Old/New Testament
Jehu Rebukes Baasha
16 Later, a message came from the Lord to Hanani’s son Jehu. It was directed to rebuke Baasha, and this is what it said:
2 “I raised you from the dirt to become Commander-in-Chief[a] over my people Israel, but you’ve been living like Jeroboam, you’ve been leading my people Israel into sin, and you’ve been provoking me to anger with their sins. 3 So watch out! I’m going to devour Baasha and his household. I’m going to make your household just like the household of Jeroboam, Nebat’s son. 4 Anyone from Baasha’s household[b] who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the sky will eat.”
5 Now the rest of Baasha’s accomplishments, including everything that he undertook, as well as his strengths, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not? 6 Eventually, Baasha died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah was installed as king in his place.
7 In addition, a message from the Lord came through Hanani’s son Jehu the prophet against Baasha and his household, not only because of all of the things that Baasha[c] did that the Lord considered to be evil, including provoking the Lord[d] to anger by what he did and by being like the household of Jeroboam, but also because Baasha[e] had destroyed Jeroboam’s household.[f]
Elah Reigns over Israel
8 During the twenty-sixth year of the reign of[g] King Asa of Judah, Baasha’s son Elah became king over Israel and reigned at Tirzah for two years. 9 But his servant Zimri, who commanded half of his chariot forces, conspired against Elah while he was drinking himself drunk in the home of Arza, who managed the household at Tirzah. 10 Zimri went inside, attacked him, and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, and then became king in Elah’s place. 11 As soon as he had consolidated his reign, he executed the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male alive, including any of Baasha’s relatives or friends. 12 In doing so, Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, in keeping with the message from the Lord that he had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet 13 because of all the sins that Baasha and his son Elah had committed and because of what they did to lead Israel into sin, thus provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idolatry. 14 Now the rest of Elah’s accomplishments, including everything he undertook, are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?
Zimri Reigns over Israel
15 Zimri reigned for seven days at Tirzah during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of[h] King Asa of Judah. At that time, the army was encamped in a siege against Gibbethon of Philistia. 16 The army at the encampment heard this report: “Zimri has conspired against the king and killed him.” So the entire army of[i] Israel made Omri, their commander, king over Israel. 17 Then Omri and the entire army of[j] Israel left from Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah. 18 When Zimri observed that the city had been captured, he retreated into the king’s palace, set fire to the citadel, and died when the palace burned down around him 19 because of the sins that he committed by doing what the Lord considered to be evil, living like Jeroboam did, and sinning so as to lead Israel into sin. 20 The rest of Zimri’s accomplishments, including his conspiracy that he carried out, are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?
Omri Reigns over Israel and Builds Samaria
21 The army[k] of Israel was divided into two parties: half of the army[l] were loyal to Ginath’s son Tibni and wanted to make him king, and half were loyal to Omri. 22 But the army[m] that was loyal to Omri was victorious over Ginath’s son Tibni. Tibni later died and Omri became king. 23 During the thirty-first year of the reign of[n] King Asa of Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He reigned for twelve years, six of them at Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[o] of silver, fortified the hill, and named the city Samaria after Shemer, the former owner of the hill. 25 Omri practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, doing far more evil than anyone who had reigned before him. 26 He lived just like Nebat’s son Jeroboam, and by his sin he led Israel into sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel with their idolatry. 27 Now the rest of Omri’s accomplishments, including the power that he demonstrated, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not? 28 So Omri died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.
Ahab Reigns over Israel and Marries Jezebel
29 Omri’s son Ahab became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah. He[p] reigned over Israel in Samaria for 22 years. 30 Omri’s son Ahab practiced more of what the Lord considered to be evil than anyone who had lived before him. 31 In fact, as if it were nothing for him to live like Nebat’s son Jeroboam, Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon. Then he went out to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He built an altar for Baal in a temple for Baal that he constructed in Samaria. 33 Ahab also erected an Asherah, doing more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all of the kings of Israel who had reigned before him. 34 It was during Ahab’s reign that Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations just as his firstborn son Abiram was dying, and he erected its gates while his youngest son Segub was dying, thus fulfilling the message that the Lord delivered through Nun’s son Joshua.[q]
Elijah Calls for a Drought
17 Elijah the foreigner,[r] who was an alien resident from Gilead, told Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I’m standing, there will be neither dew nor rain these next several years, except when I say so.”
2 Later, this message came to him from the Lord: 3 “Leave here and go into hiding at the Wadi[s] Cherith, where it enters the Jordan River.[t] 4 You will be able to drink from that brook, and I’ve commanded some crows to sustain you there.”
5 So Elijah[u] left and did exactly what the Lord had told him to do—he went to live near the Wadi[v] Cherith, where it enters the Jordan River. 6 Crows would bring him bread and meat both in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. 7 But after a while,[w] the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah Visits the Widowed Mother of Zarephath
8 Then this message came to him from the Lord: 9 “Get up, move to Zarephath in Sidon, and stay there. Look! I’ve commanded a widow to sustain you there.”
