Matthew Cross References - LEB

¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ² Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers, ³ and Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez became the father of Hezron, and Hezron became the father of Aram,* ⁴ and Aram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon, ⁵ and Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed became the father of Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse became the father of David the king.
And David became the father of Solomon by the wife* of Uriah, ⁷ and Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam became the father of Abijah, and Abijah became the father of Asa,* ⁸ and Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat,* and Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram, and Joram became the father of Uzziah, ⁹ and Uzziah became the father of Jotham, and Jotham became the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰ and Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh became the father of Amon,* and Amon became the father of Josiah, ¹¹ and Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. ¹² And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,* and Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ and Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud, and Abiud became the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim became the father of Azor, ¹⁴ and Azor became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Achim, and Achim became the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ and Eliud became the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar became the father of Matthan, and Matthan became the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary by whom* was born Jesus, who is called Christ. ¹⁷ Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ are fourteen generations. ¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found _⌊to be pregnant_⌋* by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ So Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to divorce her secretly. ²⁰ But as* he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name 'Jesus,' because he will save his people from their sins." ²² Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, ²³ "Behold, the virgin _⌊will become pregnant_⌋* and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel,"*
which is translated, "God with us."* ²⁴ And Joseph, when he* woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife ²⁵ and _⌊did not have sexual relations with_⌋* her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

⁴ These are the generations* of heaven* and earth* when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven*—

¹ This is the record of the generations* of Adam. When* God created Adam,* he made him in the likeness of God.

³ And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you."

¹⁸ All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring, because you have listened to my voice."

³ Dwell as an alien in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham you father. ⁴ And I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and I will give to your descendants all these lands. And all nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring, ⁵ because Abraham listened to my voice and kept my charge: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

¹³ And behold, Yahweh was standing beside him,* and he said, "I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you were sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants. ¹⁴ Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants.

¹² When your days are full and you lie down with your ancestors,* I will raise up your offspring after you who will go out from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be a father to him, and he will be a son for me, whom I will punish when he does wrong, with a rod of men and with blows of the _⌊human beings_⌋.* ¹⁵ But my loyal love shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before you; your throne shall be established forever." '"

³⁶ His offspring will endure* forever, and his throne as the sun before me.

¹¹ Yahweh swore in truth to David; he will not turn back from it. "One from the fruit of your _⌊body_⌋* I will set on your throne.

⁶ For a child has been born for us; a son has been given to us. And the dominion will be on his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ _⌊His dominion will grow continually, and to peace there will be no end_⌋* on* the throne of David and over* his kingdom, to establish it* and sustain it with justice and righteousness now and forever. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.

¹ And a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit.

⁸ He was taken by restraint of justice, and who concerned himself with his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he received a blow because of the transgression of my people.

⁵ "Look, days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he will reign as king, and he will achieve success, and he will do justice and righteousness in the land.

¹⁵ In those days and in that time I will make a branch of righteousness sprout for David, and he will execute justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell _⌊safely_⌋,* and this is what they shall call it: "Yahweh is our righteousness." ' ¹⁷ For thus says Yahweh: 'A man who sits on the throne of the house of Israel will not be cut off for David.

²⁶ then the offspring of Jacob and David my servant I would reject, from choosing rulers from his offspring over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will restore their fortunes* and I will have compassion on them.'"

¹¹ On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and I will repair its breaches and will raise up its ruins and will build it like the days of old.

⁸ On that day Yahweh will put a shield around the inhabitants* of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Yahweh, _⌊before them_⌋.*

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found _⌊to be pregnant_⌋* by the Holy Spirit.

¹ Now after* Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising* and have come to worship him."

¹⁶ Now after he* was baptized, Jesus immediately went up from the water, and behold, the heavens opened* and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming* upon him.

²⁷ And as* Jesus was going away from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

²² And behold, a Canaanite woman from that district came and cried out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!"

⁴² saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "David's." ⁴³ He said to them, "How then does David, by the Spirit, call him 'Lord,' saying, ⁴⁴ 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet" '?* ⁴⁵ If then David calls him 'Lord,' how is he his son?"

³¹ And behold, you will conceive in the womb and will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus. ³² This one will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, ⁷⁰ just as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times—

²³ And Jesus, when he* began his ministry,* was himself about thirty years old, being the son (as it was believed) of Joseph the son of Eli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,* ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

⁴² Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"

³⁰ Therefore, because he* was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat _⌊one of his descendants_⌋* on his throne,

²² And after* removing him, he raised up David for their king, about whom he also said, testifying, 'I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man in accordance with my heart, who will carry out all my will.'* ²³ From the descendants of this man, according to his promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.

³ concerning his Son, who was born _⌊a descendant_⌋* of David according to the flesh,

¹³ For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants, that he would be heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness by faith.

⁵ to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom is the Christ according to human descent, who is God over all, blessed _⌊forever_⌋*! Amen.

¹⁶ Now to Abraham and to his descendant the promises were spoken. It does not say, "and to descendants," as concerning many, but as concerning one, "and to your descendant,"* who is Christ.

¹⁶ "I, Jesus, sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

² And she conceived, and Sarah bore to Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. ³ And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. ⁴ And Abraham circumcised Isaac his son when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. ⁵ And Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac his son was born to him.

²⁶ And afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped the heel of Esau, so his name was called Jacob. And Isaac _⌊was sixty years old_⌋* at their birth.

³² Then Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because Yahweh has noticed my misery, that I am unloved. Now my husband will love me." ³³ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. And she said, "It is because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved that he gave me this son also." And she called his name Simeon. ³⁴ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. Then she said, "Now this time my husband will be joined to me, for I have borne him three sons." Therefore, she called his name Levi. ³⁵ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. And she said, "This time I will praise Yahweh." Therefore she called his name Judah. And she ceased bearing children.

