Old/New Testament
Hoshea becomes the last king of Israel
17 Elah's son Hoshea became the king of Israel when Ahaz had been king of Judah for 12 years. Hoshea ruled Israel as king in Samaria for nine years. 2 Hoshea did things that the Lord said were evil. But he was not as wicked as the kings of Israel who lived before him. 3 Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, came to attack Hoshea in Samaria. Hoshea agreed to accept Shalmaneser's authority. Israel had to pay a lot of money as taxes to Shalmaneser each year.
4 Then King Shalmaneser discovered that Hoshea had decided to turn against him. Hoshea had sent a message to So, the king of Egypt, to ask for his help. He had also refused to send the taxes for that year to the king of Assyria. So King Shalmaneser took hold of Hoshea and he put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria took his army and he marched through all the land of Israel. He attacked Samaria. His army made their camp around the city for three years.
6 When Hoshea had been king of Israel for nine years, the king of Assyria won the war against Samaria. He took the Israelites away to Assyria as his prisoners. He caused them to live in Halah, in Gozan beside the River Habor and in towns in Media.
Why the Lord punished Israel
7 All this happened because the Israelites did bad things against the Lord, their God. The Lord had brought them safely out of Egypt. He had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But now they worshipped other gods. 8 They did the same bad things that the nations that lived in Canaan did. The Lord had chased those nations out of Canaan so that the Israelites could live there. The Israelites copied the bad things that the kings of Israel were doing. 9 They secretly did things that the Lord their God said were not right. In all their towns, they built altars to worship false gods. They built them everywhere, in small villages and in strong cities. 10 They put up stone pillars and Asherah poles to worship their gods. They put them on top of all the high hills and under all the big trees. 11 At all those places they burned incense to worship their gods, as the nations in Canaan had done. The Lord had chased those nations out of Canaan so that the Israelites could live there. The Israelites did evil things that made the Lord very angry. 12 They refused to obey the Lord's command and they worshipped useless idols.
13 The Lord had used his prophets and his other servants to warn the people of Israel and Judah. He told them, ‘Stop living in an evil way. Obey my Law, with its commands and its rules. I gave my Law to your ancestors so that they would obey it. I also used my servants, the prophets, to teach it to you.’
14 But the Israelites would not agree to obey God's Law. They were proud and they refused to obey. Like their ancestors, they did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They did not obey God's rules. They did not accept the covenant that he had made with their ancestors. They did not listen when he warned them. Instead, they worshipped useless idols, which caused them to become useless themselves. The Lord had commanded them not to live in the same way that the nations around them did. But they did that anyway. 16 They turned away from all the commands of the Lord their God. They used metal to make images of two calves as their idols. They also made an Asherah pole to worship. They worshipped all the stars in the sky and they served Baal. 17 They burned their sons and their daughters in fire as offerings to Baal. They used magic to find out what would happen in the future. They chose to do things that the Lord said were evil. That made him very angry.
18 The Lord was so angry with Israel that he sent them far away from himself. Only the tribe of Judah remained. 19 But even the people of Judah did not obey the commands of the Lord their God. They did the same bad things that the Israelites had done. 20 So the Lord turned against all the descendants of Israel. He punished them. He put them under the power of robbers. In that way, he chased them far away from himself.
21 God made Israel become a separate kingdom from David's family, Judah. Then Israel chose Nebat's son Jeroboam to be their king. Jeroboam caused the Israelites to turn away from the Lord. He led them to do terrible sins. 22 The Israelites continued to live in the bad way that Jeroboam showed them. They did not turn away from those sins. 23 In the end, the Lord sent the Israelites away from himself. He had used his servants, the prophets, to warn them that this would happen. As a result, the Assyrian army took the Israelites away from their own land as prisoners to Assyria. They still live there, even today.
Foreign people come to live in Israel
24 The king of Assyria brought foreign people to live in the towns of Samaria. They came from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. They lived in places in Samaria where the Israelites had lived. They took Samaria for themselves and they lived in its towns.[a] 25 When those people first lived in Samaria, they did not worship the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them. The lions were killing some of the people. 26 People told the king of Assyria, ‘You sent some nations of people to go and live in the towns of Samaria. But they do not know how to obey the rules of that country's god. So he has sent lions to attack them. The lions are killing them because they do not know the rules of that country's god.’
27 The king of Assyria replied, ‘You took some Israelite priests away from Samaria as prisoners. Send one of them back to live there. Then he can teach the people what the god of that country wants them to do.’
28 So they sent back one of the priests that they had caught and taken away to Assyria. He went to live in Bethel. He taught the people how to worship the Lord properly.
