1 Kings 21–22
1 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel right by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, so that I can have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it, or if you prefer, I will give you its worth in money.”
3 Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
4 Ahab returned home angry and depressed because of the answer Naboth the Jezreelite had given him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed and sulked and would not eat any bread.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said, “Why is your spirit so sad that you refuse to eat bread?”
6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
7 Jezebel his wife said to him, “Are you not the governor of the kingdom of Israel? Get up and eat bread, and let your heart be happy, for I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in the city where Naboth lived. 9 In the letters she wrote,
“Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people, 10 and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, ‘You blasphemed God and the king.’ And then carry him out and stone him, so that he will die.”
11 The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. 13 Two men, children of Belial, came in and sat in front of him, and the men of Belial witnessed against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth blasphemed God and the king.” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to sell to you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: 18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. He is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to possess it. 19 You shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Have you killed and also taken possession?” And you shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your own blood!”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 ‘See, I will bring disaster upon you and will take away your posterity and will cut off all your males, both free and slave, who are left in Israel, 22 and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger and made Israel to sin.’
23 “The Lord also spoke of Jezebel, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
24 “Those from Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by birds of the air.”
25 But there were none compared to Ahab, who sold himself to evil deeds in the sight of the Lord, which Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 He performed the most abominable act in following idols like the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
27 When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and walked meekly.
28 The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “See how Ahab humbles himself before Me? Because he humbles himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, but during his son’s lifetime I will bring the disaster on his household.”
Chapter 22
1 And there were three years without war between Aram and Israel. 2 In the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to visit the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel said to his servants, “You know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we have done nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram!”
4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle Ramoth Gilead?”
And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 5 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please ask for a word from the Lord today.”
6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, approximately four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I wait?”
And they said, “Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.”
7 Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can ask?”
8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we can inquire of the Lord. But I hate him because he never prophesies good for me, but always evil.”
And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Quickly, bring Micaiah the son of Imlah.”
10 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah each put on his robes and sat on his throne at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah made horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord: With these you shall push the Arameans until you have consumed them.”
12 All the prophets prophesied similarly, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.”
13 The servant who had gone to get Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “See here, the words of the prophets unanimously declare success for the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.”
14 Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I will speak whatever the Lord says to me.”
15 So he came to the king. And the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we wait?”
And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
16 The king said to him, “How many times must I admonish you to tell me only the truth in the name of the Lord?”
17 And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let every man return to his own house in peace.’”
18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
19 And he said, “Hear, therefore, the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside Him on His right hand and on His left. 20 The Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab so that he will go up and die at Ramoth Gilead?’
“And one said this, and another said that. 21 Then a spirit came forth and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will persuade him.’
22 “The Lord said to him, ‘How?’
“And he said, ‘I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’
“And He said, ‘You will be successful and persuade him. Go forth, and do so.’
23 “Now therefore, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets here, and He has spoken evil concerning you!”
24 Then Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah walked up and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the spirit of the Lord go from me in order to speak to you?”
25 And Micaiah said, “You will see in that day, when you go into an inner chamber to hide.”
26 The king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 27 and say, ‘Thus says the king: Put this man in the prison, and feed him with reduced rations of bread and water until I return safely.’”
28 Micaiah said, “If you return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people!”
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and enter into the battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.
31 But the king of Aram ordered his thirty-two commanders who had control over his chariots, saying, “Fight neither against small nor great, but only against the king of Israel.” 32 So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel.” And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 When the commanders of the chariots realized that it was not the king of Israel, they turned away from pursuing him.
34 A certain man drew a bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor, and because of this, he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 35 The battle intensified that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot against the Arameans and died that evening, and the blood ran out of the wound into the floor of the chariot. 36 A proclamation went throughout the army as the sun was setting, saying, “Every man is to return to his city, and every man is to return to his own country.”
37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. 38 The chariot was washed in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up the king’s blood, and they washed his armor according to the word which the Lord spoke.
39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers. And Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.
41 Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 43 He walked in all the ways of Asa his father. He did not turn aside, doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken down, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 44 So Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat and the strength he showed and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46 And he exterminated from the land the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa. 47 At that time there was no king in Edom, and a regent sat in the king’s place.
48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never made it there, for the ships were broken at Ezion Geber. 49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat did not agree.
50 Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. 52 He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel sin, 53 for he served Baal and worshipped him and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.
Luke 23:26–56
26 As they led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him to carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and lamented Him. 28 Jesus turned to them, saying, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 Listen, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, who never bore and never nursed!’ 30 Then
they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’
and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’
31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two different men, who were criminals, also were led with Him to be killed. 33 When they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they divided His clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood by watching. But the rulers with them scoffed, saying, “He saved others. Let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the Chosen One of God.”
36 And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him and offering Him sour wine, 37 saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
38 An inscription was written over Him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew:
THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 One of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us!”
40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, seeing you are under the same sentence? 41 And we indeed, justly. For we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this Man has done nothing amiss.”
42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
43 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun was darkened. And the veil of the temple was torn in the middle. 46 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He gave up the spirit.
47 When the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God and said, “Certainly, this was a righteous Man.” 48 All the crowds who came together to that sight, witnessing what occurred, struck their chests and returned. 49 But all those who knew Him and the women accompanying Him from Galilee stood at a distance, seeing these things.
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, who was a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their counsel and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, and he himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took Him down, and wrapped Him in linen, and placed Him in a hewn tomb, where no one had ever been buried. 54 It was the Day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near.
55 The women who came with Him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was placed. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.