Old/New Testament

Abijah and Civil War

13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah reigned over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.

Now there was war between Abijah and between Jeroboam. ³ And Abijah joined in the battle with an army of four hundred thousand battle-hardened warriors,^[a] chosen men, and Jeroboam put the battle in order against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, an army of mighty warriors.

⁴ Then Abijah stood up on top of Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Do you not all know that Yahweh the God of Israel gave the kingdom to David over Israel forever, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? ⁶ But Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master, ⁷ and worthless men, sons of wickedness,^[b] were gathered about him and became hostile against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was a boy and gentle of heart and was not strong enough to stand before them. ⁸ So now you yourselves are considering that you are strong before the kingdom of Yahweh which is in the hand the sons of David, since you yourselves are a great multitude and you have bull calves of gold that Jeroboam has made for idols. ⁹ Did you not drive out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, the Levites? Have you not made for yourselves priests like all the peoples of the lands? All who come to be consecrated for priestly service^[c] with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what is not a god. ¹⁰ But as for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests serving Yahweh are the sons of Aaron, the Levites, according to their service. ¹¹ They offer burnt offerings to Yahweh every morning^[d] and every evening,^[e] sweet spices of incense, and the rows of bread upon the pure table. And the golden lampstand with its lamps they keep kindled every evening,^[f] for we are keeping the requirement of Yahweh our God, but you yourselves have forsaken him. ¹² And look, God is with us at the head, and his priests have the trumpets for sounding blasts against you, O sons of Israel. Do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,^[g] for you will not succeed.”

¹³ Then Jeroboam sent around an ambush to come behind them. So they were in front of Judah, but the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ When Judah turned, then behold, the battle against them was in front and behind, and they cried to Yahweh, and the priests blew on the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah shouted, and it happened that when the men of Judah were shouting, then God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ And the Israelites^[h] fled from before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ And Abijah and his people struck a great blow against them, and the dead from Israel that fell were five hundred thousand chosen men. ¹⁸ And the Israelites^[i] were subdued at that time, and the people^[j] of Judah were victorious, for they relied upon Yahweh the God of their ancestors.^[k]

¹⁹ And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages. ²⁰ And Jeroboam did not regain strength again in the days of Abijah. And Yahweh plagued him and he died. ²¹ But Abijah became strong, and he took to himself fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² Now the rest of the words of Abijah and his ways and his words are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.

The Reign of Asa in Judah

14 ^[l] And Abijah slept with his ancestors,^[m] and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son became king in his place. In his days the land was at rest ten years. ² Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his God. ³ He removed the foreign altars and high places, broke down the stone pillars, and cut down the Asherahs. ⁴ And he commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,^[n] and to keep the law and the commandment. ⁵ And he removed the high places and the incense stands from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom had rest under^[o] him. ⁶ And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land was at rest. Under^[p] him there was no war in those years, for Yahweh had given rest to him. ⁷ And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates, and bars while the land is before us, because we have sought Yahweh our God. We have sought and he has given rest to us on every side.” So they built and had success. ⁸ And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah, bearing shields and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin who carried shields and drew bows. All of these were mighty warriors of strength.

⁹ Zerah the Cushite came out against them with an army of a thousand thousands and three hundred chariots. And he came to Mareshah. ¹⁰ And Asa went out before him, and a battle was put in order in the valley of Zepah at Mareshah.

¹¹ Then Asa cried out to Yahweh his God. And he said, “O Yahweh, there is none with you to help between the great and the powerless. Help us, O Yahweh our God, for we rely upon you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, you are our God! Let no man prevail against you!”

¹² So Yahweh defeated the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled. ¹³ Then Asa and the army^[q] with him pursued them to Gerar. And many from the Cushites fell, for they had no deliverance, for they were shattered before Yahweh and before his army. And they carried away much war booty. ¹⁴ And they struck all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of Yahweh was upon them. And they plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ And they also struck the tents of the herdsmen and carried away many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Anointed at Bethany

12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they made him a dinner there, and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of the ones reclining at table with him. ³ Then Mary took a pound^[a] of ointment of very valuable genuine nard and^[b] anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) said, ⁵ “Why^[c] was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” ⁶ (Now he said this not because he was concerned^[d] about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, he used to steal what was put into it.)^{[e] 7} So Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my preparation for burial. ⁸ For you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have me.”

The Decision to Kill Lazarus

⁹ Now a large crowd^[f] of Jews found out that he was there, and they came, not only because of Jesus, but so that they could see Lazarus also, whom he raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests decided that they would kill Lazarus also, ¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews were going and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹² On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they^[g] heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and began crying out,

¹⁴ So Jesus found a young donkey and^[i] sat on it, just as it is written,

¹⁶ (His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and they did these things to him.) ¹⁷ So the crowd who was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify. ¹⁸ Because of this also the crowd went to meet him, for they had heard that he had performed this sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing! Behold, the world has gone after him.”

Greeks Seeking Jesus

²⁰ Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up in order to worship at the feast. ²¹ So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man will be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and^[k] dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world preserves it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.