Old/New Testament
Chapter 15
Azariah of Judah.[a] 1 Azariah, the son of Amaziah, the king of Judah, began to reign during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Jeroboam, the king of Israel. 2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah who was from Jerusalem.
3 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, doing everything as Amaziah, his father, had done. 4 However, he did not eliminate the high places, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
5 The Lord struck down the king so that he was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in a separate house while Jotham, the king’s son, took charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
6 As for the other deeds of Azariah, what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
7 Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Jotham, his son, then reigned in his stead.
Zechariah of Israel. 8 Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam, became the king of Israel in Samaria during the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Azariah, the king of Judah. He reigned for six months.
9 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
10 Shallum, the son of Jabesh, plotted against him. He attacked him in front of the people and killed him, reigning in his stead.
11 The other deeds of Zechariah are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 12 This fulfilled the word of the Lord that had been spoken to Jehu: “Your sons to the fourth generation will sit upon the throne of Israel.”
13 Shallum of Israel. Shallum, son of Jabesh, began to reign during the thirty-ninth year of the reign of Uzziah, the king of Judah, and he reigned for a full month in Samaria. 14 Then Menahem, the son of Gadi, from Tirzah, went up to Samaria. He attacked Shallum, the son of Jabesh, in Samaria and he killed him. He then reigned in his stead.
15 As for the rest of the deeds of Shallum, and his plot, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
16 Menahem then started out from Tirzah and he attacked Tappuah and everyone in it and its environs because they would not open up its gates. He killed everyone in it, even ripping open the bellies of the pregnant women.
17 Menahem of Israel. Menahem, son of Gadi, began to reign over Israel during the thirty-ninth year of the reign of Azariah, the king of Judah. He reigned in Samaria for ten years.
18 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
19 Then Pul, the king of Assyria, attacked Israel, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver so that he might have his support and strengthen his hold upon the kingdom. 20 Menahem took the money from Israel. Every wealthy man had to give fifty shekels of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria therefore withdrew and did not remain in the land any longer.
21 As for the other deeds of Menahem and what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
22 Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah, his son, reigned in his stead.
23 Pekahiah of Israel. Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, began to reign over Israel in Samaria during the fiftieth year of the reign of Azariah, the king of Judah. He reigned for two years.
24 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
25 Pekah, the son of Remaliah, one of his captains, plotted against him. He attacked him in Samaria, in the citadel of the royal palace. Taking fifty Gileadites with him, he killed him, Argob, and Arieh. He then reigned in his stead.
26 The other deeds of Pekahiah and what he did are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
27 Pekah of Israel. Pekah, the son of Remaliah, began to reign over Israel in Samaria during the fifty-second year of the reign of Azariah, the king of Judah. He reigned for twenty years.[b]
28 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
29 During the reign of Pekah, the king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor. He captured Gilead and Galilee, including all of the land of Naphtali, and he took them captive into Assyria.
30 Then Hoshea, the son of Elah, plotted against Pekah, the son of Remaliah. He attacked him and killed him and reigned in his stead during the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham, the son of Uzziah.
31 As for the rest of the deeds of Pekah and what he did, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
32 Jotham of Judah. Jotham, the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, began to reign during the second year of the reign of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
34 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, everything just as his father Uzziah had done. 35 The high places were not eliminated, though, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He rebuilt the upper gate to the temple of the Lord.
36 As for the other deeds of Jotham, what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
37 In those days, the Lord began to send Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, against Judah.
38 Jotham slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David, his father. Ahaz, his son, reigned in his stead.
Chapter 16[c]
Ahaz of Judah. 1 Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the king of Judah, began to reign during the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah, the son of Remaliah. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years.
He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord as David, his father, had done. 3 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his son in fire. He practiced the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the Israelites. 4 He performed sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hilltops, and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but they could not defeat him. 6 It was at this time that Rezin, the king of Aram, reconquered Elath, and the Arameans drove the Judahites out of Elath. The Edomites then settled in Elath and they have dwelt there up to the present.
7 Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come and save me from the hands of the king of Aram and the hands of the king of Israel who have risen up against me.”
8 Ahaz took the silver and the gold from the temple of the Lord and the treasury of the royal palace, and he sent it to the king of Assyria as a gift. 9 The king of Assyria consented to his request, and the king of Assyria attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported its people to Kir.
10 Then King Ahaz traveled to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus, and King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest to Damascus to make a drawing of the altar along with a complete description of its construction. 11 Uriah the priest built an altar according to everything for which King Ahaz had sent him to Damascus. Uriah finished it before King Ahaz returned from Damascus. 12 When the king returned from Damascus, the king saw the altar. The king approached the altar and made an offering on it. 13 He offered up burnt offerings and cereal offerings. He poured out drink offerings and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar. 14 He brought the bronze altar that was before the Lord from the front of the temple, from between the altar and the temple of the Lord, and he placed it on the north side of the altar.
15 King Ahaz gave orders to Uriah the priest, saying, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offerings and the evening cereal offerings, the king’s burnt offerings and his cereal offerings, along with the burnt offerings, cereal offerings, and drink offerings of all of the people of the land. Sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices on it, but I will use the bronze altar when I make inquiries.” 16 Uriah the priest did everything that King Ahaz had commanded.
17 King Ahaz cut off the side panels and he removed the basins from the moveable carts, he removed the sea from the bronze oxen underneath it and he placed it on a stone base. 18 He took away the Sabbath canopy[d] that had been built on the temple and the royal entrance outside the temple of the Lord on account of the king of Assyria.
19 Now the rest of the deeds of Ahaz, what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 Ahaz slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Hezekiah, his son, reigned in his stead.
Chapter 3
Nicodemus Goes To Visit Jesus. 1 There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus,[a] a member of the Jewish ruling council, 2 who came to Jesus at night. “Rabbi,” he said, “we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one would be able to perform the signs that you do unless God were with him.” 3 Jesus replied,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
no one can see the kingdom of God[b]
without being born from above.”
4 Nicodemus asked, “How can a man be born again once he is old? Is it possible for him to enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
no one can enter the kingdom of God
unless he is born of water and the Spirit.[c]
6 What is born of the flesh is flesh,
and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 “You should not be astonished when I say,
‘You must be born from above.’
8 The wind blows where it chooses,
and you hear the sound of it,
but you do not know where it comes from
or where it goes.
So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 “How is this possible?” asked Nicodemus. 10 Jesus responded, “You are a teacher of Israel and you do not know these things?
11 “Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know
and we testify to what we have seen,
and yet you do not accept our testimony.
12 If I tell you about earthly things
and you do not believe,
how will you believe
when I speak to you about heavenly things?
Jesus Christ, Savior and Judge[d]
13 “No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who descended from heaven,
the Son of Man.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,[e]
15 in order that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish
but may attain eternal life.
17 “For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world
but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe in him
already stands condemned,
because he has not believed in the name
of the only-begotten Son of God.
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