2 Kings 10–12
1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the captains of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying, 2 “Now as soon as this letter comes to you—since you are with your master’s sons, chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons— 3 select the best and most fitting of your master’s sons, put him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”
4 But they were extremely afraid and said, “Two kings could not stand before him. How can we stand?”
5 So he who was over the house, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians sent word to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and everything you say to us we will do. We will not appoint a man king. Do what is good in your eyes.”
6 Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying, “If you belong to me and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me at Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”
Now the king’s sons, seventy men, were with the great men of the city who brought them up. 7 When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons, slaughtered all seventy, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him in Jezreel. 8 So the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”
Then he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entry of the gate until morning.”
9 When morning came, he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck all these? 10 Know then that the words of the Lord which He spoke about the house of Ahab will not fall to the ground. The Lord has done that which He spoke by His servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel and all his great men, his confidants, and his priests, until he left him no survivor.
12 Then he got up and went to Samaria. When he was at Beth Eked of the Shepherds on the way, 13 Jehu found the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?”
And they said, “We are brothers of Ahaziah, and we have come down to visit the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”
14 He said, “Capture them alive.” So they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth Eked, forty-two men. Not a man of them remained.
15 Then he left there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab coming to meet him. He greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right with me, as my heart is with yours?”
And Jehonadab said, “It is.”
“If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he pulled him up to him into the chariot. 16 He said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” So he made him ride in his chariot.
17 Then he came to Samaria and struck all that remained to Ahab in Samaria until he exterminated them, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.
18 Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests. Let none go unaccounted for, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal. All who are not accounted for will not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
20 Jehu said, “Sanctify a festive assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Jehu sent word through all Israel, and all the worshippers of Baal came. Not a man remained who did not come. They came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22 He said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshippers of Baal.” So he brought them garments.
23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rekab went into the house of Baal and said to the worshippers of Baal, “Search and see that there are no worshippers of the Lord here with you and only worshippers of Baal.” 24 Then they went to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, but Jehu put eighty men outside and said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, the one who lets him go will die in his place.”
25 As soon as he had finished making the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and the officers, “Go in. Kill them. No one comes out.” So they struck them with the edge of the sword. The guards and the officers threw them out and went to the city of the house of Baal. 26 They brought out the sacred pillar from the house of Baal and burned it. 27 They broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the house of Baal and made it a latrine to this day.
28 So Jehu exterminated Baal from Israel. 29 But from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, Jehu did not turn aside (that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and Dan).
30 And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well by doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.” 31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart. He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin.
32 In those days the Lord began to trim off parts of Israel, and Hazael struck them in all the territory of Israel: 33 from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, the Manassites from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.
34 Now the rest of the deeds of Jehu, all he did and all his power, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
35 So Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. 36 The days that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria were twenty-eight years.
Chapter 11
1 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose up and destroyed all the royal descendants. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. 3 He was with her, hidden in the house of the Lord for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
4 But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent word and took the captains of hundreds from the Carites and the guards and brought them to him in the house of the Lord. He made a covenant with them, put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and then showed them the king’s son. 5 He commanded them, saying, “This is the thing that you shall do: One-third of your unit, those who come on duty on the Sabbath, will guard the king’s house. 6 One-third will be at the gate of Sur, and one-third will be at the gate behind the guards. You will take turns guarding the house. 7 Two of your companies from all who go out on the Sabbath will keep watch over the house of the Lord for the king. 8 You will encircle the king, each man with his weapons in his hand, and the one that comes within the ranks must be killed. They must be with the king when he goes out and comes in.”
9 The captains of hundreds did according to everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each took his men, those who came on duty on the Sabbath, with those that went off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 And the priest gave to the captains of hundreds spears and shields which belonged to King David that were in the house of the Lord. 11 The guards stood, each with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, along the altar and the house, surrounding the king.
12 Then he brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. They made him king and anointed him. Then they clapped their hands and said, “Live, O king!”
13 Then Athaliah heard the sound of the guards and the people, so she came to the people in the house of the Lord. 14 Then she looked, and the king was standing by a pillar according to custom, the captains and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Conspiracy, conspiracy!”
15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds, those appointed over the forces, “Bring her out of the house to the ranks, and kill with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Let her not be killed in the house of the Lord.” 16 So they laid hands on her, and she came through the horses’ entrance into the king’s house. Then she was put to death there.
17 Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the people of the Lord, and also between the king and the people. 18 Then all the people of the land entered the house of Baal and broke down its altars. His images they thoroughly broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
The priest put appointees over the house of the Lord. 19 He took the captains of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land. Then they brought down the king from the house of the Lord and marched through the gate of the guards to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. They had killed Athaliah with the sword at the king’s house.
21 Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.
Chapter 12
1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king. He reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all his days because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and made offerings in the high places.
4 Now Jehoash said to the priests, “All the consecrated money that is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each man is currently assessed, and all the money that is brought voluntarily to the house of the Lord, 5 let the priests receive it, each from his donor, and repair the damages to the house wherever damages are found.”
6 But in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had not repaired the damages to the house. 7 Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages to the house? So now money will no longer be taken from your donors. You will give it over for the damages to the house.” 8 The priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the house.
9 So Jehoiada the priest took a chest, made a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the house of the Lord. The priests guarding the threshold put there all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. 10 Whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest went up, emptied it, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord. 11 They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workers who were appointed to the house of the Lord. Then they paid it out to the carpenters and builders working on the house of the Lord, 12 to the masons and stonecutters, and to buy timber and cut stone to repair the damages to the house of the Lord, that is, whatever went out for repairs to the house.
13 But for the house of the Lord silver bowls, snuffers, sprinkling basins, trumpets, and all the gold and silver vessels were not made with any of the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, 14 for they gave it to the workmen, and they repaired the house of the Lord with it. 15 They did not settle accounts with the men in whose hand they gave the money to give to the workmen, for they dealt faithfully. 16 The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings were not brought into the house of the Lord. It belonged to the priests.
17 Then Hazael king of Aram went up, fought against Gath, and seized it. Then Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18 So Jehoash king of Judah took all the consecrated things that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated and his own consecrated things, all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Aram. Then Hazael went away from Jerusalem.
19 Now the rest of the deeds of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 20 His servants rose up, made a conspiracy, and struck Joash in the house of Millo, which goes down to Silla. 21 Jozabad the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died. They buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.
John 1:29–51
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him, but for this reason I came baptizing with water: so that He might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and have borne witness that He is the Son of God.”
35 Again, the next day John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 Looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?”
And they said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”
39 Jesus said to them, “Come and see.”
So they came and saw where He stayed and remained with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means the Christ). 42 Then he brought him to Jesus.
When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
43 The next day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip, and said to him, “Follow Me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, as well as the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and said concerning him, “Here is an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”