Old/New Testament

Jehoahaz Rules Israel

13 In the twenty-third year of Ahaziah’s son Joash the king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became the king of Israel at Samaria. He ruled for seventeen years. ² Jehoahaz did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. He followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel sin. He did not turn from them. ³ So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel. He put them always under the power of King Hazael of Syria, and Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. ⁴ Then Jehoahaz begged for the Lord’s favor, and the Lord listened to him. For He saw the bad power held over Israel. He saw how the king of Syria made it hard for them. ⁵ So the Lord gave Israel someone to save them. And they were saved from the power of the Syrians. The people of Israel lived in their tents as before. ⁶ But they did not turn away from the sins of the family of Jeroboam, which made Israel sin. They walked in those sins. And the object of the false goddess Asherah was left standing in Samaria. ⁷ The king of Syria did not leave to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen, ten war-wagons and 10,000 foot-soldiers. For the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust of beaten grain. ⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, all he did and his strength, are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ⁹ When Jehoahaz died, they buried him in Samaria. And his son Joash became king in his place.

Jehoash Rules Israel

¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria. He ruled for sixteen years. ¹¹ And he did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, in which he made Israel sin. But he walked in those sins. ¹² Jehoash did many things. With his strength he fought against Amaziah king of Judah. The rest of his acts are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹³ Jehoash died, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

The Death of Elisha

¹⁴ Elisha became sick with the sickness of which he was to die. And Joash the king of Israel came down to him and cried over him, saying, “My father, my father, the war-wagons of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵ Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it. Then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. ¹⁷ And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of winning the battle! The arrow of winning the battle against Syria! For you will fight the Syrians at Aphek until you have destroyed them. ¹⁸ Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, “Hit the ground,” and he hit it three times, and stopped. ¹⁹ So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have hit it five or six times. Then you would have fought Syria until you had destroyed it. But now you will win the fight against Syria only three times.”

²⁰ Elisha died, and they buried him. Now groups of Moabite soldiers would come and fight in the land in the spring of the year. ²¹ As a man was being buried, some Moabite soldiers were seen, so the man was thrown into Elisha’s grave. When the man touched the bones of Elisha, he came alive and stood up on his feet.

The War between Israel and Syria

²² Now King Hazael of Syria had made it hard for Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ²³ But the Lord showed them kindness and loving-pity and turned to them because of His agreement with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He would not destroy them or put them away from Him until now. ²⁴ When King Hazael of Syria died, his son Ben-hadad became king in his place. ²⁵ Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took back from Hazael’s son Ben-hadad the cities he had taken in war from his father Jehoahaz. Three times Joash won in battle against him and took back the cities of Israel.

Amaziah Rules Judah

14 In the second year of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Joash’s son Amaziah began to rule as king of Judah. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. ³ Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not like David his father. He did all that his father Joash had done. ⁴ But the high places were not taken away. The people still gave gifts and burned special perfume on the high places. ⁵ As soon as the nation was under Amaziah’s power, he killed the servants who had killed his father when he was king. ⁶ But he did not kill the sons of the killers. Because it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, as the Lord said, “The fathers must not be put to death for the sons. And the sons must not be put to death for the fathers. Each must be put to death for his own sin.” ⁷ Amaziah killed 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war. He gave it the name Joktheel, which is its name to this day. ⁸ Then Amaziah sent men with news to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look at each other in the face.” ⁹ Jehoash king of Israel answered Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thorn bush in Lebanon sent word to the cedar tree in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild animal passed by in Lebanon, and crushed the thorn bush under its feet. ¹⁰ Yes, you have won the battle against Edom. Your heart has become proud. Be happy with your greatness and stay at home. For why should you make trouble so that you fall, and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So King Jehoash of Israel went up. He and Amaziah king of Judah fought each other at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² Israel won the battle against Judah, and every man of Judah ran away to his tent. ¹³ King Jehoash of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then he came to Jerusalem and tore down the city wall, from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate. He tore down the wall as far as 200 long steps. ¹⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the objects found in the house of the Lord and in the store-rooms of the king’s house. He took people against their will also, and he returned to Samaria.

¹⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash, his strength and how he fought with King Amaziah of Judah are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁶ Jehoash died and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam became king in his place.

The Death of Amaziah

¹⁷ Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. ¹⁸ The rest of the acts of Amaziah are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. ¹⁹ They made plans against Amaziah in Jerusalem, and he ran away to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁰ Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers at Jerusalem the city of David. ²¹ The people of Judah took Azariah and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. He was sixteen years old. ²² Azariah built Elath and returned it to Judah, after the king died.

Jeroboam II Rules Israel

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to rule in Samaria and ruled forty-one years. ²⁴ Jeroboam did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel sin. ²⁵ He took back the land of Israel from Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, as was told by the word of the Lord, the God of Israel. The Lord spoke about this through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai. Jonah was the man from Gath-hepher who spoke for the Lord. ²⁶ For the Lord saw that the trouble of Israel was very bitter. There was no one left of the servants or of those who were free. There was no one to help Israel. ²⁷ The Lord did not say that He would destroy the name of Israel from under heaven. So He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

²⁸ Jeroboam fought Judah and took back Damascus and Hamath for Israel. The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, all he did and his strength are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ²⁹ Jeroboam was buried with his fathers, the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah became king in his place.

The Powerful Work at the Wedding of Cana

2 Three days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in the country of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus and His followers were asked to come to the wedding. ³ When the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no more wine.” ⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what is that to you and to Me. It is not time for Me to work yet.” ⁵ His mother said to the helpers, “Do whatever He says.”

⁶ Six stone water jars were there. Each one held about one-half barrel of water. These water jars were used in the Jewish worship of washing. ⁷ Jesus said to the helpers, “Fill the jars with water.” They filled them to the top. ⁸ Then He said, “Take some out and give it to the head man who is caring for the people.” They took some to him. ⁹ The head man tasted the water that had become wine. He did not know where it came from but the helpers who took it to him knew. He called the man who had just been married. ¹⁰ The head man said to him, “Everyone puts out his best wine first. After people have had much to drink, he puts out the wine that is not so good. You have kept the good wine until now!”

¹¹ This was the first powerful work Jesus did. It was done in Cana of Galilee where He showed His power. His followers put their trust in Him. ¹² After this He went down to the city of Capernaum. His mother and brothers and followers went with Him. They stayed there a few days.

Jesus Stops the Buying and the Selling in the House of God ^(A)

¹³ It was time for the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ He went into the house of God and found cattle and sheep and doves being sold. Men were sitting there changing money. ¹⁵ Jesus made a whip of small ropes. He used it to make them all leave the house of God along with the sheep and cattle. He pushed their money off the tables and turned the tables over. ¹⁶ He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things out of here! You must not make My Father’s house a place for buying and selling!” ¹⁷ Then His followers remembered that it was written in the Holy Writings, “I am jealous for the honor of Your house.” ^(B)

The Jews Ask for Something Special to See

¹⁸ Then the Jews asked Him, “What can You do to show us You have the right and the power to do these things?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this house of God and in three days I will build it again.” ²⁰ Then the Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this house of God. Will You build it up in three days?” ²¹ Jesus was speaking of His body as the house of God. ²² After Jesus had been raised from the dead, His followers remembered He said this. They believed the Holy Writings and what He had said.

²³ Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. Many people put their trust in Him when they saw the powerful works He did. ²⁴ But Jesus did not trust them because He knew all men. ²⁵ He did not need anyone to tell Him about man. He knew what was in man.