10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance to the city, a widow was there gathering sticks. So he asked her, “Please, may I have some water in a cup so I can have a drink.” 11 While she was on her way to get the water, he called out to her, “Would you please also bring me a piece of bread while you’re at it?”[x]
12 “As the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have so much as a muffin, just a handful of flour in a bowl and some oil left in a bottle. Now I’m going to find some sticks so I can cook a last meal for my son and for me. Then we’re going to eat it and die.”
13 But Elijah told her, “You can stop being afraid. Go and do what you said, but first make me a muffin and bring it to me. Then make a meal for yourself and for your son, 14 because this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘That jar of flour will not run out, nor will that bottle of oil become empty until the very day that the Lord sends rain on the surface of the ground.’”
15 So she went out and did precisely what Elijah told her to do. As a result, Elijah,[y] the widow,[z] and her son[aa] were fed for days. 16 The jar of flour never ran out and the bottle of oil never became empty, just as the Lord had promised[ab] through[ac] Elijah.
Elijah Restores the Widow’s Son
17 Sometime later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. In fact, his illness became so severe that he died.[ad] 18 “What do we have in common, you man of God?” she accused Elijah. “You came to me so you could uncover my guilt! And you’re responsible for the death of my son!”
19 “Give me your son,” he replied. Then he took him from her lap, carried him upstairs to the room where he lived, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he called out to the Lord and asked him, “Lord my God, have you also brought evil to this dear widow with whom I am living as her guest? Have you caused the death of her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, please cause the soul of this little boy to return to him.”
22 The Lord listened to Elijah, and the soul of the little boy returned to him, and he revived. 23 Then Elijah took the little boy downstairs from the upper chamber back into the main house and delivered him to his mother. “Look,” Elijah told her, “your son is alive.”
24 The woman responded to Elijah, “Now at last I’ve really learned that you are a man of God and that what you have to say about the Lord[ae] is the truth.”
Elijah Rebukes Ahab
18 Quite some time later—three years later!—this message from the Lord came to Elijah: “Go visit Ahab, and I’ll send some rain to the surface of the ground.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab, right when the famine in Samaria was most severe.
3 Ahab called for Obadiah, his household supervisor. This man, who feared the Lord very much, 4 had taken 100 prophets and had hidden them by fifties in a cave, providing them with food and water when Jezebel was trying to destroy the Lord’s prophets.
5 Ahab had instructed Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to all of the water springs and to all of the valleys. Maybe we’ll find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive. Also, maybe we won’t have to kill some of our cattle.” 6 So they divided the land between them so they could conduct their survey. Ahab went off by himself in one direction and Obadiah went off by himself in the other.
7 While Obadiah was on the road, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him and bowed down with his face to the ground. “It’s you, isn’t it, my master Elijah?”
8 “I am,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Look! Elijah!’”
9 But Obadiah replied, “What did I do wrong, that you would put me in a position where Ahab would execute me? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there isn’t a nation or kingdom where my master hasn’t tried to find you. Whenever they would say ‘He isn’t here,’ he forced that kingdom or nation to swear that they hadn’t seen you. 11 But now you’re saying ‘Go tell your master, “Elijah is here!”’ 12 As soon as I’ve left you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you off to I don’t know where! Then when I go tell Ahab and he can’t find you, he’ll kill me, even though I have been your servant and have feared the Lord since I was young! 13 Hasn’t anyone told you, my master, what I did when Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets? I hid 100 of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave and provided food and water for them. 14 Now you’re saying, ‘Go tell your master, “Elijah’s here!”’ He’s sure to kill me!”
15 But Elijah promised him, “As the Lord of the Heavenly Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, I will appear to Ahab today.”
16 So Obadiah went out to meet Ahab and reported to him. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab asked him, “Is it really you, you destroyer of Israel?”
18 But Elijah[af] replied, “I’m no destroyer of Israel. But you and your ancestor’s household have been doing that, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commandments and have followed the Baals. 19 So go gather all of Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. Bring along 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah who are funded at Jezebel’s expense.”[ag]
Elijah Defeats the Prophets of Baal
20 Ahab sent for the Israelis and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel, 21 where Elijah approached all the people and asked them, “How long will you keep hesitating[ah] between both sides? If the Lord is God, go after him. If Baal, go after him.”
But the people didn’t say a word.
22 So Elijah told the people, “I’m the only one left over as a prophet of the Lord, am I? But Baal’s prophets number 450 men? 23 So let them provide two oxen. They can choose one ox for themselves. Cut it up, lay it on top of some wood, but don’t set fire to it. I will prepare the other ox and lay it on top of some wood, and I won’t set fire to it. 24 Then you can call on the name of your god, and I’ll call on the name of the Lord. Let the God who answers by fire be our God!”
