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The Reign of Uzziah
26 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah (now he was sixteen years old) and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. 2 He built Elath and returned it to Judah after the king slept with his ancestors.[a] 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. And the name of his mother was Yecoliah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Amaziah his father had done. 5 And he began to seek[b] God in the days of Zechariah who was teaching in visions of God. And whenever[c] he sought Yahweh God made him have success.
6 And he went out and made war against the Philistines, and he broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in Ashdod and among the Philistines. 7 And God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who were living in Gur-Baal and Meunim. 8 And the Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah, and his fame[d] went out to the boundary[e] of Egypt, for he became very strong.[f] 9 And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and he strengthened them. 10 And he built towers in the desert and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the Shephelah and on the plain, along with farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. 11 And Uzziah had troops trained and ready for war[g] in divisions according to the number of their enrollment at the hand of Jeuel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah of the king’s commanders. 12 The whole number of the heads of the families[h] for mighty warriors of strength was two thousand six hundred. 13 And under their hand were army troops numbering three hundred and seven thousand five hundred who could make war with power and strength to help the king against an enemy. 14 And Uzziah prepared small shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the whole army. 15 And he made siege machines in Jerusalem designed by skillful men to be set upon the towers and upon the corners to shoot arrows and large slingstones. And his fame[i] went out far, for he helped marvelously, for he was strong.
16 But on account of his strength his heart grew proud unto destruction. And he acted unfaithfully against Yahweh his God and went into the temple of Yahweh to offer an incense offering on the altar. 17 And Azariah the priest, along with eighty strong priests with him, went in after him. 18 And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but it is for the priests, the descendants[j] of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully. There will be no honor for you from Yahweh God.” 19 Then Uzziah, his censer in hand to burn incense, became angry. And when he became angry with the priests, then leprosy appeared on his forehead in front of the priests in the house of Yahweh at the altar of incense. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him, behold, he was leprous in the forehead. So they rushed him away from there, and he also hastened to go out, for Yahweh had smitten him. 21 So King Uzziah was leprous until the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house as a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. And Jotham his son was over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.
22 Now the remainder of the words of Uzziah, from the first to the last, Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, wrote them. 23 And Uzziah slept with his ancestors,[k] and they buried him with his ancestors[l] in the burial field which belonged to the kings, because, they said, “He was leprous.” And Jotham his son reigned in his place.
The Reign of Jotham
27 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Uzziah had done—only he did not go into the temple of Yahweh. But the people still acted corruptly. 3 He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh, and he did much restoration[m] on the wall of Ophel. 4 And he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and he built forts and towers in the wooded places. 5 Now he fought with the king of the Ammonites[n] and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites[o] gave to him in that year one hundred talents of silver and ten thousand measures of wheat and ten thousand measures of barley. This is what the Ammonites[p] rendered to him, as well as in the second and third year. 6 And Jotham strengthened himself, for he established his ways before Yahweh his God.
7 Now the remainder of the words of Jotham and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written upon the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 And Jotham slept with his ancestors,[q] and they buried him in the city of David. And his son Ahaz became king in his place.
The Reign of Ahaz
28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh like David his ancestor.[r] 2 But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made molten idols for the Baals. 3 And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable practices of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops, and under every flourishing tree.
5 Then Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram[s] who defeated him and captured many captives from him and brought them to Damascus. Moreover, he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, and he defeated him by a great attack. 6 And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed in one day one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah, all men of strength, because they forsook Yahweh the God of their ancestors.[t] 7 And Zikri, a mighty warrior of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the son of the king, Azrikam the commander of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king. 8 And the Israelites captured two hundred thousand of their brothers, women, sons, and daughters. And they also plundered much booty from them and brought the booty to Samaria.
9 Now a prophet of Yahweh was there; Oded was his name. And he went out before the army that was coming to Samaria and said to them, “Look, it is on account of the anger of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[u] against Judah that he gave them into your hands, and you killed them in a rage reaching to the heavens. 10 So now, you yourselves plan to subdue people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves and female servants for yourselves. Is there not also guilt on your part[v] against Yahweh your God? 11 So now, listen to me and return the captives of your brothers whom you have taken captive, for the fierce anger of Yahweh is against you.”
12 Then men from the heads of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Jehohanan, Berekiah the son of Meshillemoth, Hezekiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—stood against those returning from the fight. 13 And they said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for it is as guilt against Yahweh upon us. You yourselves plan to add to our sins and to our guilt, but our guilt is very great, and there is great anger against Israel.” 14 So the soldiers left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly. 15 Then the men designated by name arose and took the captives and from the plunder clothed all their nakedness. So they clothed them, gave them sandals, gave them food to eat, gave them water to drink, anointed them, and guided them with the donkeys provided for all those who stumbled, and brought them to Jericho, the city of the palm trees, next to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.
16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria to help him, 17 since again the Edomites came and struck against Judah and took captives. 18 And the Philistines sent raids into the cities of the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah. And they captured Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Socoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. 19 For Yahweh subdued Judah for the sake of Ahaz, king of Israel, for he created disorder in Judah and acted unfaithfully against Yahweh. 20 Then Tiglath-Pileser[w] the king of Assyria came against him and brought trouble for him, instead of helping him,[x] 21 for Ahaz took a portion from the house of Yahweh and the house of the king and the princes, and he gave it to the king of Assyria, but it was no help to him.
22 And in the time of his distress, King Ahaz continued to act unfaithfully against Yahweh. 23 He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the king of Aram[y] helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me.” But they were a disaster[z] to him and to all Israel. 24 Then Ahaz gathered the objects of the house of God, and he cut the objects of the house of God to pieces. And he shut the doors of the house of Yahweh and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 And in every city[aa] of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and he provoked Yahweh, the God of his ancestors,[ab] to anger.
26 Now the remainder of his words and all his ways, from the first to the last, behold, they are written upon the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 And Ahaz slept with his ancestors,[ac] and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the burial site of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son became king in his place.
Obedience to the Governing Authorities
13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except by God, and those that exist are put in place by God. 2 So then, the one who resists authority resists the ordinance which is from God, and those who resist will receive condemnation on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of terror for a good deed, but for bad conduct. So do you want not to be afraid of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from it, 4 for it is God’s servant to you for what is good. But if you do what is bad, be afraid, because it does not bear the sword to no purpose. For it is God’s servant, the one who avenges for punishment on the one who does what is bad. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities[a] are servants of God, busily engaged in this very thing. 7 Pay to everyone what is owed: pay taxes to whom taxes are due; pay customs duties to whom customs duties are due; pay respect to whom respect is due; pay honor to whom honor is due.[b]
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another, for the one who loves someone else has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,”[c] and if there is any other commandment, are summed up in this statement: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[d] 10 Love does not commit evil against a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this because you[e] know the time, that it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we believed. 12 The night is far gone, and the day has drawn near. Therefore let us throw off[f] the deeds of darkness and put on the weapons of light. 13 Let us live decently, as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and licentiousness, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and do not make provision for the desires of the flesh.
Yahweh the Shepherd
A psalm of David.[a]
23 Yahweh is my shepherd;
I will not lack for anything.
2 In grassy pastures he makes me lie down;
by quiet waters he leads me.
3 He restores my life.[b]
He leads me in correct paths[c]
for the sake of his name.
4 Even when I walk in a dark valley, I fear no evil
because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare before me a table
in the presence of my oppressors.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
6 Surely goodness and loyal love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will stay[d] in the house[e] of Yahweh
for a very long time.[f]
11 Even by his acts, a young man[a] will make himself known,
whether his acts are pure and upright.
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