The Daily Audio Bible
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Uzziah Succeeds Amaziah(A)
26 All the people of Judah made Uzziah king in place of his father Amaziah. Uzziah was sixteen years old at the time. 2 He rebuilt Eloth and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah[a] had been laid to rest[b] with his ancestors. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah. She was from Jerusalem. 4 He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, following the example set by his father Amaziah’s accomplishments. 5 Uzziah[c] kept on seeking God during the lifetime of Zechariah, who taught him how to fear God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosperous.
Uzziah’s Initial Successes
6 One time Uzziah[d] went out and battled the Philistines. He tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, and built cities in the Ashdod area among the Philistines. 7 God helped Uzziah[e] defeat the Philistines, the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his reputation extended as far as the border with Egypt as he became stronger and stronger. 9 Uzziah also built towers in Jerusalem, at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle[f] and fortified them. 10 He also built watchtowers in the wilderness and had many cisterns hewed out, since he also possessed large herds, both in the Shephelah[g] and in the midland plains. He had many farmers and vinedressers throughout the hills and fertile lands because he loved farming.[h]
11 Uzziah kept a standing army, equipped for battle, garrisoned in divisions according to an organizational structure devised by his royal secretary Jeiel and his officer Maaseiah, who reported to Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders. 12 The number of senior leaders of the ancestral houses of his elite forces numbered 2,600. 13 Uzziah[i] commanded an army of 307,500 who could fight formidably on behalf of the king against any enemy. 14 In addition, Uzziah equipped the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and stones for use in slings. 15 He also had various siege engines built by skilled designers and placed them on the towers and on the corner ramparts that could fire arrows and very large stones. His reputation spread far and wide, and he was marvelously assisted until he grew very strong.
Uzziah’s Arrogance and Apostasy(B)
16 But after he had become strong, in his arrogance he acted corruptly and became unfaithful to the Lord his God, and he dared to enter the Lord’s Temple to burn incense on the incense altar. 17 Azariah the priest ran after him, along with 80 of the Lord’s valiant priests, 18 and they opposed King Uzziah. “Uzziah, it’s not for you to burn incense to the Lord,” they told him, “but for the priests to do, Aaron’s descendants who are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary now, because you have been unfaithful and won’t receive any honor from the Lord God.”
19 Uzziah flew into a rage while he held in his hand a censer to burn incense. As he got angry at the priests, leprosy broke out all over his forehead right in front of the priests beside the incense altar in the Lord’s Temple. 20 So Azariah the chief priest and all the priests stared at Uzziah, who was infected with leprosy in his forehead! They all rushed at him and hurried him out of the Temple. Uzziah[j] was in a hurry to get out anyway, because the Lord had struck him.
21 King Uzziah remained a leper until the day he died. Because he was a leper, he lived in a separate residence and remained disqualified to enter the Lord’s Temple. His son Jotham served in the royal palace, judging the people of the land. 22 Now the rest of Uzziah’s accomplishments, from first to last, have been recorded by Amoz’s son Isaiah the prophet. 23 Uzziah died, as had his ancestors, and they buried him alongside his ancestors in a grave in a field that belonged to the kings, because they said, “He was a leper.” Uzziah’s[k] son Jotham became king to replace him.
Jotham Succeeds Uzziah(C)
27 Jotham was 25 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zadok’s daughter Jerusha. 2 He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, just as his father Uzziah had done, even though he did not enter the Temple. Nevertheless, the people continued acting corruptly.
3 Jotham[l] constructed the Upper Gate of the Lord’s Temple and did extensive work on the wall of Ophel.[m] 4 He also built cities in the hill country of Judah, along with fortresses and guard towers in the forests. 5 He launched a military excursion against the king of the Ammonites and defeated him. As a result, that year the Ammonites paid 100 talents[n] of silver in tribute, as well as 10,000 kors[o] of wheat and 10,000 kors[p] of barley. The Ammonites continued to pay this same amount in tribute over the following two years. 6 Jotham grew in power because he had determined to live his life in the presence of the Lord his God. 7 The rest of the accomplishments of Jotham’s reign, including all of his military exploits and campaigns, are recorded in the book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He started his reign at the age of 25 years and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 Then Jotham died, as had his fathers, and he was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.
Ahaz Succeeds Jotham(D)
28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem, but he did not practice what the Lord considered to be right, as his ancestor David had done. 2 Instead, he lived like[q] the kings of Israel did. He cast metal images of Baal,[r] 3 burned incense in the Ben-hinnom Valley, and burned his sons[s] as an offering, following the detestable activities of the nations whom the Lord had expelled in front of the people of Israel. 4 He sacrificed and burned incense on high places, on the top of hills, and under every green tree.
Aram and Israel Defeat Judah(E)
5 As a result, the Lord his God handed Ahaz[t] over to the king of Aram, who defeated him and took a large number of captives away to Damascus. Ahaz[u] was also delivered over to the control of the King of Israel, who defeated him with many heavy casualties. 6 Remaliah’s son Pekah killed 120,000 soldiers in a single day, all of them elite forces, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their ancestors. 7 Zichri, a valiant soldier from Ephraim, killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the palace manager, and Elkanah, who was second in rank to the king. 8 The Israelis carried away 200,000 women, sons, and daughters from among their own relatives. They also took a great deal of plunder, and brought it all to Samaria.
