Old/New Testament
Hoshea, Last King of Israel
17 Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel during Ahaz’s twelfth year as king of Judah. Hoshea ·ruled [reigned] in Samaria nine years. 2 He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], but ·he was not as bad as [not like] the kings of Israel who had ·ruled [reigned] before him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came to attack Hoshea. Hoshea had been Shalmaneser’s ·servant [vassal] and had ·made the payments to Shal-maneser that he had demanded [paid him tribute]. 4 But the king of Assyria found that Hoshea had betrayed him. Hoshea had ·made plans [conspired; plotted] against him by sending messengers to So, the king of Egypt. Hoshea had also ·stopped giving Shalmaneser the payments [offered no tribute to the king of Assyria], which he had paid every year in the past. For that, the king of Assyria put Hoshea in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria ·came and attacked [invaded] all the land of Israel. He ·surrounded [besieged] Samaria for three years. 6 He ·defeated [captured] Samaria in the ninth year Hoshea was king, and he ·took [carried; exiled; deported] the Israelites away to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
Israelites Punished for Sin
7 All these things happened because the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] had sinned against the Lord their God. He had brought them out of Egypt and had rescued them from the ·power [L hand] of Pharaoh the king of Egypt [Ex. 20:2], but ·the Israelites [L they] had ·honored [revered; feared] other gods [Deut. 29:26]. 8 They ·lived like [followed/L walked in the practices of] the nations the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of them. They lived as their evil kings had shown them, 9 secretly ·sinning [doing things that were not right] against the Lord their God. They ·built [set up] ·places to worship gods [L high places; 12:3] in all their cities, from the watchtower to the ·strong, walled [fortified] city. 10 They put up ·stone [sacred] pillars to gods and Asherah ·idols [poles; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6; 1 Kin. 14:15] on every high hill and under every ·green [spreading] tree. 11 The Israelites burned incense ·everywhere gods were worshiped [L on all the high places; 12:3], just as the nations who lived there before them had done, whom the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land. The Israelites did ·wicked [evil] things that ·made the Lord angry [aroused/provoked the Lord’s anger]. 12 They served idols when the Lord had said, “You must not do this.” 13 The Lord used every prophet and seer to warn Israel and Judah. He said, “·Stop [Turn from] your evil ways and ·obey [keep; observe] my commands and laws. Follow all the ·teachings [law; L torah] that I commanded your ·ancestors [fathers], the ·teachings [law; L torah] that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”
14 But the people would not listen. They were ·stubborn [L stiff-necked], just as their ·ancestors [fathers] had been who did not ·believe [trust; have faith] in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected the Lord’s laws and the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] he had ·made [L cut] with their ·ancestors [fathers]. And they refused to listen to his warnings [Deut. 12:30–31]. They worshiped ·useless [worthless; futile; vain] idols and became ·useless [worthless; futile; vain] themselves [1 Sam. 12:21]. They did what the nations around them did, which the Lord had ·warned [commanded; ordered] them not to do [Lev. 18:3, 24–28].
16 The people ·rejected [forsook] all the commands of the Lord their God. They molded ·statues [cast images] of two calves [1 Kin. 12:28–30], and they made an Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6; Deut. 16:21]. They worshiped all the ·stars of the sky [forces/hosts of heaven; Deut. 4:19] and served Baal. 17 They ·made their sons and daughters pass through [sacrificed their sons and daughters in the] fire [16:3; 21:6; Deut. 12:31] and tried to find out the future by magic and witchcraft [1 Sam 15:23]. They always chose to do ·what the Lord said was wrong [evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], which ·made him angry [aroused/provoked him to anger]. 18 Because he was very angry with the people of Israel, he removed them from his ·presence [sight]. Only the tribe of Judah was left.
