There Is None Who Does Good

To the choirmaster: according to (A)Mahalath. A Maskil[a] of David.

53 (B)The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
    there is none who does good.

God looks down from heaven
    on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,[b]
    who seek after God.

They have all fallen away;
    together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
    not even one.

Have those who work evil no knowledge,
    who eat up my people as they eat bread,
    and do not call upon God?

There they are, in great terror,
    (C)where there is no terror!
For God (D)scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
    you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with (E)stringed instruments. A Maskil[c] of David, (F)when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

54 O God, save me by your (G)name,
    and vindicate me by your might.
O God, (H)hear my prayer;
    give ear to the words of my mouth.

(I)For (J)strangers[d] have risen against me;
    ruthless men (K)seek my life;
    they do not set God before themselves. Selah

Behold, (L)God is my helper;
    the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies;
    in your (M)faithfulness (N)put an end to them.

With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
    I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, (O)for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
    and my eye has (P)looked in triumph on my enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 53:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
  2. Psalm 53:2 Or who act wisely
  3. Psalm 54:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  4. Psalm 54:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Targum insolent men (compare Psalm 86:14)

The Revolt Against Rehoboam

10 (A)Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, (B)where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, (C)“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” He said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” So the people went away.

Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men,[a] who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, (D)“If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us’; thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, 14 King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, (E)which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. (F)Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So all Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent (G)Hadoram,[b] who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Rehoboam Secures His Kingdom

11 (H)When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. But the word of the Lord came to (I)Shemaiah the man of God: “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against (J)your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned and did not go against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built (K)cities for defense in Judah. He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, (L)Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and in Benjamin. 11 He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. 12 And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

Priests and Levites Come to Jerusalem

13 And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. 14 For the Levites left (M)their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, (N)because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, 15 and he appointed his own (O)priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for (P)the calves that he had made. 16 (Q)And those who had set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 17 (R)They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

Rehoboam's Family

18 Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of (S)Eliab the son of Jesse, 19 and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 After her he took (T)Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him (U)Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). 22 (V)And Rehoboam appointed (W)Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. 23 And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he gave them abundant provisions and procured wives for them.[c]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 10:6 Or the elders; also verses 8, 13
  2. 2 Chronicles 10:18 Spelled Adoram in 1 Kings 12:18
  3. 2 Chronicles 11:23 Hebrew and sought a multitude of wives

Jesus Is Buried

57 (A)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and (B)laid it in his own new tomb, (C)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled (D)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and (E)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of (F)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how (G)that impostor said, while he was still alive, (H)‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, (I)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have (J)a guard[a] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by (K)sealing the stone and setting a guard.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 27:65 Or Take a guard

The Resurrection

28 (A)Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and (B)the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for (C)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. (D)His appearance was like lightning, and (E)his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and (F)became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, (G)as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, (H)he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb (I)with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus (J)met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and (K)took hold of his feet and (L)worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; (M)go and tell (N)my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

11 While they were going, behold, some of (O)the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, (P)‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to (Q)the governor's ears, we will (R)satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews (S)to this day.

The Great Commission

16 Now the eleven disciples (T)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they (U)worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, (V)“All authority (W)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 (X)Go therefore and (Y)make disciples of (Z)all nations, (AA)baptizing them (AB)in[b] (AC)the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them (AD)to observe all that (AE)I have commanded you. And behold, (AF)I am with you always, to (AG)the end of the age.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 28:6 Some manuscripts the Lord
  2. Matthew 28:19 Or into

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