Old/New Testament
Chapter 23
Athaliah Opposed. 1 In the seventh year Jehoiada bolstered his courage and entered into a covenant with regimental commanders: Azariah, son of Jehoram; Ishmael, son of Jehohanan; Azariah, son of Obed; Maaseiah, son of Adaiah; and Elishaphat, son of Zichri. 2 They went throughout Judah, gathering the Levites from all the cities of Judah as well as the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
3 Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the temple of God. Jehoiada said to them: “Here is the king’s son! He will reign as king, as the Lord promised concerning the sons of David. 4 This is what you must do: one-third of you, priests and Levites, who come on duty on the Sabbath, are to guard the gates. 5 Another third are to be assigned to the king’s palace, and the final third are to be stationed at the Foundation Gate, while all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. 6 Allow no one to enter the house of the Lord except the priests and the Levites who are on duty. They may enter because they are holy, but all the other people must continue to observe the instructions of the Lord. 7 The Levites shall station themselves by surrounding the king on all sides, each one with his weapon drawn, and anyone who tries to enter the temple is to be put to death. They must remain with the king wherever he goes.”
8 The Levites and all Judah did everything that the priest Jehoiada had commanded. Each one brought his own men, both those who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who were scheduled to go off duty, since Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed any of the divisions. 9 Then the priest handed over to the captains the spears and the large and small shields that belonged to King David and that were stored in the house of God.
10 After that, Jehoiada the priest stationed all the people, each one with a weapon in his hand, from the south side to the north side of the temple and around the altar, while forming a circle around the king. 11 Then they brought forth the king’s son, placed the crown on his head, presented him with the covenant, and proclaimed him king. When Jehoiada and his sons had anointed him, they shouted: “Long live the king!”
12 When Athaliah heard the shouts of the people as they ran forth to proclaim him as king, she went into the house of the Lord where the people had assembled. 13 As she looked on, she beheld the king standing by his pillar[a] at the entrance, with the officers and the trumpeters at the king’s side, and with the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, while the singers with their musical instruments were leading the celebrations. Thereupon Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out: “Treason! Treason!”
14 Immediately Jehoiada the priest gave the following orders to the captains who were in command of the troops: “Take her outside between the ranks. If anyone tries to follow her, put him to death by the sword!” Then the priest made it clear: “Do not put her to death in the temple of the Lord.” 15 After that they seized her and brought her to the entrance of the Horse Gate of the palace, and there they put her to death.
16 After that, Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people. 17 Then all the people went to the temple of Baal and demolished it. They smashed its altars and its images, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. 18 Jehoiada entrusted the supervision of the temple of the Lord to the Levitical priests whom David had designated to present burnt offerings to the Lord, as prescribed in the law of Moses, with singing and rejoicing as David had ordained. 19 He also stationed guards at the gates of the Lord’s temple to ensure that no one should enter who was in any way unclean.
20 Then Jehoiada took with him the captains of units of a hundred, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land and escorted the king down from the house of the Lord. Entering the palace through the Upper Gate, they seated the king on the royal throne. 21 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet and serene after Athaliah had been put to death by the sword.
Chapter 24
Temple Repairs.[b] 1 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as long as Jehoiada was alive. 3 Jehoiada selected two wives for him, and he became the father of several sons and daughters.
4 Sometime later, Joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord. 5 After he assembled the priests and the Levites, he said to them: “Go forth to all the towns of Judah and without any delay collect the money that is due each year so that we may make the annual repairs that are necessary. See to it that you act quickly.” However, the Levites did not hasten to proceed immediately.
6 Therefore, the king summoned Jehoiada, the chief priest, and asked him: “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?” 7 For the wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into the house of God and had even given to the Baals the sacred revenues of the temple of the Lord.
8 Therefore, the king ordered that a chest be made and placed outside the gate of the house of the Lord. 9 Then a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the tax which Moses, the servant of God, had imposed on Israel in the desert. 10 As a result, the officials and all the people rejoiced, and they willingly brought their contributions, depositing them in the chest until it was filled.
