The Daily Audio Bible

Joram of Israel Is Killed

¹⁴ So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi made plans against Joram. Now Joram and all Israel were fighting against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. ¹⁵ But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the cuts the Syrians had given him, when he fought with King Hazael of Syria. So Jehu said, “If this is what you have in mind, then let no one get out of the city to tell the news in Jezreel.” ¹⁶ Then Jehu went to Jezreel in a war-wagon, for Joram was lying there. And Ahaziah the king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷ Now the man who watched for danger was standing in the tower in Jezreel. He saw the group of Jehu’s men coming, and said, “I see a group of men coming.” Joram said, “Send a horseman to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’” ¹⁸ So a horseman went to meet him and said, “The king asks, ‘Do you come in peace?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Get behind me.” Then the watchman told Joram, “The horseman came to them, but he did not return.” ¹⁹ So he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “The king asks, ‘Do you come in peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Get behind me.” ²⁰ The watchman told Joram, “He came to them, and he did not return. The leader goes in his war-wagon like a mad man, just like Jehu.”

²¹ Then Joram said, “Get ready.” And they made his war-wagon ready. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in their war-wagon, to meet Jehu. They found him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²² When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the sinful ways and witchcrafts of your mother Jezebel are so many?” ²³ So Joram turned the horses around and ran away, saying to Ahaziah, “He is turning against the king, O Ahaziah!” ²⁴ Jehu pulled his bow with all his strength and shot Joram between his arms. The arrow went through his heart, and he fell in his war-wagon. ²⁵ Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For I remember when you and I were going together after his father Ahab. The Lord said then that this would happen to him. ²⁶ The Lord said, ‘Yesterday I have seen the blood of Naboth and his sons. I will punish you in this field.’ So now take and throw him into the field, as the word of the Lord has said.”

Ahaziah of Judah Is Killed

²⁷ When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he ran away toward the garden house. Jehu went after him and said, “Shoot him in the war-wagon also.” So they shot him at the hill of Gur, by Ibleam. But he got away to Megiddo and died there. ²⁸ His servants carried him in a war-wagon to Jerusalem. They buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹ In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became the king of Judah.

Queen Jezebel Is Killed

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it. She colored her eyes and combed her hair, and then looked out the window. ³¹ As Jehu came through the gate, she said, “Is it well, Zimri, your owner’s killer?” ³² Then he looked up to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three men looked down at him. ³³ Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw Jezebel down. Some of her blood went on the wall and on the horses. And Jehu made his war-wagons go over her. ³⁴ Then Jehu went in and ate and drank. And he said, “Now go out to this sinful woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” ³⁵ So they went to bury her. But all they found were her skull and feet and hands. ³⁶ When they returned and told Jehu, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite. He said, ‘In the land of Jezreel the dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel. ³⁷ Jezebel’s body will be as waste on the field in the land of Jezreel. So no one will be able to say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

Ahab’s Seventy Sons Are Killed

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters. He sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the leaders, and to those who took care of Ahab’s children. He said, ² “Now your owner’s sons are with you. And you have war-wagons, and horses, and a strong city, and things to fight with. When this letter comes to you, ³ choose the best of your owner’s sons. Put him on his father’s throne. And fight for your owner’s house.” ⁴ But they were filled with fear, and said, “See, the two kings could not stand in front of him. How can we stand?” ⁵ So the head man of the house, the head man of the city, the leaders, and those who took care of the children, sent word to Jehu. They said, “We are your servants. We will do all that you say. We will not make any man king. Do what is good in your eyes.” ⁶ Then Jehu wrote a letter to them a second time. He said, “If you are on my side and will obey me, bring the heads of your owner’s sons to me. Meet me in Jezreel about this time tomorrow.” Now the king’s seventy sons were with the important men of the city who were taking care of them. ⁷ When the letter came to them, they took the king’s seventy sons and killed them. They put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel. ⁸ The men who had been sent returned and told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” And he said, “Put them one upon the other in two places at the gate until morning.” ⁹ In the morning Jehu went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are without guilt. See, I made plans against my owner and killed him. But who killed all these? ¹⁰ Know now that everything the Lord spoke about the family of Ahab will come true. For the Lord has done what He said through his servant Elijah.” ¹¹ So Jehu killed all who were left of the family of Ahab in Jezreel. He killed all of Ahab’s important men, his friends, and his religious leaders. Not one person of Ahab was left alive.