“That’s a good idea!” all the people shouted.
25 So Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose an ox for yourselves and you prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but don’t set fire to the offering.”
26 So they took the ox that was given to them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from early morning until noon. “Baal! Answer us!” they cried. But there was no response. Nobody answered. So they kept on dancing[ai] around the altar that they had made.
27 Starting about noon, Elijah began to tease them:
“Shout louder!
“He’s a god, so maybe he’s busy.
“Maybe he’s relieving himself.
“Maybe he’s busy someplace.
“Maybe he’s taking a nap and somebody needs to wake him up.”
28 So the prophets of Baal[aj] cried even louder and slashed themselves with swords and lances until their blood gushed out all over them, as was their custom. 29 They kept on raving right through midday and until it was time to offer the evening sacrifice, but there was still no response. Nobody answered, and nobody paid attention.
30 Eventually, Elijah told everybody, “Come here!” So everybody approached him, and he repaired the Lord’s altar that had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of Jacob’s descendants, to whom the message from the Lord had come that “Israel is to be your name.” 32 So Elijah used the stones to build an altar to the name of the Lord. But then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two measures[ak] of seed. 33 Then he laid the wood in order, cut the bull into pieces, and laid them on top of the wood.
“Fill four pitchers with water,” he ordered. “Then pour them out on the burnt offering and the wood.”
34 “Do it a second time,” he ordered. So they did it a second time.
“Do it a third time,” he said. So they did it a third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and completely filled the trench.[al]
Elijah’s Prayer and God’s Answer by Fire
36 As the time for the evening offering arrived, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I, your servant, have done all of this in obedience to your word. 37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people may know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning back their hearts again.”
38 Right then the Lord’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water that was in the trench! 39 When all the people saw what had happened, they fell flat on their faces and cried out “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”
40 But Elijah said, “Arrest the prophets of Baal. Don’t let even one of them get away.” So the people[am] seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi[an] Kishon and executed them there.
The Rain Storm Ends the Drought
41 After this, Elijah told Ahab, “Get up and have something to eat and drink, because there’s the sound of a coming rainstorm.” 42 So Ahab got up to get something to eat and drink while Elijah went back up to the top of Mount[ao] Carmel, where he bowed low to the ground and placed his face between his knees.
43 Then he told his young servant, “Go and look toward the sea.”
So he went and looked out to sea. “Nothing there,” he said.
But Elijah told him to go back seven times. 44 On the seventh look, he said, “Look! There’s a cloud, a small one, about the size of a man’s hand. It’s coming up out of the sea!”
“Get up and find Ahab!” Elijah[ap] said. “Tell him, ‘Mount your chariot and ride down the mountain[aq] so the storm doesn’t stop you.’”
45 A little while later, the sky turned black with storm clouds and winds, and there was a heavy shower. So Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 After Ahab had left,[ar] the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah, and he tucked his mantle into his belt and outran Ahab in a race to the city gate of Jezreel.
Jesus is Arrested(A)
47 While Jesus[a] was still speaking, a crowd arrived. The man called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them, and he came close to Jesus to kiss[b] him. 48 But Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When those who were around Jesus[c] saw what was about to take place, they asked, “Lord, should we attack with our swords?” 50 Then one of them struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” So he touched the wounded man’s[d] ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus told the high priests, the Temple police, and the elders, who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?[e] 53 While I was with you day after day in the Temple, you didn’t lay a hand on me. But this is your hour, when darkness reigns!”[f]
Peter Denies Jesus(B)
54 Then they arrested him, led him away, and brought him to the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. 55 When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had taken their seats, Peter, too, sat down among them. 56 A servant girl saw him sitting by the fire, stared at him, and said, “This man was with him, too.”
57 But he denied it, “I don’t know him, woman!” he responded.
58 A little later, a man looked at him and said, “You are one of them, too.”
But Peter said, “Mister,[g] I am not!”
59 About an hour later, another man emphatically asserted, “This man was certainly with him, because he is a Galilean!”
60 But Peter said, “Mister,[h] I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just then, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
61 Then the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. And Peter remembered the word from the Lord, and how he had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 So he went outside and cried bitterly.
Jesus is Insulted and Beaten(C)
63 Then the men who were holding Jesus in custody began to make fun of him while they beat him. 64 They blindfolded him and asked him over and over again, “Prophesy! Who is the one who hit you?” 65 And they kept insulting[i] him in many other ways.
66 As soon as day came, the elders of the people, the high priests, and the scribes assembled and brought him before their Council.[j] 67 They said, “If you are the Messiah,[k] tell us.”
But he told them, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me, 68 and if I ask you a question, you won’t answer me. 69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”[l]
70 Then they all asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?”
He answered them, “You said it—I AM.”
71 “Why do we need any more testimony?” they asked. “We have heard it ourselves from his own mouth!”
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