Judah Is Also Guilty
19 ·But even [Also] Judah did not ·obey [keep; observe] the commands of the Lord their God. They ·did what [followed/L walked in the practices] the Israelites had done, 20 so the Lord rejected all the ·people [descendants] of Israel. He ·punished [afflicted] them and ·let others destroy them [handed them over to plunderers/marauders]; he ·threw [banished; thrust] them out of his ·presence [sight]. 21 When the Lord ·separated [tore; ripped] them from the ·family [L house] of David, the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam ·led [drew; enticed] the Israelites away from the Lord and led them to sin greatly [1 Kin. 13:33–34]. 22 So they ·continued to do [persisted; L walked in] all the sins Jeroboam did. They did not ·stop doing [depart/turn away from] these sins 23 until the Lord removed the Israelites from his ·presence [sight], just as he had ·said [warned; 14:15–16; 1 Kin. 9:7] through all his servants the prophets. So the Israelites were ·taken out of [carried into exile/deported from] their land to Assyria, and they have been there to this day.
The Beginning of the Samaritan People
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and ·put [settled] them in the cities of Samaria to replace the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. These people took ·over [possession of] Samaria and lived in the cities. 25 At first they did not ·worship [revere; fear] the Lord, so he sent lions among them which killed some of them. 26 The king of Assyria was told, “You ·sent foreigners [deported/exiled/carried nations] into the cities of Samaria who do not know the ·law [custom] of the god of the land. This is why he has sent lions among them. The lions are killing them because they don’t know ·what the god wants [L the law/custom of the god of the land].”
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send back one of the priests you ·took away [carried into exile; deported]. Let him live there and teach the people ·what the god wants [L the law/custom of the god of the land].” 28 So one of the priests who had been carried ·away [into exile] from Samaria returned to live ·in [at] Bethel. And he taught the people how to ·honor [revere; fear] the Lord.
29 But each nation made gods of its own and put them in the cities where they lived and in the ·temples [L houses] ·where gods were worshiped [L of the high places; 12:3]. These ·temples [L houses] had been built by the Samaritans. 30 The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth their god. The people from Cuthah ·worshiped [made] Nergal. The people of Hamath ·worshiped [made] Ashima. 31 The Avvites ·worshiped [made] Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children in the fire, sacrificing them to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They also ·honored [revered; feared] the Lord, but they chose priests for the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3]. The priests were chosen from among themselves, and they ·made sacrifices [L officiated at the temple/houses of the high places] for the people. 33 The people ·honored [revered; feared] the Lord but also ·served [followed] their own gods, ·just as [L in accordance with the customs of] the nations ·did from which they had been brought [from which they had been exiled]. 34 Even today they ·do as they did in the past [practice their former customs]. They do not ·worship [revere; fear] the Lord nor obey his ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands. They do not ·obey [worship nor observe] the ·teachings [law; L torah] or the commands of the Lord, which he gave to the ·children [descendants] of Jacob, whom he had named Israel [Gen. 32:28]. 35 The Lord had made an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with them and had commanded them, “Do not ·honor [revere; fear] other gods. Do not bow down to them or ·worship [serve] them or offer sacrifices to them. 36 ·Worship [Revere; Fear] the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and ·strength [L an outstretched arm]. Bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. 37 Always obey the rules, orders, ·teachings [law; L torah], and commands he wrote for you. Do not ·honor [revere; fear] other gods. 38 Do not forget the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] I made with you, and do not ·honor [revere; fear] other gods. 39 Instead ·worship [revere; fear] the Lord your God, who will ·save [rescue; T deliver] you from all your enemies.”
40 But the Israelites did not listen. They ·kept on doing the same things they had done before [continued in their former practices/custom]. 41 So these nations ·honored [revered; feared] the Lord but also ·worshiped [served] their idols, and their children and grandchildren still do as their ·ancestors [fathers] did.
Hezekiah King of Judah(A)
18 Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah became king during the third year Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel. 2 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ·Abijah [L Abi; in 2 Chr. 29:1 she is called Abijah] daughter of Zechariah. 3 Hezekiah did ·what the Lord said was right [L right in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as his ·ancestor [father] David had done. 4 He removed the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3]. He smashed the stone pillars and ·cut down [smashed; broke] the Asherah ·idols [poles; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6]. Also the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] had been burning incense to Nehushtan, the bronze ·snake [serpent] Moses had made [Num. 21:9]. But Hezekiah broke it into pieces.