Oded the Prophet Rebukes Israel
9 But a prophet of the Lord was there named Oded. He went out to greet the army as it arrived in Samaria. He warned them, “Look! Because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry at Judah, he delivered them into your control, but you have killed them with a vehemence that has reached all the way to heaven! 10 Now you’re intending to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem to be your slaves. Surely you have your own sins against the Lord your God for which you’re accountable,[v] don’t you? 11 So listen to me! Return the captives whom you’ve captured from your brothers, because the anger of the Lord is burning hot against you!”
12 Some of the leaders of the descendants of Ephraim, including Johanan’s son Azariah, Meshillemoth’s son Berechiah, Shallum’s son Jehizkiah, and Hadlai’s son Amasa, stood up to the army as they were coming back from the battle 13 and told them, “Don’t bring those captives here! You’ll bring even more guilt on us from the Lord, in addition to our own existing sin and guilt! He’s already mad enough against Israel because of our guilt!”
14 So the army abandoned the captives and the war booty in front of the officers and the entire assembled retinue. 15 After this, some men who were chosen by name took charge of the captives, clothed those who were naked with clothes appropriated from the war booty, gave them clothes and sandals, fed them, gave them something to drink, anointed them with oil, provided those who weren’t able to walk[w] with donkeys to ride on, and took them back to their relatives at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.
Assyria Plunders the Temple(F)
16 Right about then, King Ahaz sent for help from the kings of Assyria 17 because the Edomites had invaded, attacked Judah, and carried off some captives. 18 The Philistines also invaded some of the cities in the Shephelah[x] and in the Negev[y] of Judah. They captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, and their surrounding villages, Timnah and its villages, and Gimzo and its villages. Then the Philistines[z] settled there, 19 because the Lord was humiliating Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel, since Ahaz had brought about a lack of restraint within Judah and had remained unfaithful to the Lord. 20 King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria attacked Ahaz[aa] and, instead of helping him, attacked him. 21 Even though Ahaz took some of the assets belonging to the Lord’s Temple from the royal palace, and from the palaces belonging to the princes, and gave them to the king of Assyria, none of his gifts did any good.
The Apostasy and Death of Ahaz(G)
22 In the midst of his troubles, King Ahaz became more and more unfaithful to the Lord. 23 He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him, reasoning, “The gods of the kings of Aram helped them, so I’ll sacrifice to them so they will help me!” But those gods[ab] brought about his downfall, and the downfall of all of Israel, too. 24 Ahaz also collected the utensils of God’s Temple, cut them all into pieces, and closed the doors of the Lord’s Temple. Then he made altars to[ac] himself on every corner in Jerusalem 25 and established high places in every city of Judah where incense was burned to other gods, thus provoking the Lord God of his ancestors to anger. 26 The rest of his accomplishments, and records of everything he did from first to last are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 So Ahaz died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but they didn’t bury him among the tombs of the kings of Israel. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
Obey Your Government
13 Every person must be subject to the governing authorities, for no authority exists except by God’s permission.[a] The existing authorities have been established by God, 2 so that whoever resists the authorities opposes what God has established, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For the authorities are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you like to live without being afraid of the authorities? Then do what is right, and you will receive their approval. 4 For they are God’s servants, working for your good.
But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for it is not without reason that they bear the sword. Indeed, they are God’s servants to administer punishment[b] to anyone who does wrong. 5 Therefore, it is necessary for you to be acquiescent to the authorities,[c] not only for the sake of God’s[d] punishment,[e] but also for the sake of your own conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes. For rulers[f] are God’s servants faithfully devoting themselves to their work.[g] 7 Pay everyone whatever you owe them—taxes to whom taxes are due, tolls to whom tolls are due, fear[h] to whom fear[i] is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Love One Another
8 Do not owe anyone anything—except to love one another. For the one who loves another has fulfilled the Law. 9 For the commandments, “You must not commit adultery; you must not murder; you must not steal; you must not covet,”[j] and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”[k] 10 Love never does anything that is harmful to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the Law.
Live in the Light of the Messiah’s Return
11 This is necessary because you know the times—it’s already time for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we became believers. 12 The night is almost over, and the day is near. Let’s therefore put aside the actions of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let’s behave decently, as people who live in the light of day.[l] No wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, quarreling, or jealousy! 14 Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[m] and do not obey your flesh and its desires.
A Davidic Psalm.
The Lord Shepherds His People
23 The Lord is the one who is shepherding me;
I lack nothing.
2 He causes me to lie down in pastures of green grass;
he guides me beside quiet waters.
3 He revives my life;
he leads me in pathways that are righteous
for the sake of his name.[a]
4 Even when I walk through a valley of deep darkness,[b]
I will not be afraid
because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me,
even in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Truly, goodness and gracious love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will remain in[c] the Lord’s Temple forever.[d]
11 Even a child is known by his actions,
whether his deeds are pure and right.
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