Old/New Testament
Ahaz’s Reign
28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord, in contrast to his ancestor David.[a] 2 He followed in the footsteps of[b] the kings of Israel; he also made images of the Baals. 3 He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire,[c] a horrible sin practiced by the nations[d] whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians[e] defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus.[f] He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him.[g] 6 In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors.[h] 7 Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. 8 The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it[i] back to Samaria.
9 Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice.[j] 10 And now you are planning[k] to enslave[l] the people[m] of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? 11 Now listen to me! Send back those you have seized from your brothers, for the Lord is very angry at you!”[n] 12 So some of[o] the Ephraimite family leaders, Azariah son of Jehochanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jechizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai confronted[p] those returning from the battle. 13 They said to them, “Don’t bring those captives here! Are you planning on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord?[q] Our guilt is already great, and the Lord is very angry at Israel.”[r] 14 So the soldiers released the captives and the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly. 15 Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked.[s] So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin.[t] They put the ones who couldn’t walk on donkeys.[u] They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria.
16 At that time King Ahaz asked the king[v] of Assyria for help. 17 The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried off captives. 18 The Philistines had raided the cities of Judah in the foothills[w] and the Negev.[x] They captured and settled in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its surrounding villages, Timnah and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages. 19 The Lord humiliated[y] Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel,[z] for he encouraged Judah to sin and was very[aa] unfaithful to the Lord. 20 King Tiglath-Pileser[ab] of Assyria came, but he gave him more trouble than support.[ac] 21 Ahaz gathered riches[ad] from the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help.
22 During his time of trouble King Ahaz was even more unfaithful to the Lord. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him.[ae] He reasoned,[af] “Since the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they caused him and all Israel to stumble. 24 Ahaz gathered the items in God’s temple and removed them. He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and erected altars on every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every city throughout Judah he set up high places to offer sacrifices to other gods. He angered the Lord God of his ancestors.
26 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.[ag] 27 Ahaz passed away[ah] and was buried in the city of Jerusalem; they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.
Hezekiah Consecrates the Temple
29 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother[ai] was Abijah,[aj] the daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done.[ak]
3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and Levites and assembled them in the square on the east side. 5 He said to them: “Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors.[al] Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean. 6 For our fathers were unfaithful; they did what is evil in the sight of[am] the Lord our God and abandoned him. They turned away[an] from the Lord’s dwelling place and rejected him.[ao] 7 They closed the doors of the temple porch and put out the lamps; they did not offer incense or burnt sacrifices in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 8 The Lord was angry at Judah and Jerusalem and made them an appalling object of horror at which people hiss out their scorn,[ap] as you can see with your own eyes. 9 Look, our fathers died violently[aq] and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off[ar] because of this. 10 Now I intend[as] to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger.[at] 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him,[au] to be his ministers,[av] and offer sacrifices.”[aw]
12 The following Levites prepared to carry out the king’s orders:[ax]
From the Kohathites: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;
from the Merarites: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;
from the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
13 from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel;
from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 from the descendants of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei;
from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 They assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple, just as the king had ordered, in accordance with the word[ay] of the Lord. 16 The priests then entered the Lord’s temple to purify it; they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple every ceremonially unclean thing they discovered inside.[az] The Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley. 17 On the first day of the first month they began consecrating; by the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of the Lord’s temple.[ba] For eight more days they consecrated the Lord’s temple. On the sixteenth day of the first month they were finished. 18 They went to King Hezekiah and said: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, including the altar of burnt sacrifice and all its equipment, and the table for the Bread of the Presence and all its equipment. 19 We have prepared and consecrated all the items that King Ahaz removed during his reign when he acted unfaithfully. They are in front of the altar of the Lord.”
20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah assembled the city officials and went up to the Lord’s temple. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah.[bb] The king[bc] told the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer burnt sacrifices on the altar of the Lord. 22 They slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and splashed the blood on the altar; next they slaughtered the lambs and splashed the blood on the altar. 23 Finally they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they placed their hands on them. 24 Then the priests slaughtered them. They offered their blood as a sin offering on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had decreed[bd] that the burnt sacrifice and sin offering were for all Israel.
25 Hezekiah[be] stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals and stringed instruments just as David, Gad the king’s prophet,[bf] and Nathan the prophet had ordered. (The Lord had actually given these orders through his prophets.) 26 The Levites had[bg] David’s musical instruments and the priests had trumpets. 27 Hezekiah ordered the burnt sacrifice to be offered on the altar. As they began to offer the sacrifice, they also began to sing to the Lord, accompanied by the trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel. 28 The entire assembly worshiped, as the singers sang and the trumpeters played. They continued until the burnt sacrifice was completed.
29 When the sacrifices were completed, the king and all who were with him bowed down and worshiped. 30 King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to praise the Lord, using the psalms[bh] of David and Asaph the prophet.[bi] So they joyfully offered praise and bowed down and worshiped. 31 Hezekiah said, “Now you have consecrated yourselves[bj] to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings[bk] to the Lord’s temple.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so[bl] brought burnt sacrifices.
32 The assembly brought a total of 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs as burnt sacrifices to the Lord,[bm] 33 and 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep[bn] were consecrated. 34 But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals,[bo] so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.)[bp] 35 There was a large number of burnt sacrifices, as well as fat from the peace offerings and drink offerings that accompanied the burnt sacrifices. So the service of the Lord’s temple was reinstituted.[bq] 36 Hezekiah and all the people were happy about what God had done[br] for them,[bs] for it had been done quickly.[bt]
Jesus Prays for the Father to Glorify Him
17 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward[a] to heaven[b] and said, “Father, the time[c] has come. Glorify your Son, so that your[d] Son may glorify you— 2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity,[e] so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.[f] 3 Now this[g] is eternal life[h]—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,[i] whom you sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by completing[j] the work you gave me to do.[k] 5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side[l] with the glory I had with you before the world was created.[m]
Jesus Prays for the Disciples
6 “I have revealed[n] your name[o] to the men[p] you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you,[q] and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed[r] your word. 7 Now they understand[s] that everything[t] you have given me comes from you, 8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They[u] accepted[v] them[w] and really[x] understand[y] that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying[z] on behalf of them. I am not praying[aa] on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you.[ab] 10 Everything[ac] I have belongs to you,[ad] and everything you have belongs to me,[ae] and I have been glorified by them.[af] 11 I[ag] am no longer in the world, but[ah] they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe[ai] in your name[aj] that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.[ak] 12 When I was with them I kept them safe[al] and watched over them[am] in your name[an] that you have given me. Not one[ao] of them was lost except the one destined for destruction,[ap] so that the scripture could be fulfilled.[aq] 13 But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience[ar] my joy completed[as] in themselves. 14 I have given them your word,[at] and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world,[au] just as I do not belong to the world.[av] 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe[aw] from the evil one.[ax] 16 They do not belong to the world[ay] just as I do not belong to the world.[az] 17 Set them apart[ba] in the truth; your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.[bb] 19 And I set myself apart[bc] on their behalf,[bd] so that they too may be truly set apart.[be]
Jesus Prays for Believers Everywhere
20 “I am not praying[bf] only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe[bg] in me through their testimony,[bh] 21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray[bi] that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 The glory[bj] you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one,[bk] so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am,[bl] so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world[bm] . 25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men[bn] know that you sent me. 26 I made known your name[bo] to them, and I will continue to make it known,[bp] so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.