⁵ And Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶ Then Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan. ⁷ And Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob. ⁸ And Rachel said, "I have struggled a mighty struggle with my sister and have prevailed." And she called his name Naphtali. ⁹ When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took Zilpah her female servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ And Zilpah, the female slave of Leah, bore a son to Jacob. ¹¹ Then Leah said, "Good fortune!" And she called his name Gad. ¹² And Zilpah, Leah's female servant, bore a second son to Jacob. ¹³ Then Leah said, "How happy am I! For women have called me happy." So she called his name Asher. ¹⁴ And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." ¹⁵ And she said to her, "Is your taking my husband such a small thing that you will also take the mandrakes of my son?" Then Rachel said, "Then he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes." ¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him. And she said, "Come in to me, for _⌊I have hired_⌋* you with my son's mandrakes." And he slept with her that night. ¹⁷ And God listened to Leah and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, "God has given me my wage since I gave my servant girl to my husband." And she called his name Issachar. ¹⁹ And Leah conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. ²⁰ And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good gift. This time my husband will acknowledge me, because I bore him six sons." And she called his name Zebulun.

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel. And _⌊when they were still some distance_⌋* from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. And she had hard labor. ¹⁷ And _⌊when her labor was the most difficult_⌋* the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid _⌊for you have another son_⌋."* ¹⁸ And it happened that when her life was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-Oni.* But his father called him Benjamin.* ¹⁹ And Rachel died and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

⁸ Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob ⁹ and the sons of Reuben: Enoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ¹⁰ The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. ¹¹ The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹² The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ¹³ The sons of Issachar: Tolah, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron. ¹⁴ The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵ These are the sons of Leah that she bore to Jacob in Paddan-Aram, and Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters were thirty-three persons in all. ¹⁶ The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. ¹⁷ The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister Serah. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel. ¹⁸ There are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob—sixteen persons. ¹⁹ The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ And Ephraim and Manasseh, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On bore to him, were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. ²¹ The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. ²² These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all. ²³ The sons of Dan: Hushim. ²⁴ The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. ²⁵ These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob—seven persons in all. ²⁶ All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt _⌊who were his descendants_⌋,* not including the wives of the sons of Jacob were sixty-six persons in all. ²⁷ And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.

⁸ Judah, as for you, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. The sons of your father shall bow down to you. ⁹ Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness. Who shall rouse him? ¹⁰ The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience of nations. ¹¹ Binding his donkey to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he washes his clothing in the wine and his garment in the blood of grapes. ¹² The eyes are darker than wine, and the teeth whiter than milk.

² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ⁴ Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵ And _⌊all those who descended from Jacob_⌋* were seventy individuals,* and Joseph was in Egypt.

² And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: '_⌊Long ago_⌋* your ancestors*—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the river,* and they served other gods. ³ I took your ancestor* Abraham from beyond the river* and led him through all the land of Canaan, and I increased his offspring; I gave him Isaac, ⁴ and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

²⁸ The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.

³⁴ Abraham fathered Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.

¹ These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, ² Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ³ The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah; these three were born to him from Bathshua the Canaanite. Now Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he put him to death. ⁴ And Tamar his daughter-in-law bore Perez and Zerah to him. The sons of Judah were five in all. ⁵ The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. ⁶ The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara, five in all. ⁷ The son of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who acted unfaithfully in the matter of the devoted thing. ⁸ And the son of Ethan was Azariah.

¹ The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but when he defiled the couch of his father, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that he was not enrolled in the genealogy as the firstborn, ² though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, but the birthright belonged to Joseph).

⁸ But* you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you, the _⌊offspring_⌋* of Abraham my _⌊friend_⌋,*

² Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah; she brought you forth. For I called him _⌊alone_⌋,* but* I blessed him and made him numerous."

² "I have loved you," says Yahweh, but you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is Esau not Jacob's brother?" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. "I have loved Jacob, ³ but Esau I have hated. I have made his* mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert."

³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

⁸ And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac did so with* Jacob, and Jacob did so with* the twelve patriarchs.

⁷ nor are they all children because they are descendants of Abraham, but "In Isaac will your descendants be named."* ⁸ That is, it is not the children _⌊by human descent_⌋* who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. ⁹ For the statement of the promise is this: "At this time I will return and _⌊Sarah will have_⌋* a son."* ¹⁰ And not only this, but also when* Rebecca conceived children by one man,* Isaac our father— ¹¹ for although they* had not yet been born, or done anything good or evil, in order that the purpose of God according to election might remain, ¹² not by works but by the one who calls—it was said to her, "The older will serve the younger,"* ¹³ just as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."*

¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord is a descendant of Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses said nothing concerning priests.

¹¹ By faith also, _⌊with Sarah_⌋*,* he received _⌊the ability to procreate_⌋* even _⌊past the normal age_⌋*, because he regarded the one who had promised to be faithful.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac, and the one who received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, ¹⁸ with reference to whom it was said, "In Isaac your descendants will be named,"*

⁵ from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

⁶ And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Stay a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up," for _⌊he feared he would also die_⌋* like his brother. So Tamar went and stayed in the house of her father.

²⁴ And _⌊about three months later_⌋* it was told to Judah, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the whore, and now, behold, she has conceived by prostitution." And Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned." ²⁵ She was brought out, but she sent to her father-in-law saying, "By the man to whom these belong I have conceived." And she said, "Now discern* to whom these belong: the seal and cord and the staff." ²⁶ Then Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know* her again. ²⁷ And it happened that at the time she gave birth that, behold, twins were in her womb.

²⁹ Then his hand drew back and, behold, his brother came out, and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" And she called his name Perez. ³⁰ And afterward his brother who had the crimson thread on his hand came out. And his name was called Zerah.

¹² The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

²⁰ The descendants* of Judah according to their clans were: of Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites;* of Perez, the clan of the Perezites;* of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites.* ²¹ The children of Perez were: of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites;* of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites.*

¹⁸ Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, ¹⁹ and Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab, ²⁰ and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, ²¹ and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed, ²² and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

¹ These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, ² Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ³ The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah; these three were born to him from Bathshua the Canaanite. Now Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he put him to death. ⁴ And Tamar his daughter-in-law bore Perez and Zerah to him. The sons of Judah were five in all. ⁵ The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. ⁶ The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara, five in all. ⁷ The son of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who acted unfaithfully in the matter of the devoted thing. ⁸ And the son of Ethan was Azariah. ⁹ The sons of Hezron who were born to him: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb. ¹⁰ And Ram fathered Amminadab, and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, prince of the sons of Judah. ¹¹ And Nahshon fathered Salma, and Salma fathered Boaz. ¹² And Boaz fathered Obed, and Obed fathered Jesse. ¹³ And Jesse fathered Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, ¹⁴ Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, ¹⁵ Ozem the sixth, David the seventh.