5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 Hezekiah ·was loyal [clung; held fast; remained faithful/devoted] to the Lord and did not ·stop [depart from] following him; he ·obeyed [kept] the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with Hezekiah, so he ·had success [prospered] in everything he did. He ·turned [rebelled] against the king of Assyria and stopped serving him [C stopped paying tribute]. 8 Hezekiah defeated the Philistines ·all the way to [as far as] Gaza and its ·borders [territory], ·including [from] the watchtowers and the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities.
The Assyrians Capture Samaria(B)
9 Shalmaneser king of Assyria surrounded Samaria and ·attacked [besieged] it in the fourth year Hezekiah was king. This was the seventh year Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel. 10 After three years the Assyrians captured Samaria. This was in the sixth year Hezekiah was king, which was Hoshea’s ninth year as king of Israel. 11 The king of Assyria ·took [carried] the Israelites away to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes. 12 This happened because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God. They broke his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] and did not obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. They would not listen to the commands or do them.
Assyria Attacks Judah(C)
13 During Hezekiah’s fourteenth year as king, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities of Judah and captured them. 14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent a message to the king of Assyria at Lachish. He said, “I have done wrong. ·Leave me alone [Withdraw from me], and I will ·pay [bear] anything you ·ask [impose].” So the king of Assyria made Hezekiah pay ·about twenty-two thousand pounds [L three hundred talents] of silver and ·two thousand pounds [L thirty talents] of gold. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and in the ·palace [L king’s house] treasuries. 16 Hezekiah stripped all the gold that covered the doors and doorposts of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Hezekiah had ·put [overlaid] gold on these doors himself, but he gave it all to the king of Assyria.
17 The king of Assyria sent out his supreme commander, his chief officer, and his field commander. They went with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. When they came near the ·waterway [aqueduct; conduit] from the upper pool on the road ·where people do their laundry [to the Fuller’s Field], they stopped. 18 They called for the king, so the king sent Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah out to meet them. Eliakim son of Hilkiah was the ·palace [L king’s house] manager, Shebna was the royal secretary, and Joah son of Asaph was the ·recorder [royal historian].
19 The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this:
“‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says: ·What can you trust in now [On what do you base your confidence; Where does this confidence come from]? 20 You say you have ·battle plans [strategy; counsel] and ·power [strength] for war, but your words ·mean nothing [are empty]. Whom are you ·trusting [relying/counting on] for help so that you ·turn [rebel] against me? 21 Look, you are depending on Egypt to help you, but Egypt is like a ·splintered [broken] ·walking stick [reed]. If you lean on it for help, it will stab your hand and ·hurt [pierce] you. So it will be with the king of Egypt for all those who depend on him. 22 You might say, “We are depending on the Lord our God,” but ·Hezekiah [L did not Hezekiah…?] destroyed the Lord’s altars and ·the places of worship [L high places; 12:3]. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship only at this one altar in Jerusalem.”
23 “‘Now make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with my ·master [lord], the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough men to ride them [C a taunt that Judah’s army was small]. 24 You cannot ·defeat [repel] one of my ·master’s [lord’s] least important officers, so why do you depend on Egypt to give you chariots and ·horsemen [charioteers]? 25 ·I have not [L Do you think I have…?] come to attack and destroy this place without ·an order from the Lord [L the Lord]. The Lord himself told me to come ·to [against] this country and destroy it.’”
26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand it. Don’t speak to us in ·Hebrew [Judean], because the people on the city wall can hear you.”
27 “No,” the commander said, “my ·master [lord] did not send me to tell these ·things [words] only to your ·master [lord] and you. He sent me to speak also to those people sitting on the wall who, like you, will have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”
28 Then the commander stood and shouted loudly in ·the Hebrew language [Judean], “·Listen to what [L Hear the word of] the great king, the king of Assyria, says! 29 The king says you should not let Hezekiah ·fool [deceive; delude] you, because he can’t ·save [rescue; T deliver] you from my ·power [L hand]. 30 Don’t let Hezekiah ·talk [persuade] you into trusting the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely ·save [rescue; T deliver] us. This city won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria.’
