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King Uzziah of Judah(A)
15 In the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, Uzziah son of Amaziah became king of Judah 2 at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. 3 Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the Lord. 4 But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 5 The Lord struck Uzziah with a dreaded skin disease that stayed with him the rest of his life. He lived in a separate house, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country.
6 Everything else that Uzziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. 7 (B)Uzziah died and was buried in the royal burial ground in David's City, and his son Jotham succeeded him as king.
King Zechariah of Israel
8 In the thirty-eighth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam II became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for six months. 9 He, like his predecessors, sinned against the Lord. He followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. 10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against King Zechariah, assassinated him at Ibleam,[a] and succeeded him as king.
11 Everything else that Zechariah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.
12 (C)So the promise was fulfilled which the Lord had made to King Jehu: “Your descendants down to the fourth generation[b] will be kings of Israel.”
King Shallum of Israel
13 In the thirty-ninth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for one month.
14 Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah to Samaria, assassinated Shallum, and succeeded him as king. 15 Everything else that Shallum did, including an account of his conspiracy, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 16 As Menahem was on his way from Tirzah, he completely destroyed the city of Tappuah,[c] its inhabitants, and the surrounding territory, because the city did not surrender to him. He even ripped open the bellies of all the pregnant women.
King Menahem of Israel
17 In the thirty-ninth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for ten years. 18 He sinned against the Lord, for until the day of his death he followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. 19 Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, invaded Israel, and Menahem gave him thirty-eight tons of silver to gain his support in strengthening Menahem's power over the country. 20 Menahem got the money from the rich men of Israel by forcing each one to contribute fifty pieces of silver. So Tiglath Pileser went back to his own country.
21 Everything else that Menahem did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 22 He died and was buried, and his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king.
King Pekahiah of Israel
23 In the fiftieth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for two years. 24 He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. 25 An officer of Pekahiah's forces, Pekah son of Remaliah, plotted with fifty men from Gilead, assassinated Pekahiah in the palace's inner fortress[d] in Samaria, and succeeded him as king.
26 Everything else that Pekahiah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.
King Pekah of Israel
27 In the fifty-second year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for twenty years. 28 He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.
29 It was while Pekah was king that Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, captured the cities of Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor, and the territories of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali, and took the people to Assyria as prisoners.
30 In the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah as king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah plotted against King Pekah, assassinated him, and succeeded him as king. 31 Everything else that Pekah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.
King Jotham of Judah(D)
32 In the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah as king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah 33 at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. 34 Following the example of his father Uzziah, Jotham did what was pleasing to the Lord. 35 But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. It was Jotham who built the North Gate of the Temple.
36 Everything else that Jotham did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. 37 It was while he was king that the Lord first sent King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel to attack Judah. 38 Jotham died and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City, and his son Ahaz succeeded him as king.
King Ahaz of Judah(E)
16 In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah as king of Israel, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah 2 at the age of twenty, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not follow the good example of his ancestor King David; instead, he did what was not pleasing to the Lord his God 3 (F)and followed the example of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his own son as a burnt offering to idols, imitating the disgusting practice of the people whom the Lord had driven out of the land as the Israelites advanced. 4 At the pagan places of worship, on the hills, and under every shady tree, Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense.
5 (G)King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel attacked Jerusalem and besieged it, but could not defeat Ahaz. (6 At the same time the king of Edom[e] regained control of the city of Elath and drove out the Judeans who lived there. The Edomites settled in Elath and still live there.) 7 Ahaz sent men to Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, with this message: “I am your devoted servant. Come and rescue me from the kings of Syria and of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple and the palace treasury, and sent it as a present to the emperor. 9 Tiglath Pileser, in answer to Ahaz' plea, marched out with his army against Damascus, captured it, killed King Rezin, and took the people to Kir as prisoners.
10 When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Emperor Tiglath Pileser, he saw the altar there and sent back to Uriah the priest an exact model of it, down to the smallest details. 11 So Uriah built an altar just like it and finished it before Ahaz returned. 12 On his return from Damascus, Ahaz saw that the altar was finished, 13 so he burned animal sacrifices and grain offerings on it and poured a wine offering and the blood of a fellowship offering on it. 14 (H)The bronze altar dedicated to the Lord was between the new altar and the Temple, so Ahaz moved it to the north side of his new altar. 15 Then he ordered Uriah: “Use this large altar of mine for the morning burnt offerings and the evening grain offerings, for the burnt offerings and grain offerings of the king and the people, and for the people's wine offerings. Pour on it the blood of all the animals that are sacrificed. But keep the bronze altar for me to use for divination.” 16 Uriah did as the king commanded.
