The Daily Audio Bible

Hoshea Reigns over Israel

17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, ^(A)Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned nine years. ² And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him. ^3 (B)Shalmaneser king of Assyria went up ^(C)against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. ⁴ But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.

⁵ Then the king of Assyria went up against the whole land and he went up to ^(D)Samaria and besieged it three years.

Israel Exiled to Assyria

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(E)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(F)took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and ^(G)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of ^(H)Gozan, and ^(I)in the cities of the Medes.

Israel Rejects Yahweh

⁷ Now ^(J)this happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God—^(K)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt—^(L)and they had ^[a]feared other gods ⁸ and ^(M)walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel, and in the statutes ^(N)of the kings of Israel which they had made. ⁹ And the sons of Israel ^[b]did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from ^(O)watchtower to fortified city. ^10 (P)And they set for themselves sacred pillars and ^[c](Q)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, ¹¹ and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger. ¹² And they served idols, ^(R)concerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³ Yet ^(S)Yahweh warned Israel and Judah ^(T)by the hand of all His prophets and ^(U)every seer, saying, “^(V)Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My slaves the prophets.” ¹⁴ However, they did not listen, but ^(W)stiffened their neck ^[d]like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God. ^15 (X)They also rejected His statutes and ^(Y)His covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^(Z)they followed vanity and ^(AA)became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which ^(AB)Yahweh had commanded them not to do like them. ¹⁶ And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^(AC)two calves, and ^(AD)made an ^[e]Asherah and ^(AE)worshiped all the host of heaven and ^(AF)served Baal. ¹⁷ Then ^(AG)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^(AH)practiced divination and omens, and ^(AI)sold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. ¹⁸ So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and ^(AJ)caused them to depart from His ^[f]presence; ^(AK)none was left except the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Also ^(AL)Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but ^(AM)walked in the statutes ^[g]which Israel had made. ²⁰ So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and ^(AN)gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them ^[h]from His presence.

²¹ When ^(AO)He had torn Israel from the house of David, ^(AP)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^(AQ)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh and made them sin a great sin. ²² And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them ^23 (AR)until Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, ^(AS)as He spoke through all His slaves the prophets. ^(AT)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Exiled Men in the Cities of Samaria

^24 (AU)And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from ^[i](AV)Avva and from ^(AW)Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. ²⁵ Now it happened at the beginning of their settlement there, that they ^(AX)did not fear Yahweh; therefore Yahweh sent lions among them which were killing them. ²⁶ So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken away into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are putting them to death because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.”

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you took away into ^[j]exile and let ^[k]him go and live there; and let him instruct them the custom of the god of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had taken away into exile from Samaria came and settled at Bethel, and instructed them how they should fear Yahweh.

²⁹ But each nation was still making gods of its own and put them ^(AY)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, each nation in their cities in which they lived. ^30 (AZ)And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and ^(BA)the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to ^(BB)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the ^(BC)Sepharvaim. ^32 (BD)They were also fearing Yahweh and ^[l](BE)appointed from among all of themselves priests of the high places, and they were acting for them in the houses of the high places. ³³ They were fearing Yahweh and serving their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken away into exile.

³⁴ To this day they are acting according to the earlier customs: they are not fearing Yahweh; they are not acting according to their statutes or their judgments or the law, or the commandment which Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, ^(BF)whom He named Israel; ³⁵ with whom Yahweh cut a covenant and commanded them, saying, “^(BG)You shall not fear other gods, nor ^(BH)worship them nor ^(BI)serve them nor sacrifice to them. ³⁶ But Yahweh, ^(BJ)who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with ^(BK)an outstretched arm, ^(BL)Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall sacrifice. ³⁷ And the statutes and the judgments and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you, ^(BM)you shall be careful to do forever; and you shall not fear other gods. ³⁸ And the covenant that I have cut with you, ^(BN)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. ³⁹ But Yahweh your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ However, they did not listen, but they were acting according to their earlier custom. ^41 (BO)So while these nations were fearing Yahweh, they also were serving their graven images; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers acted, so they are acting this way to this day.

