Old/New Testament
Jehoahaz King of Israel
13 Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 23rd year of the rule of Joash, the king of Judah. Jehoahaz ruled for 17 years. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. Jehoahaz was the son of Jehu. 2 Jehoahaz did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He committed the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins. Jehoahaz didn’t turn away from them. 3 So the Lord was very angry with Israel. For a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael, the king of Aram. The Lord also kept them under the power of his son Ben-Hadad.
4 Then Jehoahaz asked the Lord for help. The Lord listened to him. The Lord saw how badly the king of Aram was treating Israel. 5 The Lord provided someone to save Israel. And they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes, just as they had before. 6 But the people didn’t turn away from the sins of the royal house of Jeroboam. He had caused Israel to commit those same sins. The people continued to commit them. And the pole used to worship the female god named Asherah remained standing in Samaria.
7 The army of Jehoahaz had almost nothing left. All it had was 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 soldiers on foot. The king of Aram had destroyed the rest of them. He had made them like dust at threshing time.
8 The other events of the rule of Jehoahaz are written down. Everything he did and accomplished is written in the official records of the kings of Israel. 9 Jehoahaz joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in Samaria. Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash became the next king after him.
Jehoash King of Israel
10 Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 37th year that Joash was king of Judah. Jehoash ruled for 16 years. He was the son of Jehoahaz. 11 Jehoash did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. Jehoash didn’t turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins. And Jehoash continued to commit them.
12 The other events of the rule of Jehoash are written down. That includes his war against Amaziah, the king of Judah. Everything he did and accomplished is written in the official records of the kings of Israel. 13 Jehoash joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria. Jeroboam became the next king on Israel’s throne after him.
14 Elisha had been suffering from a sickness. Later he would die from it. Jehoash, the king of Israel, went down to see him. Jehoash wept over him. “My father!” he cried. “You are like a father to me! You, Elisha, are the true chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
15 Elisha said to Jehoash, “Get a bow and some arrows.” So he did. 16 “Hold the bow in your hands,” Elisha said to the king of Israel. So Jehoash took hold of the bow. Then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
17 “Open the east window,” Elisha said. So he did. “Shoot!” Elisha said. So he shot. “That’s the Lord’s arrow!” Elisha announced. “It means you will win the battle over Aram! You will completely destroy the men of Aram at Aphek.”
18 Elisha continued, “Get some arrows.” So the king did. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” Jehoash struck it three times. Then he stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him. He said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have won the war over Aram. You would have completely destroyed them. But now you will win only three battles over them.”
20 Elisha died and was buried.
Some robbers from Moab used to enter the country of Israel every spring. 21 One day some Israelites were burying a man. Suddenly they saw a group of robbers. So they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. The body touched Elisha’s bones. When it did, the man came back to life again. He stood up on his feet.
22 Hazael, the king of Aram, treated Israel badly. He did it the whole time Jehoahaz was king. 23 But the Lord helped Israel. He was tender and kind to them. He showed concern for them. He did all these things because of the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he hasn’t been willing to destroy Israel. And he hasn’t driven them out of his land.
24 Hazael, the king of Aram, died. His son Ben-Hadad became the next king after him. 25 Then Jehoash won back some towns from Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael. Ben-Hadad had captured them in battle from Jehoahaz, the father of Jehoash. Jehoash won three battles over Ben-Hadad. So Jehoash won back the Israelite towns.
Amaziah King of Judah
14 Amaziah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the second year that Jehoash was king of Israel. He was the son of Jehoahaz. Amaziah was the son of Joash. 2 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan. She was from Jerusalem. 3 Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But he didn’t do what King David had done. He always followed the example of his father Joash. 4 But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 The kingdom was firmly under his control. So he put to death the officials who had murdered his father, the king. 6 But he didn’t put their children to death. He obeyed what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses. There the Lord commanded, “Parents must not be put to death because of what their children do. And children must not be put to death because of what their parents do. People must die because of their own sins.” (Deuteronomy 24:16)
7 Amaziah won the battle over 10,000 men of Edom. It happened in the Valley of Salt. During the battle he captured the town of Sela. He called it Joktheel. That’s the name it still has to this day.
8 After the battle, Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the king of Israel. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. Amaziah said, “Come on. Let us face each other in battle.”