Ahaziah’s Forty-Two Brothers Are Killed

¹² Then Jehu left and went to Samaria. On the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds, ¹³ Jehu met the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah. He asked them, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah. We have come down to visit the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” ¹⁴ Jehu said, “Take them alive.” So his men took them alive, and killed them at the hole of Beth-eked, forty-two men. He left none of them alive.

The Rest of Ahab’s Family Are Killed

¹⁵ When Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. Jehu said to him, “Is your heart right with my heart as mine is with yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So Jehonadab gave him his hand, and Jehu took him up into the war-wagon with him. ¹⁶ Then Jehu said, “Come with me and see how glad I am to work for the Lord.” And he had him go in his war-wagon. ¹⁷ When he came to Samaria, he killed all of Ahab’s people who were left in Samaria. He destroyed them, as the word of the Lord was spoken to Elijah.

The Worshipers of Baal Are Killed

¹⁸ Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped Baal a little. Jehu will worship him much. ¹⁹ Now call all the men who speak for Baal, all his worshipers and all his religious leaders. Let no one be missing. For I have a big gift for Baal. Whoever is missing will not live.” But Jehu did this to fool them, so that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰ He said, “Set apart a special meeting for Baal.” And they made the news known. ²¹ Then Jehu sent for all the worshipers of Baal in Israel. Every one of them came. When they went into the house of Baal, the house was filled from one end to the other. ²² Jehu said to the one who took care of the clothes, “Bring out clothing for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out clothing for them. ²³ Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab. And he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Look and see that there are no servants of the Lord here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” ²⁴ Then they went in to kill animals on the altar and give burnt gifts. Now Jehu had left eighty of his men outside. He had told them, “The one who lets anyone get away, will pay for it with his life.”

²⁵ As soon as he had finished giving the burnt gift, Jehu said to the soldiers and the leaders, “Go in and kill them. Let no one come out.” And they killed them with the sword. Then the soldiers and leaders threw the bodies out, and went into the inside room of the house of Baal. ²⁶ They brought out the objects of the house of Baal, and burned them. ²⁷ They destroyed the objects of Baal and destroyed the house of Baal. They made it a place for body waste to this day. ²⁸ So Jehu got rid of Baal from Israel.

²⁹ But Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. He kept the gold calves at Bethel and Dan. ³⁰ The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well what is right in My eyes. You have done to the family of Ahab all that was in My heart. So your sons, even your great great grandson, will sit on the throne of Israel.” ³¹ But Jehu was not careful to walk in the Law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

Paul and Silas Start a Church in Thessalonica

17 After Paul and Silas had gone through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to the city of Thessalonica. The Jews had a place of worship there. ² Paul went in as he always did. They gathered together each Day of Rest for three weeks and he taught them from the Holy Writings. ³ He showed them that Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead. He said, “I preach this Jesus to you. He is the Christ.” ⁴ Some of them put their trust in Christ and followed Paul and Silas. There were many Greek people and some leading women who honored God among those who had become Christians.

The Jews Make It Hard for Paul and Silas

⁵ The Jews who did not put their trust in Christ became jealous. They took along some sinful men from the center of town where people gather and brought them out on the street. These angry men started all the people in the city to cry out with loud voices. They went to the house of Jason hoping to find Paul and Silas there and bring them out to the people. ⁶ But they did not find them there. Then they dragged Jason and some other Christians out in front of the leaders and cried out, “These men who have been making trouble over all the world have come here also. ⁷ And Jason has taken them in. They say there is another King called Jesus. They are working against the laws made by Caesar.”

⁸ When the people and city leaders heard this, they were troubled. ⁹ Then they made Jason and the others pay some money and let them go.

Paul and Silas Go to Berea

¹⁰ At once the Christians sent Paul and Silas away at night to the city of Berea. When they got there, they went to the Jewish place of worship. ¹¹ These Jews were more willing to understand than those in the city of Thessalonica. They were very glad to hear the Word of God, and they looked into the Holy Writings to see if those things were true. ¹² Many of them became Christians. Some of them were respected Greek women and men. ¹³ The Jews of Thessalonica heard that Paul was preaching the Word of God in Berea. They went there and worked against the missionaries by talking to the people. ¹⁴ At once the Christians sent Paul away to the sea-shore. But Silas and Timothy stayed there.

