Old/New Testament
Jehoram (Joram) King of Judah
21 Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His son Jehoram ruled in his place.
2 Jehoram had brothers, who were the sons of Jehoshaphat. They were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them many gifts: silver, gold, and valuable possessions, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingship to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
4 Jehoram ascended to the throne of his father and strengthened his position. Then he killed all his brothers with the sword and also killed some of the officials of Israel.
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for eight years.
6 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, because the daughter of Ahab was his wife. So he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
7 But the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant he had made with David, when he promised him and his sons that he would keep a light shining for all time.[a]
8 In Jehoram’s days Edom revolted from Judah’s control and set up a king for themselves. 9 So Jehoram crossed over to Edom with his commanders and with all the chariots. He got up at night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot officers. 10 Edom has successfully revolted from the control of Judah to this day. Libnah also revolted from his control at that time because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers.
11 Jehoram also made high places in the hill country of Judah and caused those living in Jerusalem to prostitute themselves. He caused Judah to go astray.
12 A letter came to him from Elijah the prophet which said:
This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says. Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat and in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but you have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have caused Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, as the house of Ahab led Israel to prostitute themselves, and because you have even killed your own brothers from your father’s household, who were better than you, 14 the Lord is going to strike a severe blow against your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions. 15 You yourself will have great pain from a disease of your intestines, until your intestines fall out, because the disease is going to last so long.
16 The Lord stirred up against Jehoram the hostility[b] of the Philistines and the Arabs who were next to the Cushites. 17 They came up against Judah, successfully invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found at the king’s palace, as well as his sons and his wives. None of his sons were left except Jehoahaz,[c] the youngest.
18 After all this the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable disease in his intestines. 19 He suffered day after day, until the end of the second year, when his intestines fell out because of the disease. He died in great pain. His people did not make a bonfire for him like the fires for his fathers.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned as king in Jerusalem for eight years. He departed without anyone regretting it. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
Ahaziah King of Judah
22 The residents of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, king in Jehoram’s place because the raiding band, which had come to the camp with the Arabs, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram ruled as the king of Judah.
2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri.
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, because his mother was advising him how to do wicked things. 4 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab did, because they were his advisors after the death of his father. This led to his destruction.
5 He also followed their advice and went with Jehoram,[d] the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram there. 6 So he returned to Jezre’el to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramah when he was fighting against Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah[e] son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to visit Jehoram son of Ahab in Jezre’el because Jehoram had been wounded.
7 It was due to God that Ahaziah’s downfall came about when he went to visit Joram. After Ahaziah had arrived, he went out with Jehoram[f] to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. 8 When Jehu was carrying out judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers,[g] who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them. 9 He also searched for Ahaziah and captured him, while he was hiding in Samaria.[h] They brought him to Jehu, who put him to death. They buried him, because they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” There was nobody from the house of Ahaziah strong enough to rule the kingdom.
Athaliah
10 When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she went into action and destroyed[i] all the royal heirs[j] belonging to the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath,[k] the daughter of the king, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah. She stole him away from among the king’s sons, who were to be killed. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because she was a sister of Ahaziah, Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid Joash from Athaliah, so that she could not kill him.
12 He was kept hidden with them in the House of God for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land.
No Greater Love—in Peace
14 “Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions.[a] If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.[b] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am. 4 You know where I am going, and you know the way.”
5 “Lord, we don’t know where you are going,” Thomas replied, “so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. 7 If you know me, you would also know my Father.[c] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that is enough for us.”
9 “Have I been with you so long,” Jesus answered, “and you still do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I am telling you I am not speaking on my own, but the Father who remains in me is doing his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. Or else believe[d] because of the works themselves.
12 “Amen, Amen, I tell you: The one who believes in me will do the works that I am doing. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me[e] for anything in my name, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, hold on to[f] my commands. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him. You know him because he stays with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will see me no longer, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 The one who has my commands and holds on to them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and show myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are going to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 The one who does not love me does not hold on to my words. The word that you are hearing is not mine, but it is from the Father who sent me.
25 “I have told you these things while staying with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.
27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid. 28 You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
29 “I have told you now before it happens so that, when it does happen, you may believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me. 31 But I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has instructed me.
“Get up. Let’s leave this place.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.