Old/New Testament
Asa’s Changes
15 The Spirit of God came on Azariah, who was Obed’s son. 2 Azariah went to meet Asa and said, “Listen to me, Asa and all you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you look for him, you will find him. But if you leave him, he will leave you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God. And they were without a teaching priest, and without the law. 4 But when the Israelites had trouble, they turned again to the Lord, the God of Israel. They looked for him and found him. 5 In those times of trouble, no one could travel safely. There was great trouble in all the nations. 6 One nation would destroy another nation and one city would destroy another city. This was happening because God gave them all kinds of trouble. 7 But Asa, you and the people of Judah and Benjamin, be strong. Don’t be weak and don’t give up, because you will get a reward for your good work!”
8 Asa felt encouraged when he heard these words and the message from Obed the prophet. Then he removed the hated idols from the whole area of Judah and Benjamin. He also removed the hated idols from the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the Lord’s altar that was in front of the porch of the Lord’s Temple.
9 Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and the people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had moved from the country of Israel to live in the country of Judah. A great many of these people came to Judah because they saw that the Lord, Asa’s God, was with him.
10 Asa and these people gathered together in Jerusalem on the third month in the 15th year of Asa’s rule. 11 At that time they sacrificed 700 bulls and 7000 sheep and goats to the Lord. Asa’s army had taken the animals and other valuable things from their enemies. 12 Then they made an agreement to serve the Lord God with all their heart and with all their soul. He is the God their ancestors served. 13 Anyone who refused to serve the Lord God was to be killed. It did not matter if that person was important or not or if that person was a man or woman. 14 Then Asa and the people made an oath to the Lord. They shouted it out loudly and blew their trumpets and rams’ horns. 15 All the people of Judah were happy about the oath, because they had promised with all their heart. They followed God with all their heart. They looked for God and found him, so the Lord gave them peace in all the country.
16 King Asa also removed Maacah, his mother, from being queen mother. He did this because she had set up one of those awful poles to honor the goddess Asherah. Asa cut down that Asherah pole, smashed it into small pieces, and burned the pieces in the Kidron Valley. 17 Asa did not destroy the high places, even though he was faithful to God all his life.
18 Asa and his father had given some special gifts to God. Asa put these gifts of gold, silver, and other things into the Temple. 19 There was no more war until the 35th year of Asa’s rule.[a]
Asa’s Last Years
16 In Asa’s 36th year as king,[b] Baasha attacked Judah and then built up the city of Ramah to keep Asa from leaving Judah on any kind of military campaign. 2 So Asa took gold and silver from the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and the king’s palace. He gave it to his officials and sent them to King Ben-Hadad of Aram. Ben-Hadad was the son of Tabrimmon. Tabrimmon was the son of Hezion. Damascus was Ben-Hadad’s capital city. 3 Asa sent this message: “My father and your father had a peace agreement. Now I want to make a peace agreement with you. I am sending you this gift of gold and silver. Please break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel and make him leave us alone.”
4 King Ben-Hadad made that agreement with King Asa and sent his army to fight against the Israelite towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and the storage cities in the area of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard about these attacks, he stopped building up Ramah and went back to Tirzah. He stopped all the work he was doing. 6 Then King Asa gave an order for all the men in Judah, with no exceptions. They had to go to Ramah and carry out all the stone and wood that Baasha was using to build up the city. They carried the material to Geba in Benjamin and to Mizpah and used it to strengthen those two cities.
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Asa, you depended on the king of Aram to help you and not the Lord your God. That’s why the king’s army has escaped from you. 8 Did you forget what happened with the Ethiopians and the Libyans who also had a powerful army with many chariots and horse soldiers? That time you depended on the Lord to help you, and he let you defeat them. 9 The eyes of the Lord go around looking in all the earth for people who are faithful to him so that he can make them strong. Asa, you did a foolish thing. So from now on you will have wars.”
10 Asa was angry with Hanani because of what he said. He was so mad that he put Hanani in prison. He was also very rough and cruel to some of the people then.
11 Everything Asa did, from the beginning to the end, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 Asa’s feet became infected in his 39th year as king.[c] Even though the infection was very serious, Asa did not go to the Lord for help. He went to the doctors instead. 13 Asa died in the 41st year as king[d] and rested with his ancestors. 14 The people buried Asa in his own tomb that he made for himself in the City of David. They laid him in a bed that was filled with spices and different kinds of mixed perfumes, and they burned a large fire for him.[e]
Jesus Talks About His Death
27 “Now I am very troubled. What should I say? Should I say, ‘Father save me from this time of suffering’? No, I came to this time so that I could suffer. 28 Father, do what will bring you glory!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have already brought glory to myself. I will do it again.”
29 The people standing there heard the voice. They said it was thunder.
But others said, “An angel spoke to him!”
30 Jesus said, “That voice was for you and not for me. 31 Now is the time for the world to be judged. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32 I will be lifted up[a] from the earth. When that happens, I will draw all people to myself.” 33 Jesus said this to show how he would die.
34 The people said, “But our law says that the Messiah will live forever. So why do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus said, “The light[b] will be with you for only a short time more. So walk while you have the light. Then the darkness will not catch you. People who walk in the darkness don’t know where they are going. 36 So put your trust in the light while you still have it. Then you will be children of light.” When Jesus finished saying these things, he went away to a place where the people could not find him.
Some Jews Refuse to Believe in Jesus
37 The people saw all these miraculous signs Jesus did, but they still did not believe in him. 38 This was to give full meaning to what Isaiah the prophet said:
“Lord, who believed what we told them?
Who has seen the Lord’s power?” (A)
39 This is why the people could not believe. Because Isaiah also said,
40 “God made the people blind.
He closed their minds.
He did this so that they would not see with their eyes
and understand with their minds.
He did it so that they would not turn
and be healed.” (B)
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ divine greatness. So he spoke about him.
42 But many people believed in Jesus. Even many of the Jewish leaders believed in him, but they were afraid of the Pharisees, so they did not say openly that they believed. They were afraid they would be ordered to stay out of the synagogue. 43 They loved praise from people more than praise from God.
Jesus’ Teaching Will Judge People
44 Then Jesus said loudly, “Everyone who believes in me is really believing in the one who sent me. 45 Everyone who sees me is really seeing the one who sent me. 46 I came into this world as a light. I came so that everyone who believes in me will not stay in darkness.
47 “I did not come into the world to judge people. I came to save the people in the world. So I am not the one who judges those who hear my teaching and do not obey. 48 But there is a judge for all those who refuse to believe in me and do not accept what I say. The message I have spoken will judge them on the last day. 49 That is because what I taught was not from myself. The Father who sent me told me what to say and what to teach. 50 And I know that whatever he says to do will bring eternal life. So the things I say are exactly what the Father told me to say.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International