Kings of Israel: Jehoahaz and Jehoash

13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned for seventeen years. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(A)into which he misled Israel; he did not turn from them. ^3 (B)So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He continually handed them over to ^(C)Hazael king of Aram, and to ^(D)Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael. ⁴ Then ^(E)Jehoahaz appeased the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for ^(F)He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. ⁵ And the Lord gave Israel a ^[a](G)savior, so that they ^[b]escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as previously. ⁶ Nevertheless they did not abandon the sins of the house of Jeroboam, ^(H)into which he misled Israel; rather, they walked in ^[c]them; and ^(I)the ^[d]Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. ⁷ For he left to Jehoahaz no more of the ^[e]army than fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry, because the king of Aram had eliminated them and ^(J)made them like the dust at threshing. ⁸ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁹ And Jehoahaz ^[f]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and his son Joash became king in his place.

¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, ^[g]Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for sixteen years. ¹¹ He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; rather, he walked in ^[h]them. ^12 (K)Now as for the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹³ So Joash ^[i]lay down with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Death of Elisha

¹⁴ When Elisha ^[j]became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over ^[k]him and said, “^(L)My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he ^[l]took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Lay your hand on the bow.” And he laid his hand on it, then Elisha put 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!” So he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, and the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will ^[m]defeat the Arameans at ^(M)Aphek until you have put an end to them.” ¹⁸ Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and ^[n]stopped. ¹⁹ Then ^(N)the man of God became angry at him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you put an end to it. But now you shall strike Aram ^(O)only three times.”

²⁰ And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now ^(P)the marauding bands of the Moabites would invade the land ^[o]in the spring of the year. ²¹ And as they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they threw the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man ^[p]touched the bones of Elisha he ^(Q)revived and stood up on his feet.

²² Now ^(R)Hazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ²³ But the ^(S)Lord was gracious to them and ^(T)had compassion on them and turned to them because of ^(U)His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and He was unwilling to eliminate them or cast them away from His presence until now.

²⁴ When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad became king in his place. ²⁵ Then ^(V)Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz again took from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of his father Jehoahaz. ^(W)Three times Joash ^[q]defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

Amaziah Reigns over Judah

14 ^(X)In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, ^(Y)Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. ³ He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like his father David; he acted in accordance with everything that his father Joash had done. ⁴ Only ^(Z)the high places were not eliminated; ^(AA)the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ⁵ Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, that he ^[r](AB)killed his servants who had ^[s]killed the king, his father. ⁶ But he did not put the sons of ^[t]the murderers to death, in ^[u]obedience to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, as the Lord commanded, saying, “^(AC)The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers; but ^(AD)each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

⁷ He ^[v]killed ten thousand of the Edomites in ^(AE)the Valley of Salt, and took ^(AF)Sela by war, and named it ^(AG)Joktheel, as it is to this day.

^8 (AH)Then Amaziah sent messengers to ^[w]Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “^(AI)Come, let’s face each other in combat.” ⁹ But Jehoash king of Israel sent messengers to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “^(AJ)The thorn bush that was in Lebanon sent word to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son ^[x]in marriage.’ But a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush. ^10 (AK)You have indeed ^[y]defeated Edom, and ^(AL)your heart ^[z]is elated. Enjoy the glory and stay home; for why should you get involved in trouble so that you would fall, you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and they faced each other, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at ^(AM)Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and ^(AN)they fled, every man to his tent. ¹³ Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from ^(AO)the Gate of Ephraim to ^(AP)the Corner Gate, ^[aa]four hundred cubits. ¹⁴ And ^(AQ)he took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, the hostages as well, and returned to Samaria.

Jeroboam II Succeeds Jehoash (Joash) in Israel

^15 (AR)Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹⁶ So Jehoash ^[ab]lay down with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and his son Jeroboam became king in his place.

Azariah (Uzziah) Succeeds Amaziah in Judah

^17 (AS)Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ¹⁸ Now as for the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ¹⁹ They formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to ^(AT)Lachish; but they sent men to Lachish after him and they killed him there. ²⁰ Then they carried him on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. ²¹ And all the people of Judah took ^[ac]Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ^22 (AU)He built Elath and restored it to Judah after the king ^[ad]lay down with his fathers.

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and reigned for forty-one years. ²⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not abandon all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel. ^25 (AV)He restored the border of Israel from ^(AW)the entrance of Hamath as far as ^(AX)the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which He spoke ^[ae]through His servant ^(AY)Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from ^(AZ)Gath-hepher. ²⁶ For the ^(BA)Lord saw the misery of Israel, which was very bitter; for ^(BB)there was neither ^[af]bond nor free spared, nor was there any helper for Israel. ²⁷ Yet the ^(BC)Lord did not say that He would wipe out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

Zechariah Reigns over Israel

²⁸ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he recovered for Israel ^(BD)Damascus and ^(BE)Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁹ And Jeroboam ^[ag]lay down with his fathers, with the kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah became king in his place.

