestors invade on their way from Egypt, so these nations were not destroyed. 11 Now they are coming to take back the land you gave us. 12 Aren't you going to punish them? We won't stand a chance when this army attacks. We don't know what to do—we are begging for your help.
13 While every man, woman, and child of Judah was standing there at the temple, 14 the Lord's Spirit suddenly spoke to Jahaziel, a Levite from the Asaph clan.[d] 15 (C) Then Jahaziel said:
Your Majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem, the Lord says that you don't need to be afraid or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight on your side! 16 So here's what you must do. Tomorrow the enemy armies will march through the desert around the town of Jeruel. March down and meet them at the town of Ziz as they come up the valley. 17 (D) You won't even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the Lord rescue you from your enemy. Don't be afraid. Just do as you're told. And as you march out tomorrow, the Lord will be there with you.
18 Jehoshaphat bowed low to the ground and everyone worshiped the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohath and Korah clans stood up and shouted praises to the Lord God of Israel.
20 Early the next morning, as everyone got ready to leave for the desert near Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Listen my friends, if we trust the Lord God and believe what these prophets have told us, the Lord will help us, and we will be successful.” 21 Then he explained his plan and appointed men to march in front of the army and praise the Lord for his holy power by singing:[e]
“Praise the Lord!
His love never ends.”
22 As soon as they began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp, 23 so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out!
24 When Judah's army reached the tower that overlooked the desert, they saw that every soldier in the enemy's army was lying dead on the ground. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his troops went into the camp to carry away everything of value. They found a large herd of livestock,[f] a lot of equipment, clothes,[g] and other valuable things. It took them three days to carry it all away, and there was still some left over.
26 Then on the fourth day, everyone came together in Beracah Valley and sang praises to the Lord. That's why that place was called Praise Valley.[h]
27-28 Jehoshaphat led the crowd back to Jerusalem. And as they marched, they played harps and blew trumpets. They were very happy because the Lord had given them victory over their enemies, so when they reached the city, they went straight to the temple.
29 When the other nations heard how the Lord had fought against Judah's enemies, they were too afraid 30 to invade Judah. The Lord let Jehoshaphat's kingdom be at peace.
Jehoshaphat Dies
(1 Kings 22.41-50)
31 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 32 Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord, just as his father Asa had done, 33 but he did not destroy the local shrines.[i] So the people still worshiped foreign gods, instead of faithfully serving the God their ancestors had worshiped.
34 Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king is written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani that are included in The History of the Kings of Israel.
35 While Jehoshaphat was king, he signed a peace treaty with Ahaziah the wicked king of Israel. 36 They agreed to build several seagoing ships[j] at Ezion-Geber. 37 But the prophet Eliezer[k] warned Jehoshaphat, “The Lord will destroy these ships because you have supported Ahaziah.” The ships were wrecked and never sailed.
21 Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Jehoram became king.
Footnotes
- 20.1 Meunites: One ancient translation (see also 26.7); Hebrew “Ammonites.”
- 20.2 Edom: The Hebrew text has “Syria”; in Hebrew there is only one letter difference between “Edom” and “Aram,” which is the usual Hebrew name for Syria in the Bible.
- 20.2 En-Gedi: The Hebrew text has “Hazazon-Tamar, also known as En-Gedi,” a city on the west shore of the Dead Sea, about 40 kilometers southeast of Jerusalem.
- 20.14 Jahaziel, a Levite from the Asaph clan: Hebrew “Jahaziel son of Zechariah son of Benaiah son of Jeiel son of Mattaniah, who was a Levite from the Asaph clan.”
- 20.21 to march in front … singing: Or “to put on their sacred robes, lead the army into battle, and praise the Lord by singing.”
- 20.25 a large herd of livestock: One ancient translation; Hebrew “among the bodies a large herd of.”
- 20.25 clothes: One ancient translation; Hebrew “dead bodies.”
- 20.26 Beracah Valley … sang praises … Praise Valley: In Hebrew the name “Beracah” means “praise.”
- 20.33 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.
- 20.36 seagoing ships: See the note at 9.21.
- 20.37 Eliezer: Hebrew “Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah.”
Psalm 78:56-72
Contemporary English Version
56 (A) But the people tested
God Most High,
and they refused
to obey his laws.
57 They were as unfaithful
as their ancestors,
and they were as crooked
as a twisted arrow.
58 God demanded all their love,
but they made him angry
by worshiping idols.
59 So God became furious
and completely rejected
the people of Israel.
60 (B) Then he deserted his home
at Shiloh, where he lived
here on earth.
61 (C) He let enemies capture
the sacred chest[a]
and let them dishonor him.
62 God took out his anger
on his chosen ones
and let them be killed
by enemy swords.
63 Fire destroyed the young men,
and the young women were left
with no one to marry.
64 Priests died violent deaths,
but their widows
were not allowed to mourn.
65 Finally the Lord woke up,
like a soldier
startled from a drunken sleep.
66 God scattered his enemies
and made them ashamed
forever.
67 Then the Lord decided
not to make his home
with Joseph's descendants
in Ephraim.[b]
68 Instead he chose the tribe
of Judah,
and he chose Mount Zion,
the place he loves.
69 There he built his temple
as lofty as the mountains
and as solid as the earth
he made to last forever.
70 (D) The Lord God chose David
to be his servant and took him
from tending sheep
71 and from caring for lambs.
Then God made him the leader
of Israel, his own nation.
72 David treated the people fairly
and guided them with wisdom.
Footnotes
- 78.61 sacred chest: The Hebrew text has “his power,” which refers to the sacred chest. In Psalm 132.8 it is called “powerful.”
- 78.67 with … Ephraim: Ephraim was Joseph's youngest son. One of the twelve tribes was named after him, and sometimes the northern kingdom of Israel was also known as Ephraim. The town of Shiloh was in the territory of Ephraim, but the place where God was worshiped was moved from there to Zion (Jerusalem) in the territory of Judah.
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