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Jehoahaz King of Israel
13 Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria during the twenty-third year Joash son of Ahaziah was king of Judah. Jehoahaz ·ruled [reigned] seventeen years, 2 and he did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. Jehoahaz ·did [followed] the same sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had led Israel to sin, and Jehoahaz did not ·stop doing these same sins [depart/turn away from them]. 3 So the ·Lord was angry with [L Lord’s anger burned/kindled against] Israel and handed them over to Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-Hadad ·for a long time [or repeatedly].
4 Then Jehoahaz ·begged [entreated; prayed to; sought the favor of] the Lord, and the Lord listened to him. The Lord had seen the ·troubles [oppression] of Israel; he saw how ·terribly [severely] the king of Aram was ·treating [oppressing] them. 5 He gave Israel a ·man to save them [rescuer; savior; T deliverer], and they escaped from the ·hand [grip; power] of the Arameans. The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] then lived in their own ·homes [L tents] as they had before, 6 but they still did not ·stop doing [depart/turn away from] these same sins that the ·family [L house] of Jeroboam had done. He had led Israel to sin, and they ·continued doing those sins [L walked in them]. The Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 1 Kin. 14:15] also was left standing in Samaria.
7 Nothing was left of Jehoahaz’s army except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers. The king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like ·chaff [L dust at threshing time].
8 Everything else Jehoahaz did and all his ·victories [achievements; power] ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Israel. 9 Jehoahaz ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash became king in his place.
Jehoash King of Israel
10 Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria during Joash’s thirty-seventh year as king of Judah. Jehoash ·ruled [reigned] sixteen years, 11 and he did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. He did not ·stop doing [depart/turn away from] the same sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had led Israel to sin, and Jehoash continued to do the same thing. 12 Everything else he did and all his ·victories [achievements; power], including his war against Amaziah king of Judah, ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Israel. 13 Jehoash ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors], and Jeroboam took his place on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
The Death of Elisha
14 At this time Elisha became sick. ·Before he died [or …with the illness of which he would die], Jehoash king of Israel went to Elisha and cried ·for [over] him. Jehoash said, “My father, my father! ·The chariots [or Chariot; C a reference to Elisha as Israel’s defender; cf. 2:12] of Israel and ·their [its] horsemen!”
15 Elisha said to Jehoash, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then Elisha said to him, “Put your hand on the bow.” So Jehoash put his hand on the bow. Then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Elisha said, “Open the east window.” So Jehoash opened the window. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and Jehoash shot. Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! You will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you ·destroy [make an end of] them.”
18 Elisha said, “Take the arrows.” So Jehoash took them. Then Elisha said to him, “Strike the ground.” So Jehoash struck the ground three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was ·angry [aroused/provoked to anger] with him. “You should have struck five or six times!” Elisha said. “Then you would have struck Aram until you had completely destroyed it. But now you will ·defeat it [L strike down Aram] only three times.”
20 Then Elisha died and was buried.
At that time ·groups [bands] of Moabites would rob the land in the springtime. 21 Once as some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a ·group [band] of Moabites coming. The Israelites threw the dead man into Elisha’s ·grave [tomb]. When the man touched Elisha’s bones, the man ·came back to life [revived] and stood on his feet.
War with Aram
22 During all the days Jehoahaz was king, Hazael king of Aram ·troubled [oppressed] Israel. 23 But the Lord was ·kind [gracious] to the Israelites; he had ·mercy [compassion; pity] on them and helped them because of his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To this day he has ·never wanted [been unwilling] to destroy them or ·reject them [banish/cast them from his presence].
24 When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-Hadad became king in his place. 25 During a war Hazael had taken some cities from Jehoahaz, Jehoash’s father. Now Jehoash took back those cities from Hazael’s son Ben-Hadad. He defeated Ben-Hadad three times and ·took back [recovered] the cities of Israel.
Amaziah King of Judah(A)
14 Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah during the second year Jehoash son of Jehoahaz was king of Israel. 2 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Jehoaddin, and she was from Jerusalem. 3 Amaziah did ·what the Lord said was right [L right in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. He did everything his father Joash had done, but he did not do as his ·ancestor [father] David had done. 4 The ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3] were not removed, so the people still sacrificed and burned incense there.