¹ The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.

⁶ And from the sons of Zerah: Jeuel and their brethren, six hundred and ninety.

³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

⁷ from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;

³ The ones who encamp on the eastern side, toward the sunrise, will be of the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions; and the leader of the descendants of Judah will be Nahshon son of Amminadab,

¹² And it happened, the one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah.

¹⁷ and as a sacrifice of the fellowship offering, two cattle, five rams, five he-goats, and five male lambs _⌊a year old_⌋.* This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

¹⁴ The standard of the camp of the descendants* of Judah set out for the first time according to their divisions, with Nahshon son of Amminadab over its division.

¹⁹ and Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab, ²⁰ and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon,

¹⁰ And Ram fathered Amminadab, and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, prince of the sons of Judah. ¹¹ And Nahshon fathered Salma, and Salma fathered Boaz. ¹² And Boaz fathered Obed, and Obed fathered Jesse.

³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,

¹ Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men from Acacia Grove* as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and _⌊spent the night_⌋* there. ² The king of Jericho was told, "Look, some men from the _⌊Israelites_⌋* have come here tonight to search out the land." ³ And the king of Jericho sent for Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who came to you, the ones who have entered your house, for they have come to search out the whole land." ⁴ But the woman took the two men and hid them. And she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵ And when it was time to shut the gate _⌊for the night_⌋,* the men left, and I do not know where they went. Chase after them quickly, for you may catch up to them." ⁶ (But she had taken them to the roof and had hidden them _⌊in the stalks of flax_⌋* that she _⌊had spread out_⌋* on the roof.) ⁷ So the men chased after them on _⌊the way to the Jordan_⌋* at the fords; and they shut the gate behind the pursuers that had gone out after them. ⁸ Before _⌊they went to sleep_⌋,* she came up to them on the roof ⁹ and said to the men, "I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away in fear because of your presence. ¹⁰ For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the waters of the _⌊Red Sea_⌋* before you when you went out from Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. ¹¹ We heard this, and our hearts* melted, and _⌊no courage was left in anyone_⌋* because of your presence. For Yahweh your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. ¹² So then please swear to me by Yahweh, because _⌊I have shown loyalty to you_⌋,* and _⌊you will also show loyalty_⌋* _⌊to my family_⌋.* You must give me a sign of good faith,* ¹³ and you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all that belongs to them; you will deliver our lives from death." ¹⁴ And the men said to her, "_⌊Our lives for yours_⌋.* If you do not report this business of ours, _⌊we will show you loyalty and faithfulness_⌋* when Yahweh gives us the land." ¹⁵ Then she lowered them with a rope through the window, as her house was on the outer side of the wall, and she was residing in the wall. ¹⁶ And she said to them, "Go to the mountain, so that the pursuers will not find you, and hide yourselves there three days until the pursuers return, and afterward you may go _⌊on your way_⌋."* ¹⁷ The men said to her, "We will be released from this oath of yours that you made us swear. ¹⁸ When we come to the land, you must tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you must gather your father and mother, and your brothers, and your whole family to your house. ¹⁹ If anyone goes outside the doors of your house, _⌊they will be responsible for their own death_⌋,* and we will be innocent. Anyone who will be with you in the house, _⌊we will be responsible for their death_⌋* _⌊if a hand is laid on them_⌋.* ²⁰ But if you report this business of ours, we will be released from your oath that you made us swear." ²¹ And she said, "According to your word it will be." Then she sent them away, and they went, and she tied the scarlet cord in the window. ²² They departed and came to the mountain, and they stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers searched _⌊all along the way_⌋* but did not find them.

²² Then Joshua said to the two men who spied on the land, "Go to the prostitute's house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, just as you swore to her." ²³ So the young men who were spies went and brought Rahab and her father and mother, her brothers, and all who were with her. And they brought all her family out and set them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ And they burned the city and all that was in it with fire; they put only the silver and gold, and the items of copper and iron, into the treasury of the house of Yahweh. ²⁵ But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute _⌊and her family_⌋* and all who were with her, and she has lived in the midst of Israel until this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

⁴ And _⌊they took_⌋* for themselves Moabite wives. The name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other was Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

¹⁶ But Ruth said, "_⌊Do not urge_⌋* me to leave you or to return from _⌊following you_⌋!* For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. So may Yahweh do to me, _⌊and even more, unless_⌋* death _⌊separates you and me_⌋!"*

²² So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, returning from the countryside of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the harvest of barley.

²¹ and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed,

³¹ By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she* welcomed the spies in peace.

²⁵ And likewise was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she* welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?

²² and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

¹ Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "_⌊How long_⌋* will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel! Fill up your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons."

¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, "_⌊Are all the young men here_⌋?"* And he said, "The youngest still remains, but look, he is shepherding the flock." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him, for we cannot _⌊sit down_⌋* until he comes here." ¹² So he sent and brought him. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and of _⌊handsome_⌋* appearance. And Yahweh said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he." ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day _⌊on_⌋.* Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

¹² Now David was the son of an Ephrathite. This man was from Bethlehem of Judah, and his name was Jesse. _⌊He had_⌋* eight sons; in the days of Saul this man was old, yet he still walked among* the men.

⁵⁸ Then Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" And David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

³⁰ Then _⌊Saul became angry_⌋* at Jonathan and said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman!* Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? ³¹ For _⌊as long as_⌋* the son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established! So then, send and bring him to me, for _⌊he will surely die_⌋!"*

⁸ For all of you have conspired against me, and _⌊no one discloses to me_⌋* the _⌊making_⌋* of an agreement between my son and the son of Jesse! None of you have had sympathy for me or _⌊disclosed to me_⌋* that _⌊my son commissioned my servant against me to ambush me_⌋* as has been done this day!"