29 But the people of each nation that had gone to live in Samaria made their own idols to worship.[b] They put them at the altars that the Israelites had built on the hills. They did this in each town where they lived. 30 The people from Babylon made idols of the god called Succoth-Benoth. The people from Cuthah made idols of the god called Nergal. The people from Hamath made idols of the god called Ashima. 31 The people from Avva made idols of their gods called Nibhaz and Tartak. The people from Sepharvaim burned their children in fire as offerings to their gods, Adrammelech and Anammelech.
32 The foreign people in Samaria also worshipped the Lord. They chose some of their own people to serve as priests at the altars on the hills. 33 In this way, they worshipped the Lord, but they also served their own gods. They did that in the way that they had always done in their own countries. That was what they did before the Assyrians sent them to live in Samaria. 34 Even today, they still do things in the same way that they have always done them. They do not truly worship the Lord. They do not obey his rules, his laws or his teaching. They do not obey the commands that the Lord gave to the descendants of Jacob. Jacob was the man that the Lord gave a new name to. He gave him the name ‘Israel’. 35 The Lord made a covenant with the descendants of Israel. He said to them, ‘Do not worship any other gods. Do not bend down low to give them honour. Do not serve them. Do not offer any sacrifices to them. 36 Instead, you must worship only the Lord. He is the one who used his great power to bring you safely out of Egypt. Bend down low to give him honour. Offer sacrifices to him. 37 You must be careful to obey his rules, his teaching, his laws and his commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. 38 Never forget the covenant that I made with you. Do not worship any other gods. 39 Instead, you must only worship the Lord your God. It is he who will save you from the power of all your enemies.’
40 But the foreign people who now lived in Samaria would not accept the Lord's teaching. They continued to live in the way that they always had done. 41 Even while they were worshipping the Lord, they continued to serve their own idols. Their children and their grandchildren continue to live as their fathers did, even today.
Hezekiah becomes the king of Judah
18 Ahaz's son Hezekiah became the king of Judah when Elah's son Hoshea had been king of Israel for three years. 2 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled Judah as king in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother's name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah. 3 Hezekiah did things that the Lord said were good, as his ancestor King David had done. 4 He removed the altars on the hills. He knocked down the stone pillars that people worshipped and he cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made. Until then, the Israelites had burned incense as an offering to it. It was called Nehushtan.[c]
5 Hezekiah trusted the Lord, Israel's God. None of the other kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him. 6 He served the Lord faithfully. He obeyed the laws that the Lord had given to Moses. 7 The Lord was with Hezekiah so that he was successful in everything that he decided to do. He turned against the king of Assyria. He refused to serve him. 8 He won battles against the Philistines as far as Gaza. He took all their towns, large and small.
9 When Hezekiah had been king for four years, Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, took his army to attack Samaria. That was when Hoshea had been king of Israel for seven years. The Assyrian army made their camp around the city of Samaria. 10 After three years, the Assyrian army took the city. So that happened in the sixth year that Hezekiah ruled Judah. It was the ninth year that King Hoshea ruled over Israel.
11 The king of Assyria took the Israelites as prisoners to Assyria. He caused them to live in Halah, at Gozan beside the River Habor and in the towns in Media. 12 This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God. They had not obeyed the covenant that he had made with them. They did not accept the teaching that Moses, the Lord's servant, had commanded them to obey.
Sennacherib attacks Judah
13 When Hezekiah had ruled Judah for 14 years, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked Judah with his army. He took all the strong cities in Judah for himself. 14 So King Hezekiah of Judah sent a message to the king of Assyria, who was in Lachish. Hezekiah said, ‘What I did was wrong. Please take your army out of Judah. Then I will pay you everything that you ask me to pay.’ The king of Assyria told King Hezekiah that he must pay ten tons of silver and one ton of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave Sennacherib all the silver that was stored in the Lord's temple and in the palace. 16 At the same time, Hezekiah removed the gold that he had used to cover the doors of the Lord's temple. He also took the gold off the wood at the sides of the doors. He gave all that gold to the king of Assyria.
Sennacherib warns the people of Jerusalem
17 King Sennacherib of Assyria sent his three most important officers from Lachish to Jerusalem, to speak to King Hezekiah. The three officers took a large army with them.
They arrived in Jerusalem. They went and stood at the stream of water that came from the higher pool. It was on the road to the field where people washed clothes.
18 They told King Hezekiah to come to them. These three people went out to meet them:
Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was the most important officer in the king's palace.
Shebna, a government officer.
Asaph's son Joah, the king's secretary.