Amaziah Succeeds Joash in Judah

25 ^(A)Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, ^(B)only not wholeheartedly. ³ Now ^(C)it came about, as soon as the kingdom was ^[a]firmly in his grasp, that he killed his servants who had killed his father the king. ⁴ However, he did not put their children to death, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, which the Lord commanded, saying, “^(D)Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor sons be put to death for fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Amaziah Defeats Edomites

⁵ Moreover, Amaziah assembled Judah and appointed them according to their fathers’ households under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin; and he ^[b]took a census of those ^(E)from twenty years old and upward and found them to be ^(F)three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war and handle spear and shield. ⁶ He also hired a hundred thousand valiant warriors from Israel for ^[c]a hundred talents of silver. ⁷ But ^(G)a man of God came to him saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel come with you, for the Lord is not with Israel nor with any of the sons of Ephraim. ⁸ But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will ^[d]bring you down before the enemy, ^(H)for God has the power to help and to ^[e]bring down.” ⁹ Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what are we to do about the ^[f]hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “^(I)The Lord has much more to give you than this.” ¹⁰ Then Amaziah ^[g]dismissed the troops which came to him from Ephraim, to go home; so their anger burned against Judah, and they returned ^[h]home in fierce anger.

¹¹ Now Amaziah gathered his courage and led his people out, and went to ^(J)the Valley of Salt, and struck and killed ten thousand of the sons of Seir. ¹² The sons of Judah also captured ten thousand alive and brought them to the top of the cliff, and threw them down from the top of the cliff so that they were all dashed to pieces. ¹³ But the ^[i]troops whom Amaziah sent back, those not going with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck and killed three thousand of them, and plundered a large amount of spoils.

Amaziah Rebuked for Idolatry

¹⁴ Now after Amaziah came from slaughtering the Edomites, ^(K)he brought the gods of the sons of Seir and set them up as his gods. Then he bowed down before them and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ So the anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people ^(L)who have not saved their own people from your hand?” ¹⁶ As he was talking with him, ^[j]the king said to him, “Have we appointed you to be a royal counselor? Stop! Why should ^[k]you be put to death?” Then the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

Amaziah Defeated by Joash of Israel

^17 (M)Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent word to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let’s face each other.” ¹⁸ But Joash the king of Israel sent a reply to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “^(N)The thorn bush that was in Lebanon sent word to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush. ¹⁹ You said, ‘Behold, you have ^[l]defeated Edom.’ And ^(O)your heart has lifted you up in boasting. Now stay home; why should you provoke trouble so that you, would fall, you and Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen, for it was from God, so that He might hand them over to Joash, because they had sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which belonged to Judah. ²² And Judah was defeated ^[m]by Israel, and they fled, every man to his tent. ²³ Then Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of ^(P)Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, ^[n]four hundred cubits. ²⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of God with ^(Q)Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages too, and returned to Samaria.

^25 (R)And Amaziah, the son of Joash king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from the first to the last, behold, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent men after him to Lachish, and they killed him there. ²⁸ Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director; according to ^[a]Mahalath. A ^[b]Maskil of David.

Sabbath Questions

12 ^[a](A)At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^(B)pick the heads of grain and eat. ² Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what ^(C)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!” ³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions— ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and ^(D)they ate the ^[b]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ^[c]violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? ⁶ But I say to you that something ^(E)greater than the temple is here. ⁷ But if you had known what this ^[d]means: ‘^(F)I desire ^[e]compassion, ^[f]rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned ^[g]the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

⁸ For ^(G)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^9 (H)Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ^[h]Jesus, asking, “^(I)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. ¹¹ But He said to them, “^(J)What man ^[i]is there among you who ^[j]has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (K)How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ^[k]good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^(L)He stretched it out, and it was restored to ^[l]normal, like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and ^[m](M)conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵ But Jesus, ^[n]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^(N)He healed them all, ¹⁶ and ^(O)warned them not to ^[o]tell who He was. ¹⁷ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

The Pharisees Rebuked

^22 (W)Then a ^(X)demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to ^[x]Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and ^[y]could see. ²³ And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^(Y)Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^(Z)casts out demons only by ^[z]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

^25 (AA)And ^(AB)knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if ^(AC)Satan is casting out Satan, he ^[aa]has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if ^(AD)by ^[ab]Beelzebul I cast out the demons, ^(AE)by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But ^(AF)if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

^30 (AG)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹ “^(AH)Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ^32 (AI)And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^(AJ)this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

³³ “Either ^[ac]assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or ^[ad]assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for ^(AK)the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (AL)You ^[ae]offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? ^(AM)For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. ^35 (AN)The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. ³⁶ But I tell you that for every ^[af]careless word that people ^[ag]speak, they will give an account of it on the ^(AO)day of judgment. ³⁷ For ^[ah]by your words you will be justified, and ^[ai]by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^(AP)we want to see a ^[aj]sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “^(AQ)An evil and adulterous generation craves a ^[ak]sign; and so no ^[al]sign will be given to it except the ^[am]sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as ^(AR)Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will ^(AS)the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for ^(AT)three days and three nights. ^41 (AU)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^(AV)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something ^(AW)greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (AX)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something ^(AY)greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “^(AZ)Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and ^(BA)the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

^46 (BB)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^(BC)mother and ^(BD)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ [^[an]Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] ⁴⁸ But ^[ao]Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”