Ahaz Succeeds Jotham in Judah

28 ^(A)Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. ^(B)He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord as his father David had done. ^2 (C)But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also ^(D)made cast metal images for the Baals. ³ Furthermore, ^(E)he burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and ^(F)burned his sons in fire, ^(G)according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel. ⁴ He sacrificed and ^(H)burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Judah Is Invaded

⁵ Therefore ^(I)the Lord his God handed him over to the king of Aram; and they ^[a]defeated him and carried from him a great number of captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with heavy casualties. ⁶ For ^(J)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 in Judah in one day, all valiant men, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their fathers. ⁷ And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the ruler of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king.

^8 (K)The sons of Israel led away captive two hundred thousand of ^(L)their relatives, women, sons, and daughters; and they also ^[b]took a great deal of spoils from them, and brought the spoils to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and ^(M)he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, ^(N)was angry with Judah, He has handed them over to you, and you have killed them in a rage ^(O)which has even reached heaven. ¹⁰ Now you are proposing to ^(P)subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. Are you not, however guilty yourselves of offenses against the Lord your God? ¹¹ Now then, listen to me and return the captives ^(Q)whom you captured from your brothers, ^(R)for the burning anger of the Lord is against you.” ¹² Then some of the leading men of the sons of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—rose up against those who were coming from the battle, ¹³ and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing to bring guilt upon us before the Lord, adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great, and His burning anger is against Israel.” ¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the spoils before the officers and all the assembly. ¹⁵ Then ^(S)the men who were designated by name got up, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked people from the spoils; they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and ^(T)gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, ^(U)the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.

Compromise with Assyria

^16 (V)At that time King Ahaz sent word to the ^[c]kings of Assyria for help. ^17 (W)For the Edomites had come again and attacked Judah, and led away captives. ^18 (X)The Philistines had also invaded the cities of the ^[d]lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they had settled there. ¹⁹ For the Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of ^(Y)Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ So ^(Z)Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. ^21 (AA)Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the Lord and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

²² Now during the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz ^(AB)became even more unfaithful to the Lord. ^23 (AC)For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had ^[e]defeated him, and said, “^(AD)Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they became the ^[f]downfall of him and all Israel. ²⁴ Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he ^(AE)cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he ^(AF)closed the doors of the house of the Lord, and ^(AG)made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger. ^26 (AH)Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ^27 (AI)So Ahaz ^[g]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of ^(AJ)Israel; and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

Hoshea Reigns over Israel

17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, ^(A)Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned for nine years. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, only not as the kings of Israel who preceded him. ^3 (B)Shalmaneser the king of Assyria marched ^(C)against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. ⁴ But the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and had then brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria arrested him and confined him in prison.

⁵ Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and went up to ^(D)Samaria and besieged it for three years.

Israel Captive

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(E)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(F)led the people of Israel into exile to Assyria, and ^(G)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of ^(H)Gozan, and ^(I)in the cities of the Medes.

Why Israel Fell

⁷ Now ^(J)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, ^(K)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; ^(L)and they had ^[a]feared other gods. ⁸ They also ^[b](M)followed the ^[c]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs ^(N)of the kings of Israel which they had ^[d]introduced. ⁹ And the sons of Israel ^[e]did things secretly against the Lord their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from ^(O)watchtower to fortified city. ¹⁰ And ^(P)they set up for themselves memorial stones and ^[f](Q)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, ¹¹ and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did that the Lord had taken into exile before them; and they did evil things, provoking the Lord. ¹² They served idols, ^(R)concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³ Yet the ^(S)Lord warned Israel and Judah ^[g](T)through all His prophets and ^(U)every seer, saying, “^(V)Turn back from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes in accordance with all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you ^[h]through My servants the prophets.” ¹⁴ However, they did not listen, but ^(W)stiffened their neck ^[i]like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. ^15 (X)They rejected His statutes and ^(Y)His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings which He ^[j]gave them. And ^(Z)they followed ^[k]idols and ^(AA)became empty, and followed the nations that surrounded them, about which the ^(AB)Lord had commanded them not to do as they did. ¹⁶ And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast metal images: ^(AC)two calves. And they ^(AD)made an ^[l]Asherah, and ^(AE)worshiped all the heavenly ^[m]lights, and ^(AF)served Baal. ¹⁷ Then ^(AG)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they ^(AH)practiced divination and interpreting omens, and ^(AI)gave themselves over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. ¹⁸ So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He ^(AJ)removed them from His ^[n]sight; ^(AK)no one was left except the tribe of Judah.

^19 (AL)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God either, but they ^[o](AM)followed the ^[p]customs ^[q]which Israel had ^[r]introduced. ²⁰ So the Lord rejected all the ^[s]descendants of Israel and afflicted them and ^(AN)handed them over to plunderers, until He had cast them ^[t]out of His sight.

