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Jehoahaz and Jehoash in Israel
13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, reigning seventeen years. 2 But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and he went after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat with which he had caused Israel to sin, and he did not depart from it. 3 So the anger of Yahweh was kindled[a] against Israel, and he gave them into the hand of Hazael king of Aram and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael repeatedly.[b] 4 Then Jehoahaz entreated Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Aram oppressed them. 5 Yahweh gave Israel a savior, and they went out from under the hand of Aram. So the Israelites[c] lived in their tents as formerly.[d] 6 Yet they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to sin, but walked in it; and also, the pole of the Asherah worship was still standing in Samaria. 7 For there was no army left over for Jehoahaz except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them as the dust at threshing. 8 Now the remainder of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did and his powerful deeds, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? 9 Then Jehoahaz slept with his ancestors[e] and they buried him in Samaria, and Jehoash his son became king in his place.
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, reigning sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh; he did not depart from all of the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin, but walked in it. 12 The remainder of the acts of Joash[f] and all that he did, his powerful deeds, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? 13 Then Joash slept with his ancestors,[g] and Jeroboam sat on his throne. Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Elisha Passes Away
14 Elisha became ill with the illness with which he would die, so Jehoash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, and said, “My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows,” so he took him a bow and arrows. 16 He said to the king of Israel, “Lay your hand on the bow,”[h] so he lay hold of it; then Elisha put his hand on the hands of the king. 17 Then he said, “Open the window to the east,” so he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. Then he said, “An arrow of victory for Yahweh, and an arrow of victory against Aram; you shall fight the Arameans in Aphek until finishing them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” so he took them. He said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” so he struck three times and stopped. 19 Yet the man of God became angry against him and said, “For striking five or six times, then you would have defeated Aram until finishing them, but now you will defeat Aram only three times.”
20 Elisha died and they buried him. Now the raiding parties of Moab came in the spring.[i] 21 And it happened that they were burying a man; suddenly they saw the marauding band, so they threw the man in the grave of Elisha. As he went in, the man touched the bones of Elisha, and became alive and got up on his feet!
22 Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But Yahweh had mercy on them and showed compassion to them and turned to them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was not willing to destroy them nor cast them from his presence up to now.
24 When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-Hadad became king in his place. 25 Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz returned and took the cities from the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael which he had taken from the hand of Jehoahaz his father in the war. Three times Jehoash defeated him and recovered the towns of Israel.
Amaziah Reigns in Judah; Jeroboam II in Israel
14 In the second year of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. 3 He did right in the eyes of Yahweh, only not as David his ancestor;[j] as all which Jehoash his father had done, he did. 4 Only the high places were not removed; the people were still sacrificing and offering incense on the high places.
5 It happened that when the kingdom was firmly in his hand, he killed his servants who had killed his father the king. 6 But the sons of the killers he did not kill, as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which Yahweh had commanded, saying, “Fathers should not be killed because of children, and children should not be killed because of fathers; but a man should die because of his own sin.” 7 He also killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and he seized Sela in the battle, and he called its name Jokteel, until this day.
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, “Come let us meet face-to-face.”[k] 9 So Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah, saying, “The thornbush which is in Lebanon sent to the cedar which is in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife,’ but an animal of the field which is in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thornbush. 10 You have indeed defeated Edom and your heart is lifted up; enjoy the honor and stay home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall and Judah with you?”
11 But Amaziah would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel went up and they met face-to-face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-Shemesh which belongs to Judah. 12 Judah was defeated before Israel and they fled, each to this tent. 13 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-Shemesh. Then they came to Jerusalem, and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim up to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits! 14 He also took all of the gold and silver and all the vessels found in the temple of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the palace of the king, as well as the hostages;[l] then he returned to Samaria.
15 Now the remainder of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his powerful deeds, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? 16 Then Jehoash slept with his ancestors[m] and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.
Azariah Succeeds Amaziah in Jerusalem; Zechariah Succeeds Jeroboam II in Samaria
17 Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. 18 The remainder of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? 19 They conspired against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish, and they killed him there. 20 Then they carried him on the horses, and he was buried with his ancestors[n] in the city of David. 21 All of the people of Judah took sixteen-year-old Azariah and made him king in place of this father Amaziah. 22 He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his ancestors.[o]
23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, reigning forty-one years. 24 But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin. 25 He restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-Hamath up to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, who was from Gath-Hepher. 26 For Yahweh saw that the misery of Israel was very bitter, whether bond or free, but there was no helper for Israel. 27 Yahweh did not decree to blot out the name of Israel from under the heavens, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash.
28 Now the remainder of the acts of Jeroboam, all that he did, his powerful deeds, how he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath of Judah to Israel, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? 29 So Jeroboam slept with his ancestors[p] the kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah became king in his place.
23 And after[a] spending some time there, he departed, traveling through one place after another in the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
The Early Ministry of Apollos
24 Now a certain Jew named[b] Apollos, a native[c] Alexandrian, arrived in Ephesus—an eloquent man who was well-versed in the scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being enthusiastic in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things about Jesus, although he[d] knew only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when[e] Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27 And when[f] he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him[g] and[h] wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he[i] arrived, he[j] assisted greatly those who had believed through grace. 28 For he was vigorously refuting the Jews in public, demonstrating through the scriptures that the Christ[k] was Jesus.
Paul Finds Disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus
19 And it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the inland regions and[l] came[m] to Ephesus and found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you[n] believed?” And they said to him, “But we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit!” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into the baptism of John.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who was to come after him—that is, in Jesus.” 5 And when they[o] heard this,[p] they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when[q] Paul laid hands[r] on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak[s] in tongues and to prophesy. 7 (Now the total number of men was about twelve.)
8 So he entered into the synagogue and[t] was speaking boldly for three months, discussing and attempting to convince[u] them[v] concerning[w] the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became hardened and were disobedient, reviling the Way before the congregation, he departed from them and[x] took away the disciples, leading discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia[y] heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
Would-be Exorcists
11 And God was performing extraordinary[z] miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or work aprons that had touched his skin[aa] were carried away to those who were sick, and their[ab] diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.[ac]
Praise to Yahweh for His Help
146 Praise Yah.[a]
Praise Yahweh, O my soul.
2 I will praise Yahweh while I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I am still alive.
3 Do not place trust in princes,
in a son of humankind with whom there is no deliverance.
4 His breath departs; he returns to his plot;[b]
on that day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is on Yahweh as his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them,
the one who keeps faith[c] forever,
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food for the hungry.
Yahweh sets prisoners free;
8 Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind;
Yahweh raises up those bowed down;
Yahweh loves the righteous;
9 Yahweh protects[d] the strangers.
He helps up the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.[e]
10 Yahweh will reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.[f]
Praise Yah.[g]
2 A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,
but in expressing his heart.[a]
3 With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also,
and with dishonor, disgrace.
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