Paul Preaches on Mars’ Hill in Athens

¹⁵ Those who took Paul brought him to the city of Athens. Paul sent word with them that Silas and Timothy should come to him as soon as they could. Then they left. ¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, his spirit was troubled as he saw the whole city worshiping false gods. ¹⁷ He talked to the Jews and other people who were worshiping in the Jewish place of worship. Every day he talked with people who gathered in the center of town.

¹⁸ Some men from two different groups were arguing with Paul. The one group thought that men might as well get all the fun out of life that they can. The other group thought that wisdom alone makes men happy. Some of them said, “This man has lots of little things to talk about. They are not important. What is he trying to say?” Others said, “He preaches about strange gods.” It was because he preached of Jesus and of His being raised from the dead.

¹⁹ Then they took him to Mars’ Hill and said, “We want to hear of this new teaching of yours. ²⁰ Some of the things you are telling us are strange to our ears. We want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ The people of Athens and those visiting from far countries used all their time in talking or hearing some new thing. ²² Then Paul stood up on Mars’ Hill and said, “Men of Athens, I see how very religious you are in every way. ²³ As I was walking around and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar where you worship with the words written on it, TO THE GOD WHO IS NOT KNOWN. You are worshiping Him without knowing Him. He is the One I will tell you about.

²⁴ “The God Who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He does not live in buildings made by hands. ²⁵ No one needs to care for Him as if He needed anything. He is the One who gives life and breath and everything to everyone. ²⁶ He made from one blood all nations who live on the earth. He set the times and places where they should live.

²⁷ “They were to look for God. Then they might feel after Him and find Him because He is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ It is in Him that we live and move and keep on living. Some of your own men have written, ‘We are God’s children.’ ²⁹ If we are God’s children, we should not think of Him as being like gold or silver or stone. Such gods made of gold or silver or stone are planned by men and are made by them.

³⁰ “God did not remember these times when people did not know better. But now He tells all men everywhere to be sorry for their sins and to turn from them. ³¹ He has set a day when He will say in the right way if the people of the world are guilty. This will be done by Jesus Christ, the One He has chosen. God has proven this to all men by raising Jesus Christ from the dead.”

³² Some people laughed and made fun when they heard Paul speak of Christ being raised from the dead. Others said, “We want to listen to you again about this.” ³³ So Paul went away from the people. ³⁴ Some people followed him and became Christians. One was Dionysius, a leader in the city. A woman named Damaris believed. And there were others also.

A Song of Thanks

144 Praise and thanks be to the Lord, my rock. He makes my hands ready for war, and my fingers for battle. ² He is my loving-kindness and my walls of strength, my strong place and the One Who sets me free, my safe-covering and the One in Whom I trust. He brings my people under my rule. ³ O Lord, what is man that You think of him, the son of man that You remember him? ⁴ Man is like a breath. His days are like a passing shadow. ⁵ O Lord, divide Your heavens and come down. Touch the mountains so they will smoke. ⁶ Send out lightning and divide them. Send out Your arrows and trouble them. ⁷ Put out Your hand from above. Take me out of trouble and away from the many waters, from the power of those from other lands. ⁸ Their mouths speak lies. And their right hand is a right hand that is false.

⁹ I will sing a new song to You, O God. I will sing praises to You on a harp of ten strings. ¹⁰ You save kings. You take Your servant David away from the sharp sword. ¹¹ Take me out of trouble and away from the power of those from other lands. Their mouths speak lies. And their right hand is a right hand that is false.

¹² May our young sons be like plants that are full-grown. And may our daughters be like the corner pieces of a great house. ¹³ May our store-houses be full of all kinds of food. And may our sheep grow by the thousands and ten thousands in our fields. ¹⁴ Let our cattle give birth without trouble and without loss. And may there be no cry of trouble in our streets. ¹⁵ Happy are the people who have all this. Yes, happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

²⁷ He who is careful in what he says has much learning, and he who has a quiet spirit is a man of understanding.

²⁸ Even a fool, when he keeps quiet, is thought to be wise. When he closes his lips, he is thought of as a man of understanding.