11 Whenever the chest was brought to the royal officials by the Levites, and it was evident that it contained a large amount of money, the king’s secretary and the representative of the chief priest would come to empty it and then return the chest to its designated place. They did this day after day and collected money in great abundance. 12 Then the king and Jehoiada gave the money to those who were responsible for carrying out the work of the house of the Lord, and they also hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, while workers skilled in iron and bronze devoted themselves to making all the necessary repairs.
13 The laborers concentrated on their labor, and the repairs progressed steadily at their hands. They restored the house of God to its original state and strengthened it. 14 After they had completed their work, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and it was used to make vessels for the house of the Lord, vessels for the services and for burnt offerings, and basins and other gold and silver utensils. They continually offered burnt offerings in the Lord’s temple throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada.
15 Jehoiada lived to a ripe old age. He was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. 16 He was buried with the kings in the City of David because of all the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.
17 Apostasy of King Joash.[c] After the death of Jehoiada, the officials came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to their advice. 18 Then they forsook the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they began to worship the sacred poles and the idols. Because of their guilt, God’s wrath descended upon Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Although the Lord sent prophets to lead them back to him, they refused to listen.
20 Then the Spirit of God took possession of Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Why do you transgress the commands of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.’ ”
21 However, they conspired against him, and at the king’s order they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the Lord. 22 Thus King Joash, forgetting the loyalty of Zechariah’s father, Jehoiada, killed his son. As he was dying, he said: “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”
23 Retribution. At the turn of the year the Aramean army advanced against Joash. When they reached Judah and Jerusalem, they massacred all the leaders of the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. 24 Although the invading Aramean army had come with only a small force, the Lord delivered into their hands a very large army because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Thus they executed judgment against Joash.
25 When the Arameans had withdrawn, leaving Joash severely wounded, his servants conspired against him to avenge the blood of the son of the priest Jehoiada, and they killed him on his bed. Thus he died, and they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.
26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad, the son of Shimeath the Ammonite, and Jehozabad, the son of Shimrith, a Moabite. 27 Accounts of his sons, of the many oracles against him, and of the rebuilding of the house of God are all recorded in the commentary of the book of kings. His son Amaziah succeeded him.
The Community of the Witnesses to Christ[a]
Chapter 15
Union with Jesus[b]
1 “I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinegrower.
2 He removes every branch
that does not bear fruit,
and every branch that does
he prunes to make it bear even more.
3 You have already been cleansed
by the word I have spoken to you.
4 “Abide in me,
as I abide in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself
unless it abides in the vine,
so you cannot bear fruit
unless you abide in me.
5 “I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me, and I in him,
will bear much fruit.
Apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Whoever does not abide in me
will be thrown away like a withered branch.
Such branches are gathered up,
thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 “If you abide in me
and my words abide in you,
you may ask for whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.
8 By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me,
so have I loved you.
Remain in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments,
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
11 “I have told you these things
so that my joy may be in you
and your joy may be complete.
Love as Jesus Does[c]
12 “This is my commandment:
love one another
as I have loved you.
13 No one can have greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends
if you do what I command you.
15 “I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know
what his master is doing.
I have called you friends
because I have revealed to you
everything that I have heard from my Father.
16 “You did not choose me.
Rather, I chose you.
And I appointed you
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will remain,
so that the Father may give you
whatever you ask him in my name.
17 The command I give you is this:
love one another.
Witnesses to Jesus in the Face of the World’s Hatred[d]
18 “If the world hates you,
be aware that it hated me
before it hated you.
19 If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own.
But you do not belong to the world
because I have chosen you out of the world,
and therefore the world hates you.
20 “Remember the word that I said to you:
‘a servant is not greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me,
they will persecute you.
If they kept my word,
they will keep yours as well.
21 But they will do all these things to you
on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.
22 “If I had not come
and spoken to them,
they would not be guilty of sin,
but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 Whoever hates me
hates my Father also.
24 If I had not done works among them
that no one else had ever done,
they would not be guilty of sin.
But now they have seen and hated
both me and my Father.
25 All this was to fulfill the word
that is inscribed in their Law:
‘They hated me without cause.’
26 “When the Advocate comes
whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father,
he will testify on my behalf.
27 And you also are my witnesses
because you have been with me from the beginning.
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