³ David sent and inquired about the woman, and someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

²⁶ When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned over her husband. ²⁷ When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his household, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

²⁴ David consoled Bathsheba his wife, and he went to her and slept with her. She bore a son, and he called* him Solomon, and Yahweh loved him. ²⁵ He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet, so he called him Jedidiah* because of Yahweh.

¹ These are the last words of David, the declaration of David the son of Jesse, and the declaration of the man exalted by the Most High, the anointed one of the God of Jacob and the darling of the songs of Israel.

³⁹ Uriah the Hittite; in all, thirty-seven.

¹¹ Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, "Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, but our lord David does not know? ¹² So then, come, let me advise you please, _⌊that you may save_⌋* your life and the life of your son, Solomon. ¹³ Come, go to King David and say to him, 'Have you not, my lord the king, sworn to your servant, "Surely Solomon your son shall become king after me. And he will sit on my throne"? But why is Adonijah king?' ¹⁴ While you are still there speaking with the king, I will enter after you, and _⌊I will confirm your words_⌋."* ¹⁵ So Bathsheba went to the king in the private room. Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunnamite was attending the king. ¹⁶ Bathsheba knelt and bowed down before the king, and the king asked, "_⌊What do you want_⌋?"* ¹⁷ She said to him, "My lord, you swore by Yahweh your God to your servant, 'Solomon your son surely shall become king after me, and he will sit upon my throne!'

²⁸ Then King David answered and said, "Summon Bathsheba for me." Then she came before the king and stood in his presence.* ²⁹ Then the king swore and said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* who has saved my life from all trouble, ³⁰ surely as I swore to you by Yahweh the God of Israel, saying, 'Solomon your son shall surely be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,' surely I shall do so this very day." ³¹ Then Bathsheba knelt with her face to the ground and did obeisance to the king, and she said, "May my lord, King David, live forever."

⁵ because David did right in the eyes of Yahweh and he didn't turn aside from all that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

¹⁵ Ozem the sixth, David the seventh.

⁵ And these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, four by Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel;

⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai,

⁴ Now these are the names of the children who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

⁵ And from all my sons—for Yahweh has given many sons to me—he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel.

²⁰ The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.

³ For what was impossible for the law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did. By* sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

⁴³ Then Solomon slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him in the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son became king in his place.

³¹ Then Rehoboam slept with his ancestors,* and he was buried with his ancestors* in the city of David. The name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonitess. Abijam his son became king in his place.

⁸ Abijam slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him in the city of David, and Asa his son became king in his place. ⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa became the king of Judah. ¹⁰ He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ Asa did right in the eyes of Yahweh, like David his ancestor.* ¹² He put away the male shrine prostitutes from the land, and he removed all of the idols that his ancestors* made. ¹³ Also, he had Maacah his mother removed from the office of queen mother, as she had made a repulsive image for the Asherah. Asa also cut down her repulsive image and burned it in the Wadi* Kidron. ¹⁴ But the high places he did not remove. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was completely with Yahweh all of his days. ¹⁵ He brought the holy objects of his father and his own holy objects to the house of Yahweh, silver and gold and utensils. ¹⁶ There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all of their days. ¹⁷ Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and he built Ramah _⌊to hinder the coming and going of anyone to Asa_⌋* king of Judah. ¹⁸ Asa took all of the silver and gold remaining in the storerooms of the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the house of the king, and he gave them into the hand of his servants; so King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ "Let there be a covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel that he may go up away from me." ²⁰ Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and he attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah, and all of Kinnereth, in addition to all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa proclaimed among all of Israel that there was no one free from obligation, so they carried the stones of Ramah and its wood with which Baasha had built, and King Asa rebuilt Geba in Benjamin with them, and the Mizpah. ²³ The remainder of the acts of Asa, all of his achievements, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? But at the time of his old age, _⌊he developed a foot disease_⌋.*

¹⁰ Now the son of Solomon was Rehoboam; Abijah was his son, Asa was his son, Jehoshaphat was his son, ¹¹ Joram was his son, Ahaziah was his son, Joash was his son, ¹² Amaziah was his son, Azariah was his son, Jotham was his son, ¹³ Ahaz was his son, Hezekiah was his son, Manasseh was his son, ¹⁴ Amon was his son, Josiah was his son.

³¹ And Solomon slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

¹ And when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and when he was strengthened, he forsook the law of Yahweh, and all Israel with him.

⁷ and worthless men, _⌊sons of wickedness_⌋,* were gathered about him and became hostile against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was a boy and gentle of heart and was not strong enough to stand before them.

¹ * And Abijah slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son became king in his place. In his days the land was at rest ten years. ² Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his God. ³ He removed the foreign altars and high places, broke down the stone pillars, and cut down the Asherahs. ⁴ And he commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,* and to keep the law and the commandment. ⁵ And he removed the high places and the incense stands from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom had rest under* him. ⁶ And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land was at rest. Under* him there was no war in those years, for Yahweh had given rest to him. ⁷ And he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates, and bars while the land is before us, because we have sought Yahweh our God. We have sought and he has given rest to us on every side." So they built and had success. ⁸ And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah, bearing shields and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin who carried shields and drew bows. All of these were mighty warriors of strength. ⁹ Zerah the Cushite came out against them with an army of a thousand thousands and three hundred chariots. And he came to Mareshah. ¹⁰ And Asa went out before him, and a battle was put in order in the valley of Zepah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Then Asa cried out to Yahweh his God. And he said, "O Yahweh, there is none with you to help between the great and the powerless. Help us, O Yahweh our God, for we rely upon you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, you are our God! Let no man prevail against you!" ¹² So Yahweh defeated the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled. ¹³ Then Asa and the army* with him pursued them to Gerar. And many from the Cushites fell, for they had no deliverance, for they were shattered before Yahweh and before his army. And they carried away much war booty. ¹⁴ And they struck all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of Yahweh was upon them. And they plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ And they also struck the tents of the herdsmen and carried away many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

²⁴ Asa slept with his ancestors* and was buried with his ancestors* in the city of David his ancestor;* Jehoshaphat his son became king in his place.