31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me, and come out of the city to me. Then everyone will be free to eat the fruit from his own grapevine and fig tree and to drink water from his own well. 32 After that I will come and take you to a land like your own—a land with grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olives, and honey. Choose to live and not to die [C a promise that if they gave up, their resettlement would be pleasant]!’
“Don’t listen to Hezekiah. He is ·fooling [misleading] you when he says, ‘The Lord will ·save [rescue; T deliver] us.’ 33 Has a god of any other nation ·saved [rescued; T delivered] his people from the ·power [L hand] of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? They did not ·save [rescue; T deliver] Samaria from my power. 35 Not one of all the gods of these countries has ·saved [rescued; T delivered] his people from me. Neither can the Lord ·save [rescue; T deliver] Jerusalem from my ·power [L hand].”
36 The people were silent. They didn’t answer the commander at all, because King Hezekiah had ordered, “Don’t answer him.”
37 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah tore their clothes [C a sign of mourning or distress]. (Eliakim son of Hilkiah was the ·palace [king’s house] manager, Shebna was the royal secretary, and Joah son of Asaph was the ·recorder [royal historian].) The three men went to Hezekiah and told him what the field commander had said.
19 ·They are judged by this fact [L And this is the judgment/condemnation/verdict]: The Light [C Jesus, God’s Son] has come into the world, ·but they did not want light. They wanted darkness [L but people loved the darkness more than the light], because they were doing evil things. 20 All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show ·all the evil things they do [L their deeds/actions]. 21 But those who ·follow the true way [do what is true; live by the truth] come to the light, and it ·shows [may be seen] that the things they do were done ·through [or in the sight of; or in obedience to; L in] God.”
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went into the ·area [countryside] of Judea, where he ·stayed [spent time] with his ·followers [disciples] and baptized people. 23 John was also baptizing in Aenon [C a town (meaning “springs”) of uncertain location on the Jordan River (but see note on Salim)], near Salim [C a town (meaning “peace”) probably located either near Shechem or just south of Bethshan, both of which are in a Samaritan area], because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized. 24 (This was before John was put into prison [Matt. 4:12].)
25 Some of John’s ·followers [disciples] had an ·argument [discussion; debate] with a Jew about ·religious washing [ceremonial cleansing; L purification; C the Jewish people washed themselves for ritual purposes before eating, before worshiping in the Temple, and at other special times]. 26 So they came to John and said, “Teacher [L Rabbi], remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one ·you spoke about so much [L about whom you have testified/witnessed]? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 John answered, “A ·man [person] can get only what ·God gives him [L is given to him from heaven]. 28 You yourselves heard me ·say [testify], ‘I am not the ·Christ [Messiah], but I am the one sent ·to prepare the way for him [L before him; 1:20–28; compare Is. 40:3].’ 29 The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. But the ·friend who helps the bridegroom [or the best man] stands by and listens to him. He ·is thrilled [rejoices greatly] that he gets to hear the bridegroom’s voice. In the same way, ·I am really happy [L my joy is fulfilled; C in this analogy, John is the best man and Jesus is the bridegroom]. 30 He must ·become greater [increase], and I must ·become less important [decrease].
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31 “The One [C Jesus] who comes from above is ·greater than [L above] all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about ·things on the earth [earthly matters]. But the One who comes from heaven is ·greater than [L above] all. 32 He ·tells [testifies to; bears witness to] what he has seen and heard, but no one ·accepts [receives] ·what he says [his testimony; 3:11]. 33 Whoever ·accepts what he says [receives his testimony] has ·proven [certified; affirmed; L set his seal] that God is true. 34 [L For] The One whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God gives him the Spirit ·fully [L without measure/limit]. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given ·him power over everything [him authority over all; L all things into his hand]. 36 Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who ·do not obey [reject] the Son will ·never have [L not see] life. God’s ·anger [wrath] ·stays [remains] on them.”
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