17 (I)King Ahaz took apart the bronze carts used in the Temple and removed the basins that were on them. He also took the bronze tank from the backs of the twelve bronze bulls and placed it on a stone foundation. 18 And in order to please the Assyrian emperor, Ahaz also removed from the Temple the platform for the royal throne and closed up the king's private entrance to the Temple.[f]
19 Everything else that King Ahaz did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.
20 (J)Ahaz died and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City, and his son Hezekiah succeeded him as king.
13 Some Jews who traveled around and drove out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to do this. They said to the evil spirits, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” 14 Seven brothers, who were the sons of a Jewish High Priest named Sceva, were doing this.
15 But the evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul; but you—who are you?”
16 The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off. 17 All the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Ephesus heard about this; they were all filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was given greater honor. 18 Many of the believers came, publicly admitting and revealing what they had done. 19 Many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to fifty thousand silver coins.[a] 20 In this powerful way the word of the Lord[b] kept spreading and growing stronger.
The Riot in Ephesus
21 After these things had happened, Paul made up his mind[c] to travel through Macedonia and Achaia and go on to Jerusalem. “After I go there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia, while he spent more time in the province of Asia.
23 It was at this time that there was serious trouble in Ephesus because of the Way of the Lord. 24 A certain silversmith named Demetrius made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought a great deal of profit to the workers. 25 So he called them all together with others whose work was like theirs and said to them, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this work. 26 Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that hand-made gods are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia. 27 There is the danger, then, that this business of ours will get a bad name. Not only that, but there is also the danger that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to mean nothing and that her greatness will be destroyed—the goddess worshiped by everyone in Asia and in all the world!”
28 As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” 29 The uproar spread throughout the whole city. The mob grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were traveling with Paul, and rushed with them to the theater. 30 Paul himself wanted to go before the crowd, but the believers would not let him. 31 Some of the provincial authorities, who were his friends, also sent him a message begging him not to show himself in the theater. 32 Meanwhile the whole meeting was in an uproar: some people were shouting one thing, others were shouting something else, because most of them did not even know why they had come together. 33 Some of the people concluded that Alexander was responsible, since the Jews made him go up to the front. Then Alexander motioned with his hand for the people to be silent, and he tried to make a speech of defense. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted together the same thing for two hours: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!”
35 At last the city clerk was able to calm the crowd. “Fellow Ephesians!” he said. “Everyone knows that the city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell down from heaven. 36 Nobody can deny these things. So then, you must calm down and not do anything reckless. 37 You have brought these men here even though they have not robbed temples or said evil things about our goddess. 38 If Demetrius and his workers have an accusation against anyone, we have the authorities and the regular days for court; charges can be made there. 39 But if there is something more that you want, it will have to be settled in a legal meeting of citizens. 40 For after what has happened today, there is the danger that we will be accused of a riot. There is no excuse for all this uproar, and we would not be able to give a good reason for it.” 41 After saying this, he dismissed the meeting.
In Praise of God the Almighty
147 Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praise to our God;
it is pleasant and right to praise him.
2 The Lord is restoring Jerusalem;
he is bringing back the exiles.
3 He heals the broken-hearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 He has decided the number of the stars
and calls each one by name.
5 Great and mighty is our Lord;
his wisdom cannot be measured.
6 He raises the humble,
but crushes the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing hymns of praise to the Lord;
play music on the harp to our God.
8 He spreads clouds over the sky;
he provides rain for the earth
and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives animals their food
and feeds the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in strong horses,
nor his delight in brave soldiers;
11 but he takes pleasure in those who honor him,
in those who trust in his constant love.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 He keeps your gates strong;
he blesses your people.
14 He keeps your borders safe
and satisfies you with the finest wheat.
15 He gives a command to the earth,
and what he says is quickly done.
16 He spreads snow like a blanket
and scatters frost like dust.
17 He sends hail like gravel;
no one can endure the cold he sends!
18 Then he gives a command, and the ice melts;
he sends the wind, and the water flows.
19 He gives his message to his people,
his instructions and laws to Israel.
20 He has not done this for other nations;
they do not know his laws.
Praise the Lord!
4 A person's words can be a source of wisdom, deep as the ocean, fresh as a flowing stream.
5 It is not right to favor the guilty and keep the innocent from receiving justice.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.