9 But Jehoash, the king of Israel, answered Amaziah, the king of Judah. Jehoash said, “A thorn bush in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar tree there. The thorn bush said, ‘Give your daughter to be married to my son.’ Then a wild animal in Lebanon came along. It crushed the thorn bush by walking on it. 10 It’s true that you have won the battle over Edom. So you are proud. Enjoy your success while you can. But stay home and enjoy it! Why ask for trouble? Why bring yourself crashing down? Why bring Judah down with you?”
11 But Amaziah wouldn’t listen. So Jehoash, the king of Israel, attacked. He and Amaziah, the king of Judah, faced each other in battle. The battle took place at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 12 Israel drove Judah away. Every man ran home. 13 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah at Beth Shemesh. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. Jehoash went to Jerusalem. He broke down part of its wall. It’s the part that went from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. That part of the wall was 600 feet long. 14 Jehoash took all the gold, silver and objects that were in the Lord’s temple. He also took all those same kinds of things that were among the treasures of the royal palace. And he took prisoners. Then he returned to Samaria.
15 The other events of the rule of Jehoash are written down. That includes his war against Amaziah, the king of Judah. Everything he did and accomplished is written in the official records of the kings of Israel. 16 Jehoash joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in Samaria in the royal tombs of Israel. Jehoash’s son Jeroboam became the next king after him.
17 Amaziah king of Judah lived for 15 years after Jehoash king of Israel died. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz. 18 The other events of Amaziah’s rule are written down. They are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.
19 Some people made evil plans against Amaziah in Jerusalem. So he ran away to Lachish. But they sent men to Lachish after him. There they killed him. 20 His body was brought back on a horse. Then he was buried in the family tomb in Jerusalem, the City of David.
21 All the people of Judah made Uzziah king. He was 16 years old. They made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 22 Uzziah rebuilt Elath. He brought it under Judah’s control again. He did it after Amaziah joined the members of his family who had already died.
Jeroboam II King of Israel
23 Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 15th year that Amaziah was king of Judah. Jeroboam ruled for 41 years. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Jeroboam was the son of Jehoash. 24 Jeroboam did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He didn’t turn away from any of the sins the earlier Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. That Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins. 25 Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash, made the borders of Israel the same as they were before. They reached from Lebo Hamath all the way to the Dead Sea. That’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, had said would happen. He had spoken that message through his servant Jonah. Jonah the prophet was the son of Amittai. Jonah was from the town of Gath Hepher.
26 The Lord had seen how much everyone in Israel was suffering. It didn’t matter whether they were slaves or free. They didn’t have anyone to help them. 27 The Lord hadn’t said he would wipe out Israel’s name from the earth. So he saved them by the power of Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash.
28 The other events of the rule of Jeroboam are written down. What he and his army accomplished is written down. That includes how he brought Damascus and Hamath back under Israel’s control. Damascus and Hamath had belonged to the territory of Judah. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Israel. 29 Jeroboam joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the royal tombs of Israel. Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became the next king after him.
Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
2 On the third day there was a wedding. It took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Dear woman, why are you telling me about this?” Jesus replied. “The time for me to show who I really am isn’t here yet.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do what he tells you.”
6 Six stone water jars stood nearby. The Jews used water from that kind of jar for special washings. They did that to make themselves pure and “clean.” Each jar could hold 20 to 30 gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the top.
8 Then he told them, “Now dip some out. Take it to the person in charge of the dinner.”
They did what he said. 9 The person in charge tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He didn’t realize where it had come from. But the servants who had brought the water knew. Then the person in charge called the groom to one side. 10 He said to him, “Everyone brings out the best wine first. They bring out the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink. But you have saved the best until now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana in Galilee was the first of his signs. Jesus showed his glory by doing this sign. And his disciples believed in him.
12 After this, Jesus went down to Capernaum. His mother and brothers and disciples went with him. They all stayed there for a few days.
Jesus Clears Out the Temple Courtyard
13 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. So Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courtyard he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple courtyard. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered what had been written. It says, “My great love for your house will destroy me.” (Psalm 69:9)
18 Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do this?”
19 Jesus answered them, “When you destroy this temple, I will raise it up again in three days.”
20 They replied, “It has taken 46 years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it up in three days?” 21 But the temple Jesus had spoken about was his body. 22 His disciples later remembered what he had said. That was after he had been raised from the dead. Then they believed the Scripture. They also believed the words that Jesus had spoken.
23 Meanwhile, he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast. Many people saw the signs he was doing. And they believed in his name. 24 But Jesus did not fully trust them. He knew what people are like. 25 He didn’t need anyone to tell him what people are like. He already knew why people do what they do.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.