² It happened in the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to the king of Israel, ³ and the king of Israel said to his servants, "Do you know Ramoth-Gilead belongs to us, and we are doing nothing about taking it from the hand of the king of Aram?" ⁴ Then he said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to the battle for Ramoth-Gilead?" Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "_⌊I am like you_⌋;* _⌊my people are like your people_⌋;* _⌊my horses are like your horses_⌋."* ⁵ Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire for the word of Yahweh today." ⁶ Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them, "Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead for the battle, or should I refrain?" Then they said, "Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king." ⁷ So Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of Yahweh here that we might still inquire from him?" ⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man to inquire from Yahweh, but I despise him, for he never prophesies anything good concerning me, but only bad: Micaiah the son of Imlah." Then Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say so." ⁹ The king of Israel summoned a certain court official, and he said, "Quickly fetch Micaiah son of Imlah." ¹⁰ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were each sitting on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. ¹¹ Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, "Thus says Yahweh: 'With these you shall gore the Arameans until finishing them.'" ¹² All of the prophets were likewise prophesying, saying, "Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king." ¹³ Then the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Please now, the words of the prophet are _⌊unanimously_⌋* favorable to the king. Please let your words be as one word with them, and speak favorably." ¹⁴ Then Micaiah said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* surely only as Yahweh speaks to me, that will I speak." ¹⁵ When he came to the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to the battle, or shall we refrain?" He said to him, "Go up and triumph, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king." ¹⁶ Then the king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear that you shall not tell me anything but truth in the name of Yahweh?" ¹⁷ So he said, "I saw all of Israel scattering to the mountains, like the sheep without a shepherd. Yahweh also said, 'There are no masters for these, let them return in peace, each to his house.'" ¹⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but disaster?" ¹⁹ And he* said, "Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne with all the hosts of heaven standing beside him from his right hand and from his left hand. ²⁰ And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' Then _⌊this one was saying one thing and the other one was saying another_⌋.* ²¹ Then a spirit came out and stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him,' and Yahweh said to him, 'How?' ²² He said, 'I will go out and I will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he* said, 'You shall entice and succeed, go out and do so.' ²³ So then, see that Yahweh has placed a false spirit in the mouth of all of these your prophets, and Yahweh has spoken disaster concerning you." ²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah came near and slapped Micaiah on the cheek and said, "When did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak with you?" ²⁵ Then Micaiah said, "Behold, you are about to see on that day when you go _⌊from room to room_⌋* to hide." ²⁶ The king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the commander of the city and to Jehoash the son of the king; ²⁷ and say, 'Thus says the king: "Put this fellow in the house of imprisonment and feed him reduced rations of food and water until I come in peace." '" ²⁸ Then Micaiah said, "If you indeed return in peace, then Yahweh has not spoken with me." Then he said, "Let all the peoples hear!" ²⁹ Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead. ³⁰ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you wear your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and he went into the battle. ³¹ The king of Aram commanded his thirty-two chariot commanders, saying, "You shall not fight with small or great, but only against the king of Israel, him alone!" ³² When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely he is the king of Israel," and they turned to fight against him, so Jehoshaphat called out. ³³ When the chariot commanders saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned away from him. ³⁴ But another man drew his bow fully and struck the king of Israel between the armor scales and the breastplate; so he said to his chariot driver, "Turn _⌊the chariot_⌋* and bring me out from the camp, for I am wounded." ³⁵ The battle intensified on that day, and the king was being propped up in the chariot opposite Aram, but he died in the evening, and the blood of the wound ran out to the floor of the chariot. ³⁶ Then the shout passed through the camp about sunset, saying, "Each man to his city and each to his land!" ³⁷ So the king died, and _⌊they brought him_⌋* to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked his blood (now, the prostitutes washed themselves there) according to the word of Yahweh which he had spoken. ³⁹ The remainder of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory palace and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ So Ahab slept with his ancestors,* and Ahaziah his son became king in his place. ⁴¹ Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ⁴³ He walked in all of the way of Asa his father, and he did not turn aside from it, doing right in the eyes of Yahweh.* Only he did not remove the high places; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. ⁴⁴ * But, Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. ⁴⁵ The remainder of the acts of Jehoshaphat, his powerful deeds he did, and how he fought, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? ⁴⁶ The remainder of the male shrine prostitutes who were left over in the days of Asa his father he exterminated from the land. ⁴⁷ There was not a king in Edom; a governor served as king. ⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat built* ships of the Tarshish type to go to Ophir for the gold; but he did not go because the ships were destroyed at Ezion-Geber. ⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with your servants in the ships," but Jehoshaphat was not willing. ⁵⁰ And Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors* and was buried with his ancestors* in the city of David his ancestor,* and Joram his son became king in his place.

¹ Now Joram the son of Ahab had become king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He reigned twelve years

¹⁶ Now in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Joram son of Jehoshaphat became the king of Judah.*

²¹ All of the people of Judah took sixteen-year-old Azariah and made him king in place of this father Amaziah.

¹ In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. ² He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ³ He did right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Amaziah his father had done. ⁴ Only he did not remove the high places; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. ⁵ Yahweh struck the king, and he was infected with a skin disease until the day of his death. He lived in a separate house, while Jotham the son of the king was over the house, governing the people of the land. ⁶ The remainder of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?