5 As soon as Amaziah took control of the kingdom, he executed the ·officers [officials] who had ·murdered [assassinated] his father the king. 6 But he did not put to death the ·children [sons] of the ·murderers [assassins] because of the rule written in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law; L torah] of Moses. The Lord had commanded: “·Parents [Fathers] must not be put to death ·when their children do wrong [L for their sons], and ·children [sons] must not be put to death ·when their parents do wrong [L for their fathers]. Each must ·die [put to death] for his own sins [Deut. 24:16].”
7 In battle Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He also took the city of Sela. He called it Joktheel, as it is still called today.
8 Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel. They said, “Come, let’s meet face to face [C either a call for negotiations or a challenge to battle, but taken by Jehoash as the latter].”
9 Then Jehoash king of Israel answered Amaziah king of Judah, “A thornbush in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar tree in Lebanon. It said, ‘Let your daughter marry my son.’ But then a wild ·animal [beast] from Lebanon came by, ·walking [trampling] on and crushing the thornbush. 10 You have defeated Edom, ·but [and now] you have become ·proud [arrogant]. Stay at home and ·brag [or enjoy your victory/glory]. Don’t ·ask for [stir up] trouble, or you and Judah will ·be defeated [fall].”
11 But Amaziah would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel went ·to attack [L up]. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other in battle at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 12 Israel ·defeated [routed] Judah, and every man of Judah ·ran away [fled] to his ·home [L tent]. 13 At Beth Shemesh Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah. (Amaziah was the son of Joash, who was the son of Ahaziah.) Jehoash went up to Jerusalem and ·broke down [demolished] the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, which was about ·six hundred feet [L four hundred cubits]. 14 He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils found in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, and he took the treasuries of the ·palace [L king’s house] and some hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.
15 The other acts of Jehoash and his ·victories [achievements; power], including his war against Amaziah king of Judah, ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Israel. 16 Jehoash ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and his son Jeroboam became king in his place.
17 Amaziah son of Joash, the king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel. 18 The other things Amaziah did ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 19 The people in Jerusalem ·made plans [conspired; plotted] against him. So he ·ran away [fled] to the town of Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him. 20 They brought his body back on horses, and he was buried with his ·ancestors [fathers] in Jerusalem, in the city of David.
Uzziah Becomes King(B)
21 Then all the people of Judah made Uzziah [C also called Azariah] king in place of his father Amaziah. Uzziah was sixteen years old. 22 He rebuilt the town of Elath and ·made it part of [restored it to] Judah again after Amaziah ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors].
Jeroboam King of Israel
23 Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria during the fifteenth year Amaziah was king of Judah. (Amaziah was the son of Joash.) Jeroboam ·ruled [reigned] forty-one years, 24 and he did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to sin, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash did not ·stop doing [depart/turn away from] the same sins. 25 Jeroboam ·won back [restored] Israel’s border from Lebo Hamath to the ·Dead Sea [L Sea of Arabah]. This happened ·as [L in accordance with the word of] the Lord, the God of Israel, ·had said [spoken] through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. 26 The Lord had seen how the Israelites suffered bitterly, and no one, slave or free, could help them. 27 The Lord had not said he would ·completely destroy [blot out; eradicate] Israel from the world, so he ·saved [rescued; T delivered] the Israelites through Jeroboam son of Jehoash.
28 Everything else Jeroboam did—all his ·victories [achievements; power] and how he ·won back [recovered] from Judah the towns of Damascus and Hamath for Israel—·is [L Is not all this…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Israel. 29 Jeroboam ·died and was buried with his ancestors [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors], the kings of Israel. Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king in his place.
23 He stayed there for a while and then left and went through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia [C regions in north central Asia Minor; 16:6]. ·He traveled from town to town in these regions […traveling from place to place; L …passing through sequentially], ·giving strength to [building up; encouraging; 15:41] all the ·followers [disciples].
Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth
24 [L Now; Meanwhile] A Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was ·born in the city [a native] of Alexandria and was ·a good speaker [or a learned man] who ·knew the Scriptures well [L was powerful/competent in the Scriptures]. 25 He had been taught about the ·way [or Way; 9:2] of the Lord and was always ·very excited [enthusiastic; L fervent in spirit] when he spoke and taught ·the truth [L accurately the things] about Jesus. But the only baptism Apollos knew about was the baptism that John [C the Baptist] taught [C baptism of repentance before the ministry of Jesus began; Luke 3]. 26 Apollos began to speak ·very boldly [confidently; fearlessly] in the synagogue, and when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they ·took him to their home [or took him aside; L received/took him] and ·helped him better understand [explained more accurately/precisely] the ·way [or Way; 9:2] of God. 27 Now Apollos wanted to ·go [cross over] to Achaia [v. 12]. So the ·believers [L brothers (and sisters)] ·helped [encouraged] him and wrote a letter to the ·followers [disciples] there, asking them to ·accept [welcome] him. ·When Apollos arrived, he was a great help to those who, by God’s grace, had believed in Jesus [or When Apollos arrived, by God’s grace he was a great help…]. 28 [L For] He ·argued very strongly with [vigorously refuted] the Jews ·before all the people [L in public (debate)], clearly ·proving [or showing] with the Scriptures that Jesus is the ·Christ [Messiah; 17:3; 18:5].
Paul in Ephesus
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions [C the mountainous northern route through the interior of Phrygia; 18:23] to Ephesus [C a major city in western Asia Minor; 18:23]. There he found some ·followers [disciples] 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit ·when [or after] you believed?”
They said, “We have never even heard ·of [or that there is] a Holy Spirit.”
3 So he asked, “·What kind of baptism did you have [L Into what were you baptized]?”
They said, “·It was the baptism that John taught [L Into John’s baptism].” [C These followers of John the Baptist either (1) knew only of John’s ministry but had not heard that Jesus was the Messiah, or less likely, (2) believed in Jesus as Messiah, but had not been baptized in his name to receive the Holy Spirit.]
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [repentance; C in preparation for the Messiah]. He told people to believe in the one who would come after him, and that one is Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized ·in [or into] the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then Paul ·laid [placed] his hands on them [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority], and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began speaking ·different languages [or in tongues; ecstatic utterance] and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve people in this group.
8 Paul went into the synagogue and spoke out ·boldly [confidently; fearlessly] for three months. He ·talked [reasoned; argued] with the people and persuaded them ·to accept the things he said about [L concerning] the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became ·stubborn [hardened]. They refused to believe and ·said evil things about [slandered; cursed] ·the Way of Jesus [L the Way; C another name for the Christian movement; 9:2; 18:25; 22:4] before ·all the people [the crowd]. So Paul left them, and taking the ·followers [disciples] with him, he went to the ·school [lecture hall] of a man named Tyrannus. There Paul ·talked [discussed; reasoned; debated] with people every day 10 for two years. Because of his work, ·everyone who lived in [the whole population of] the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
The Sons of Sceva
11 God ·used Paul to do [L through the hands of Paul did] some ·very special [extraordinary] miracles. 12 Some people took ·handkerchiefs [face cloths] and ·clothes [work aprons; or hand towels] ·that Paul had used [that had touched Paul; L from his skin] and put them on the sick. When they did this, ·the sick were healed [L the diseases left them] and evil spirits ·left [L came out of] them.
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My ·whole being [soul; life], praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord ·all [L with] my life;
I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your ·trust [confidence] in princes
or other people, who cannot ·save you [give you victory; 118:8–9].
4 ·When people die [L Their spirit goes out], they ·are buried [L return to the ground].
·Then all of [L On that day] their plans ·come to an end [perish].
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who are helped by the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it [Gen. 1].
He ·remains [keeps; observes; guards] ·loyal [faithfulness; truth] forever.
7 He does ·what is fair [justice] for those who have been ·wronged [oppressed; exploited].
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord ·gives sight to [opens the eyes of] the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are ·in trouble [bowed down; 145:14].
The Lord loves ·those who do right [the righteous].
9 The Lord ·protects [guards] the ·foreigners [sojourners].
He ·defends [supports] the orphans and widows [C the socially vulnerable],
but he ·blocks [frustrates] the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will ·be King [reign] forever [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
2 Fools do not ·want to understand anything [L delight in understanding].
They only want to ·tell others what they think [L reveal/disclose their heart].
3 Do something evil, and people won’t like you.
Do something shameful, and they will ·make fun of [insult] you.
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