19 One of Sennacherib's officers said to them,
‘Tell Hezekiah that the king of Assyria, the great king, says this to him: “Why are you so sure that someone will rescue you from our power? 20 You say that you have good plans. You say that your army is strong. But those are only useless words! You have turned against me, so who are you trusting to save you? 21 Listen to me! You think that Egypt is strong enough to help you, do you? But you should not trust Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He is like a weak stick. If you use it to walk with, it will break! A broken piece of stick will make a hole through your hand and give you much pain! That is the trouble that the king of Egypt brings to everyone who trusts him to help them. 22 But maybe you will say to me, ‘We are trusting the Lord our God to help us.’ But it was your king, Hezekiah, who removed the altars and the special places where you worship your God. He told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship God only at the altar here in Jerusalem.’ ” 23 So you should make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you have enough riders to put on them. 24 You cannot refuse what I offer to you! And I am only an unimportant officer who serves my master. You are hoping that Egypt will give you chariots and men to ride on horses. But you will never be strong enough to win a battle against us. 25 You should also understand this: It was the Lord himself who commanded me to bring my army here and attack Jerusalem. He said to me, “Attack this country and destroy it!” ’
26 Then Hilkiah's son Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the leader of the Assyrian army, ‘Please sir, speak to us in the Aramaic language. We can understand it. Do not speak to us in the Hebrew language because all the people who are on the wall of the city will understand it.’ 27 But the Assyrian army leader replied, ‘My master did not send me here to give this message only to your king and to you. The men who are sitting on the city wall also need to hear my master's message. Like you, they will soon have to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine.’
28 Then the Assyrian army leader stood there and he shouted in the Hebrew language, ‘Listen to this message from the king of Assyria, the great king! 29 This is what the king says: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot save you from my power. 30 Do not believe Hezekiah when he tells you that you can trust the Lord to help you. He says, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us. He will not let the king of Assyria take this city for himself.’ 31 Do not believe what Hezekiah says.” This is what the king of Assyria says: “Show me that you accept my offer of peace and come out of your city. Then you will all live safely in your homes. You will eat the fruit from your own vines and fig trees. You will drink the water from your own wells. 32 Later, I will come to Jerusalem. I will take you away to a country that is like your own land here. There will be plenty of grain and new wine for you in that country. There will be bread and there will be vineyards. There will be olive trees and there will be honey. Choose life instead of death! Do not listen to Hezekiah. He is deceiving you when he says, ‘The Lord will rescue us.’ 33 No god of any nation has ever saved his country from the king of Assyria's power. 34 The gods of Hamath and Arpad could not help their people. The gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah could not help their people either. No god was able to rescue Samaria from my power. 35 No god among all the gods of those countries could save their people from my power. So do not think that the Lord can save Jerusalem from my power.” ’
36 When the people who were sitting on the wall heard this, they were quiet. They did not reply, because King Hezekiah had said, ‘Do not answer him.’
37 Then King Hezekiah's three officers, Eliakim, Shebna and Joah, went back to Hezekiah. They had torn their clothes because they were very upset. They told the king what the Assyrian officer had said.
19 God's Son has brought light into the world. But some people did not love the light. They loved the dark instead. That was because they were doing evil things. That is why God has decided to punish those people. 20 Everyone who does evil things hates the light. A person like that will not come to the light because he is afraid. He does not want the bad things that he has done to show clearly. 21 But anyone who does what is true will come to the light. The light will show clearly that he has been doing what is right. Everyone can see that he has been obeying God.
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the country places in Judea. Jesus stayed there with his disciples for some time, and they baptized people there. 23 John was also baptizing people. He was at a place called Aenon, near Salim, because there was a lot of water there. People were coming to him and John was baptizing them. 24 (This happened before the rulers put John in prison.) 25 John's disciples began to argue with a certain Jew about some Jewish rules. Those rules told people how they should wash properly. 26 The disciples then came to John. They said to him, ‘Teacher, remember the man, Jesus, that you spoke to us about. He was with you on the other side of the Jordan River. Now he is baptizing people and everyone is going to him.’
27 John replied, ‘A man can receive only what God gives to him, nothing else. 28 You yourselves will remember that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but God sent me to prepare things for the Messiah.”[a] 29 When a man marries a wife, she belongs to him. The man's special friend listens carefully. He wants to know when the man will arrive. That friend is very happy when he hears the man's voice. I am like that friend, so I am completely happy now. 30 Jesus must become greater, but I must become less important.
31 The one who comes from above is greater than all things. A person who comes from the earth belongs to the earth. A person like that speaks only about things that belong to the earth. But the one who comes from heaven is greater than all things. 32 He tells people about the things that he has seen. He tells about what he has heard. But people do not believe his message. 33 Anyone who does believe his message agrees that God is true. 34 The one that God has sent speaks God's words. God has given his Spirit to fill that person completely. 35 The Father loves the Son. He has given his Son authority over all things. 36 Anyone who believes in the Son has life with God for ever. But anyone who refuses to obey the Son will never have life with God. God will continue to be angry with people like that.’
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