¹¹ Joram was his son, Ahaziah was his son, Joash was his son,

¹ And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and he strengthened himself against Israel. ² And he put troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and put garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had taken. ³ And Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of David his father and did not seek after the Baals, ⁴ but he sought after the God of his ancestors* and walked in his commandments and not according to the works of Israel. ⁵ So Yahweh established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah gave tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had much wealth and honor. ⁶ And his heart was courageous in the ways of Yahweh. Moreover, he removed the high places and the Asherahs from Judah. ⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; ⁸ and with them the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah; and with them the priests Elisham and Joram. ⁹ And they taught in Judah, and the scroll of the law of Yahweh was with them when they went around in all the cities of Judah, and they taught the people. ¹⁰ And the fear of Yahweh was upon all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, and they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ And some of the Philistines brought a gift and silver to Jehoshaphat as tribute. The Arabians also brought him seven thousand seven hundred sheep and seven thousand seven hundred goats. ¹² And Jehoshaphat _⌊grew greater and greater_⌋,* and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. ¹³ And he had many supplies in the cities of Judah and mighty warriors for battle in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Now these were their enrollment by the house of their ancestors:* of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah, the commander, and with him were three hundred thousand mighty armed warriors; ¹⁵ and at his side,* Jehohanan the commander, and with him were two hundred and eighty thousand; ¹⁶ and at his side,* Amasiah the son of Zicri, who had made a freewill offering to Yahweh, and with him were two hundred thousand mighty armed warriors. ¹⁷ And from Benjamin: Eliada, a powerful mighty warrior, and with him were two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and at his side,* Jehozabad, and with him were one hundred and eighty thousand armed for war. ¹⁹ These were serving the king, besides those whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

¹ And Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors* and was buried with his ancestors* in the city of David, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

¹ Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah (now he was sixteen years old) and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. ² He built Elath and returned it to Judah after the king slept with his ancestors.* ³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. And the name of his mother was Yecoliah of Jerusalem. ⁴ And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Amaziah his father had done. ⁵ And he began to seek* God in the days of Zechariah who was teaching in visions of God. And _⌊whenever_⌋* he sought Yahweh God made him have success. ⁶ And he went out and made war against the Philistines, and he broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ And God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who were living in Gur-Baal and Meunim. ⁸ And the Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah, and his fame* went out to the boundary* of Egypt, for he became _⌊very strong_⌋.* ⁹ And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and he strengthened them. ¹⁰ And he built towers in the desert and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the Shephelah and on the plain, along with farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. ¹¹ And Uzziah had troops _⌊trained and ready for war_⌋* in divisions according to the number of their enrollment at the hand of Jeuel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah of the king's commanders. ¹² The whole number of the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* for mighty warriors of strength was two thousand six hundred. ¹³ And under their hand were army troops numbering three hundred and seven thousand five hundred who could make war with power and strength to help the king against an enemy. ¹⁴ And Uzziah prepared small shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the whole army. ¹⁵ And he made siege machines in Jerusalem designed by skillful men to be set upon the towers and upon the corners to shoot arrows and large slingstones. And his fame* went out far, for he helped marvelously, for he was strong. ¹⁶ But on account of his strength his heart grew proud unto destruction. And he acted unfaithfully against Yahweh his God and went into the temple of Yahweh to offer an incense offering on the altar. ¹⁷ And Azariah the priest, along with eighty strong priests with him, went in after him. ¹⁸ And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but it is for the priests, the descendants* of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully. There will be no honor for you from Yahweh God." ¹⁹ Then Uzziah, his censer in hand to burn incense, became angry. And when he became angry with the priests, then leprosy appeared on his forehead in front of the priests in the house of Yahweh at the altar of incense. ²⁰ When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him, behold, he was leprous in the forehead. So they rushed him away from there, and he also hastened to go out, for Yahweh had smitten him. ²¹ So King Uzziah was leprous until the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house as a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. And Jotham his son was over the house of the king, judging the people of the land. ²² Now the remainder of the words of Uzziah, from the first to the last, Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, wrote them. ²³ And Uzziah slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him with his ancestors* in the burial field which belonged to the kings, because, they said, "He was leprous." And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

⁷ So Azariah slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him with his ancestors* in the city of David, and Jotham his son became king in his place.

³² In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign.

¹ It happened in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did right in the eyes of Yahweh according to all that David his ancestor* had done. ⁴ He removed the high places, and he smashed the stone pillars; he cut down the poles of Asherah worship and demolished the bronze serpent which Moses had made, for up to those days the _⌊Israelites_⌋* were offering incense to it and called it Nehushtan. ⁵ He trusted in Yahweh the God of Israel; there was no one like him, before or after, among all the kings of Judah. ⁶ He held on to Yahweh; he did not depart from following him, and he kept his commands that Yahweh had commanded Moses. ⁷ Yahweh was with him; everywhere he went, he succeeded. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸ He attacked the Philistines up to Gaza and its territory from the watchtower up to the fortified city. ⁹ It happened in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, that is, the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came against Samaria and laid siege against her. ¹⁰ At the end of three years, he captured it in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel; Samaria was captured. ¹¹ Then the king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Habor, in the river regions of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, and they transgressed his covenant; all that he had commanded Moses, the servant of Yahweh, they did not listen to nor did they obey. ¹³ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all of the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ¹⁴ So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, "I have done wrong. Withdraw from me. What you impose on me I will bear." So the king of Assyria imposed on Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ¹⁵ Then Hezekiah gave all of the silver found in the temple of Yahweh and in the storerooms of the house of the king. ¹⁶ At that time, Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Yahweh and the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and he gave them to the king of Assyria. ¹⁷ So the king of Assyria sent the commander in chief, the chief eunuch, and the _⌊chief advisor_⌋* from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a heavy army. They went up and came to Jerusalem, then they went up and came and stood at the aqueduct of the upper pool which is on the main road of the _⌊washer's_⌋* field. ¹⁸ Then they called to the king, so Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them. ¹⁹ Then the chief advisor said to them, "Please say to Hezekiah: 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: "What is this confidence that you trust? ²⁰ You think only a word of lips, 'I have advice and power for the war.' Now, on whom do you trust that you have rebelled against me?

¹¹ Joram was his son, Ahaziah was his son, Joash was his son, ¹² Amaziah was his son, Azariah was his son, Jotham was his son, ¹³ Ahaz was his son, Hezekiah was his son, Manasseh was his son,

²¹ So King Uzziah was leprous until the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house as a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. And Jotham his son was over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.

