The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.^{(A) 2} He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice^(B) against my adversary.’

⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”^(C)

⁶ And the Lord^(D) said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out^(E) to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man^(F) comes,^(G) will he find faith on the earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness^(H) and looked down on everyone else,^(I) Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray,^(J) one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself^(K) and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast^(L) twice a week and give a tenth^(M) of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast^(N) and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’^(O)

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”^(P)

The Little Children and Jesus^(Q)

¹⁵ People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child^(R) will never enter it.”

The Rich and the Kingdom of God^(S)

¹⁸ A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”^(T)

¹⁹ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’^[a]”^(U)

²¹ “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor,^(V) and you will have treasure in heaven.^(W) Then come, follow me.”

²³ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. ²⁴ Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!^{(X) 25} Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”^(Y)

²⁸ Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”^(Z)

²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God ³⁰ will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come^(AA) eternal life.”^(AB)

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time^(AC)

³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem,^(AD) and everything that is written by the prophets^(AE) about the Son of Man^(AF) will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles.^(AG) They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him^(AH) and kill him.^(AI) On the third day^(AJ) he will rise again.”^(AK)

³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.^(AL)

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight^(AM)

³⁵ As Jesus approached Jericho,^(AN) a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”^(AO)

³⁸ He called out, “Jesus, Son of David,^(AP) have mercy^(AQ) on me!”

³⁹ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”^(AR)

⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

⁴² Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”^{(AS) 43} Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.^(AT)

Psalm 80^[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.

Joash Repairs the Temple^(A)(B)

24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. ² Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord^(C) all the years of Jehoiada the priest. ³ Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴ Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord. ⁵ He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money^(D) due annually from all Israel,^(E) to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.” But the Levites^(F) did not act at once.

⁶ Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the Lord and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the covenant law?”^(G)

⁷ Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.

⁸ At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the Lord. ⁹ A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly,^(H) dropping them into the chest until it was full. ¹¹ Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king’s officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money. ¹² The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord. They hired^(I) masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.

¹³ The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the Lord’s temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord.

¹⁵ Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. ¹⁶ He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.

The Wickedness of Joash

¹⁷ After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned^(J) the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols.^(K) Because of their guilt, God’s anger^(L) came on Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.^(M)

²⁰ Then the Spirit^(N) of God came on Zechariah^(O) son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper.^(P) Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken^(Q) you.’”

²¹ But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned^(R) him to death^(S) in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.^{(T) 22} King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”^(U)

²³ At the turn of the year,^[a] the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people.^(V) They sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. ²⁴ Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men,^(W) the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army.^(X) Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash. ²⁵ When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was buried^(Y) in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶ Those who conspired against him were Zabad,^[b] son of Shimeath an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith^[c](Z) a Moabite woman.^{(AA) 27} The account of his sons, the many prophecies about him, and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are written in the annotations on the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Amaziah King of Judah^(AB)(AC)(AD)

25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.^{(AE) 3} After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king. ⁴ Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses,^(AF) where the Lord commanded: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”^[d](AG)

⁵ Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered^(AH) those twenty years old^(AI) or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men fit for military service,^(AJ) able to handle the spear and shield. ⁶ He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents^[e] of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel^(AK) must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the people of Ephraim. ⁸ Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”^(AL)

⁹ Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?”

The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”^(AM)

¹⁰ So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage.^(AN)

¹¹ Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir. ¹² The army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.^(AO)

¹³ Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and had not allowed to take part in the war raided towns belonging to Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off great quantities of plunder.

¹⁴ When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods,^(AP) bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them. ¹⁵ The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why do you consult this people’s gods, which could not save^(AQ) their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?”

So the prophet stopped but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

¹⁷ After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he sent this challenge to Jehoash^[f] son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel: “Come, let us face each other in battle.”

¹⁸ But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle^(AR) in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. ¹⁹ You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”

²⁰ Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might deliver them into the hands of Jehoash, because they sought the gods of Edom.^{(AS) 21} So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah. ²² Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home. ²³ Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah,^[g] at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate^(AT) to the Corner Gate^(AU)—a section about four hundred cubits^[h] long. ²⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom,^(AV) together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ²⁶ As for the other events of Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish^(AW), but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁸ He was brought back by horse and was buried with his ancestors in the City of Judah.^[i]

Uzziah King of Judah^(AX)(AY)

26 Then all the people of Judah^(AZ) took Uzziah,^[j] who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors.

³ Uzziah 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. ⁴ He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear^[k] of God.^(BA) As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.^(BB)

⁶ He went to war against the Philistines^(BC) and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod.^(BD) He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs^(BE) who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.^{(BF) 8} The Ammonites^(BG) brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.

⁹ Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate,^(BH) at the Valley Gate^(BI) and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. ¹⁰ He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

¹¹ Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. ¹² The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. ¹³ Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. ¹⁴ Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army.^{(BJ) 15} In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.

¹⁶ But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride^(BK) led to his downfall.^(BL) He was unfaithful^(BM) to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense^(BN) on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ Azariah^(BO) the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. ¹⁸ They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests,^(BP) the descendants^(BQ) of Aaron,^(BR) who have been consecrated to burn incense.^(BS) Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy^[l](BT) broke out on his forehead. ²⁰ When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

²¹ King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house^[m](BU)—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

²² The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah^(BV) son of Amoz. ²³ Uzziah^(BW) rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.^(BX)