Hezekiah Reigns over Judah

18 Now it happened ^(BP)in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that ^(BQ)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. ² He was ^(BR)twenty-five years old when he became king; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. ^3 (BS)And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done. ^4 (BT)He took away the high places and shattered the sacred pillars and cut down the ^[m]Asherah. And he broke in pieces ^(BU)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel were burning incense to it; and it was called ^[n]Nehushtan. ^5 (BV)He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; ^(BW)so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. ⁶ So he ^(BX)clung to Yahweh; he did not turn away from following Him, but kept His commandments, which Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Hezekiah Prospers

^7 (BY)And Yahweh was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And ^(BZ)he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ^8 (CA)He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from ^(CB)watchtower to fortified city.

⁹ Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, ^(CC)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. ¹⁰ And at the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was ^(CD)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. ¹¹ Then the king of Assyria took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in ^(CE)Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they ^(CF)did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, but trespassed against His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.

Through Macedonia and Greece

20 Now after the uproar had ceased, Paul having summoned and exhorted ^(A)the disciples, said farewell and left ^(B)to go to ^(C)Macedonia. ² And when he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. ³ And there he spent three months, and when ^(D)a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for ^(E)Syria, he decided to return through ^(F)Macedonia. ⁴ And he was accompanied by Sopater of ^(G)Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by ^(H)Aristarchus and Secundus of the ^(I)Thessalonians, and ^(J)Gaius of ^(K)Derbe, and ^(L)Timothy, and ^(M)Tychicus and ^(N)Trophimus of ^[a](O)Asia. ⁵ But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for ^(P)us at ^(Q)Troas. ^6 (R)And we sailed from ^(S)Philippi after ^(T)the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at ^(U)Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.

Eutychus Raised from the Dead in Troas

⁷ And on ^(V)the first day of the week, when ^(W)we were gathered together to ^(X)break bread, Paul began speaking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his ^[b]message until midnight. ⁸ Now there were many ^(Y)lamps in the ^(Z)upper room where we were gathered together. ⁹ And there was a young man named ^[c]Eutychus sitting on the windowsill, sinking into a deep sleep. And as Paul kept on talking, he sunk into that sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down and ^(AA)fell upon him, and after embracing him, he ^(AB)said, “^[d]Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ And when he had gone back up and had ^(AC)broken the bread and ^[e]eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. ¹² And they took away the boy alive, and were not a little comforted.

Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

¹³ But ^(AD)we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go ^[f]by land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ And sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to ^(AE)Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past ^(AF)Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in ^[g](AG)Asia; for he was hurrying ^(AH)to be in Jerusalem, if possible, ^(AI)on the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷ Now from Miletus he sent to ^(AJ)Ephesus and called to him ^(AK)the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they had come to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, ^(AL)from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me ^[h]through ^(AM)the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I ^(AN)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and ^[i]from house to house, ²¹ solemnly ^(AO)testifying to both Jews and Greeks about ^(AP)repentance toward God and ^(AQ)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And now, behold, bound by the ^[j]Spirit, ^(AR)I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that ^(AS)the Holy Spirit solemnly ^(AT)testifies to me in every city, saying that ^(AU)chains and afflictions await me. ²⁴ But ^(AV)I do not make my life of any account nor dear to myself, so that I may ^(AW)finish my course and ^(AX)the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to ^(AY)testify solemnly of the gospel of ^(AZ)the grace of God.

²⁵ “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about ^(BA)preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. ²⁶ Therefore, I ^[k]testify to you this day that ^(BB)I am ^[l]innocent of the blood of all. ²⁷ For I ^(BC)did not shrink from declaring to you the whole ^(BD)purpose of God. ²⁸ Be on guard for yourselves and for all ^(BE)the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you ^[m]overseers, to shepherd ^(BF)the church of God which ^(BG)He ^[n]purchased ^[o]with His own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure ^(BH)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing ^(BI)the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away ^(BJ)the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore be watchful, remembering that night and day for a period of ^(BK)three years I did not cease to admonish each one ^(BL)with tears. ³² And now I ^(BM)commend you to God and to ^(BN)the word of His grace, which is able to ^(BO)build you up and to give you ^(BP)the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. ^33 (BQ)I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. ³⁴ You yourselves know that ^(BR)these hands ministered to my own needs and to those ^(BS)who were with me. ³⁵ In everything I showed you that by laboring in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ And when he had said these things, he ^(BT)knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And ^[p]they began to weep aloud and ^(BU)falling on Paul’s neck, they were kissing him, ³⁸ being in agony especially over ^(BV)the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were ^(BW)accompanying him to the ship.

Praise Yahweh!