¹ Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Uzziah had done—only he did not go into the temple of Yahweh. But the people still acted corruptly. ³ He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh, and _⌊he did much restoration_⌋* on the wall of Ophel. ⁴ And he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and he built forts and towers in the wooded places. ⁵ Now he fought with the king of the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* and prevailed against them. And the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* gave to him in that year one hundred talents of silver and ten thousand measures of wheat and ten thousand measures of barley. This is what the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* rendered to him, as well as in the second and third year. ⁶ And Jotham strengthened himself, for he established his ways before Yahweh his God. ⁷ Now the remainder of the words of Jotham and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written upon the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹ And Jotham slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him in the city of David. And his son Ahaz became king in his place.

¹ Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh like David his ancestor.* ² But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made molten idols for the Baals. ³ And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable practices of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites. ⁴ And he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops, and under every flourishing tree. ⁵ Then Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram* who defeated him and captured many captives from him and brought them to Damascus. Moreover, he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, and he defeated him by a great attack. ⁶ And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed in one day one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah, all men of strength, because they forsook Yahweh the God of their ancestors.* ⁷ And Zikri, a mighty warrior of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the son of the king, Azrikam the commander of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king. ⁸ And the Israelites captured two hundred thousand of their brothers, women, sons, and daughters. And they also plundered much booty from them and brought the booty to Samaria. ⁹ Now a prophet of Yahweh was there; Oded was his name. And he went out before the army that was coming to Samaria and said to them, "Look, it is on account of the anger of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,* against Judah that he gave them into your hands, and you killed them in a rage reaching to the heavens. ¹⁰ So now, you yourselves plan to subdue people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves and female servants for yourselves. _⌊Is there not also guilt on your part_⌋* against Yahweh your God? ¹¹ So now, listen to me and return the captives of your brothers whom you have taken captive, for the fierce anger of Yahweh is against you." ¹² Then men from the heads of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Jehohanan, Berekiah the son of Meshillemoth, Hezekiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—stood against those returning from the fight. ¹³ And they said to them, "You shall not bring the captives here, for it is as guilt against Yahweh upon us. You yourselves plan to add to our sins and to our guilt, but our guilt is very great, and there is great anger against Israel." ¹⁴ So the soldiers left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly. ¹⁵ Then the men designated by name arose and took the captives and from the plunder clothed all their nakedness. So they clothed them, gave them sandals, gave them food to eat, gave them water to drink, anointed them, and guided them with the donkeys provided for all those who stumbled, and brought them to Jericho, the city of the palm trees, next to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria. ¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria to help him, ¹⁷ since again the Edomites came and struck against Judah and took captives. ¹⁸ And the Philistines sent raids into the cities of the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah. And they captured Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Socoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. ¹⁹ For Yahweh subdued Judah for the sake of Ahaz, king of Israel, for he created disorder in Judah and acted unfaithfully against Yahweh. ²⁰ Then Tiglath-Pileser* the king of Assyria came against him and brought trouble for him, _⌊instead of helping him_⌋,* ²¹ for Ahaz took a portion from the house of Yahweh and the house of the king and the princes, and he gave it to the king of Assyria, but it was no help to him. ²² And in the time of his distress, King Ahaz continued to act unfaithfully against Yahweh. ²³ He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, "Because the gods of the king of Aram* helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me." But they were _⌊a disaster_⌋* to him and to all Israel. ²⁴ Then Ahaz gathered the objects of the house of God, and he cut the objects of the house of God to pieces. And he shut the doors of the house of Yahweh and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ And _⌊in every city_⌋* of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and he provoked Yahweh, the God of his ancestors,* to anger. ²⁶ Now the remainder of his words and all his ways, from the first to the last, behold, they are written upon the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ And Ahaz slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the burial site of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

¹ Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. ² And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done. ³ In the first year of his kingship, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh and strengthened them. ⁴ And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and he gathered them into the eastern square. ⁵ And he said to them, "Hear me, O Levites! Sanctify yourselves now, and sanctify the house of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,* and bring out the defilement from the sanctuary. ⁶ For our ancestors* acted unfaithfully and did evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the dwelling place of Yahweh. _⌊They have turned their backs_⌋* on it. ⁷ They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. And they did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel. ⁸ And the wrath of Yahweh was upon Judah and Jerusalem. And he made them as an abhorrence, as a desolation and an object of scorn, as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ Now behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity on account of this. ¹⁰ Now _⌊it is in my heart_⌋* to _⌊make_⌋* a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger might turn away from him. ¹¹ Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him to serve him and to be his servants and incense burners." ¹² Then the Levites arose—Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the Kohathites; and Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel from the Merarites; and Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah, from the Gershonites. ¹³ And from the descendants* of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel; and from the descendants* of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ and from the descendants* of Heman: Jeiel and Shimei; and from the descendants* of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel— ¹⁵ and they gathered their brothers and sanctified themselves, and they went in according to the command of the king because of the words of Yahweh, to purify the house of Yahweh. ¹⁶ And the priests went into the inner part of the house of Yahweh to purify it. And they brought out all the impurity that they found in the temple of Yahweh out to the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. And the Levites took them to bring them outside to the Wadi* Kidron. ¹⁷ And they began to sanctify themselves on the first day of the first month. And on the eighth day of the month they came to the portico of Yahweh. And they sanctified the house of Yahweh for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. ¹⁸ And they went into the inner part to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh: the altar of burnt offering, all its objects, the table of the rows of bread and all its objects, ¹⁹ and all the objects that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he sinned, we have prepared and sanctified. Look, they are before the altar of Yahweh." ²⁰ Then King Hezekiah rose early and gathered the officials of the city, and he went up to the house of Yahweh. ²¹ And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a purification offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the descendants* of Aaron, the priests, to offer them on the altar of Yahweh. ²² And they slaughtered the cattle, and the priests received the blood and threw it toward the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and threw the blood toward the altar, and then they slaughtered the lambs and threw the blood toward the altar. ²³ Then they brought the goats of the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid hands upon them. ²⁴ And the priest killed them and offered their blood against the altar to make atonement for all Israel, for the king had commanded the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel. ²⁵ And he stood the Levites in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the command of David and Gad, the seer of the king, and Nathan the prophet, for the command was by the hand of Yahweh by the hand of his prophets. ²⁶ When the Levites stood with the objects of David and the priests with the trumpets, ²⁷ Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And at the time the burnt offering began, the song of Yahweh began, and also the trumpets, at the hands of the instruments of David king of Israel. ²⁸ Then all the assembly bowed down, and the song was sung, and the trumpeters trumpeted—all together until the end of the burnt offering. ²⁹ And when the offering was finished, the king and all who were found with him knelt down and bowed themselves. ³⁰ Then King Hezekiah and the princes commanded the Levites to praise Yahweh with the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they offered praise with joy, and they bowed down and worshiped. ³¹ Then Hezekiah answered and said, "Now _⌊you have consecrated yourselves_⌋* to Yahweh. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of Yahweh!" And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were willing in heart brought burnt offerings. ³² And the number of burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy cattle, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs—all these were to offer to Yahweh.

