Old/New Testament

21 Jehoshaphat joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the family tomb in the City of David. Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became the next king after him. ² Jehoram’s brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. All of them were sons of Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel. ³ Their father had given them many gifts. He had given them silver, gold and other things of value. He had also given them cities in Judah that had high walls around them. But he had made Jehoram king. That’s because Jehoram was his oldest son.

Jehoram King of Judah

⁴ Jehoram made his position secure over his father’s kingdom. Then he killed all his brothers with his sword. He also killed some of the officials of Israel. ⁵ Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. ⁶ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the royal family of Ahab had done. In fact, he married a daughter of Ahab. Jehoram did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. ⁷ But the Lord didn’t want to destroy the royal family of David. That’s because the Lord had made a covenant with him. The Lord had promised to keep the lamp of David’s kingdom burning brightly. The Lord had promised that for David and his children after him forever.

⁸ When Jehoram was king over Judah, Edom refused to remain under Judah’s control. They set up their own king. ⁹ So Jehoram went to Edom. He took his officers and all his chariots with him. The men of Edom surrounded him and his chariot commanders. But he got up at night and fought his way out. ¹⁰ To this day Edom has refused to remain under Judah’s control.

At that same time, Libnah also refused to remain under the control of Judah. That’s because Jehoram had deserted the Lord, the God of his people. ¹¹ Jehoram had also built high places on the hills of Judah. He had caused the people of Jerusalem to worship other gods. They weren’t faithful to the Lord. Jehoram had led Judah down the wrong path.

¹² Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet. In it, Elijah said,

“The Lord is the God of your father David. The Lord says, ‘You have not followed the ways of your own father Jehoshaphat or of Asa, the king of Judah. ¹³ Instead, you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel. You have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to worship other gods, just as the royal family of Ahab did. Also, you have murdered your own brothers. They were members of your own family. They were better men than you are. ¹⁴ So now the Lord is about to strike down your people with a heavy blow. He will strike down your sons, your wives and everything that belongs to you. ¹⁵ And you yourself will be very sick for a long time. The sickness will finally cause your insides to come out.’ ”

¹⁶ The Lord stirred up the anger of the Philistines against Jehoram. He also stirred up the anger of the Arabs. They lived near the people of Cush. ¹⁷ The Philistines and Arabs attacked Judah. They went in and carried off all the goods they found in the king’s palace. They also took his sons and wives. The only son he had left was Ahaziah. He was the youngest son.

¹⁸ After all of that, the Lord made Jehoram very sick. He couldn’t be healed. ¹⁹ After he had been sick for two years, the sickness caused his insides to come out. He died in great pain. His people didn’t make a funeral fire to honor him. They had made funeral fires to honor the kings who ruled before him.

²⁰ Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. No one was sorry when he passed away. He was buried in the City of David. But he wasn’t placed in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah King of Judah

22 The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king in place of Jehoram. Ahaziah was Jehoram’s youngest son. Robbers had come with the Arabs into Jehoram’s camp. The robbers had killed all his older sons. So Ahaziah, the king of Judah, began to rule. He was the son of Jehoram.

² Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri.

³ Ahaziah also followed the ways of the royal family of Ahab. That’s because Ahaziah’s mother gave him bad advice. She told him to do what was wrong. ⁴ So he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did what the family of Ahab had done. After Ahaziah’s father died, the members of Ahab’s family became his advisers. That’s what destroyed him. ⁵ He also followed their advice when he joined forces with Joram, the king of Israel. They went to war against Hazael at Ramoth Gilead. Joram was the son of Ahab. Hazael was king of Aram. The soldiers of Aram wounded Joram. ⁶ So he returned to Jezreel to give his wounds time to heal. His enemies had wounded him at Ramoth in his battle against Hazael, the king of Aram.

Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, went down to Jezreel. He went there to see Joram. That’s because Joram had been wounded. Ahaziah was king of Judah. Joram was the son of Ahab.

⁷ Through Ahaziah’s visit to Joram, God caused Ahaziah to fall from power. When Ahaziah arrived, he rode out with Joram to meet Jehu, the son of Nimshi. The Lord had anointed Jehu to destroy the royal family of Ahab. ⁸ So Jehu punished Ahab’s family, just as the Lord had told him to. While he was doing it, he found the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives. They had been serving Ahaziah. So Jehu killed them. ⁹ Then he went to look for Ahaziah. Jehu’s men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. Ahaziah was brought to Jehu and put to death. People buried him, because they said, “He was a grandson of Jehoshaphat, who followed the Lord with all his heart.” So no one in the royal family of Ahaziah was powerful enough to keep the kingdom.

Athaliah and Joash

¹⁰ Athaliah was Ahaziah’s mother. She saw that her son was dead. So she began to wipe out the whole royal family of Judah. ¹¹ But Jehosheba went and got Joash, the son of Ahaziah. Jehosheba was the daughter of King Jehoram. She stole Joash away from among the royal princes. All of them were about to be murdered. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, was the wife of Jehoiada the priest. She was also Ahaziah’s sister. So Jehosheba hid the child from Athaliah. That’s why Athaliah couldn’t kill him. ¹² The child remained hidden with the priest and his wife at God’s temple for six years. Athaliah ruled over the land during that time.

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God. Believe in me also. ² There are many rooms in my Father’s house. If this were not true, would I have told you that I am going there? Would I have told you that I would prepare a place for you there? ³ If I go and do that, I will come back. And I will take you to be with me. Then you will also be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus Is the Way to the Father

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father also. From now on, you do know him. And you have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Philip? I have been among you such a long time! Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father? Don’t you believe that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. The Father lives in me. He is the one who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say I am in the Father. Also believe that the Father is in me. Or at least believe what the works I have been doing say about me. ¹² What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who believes in me will do the works I have been doing. In fact, they will do even greater things. That’s because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do anything you ask in my name. Then the Father will receive glory from the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name. I will do it.

Jesus Promises That the Holy Spirit Will Come

¹⁵ “If you love me, obey my commands. ¹⁶ I will ask the Father. And he will give you another friend to help you and to be with you forever. ¹⁷ That friend is the Spirit of truth. The world can’t accept him. That’s because the world does not see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you like children who don’t have parents. I will come to you. ¹⁹ Before long, the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father. You will know that you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹ Anyone who has my commands and obeys them loves me. My Father will love the one who loves me. I too will love them. And I will show myself to them.”

²² Then Judas spoke. “Lord,” he said, “why do you plan to show yourself only to us? Why not also to the world?” The Judas who spoke those words was not Judas Iscariot.

²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them. We will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. The words you hear me say are not my own. They belong to the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “I have spoken all these things while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Father will send the Friend in my name to help you. The Friend is the Holy Spirit. He will teach you all things. He will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ I leave my peace with you. I give my peace to you. I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid.

²⁸ “You heard me say, ‘I am going away. And I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad I am going to the Father. The Father is greater than I am. ²⁹ I have told you now before it happens. Then when it does happen, you will believe. ³⁰ I will not say much more to you. The prince of this world is coming. He has no power over me. ³¹ But he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father. They must also learn that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me to do.

“Come now. Let us leave.