Old/New Testament

Jehoiada Sets Joash on the Throne of Judah

23 ^(A)Now in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Johanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they entered into a covenant with him. ² They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers’ households of ^(B)Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. ³ Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And ^[a]Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, ^(C)as the Lord has spoken concerning the sons of David. ⁴ This is the thing which you shall do: one third of you, of the priests and Levites ^(D)who come in on the sabbath, shall be gatekeepers, ⁵ and one third shall be at the king’s house, and a third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶ But let no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests and ^(E)the ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people keep the charge of the Lord. ⁷ The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be killed. Thus be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

⁸ So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss any of ^(F)the divisions. ⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. ¹⁰ He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right ^[b]side of the house to the left ^[c]side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. ¹¹ Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him, and gave him ^(G)the testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “^(H)Long live the king!”

Athaliah Murdered

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came into the house of the Lord to the people. ¹³ She looked, and behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the ^[d]trumpeters were beside the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets, the singers with their musical instruments ^[e]leading the praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Treason! Treason!” ¹⁴ Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, “Bring her out ^[f]between the ranks; and whoever follows her, put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they ^[g]seized her, and when she arrived at the entrance of ^(I)the Horse Gate of the king’s house, they ^(J)put her to death there.

Reforms Carried Out

¹⁶ Then ^(K)Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ And all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down, and they broke in pieces his altars and his images, and ^(L)killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. ¹⁸ Moreover, Jehoiada placed the offices of the house of the Lord under the ^[h]authority of ^(M)the Levitical priests, ^(N)whom David had assigned over the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses—^(O)with rejoicing and singing according to the ^[i]order of David. ¹⁹ He stationed ^(P)the gatekeepers of the house of the Lord, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean. ^20 (Q)He took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the Lord, and came through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they placed the king upon the royal throne. ²¹ So ^(R)all of the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword.

Young Joash Influenced by Jehoiada

24 ^(S)Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba. ^2 (T)Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³ Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

Faithless Priests

⁴ Now it came about after this that Joash ^[j]decided ^(U)to restore the house of the Lord. ⁵ He gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all ^(V)Israel to ^[k]repair the house of your God ^[l]annually, and you shall do the matter quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. ⁶ So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem ^(W)the levy fixed by Moses the servant of the Lord on the congregation of Israel ^(X)for the tent of the testimony?” ⁷ For ^(Y)the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and even ^[m]used the holy things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.

Temple Repaired

⁸ So the king commanded, and ^(Z)they made a chest and set it outside by the gate of the house of the Lord. ^9 (AA)They made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord ^(AB)the levy fixed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ All the officers and all the people rejoiced and brought in their levies and ^[n]dropped them into the chest until they had finished. ¹¹ It came about whenever the chest was brought in to the king’s officer by the Levites, and when ^(AC)they saw that there was much money, then the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come, empty the chest, take it, and return it to its place. Thus they did daily and collected much money. ¹² The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, and also workers in iron and bronze to ^[o]repair the house of the Lord. ¹³ So the workmen labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they ^[p]restored the house of God ^[q]according to its specifications and strengthened it. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of the Lord, utensils for the service and the burnt offering, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ Now when Jehoiada ^[r]reached a ripe old age he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old at his death. ¹⁶ They buried him ^(AD)in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in ^(AE)Israel and ^[s]to God and His house.

¹⁷ But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned ^(AF)the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and ^(AG)served the ^[t]Asherim and the idols; so ^(AH)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt. ¹⁹ Yet ^(AI)He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord; though they testified against them, they would not listen.

Joash Murders Son of Jehoiada

^20 (AJ)Then the Spirit of God ^[u]came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God has said, ‘^(AK)Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? ^(AL)Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you.’” ²¹ So ^(AM)they conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him ^[v]to death in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which his father Jehoiada had shown him, but he murdered his son. And as he died he said, “May ^(AN)the Lord see and ^[w]avenge!”

Aram Invades and Defeats Judah

²³ Now it happened at the turn of the year that ^(AO)the army of the Arameans came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Indeed the army of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet ^(AP)the Lord delivered a very great army into their hands, ^(AQ)because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.

^25 (AR)When they had departed from him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the ^[x]son of Jehoiada the priest, and murdered him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶ Now these are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷ As to his sons and the many ^[y]oracles against him and ^(AS)the ^[z]rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the ^[aa](AT)treatise of the Book of the Kings. Then Amaziah his son became king in his place.

Jesus Is the Vine—Followers Are Branches

15 “^(A)I am the true vine, and My Father is the ^(B)vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He ^[a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. ^3 (C)You are already ^[b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ^4 (D)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit ^[c]of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he ^(E)bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is ^(F)thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ^(G)ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My ^(H)Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so ^[d](I)prove to be My disciples. ⁹ Just as ^(J)the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. ^10 (K)If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as ^(L)I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ^11 (M)These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your ^(N)joy may be made full.

Disciples’ Relation to Each Other

¹² “This is ^(O)My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. ^13 (P)Greater love has no one than this, that one ^(Q)lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My ^(R)friends if ^(S)you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for ^(T)all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. ^16 (U)You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and ^(V)bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that ^(W)whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. ¹⁷ This ^(X)I command you, that you love one another.

Disciples’ Relation to the World

¹⁸ “^(Y)If the world hates you, ^[e]you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but ^(Z)I chose you out of the world, ^(AA)because of this the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘^(AB)A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, ^(AC)they will also persecute you; if they ^(AD)kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you ^(AE)for My name’s sake, ^(AF)because they do not know the One who sent Me. ^22 (AG)If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have ^[f]sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates Me hates My Father also. ^24 (AH)If I had not done among them ^(AI)the works which no one else did, they would not have ^[g]sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. ²⁵ But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their ^(AJ)Law, ‘^(AK)They hated Me without a cause.’

²⁶ “When the ^[h](AL)Helper comes, ^(AM)whom I will send to you from the Father, that is ^(AN)the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, ^(AO)He will testify about Me, ^27 [i]and ^(AP)you will testify also, because you have been with Me ^(AQ)from the beginning.