²¹ When ^(AO)He had torn Israel from the house of David, ^(AP)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^(AQ)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and misled them into a great sin. ²² And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he committed; they did not desist from them ^23 (AR)until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, ^(AS)just as He had spoken through all His servants the prophets. ^(AT)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Cities of Israel Filled with Strangers

^24 (AU)Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, ^[u](AV)Avva, ^(AW)Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. ²⁵ And at the beginning of their living there, they ^(AX)did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them that were killing some of them. ²⁶ So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land; so He has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them because they do not know the custom of the God of the land.”

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria issued commands, saying, “Take one of the priests there whom you led into ^[v]exile, and have ^[w]him go and live there; and have him teach them the custom of the God of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had led into exile from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they were to fear the Lord.

²⁹ But every nation was still making gods of its own, and they put them ^(AY)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. ^30 (AZ)The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and ^(BA)the Sepharvites were burning their children in the fire to ^(BB)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of ^(BC)Sepharvaim. ^32 (BD)They also feared the Lord and ^[x](BE)appointed from their entire population priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. ³³ They feared the Lord, yet they were serving their own gods in accordance with the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken into exile.

³⁴ To this day they act in accordance with the earlier customs: they do not fear the Lord, nor do they ^[y]follow their statutes, their ordinances, the Law, or the commandments which the Lord commanded the sons of Jacob, ^(BF)whom He named Israel. ³⁵ The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying, “^(BG)You shall not fear other gods, nor ^(BH)bow down to them, nor ^(BI)serve them, nor sacrifice to them. ³⁶ But the Lord, ^(BJ)who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with ^(BK)an outstretched arm, ^(BL)Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow down, and to Him you shall sacrifice. ³⁷ And the statutes, the ordinances, the Law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, ^(BM)you shall take care to do always; and you shall not fear other gods. ³⁸ The covenant that I have made with you, ^(BN)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. ³⁹ But you shall fear the Lord your God; and He will save you from the hand of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ However, they did not listen, but they kept acting in accordance with their earlier custom. ^41 (BO)So while these nations feared the Lord, they also served their ^[z]idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, just as their fathers did, they do to this day.

Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.

For the music director. A Song. A Psalm.

Teaching on Marriage

7 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is ^(A)good for a man ^[a]not to touch a woman. ² But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. ³ The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise the wife also to her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise the husband also does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ^5 [b](B)Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and ^[c]come together again so that ^(C)Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ But this I say by way of concession, ^(D)not of command. ^7 [d]Yet I wish that all ^[e]men were ^(E)even as I myself am. However, ^(F)each has his own gift from God, one in this way, and another in that.

⁸ But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is ^(G)good for them if they remain ^(H)even as I. ⁹ But if they do not have self-control, ^(I)let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰ But to the married I give instructions, ^(J)not I, but the Lord, that the wife is not to leave her husband ¹¹ (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband is not to ^[f]divorce his wife.

¹² But to the rest ^(K)I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he must not ^[g]divorce her. ¹³ And ^[h]if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not ^[i]divorce her husband. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through ^[j]her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are ^(L)holy. ¹⁵ Yet if the unbelieving one is leaving, ^[k]let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called ^[l]us ^(M)in peace. ¹⁶ For how do you know, wife, whether you will ^(N)save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

¹⁷ Only, ^(O)as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this way let him walk. And ^(P)so I direct in ^(Q)all the churches. ¹⁸ Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? ^(R)He is not to be circumcised. ^19 (S)Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is ^(T)the keeping of the commandments of God. ^20 (U)Each person is to remain in that ^[m]state in which he was called.

²¹ Were you called as a slave? Do not let it concern you. But if you are also able to become free, take advantage of that. ²² For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave, is ^(V)the Lord’s freed person; likewise the one who was called as free, is ^(W)Christ’s slave. ^23 (X)You were bought for a price; do not become slaves of people. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, ^(Y)each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

²⁵ Now concerning virgins, I have ^(Z)no command of the Lord, but I am offering direction as one who ^[n](AA)by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. ²⁶ I think, then, that this is good in view of the ^[o]present ^(AB)distress, that ^(AC)it is good for a man ^[p]to remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸ But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such people as yourselves will have ^[q]trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. ²⁹ But this I say, brothers, ^(AD)the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; ³⁰ and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; ³¹ and those who use the world, as though they did not ^(AE)make full use of it; for ^(AF)the present form of this world is passing away.

³² But I want you to be free from concern. One who is ^(AG)unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; ³³ but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but ^[r]to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.

³⁶ But if anyone thinks that he is acting dishonorably toward his virgin, if she is ^[s]past her youth and it ought to be so, let him do what he wishes, he is not sinning; let ^[t]them marry. ³⁷ But the one who stands firm in his heart, ^[u]if he is not under constraint, but has authority ^[v]over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin, he will do well. ³⁸ So then, both the one who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and the one who does not give her in marriage will do better.

^39 (AH)A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband ^[w]dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only ^(AI)in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But ^(AJ)in my opinion she is ^[x]happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.