¹ This happened in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah. Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went* up to Jerusalem for warfare against it,* but he was not able to fight against it.* ² When it was reported to the house of David, saying "Aram stands by Ephraim," his heart and the heart of his people shook like the shaking of the trees of the forest because of the wind. ³ Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, "Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the washer's field. ⁴ And you must say to him, 'Take heed and be quiet! You must not fear, and your heart must not be faint because of these two stumps of smoldering firebrands, _⌊because of the fierce anger of_⌋* Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. ⁵ Because Aram has plotted evil against you with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying, ⁶ "Let us go up against Judah and let us tear her apart, _⌊and let us lay it open and so bring it unto ourselves_⌋,* and let us install the son of Tabeel as king in her midst." ⁷ Thus says the Lord Yahweh, "It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. ⁸ For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. ⁹ And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not believe then you will not endure." '" ¹⁰ And Yahweh continued to speak to Ahaz, saying, ¹¹ "Ask for a sign for yourself from Yahweh God; make it deep as Sheol or make it high as above." ¹² But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put Yahweh to the test." ¹³ Then he said, "Hear, house of David! Is it too little for you to make men weary, that you should also make my God weary?

¹ And this happened: In _⌊the fourteenth year_⌋* of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria went up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them. ² And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh* from Lachish to Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah, with a large army, and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the field of the washer. ³ And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who _⌊was in charge of the palace_⌋,* came out to him, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder. ⁴ And Rabshakeh said to them, "Now say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: "What is this confidence in which you trust? ⁵ I said, 'Only a word of lips! _⌊War has power and a plan_⌋!'* Now, in whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me? ⁶ Look, you trust in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, which if a man leans on it, goes into his hand and bores through it! Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all those who trust in him. ⁷ And if you say to me, 'We trust in Yahweh our God,' was it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed? And he said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall bow down in the _⌊presence_⌋* of this altar.'" ⁸ And now please make a wager with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, that is, if you are able _⌊put_⌋* riders for yourself on them! ⁹ But how can you drive back _⌊one governor among the least of my master's servants_⌋,* when* you trust in Egypt for chariots* and horsemen? ¹⁰ And now was it without Yahweh that I have come up against this land to destroy it? Yahweh said to me, "Go up against this land and destroy it!" '" ¹¹ And Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we can understand* it, and you must not speak to us in Judean in the _⌊hearing_⌋* of the people who are on the wall." ¹² But* Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your masters and you? Was it not for the people who sit on the wall, to eat their dung and drink their urine* with you?" ¹³ Then* Rabshakeh stood and called in a great voice in Judean and said, "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. ¹⁴ Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you! ¹⁵ And do not let Hezekiah make you rely on Yahweh, saying, "Surely Yahweh will deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!" ¹⁶ You must not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: "Make a blessing* with me, and come out to me, and each one will eat from his vine and from his fig tree and drink water from* his cistern, ¹⁷ until _⌊I come_⌋* and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, ¹⁸ lest Hezekiah mislead you, saying, 'Yahweh will save us!' Did the gods of the nations each save his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ²⁰ Who are there among all the gods of these countries who have saved their land from my hand, that Yahweh should save Jerusalem from my hand?" '" ²¹ But* they were silent and did not answer him a word, for the command of the king was, "You must not answer him." ²² Then* Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the _⌊palace_⌋,* Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder, came to Hezekiah with torn garments and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

² Then he proclaimed against the altar by the word of Yahweh and said, "O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: 'Look, a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.'"

²¹ Then Hezekiah slept with his ancestors,* and Manasseh his son became king in his place.

²¹ He walked in all of the way which his father had walked, and he served the idols which his father had served and bowed down to them. ²² He abandoned Yahweh the God of his ancestors* and did not walk in the way of Yahweh. ²³ The servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. ²⁴ But the people of the land killed all who conspired against the king and made Josiah his son king in his place. ²⁵ The remainder of the acts of Amon that he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? ²⁶ They buried him in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in place of him.

²¹ Then the king commanded all of the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as has been written on the scroll of this covenant." ²² For they had not kept this Passover from the days of the judges who had judged over Israel _⌊or_⌋* during the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was kept for Yahweh in Jerusalem. ²⁴ Moreover, the mediums and the spiritists, the household gods and the idols, and all of the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah removed in order to establish the words of the law written on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the temple of Yahweh. ²⁵ There was not a king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all of his heart and with all of his soul and with all of his might according to the law* of Moses, nor did one arise like him afterwards. ²⁶ However, Yahweh did not turn from the fierceness of his great anger which was kindled against Judah because of all of the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. ²⁷ Yahweh had said, "Even Judah I will remove from my face, as I have removed Israel; I will reject this city that I have chosen, even Jerusalem and the house of which I said, 'My name shall be there'!" ²⁸ The remainder of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? ²⁹ In his days, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, went up against the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to meet him, and he* killed him at Megiddo as soon as he saw him. ³⁰ So his servants drove him dead in a chariot from Megiddo, and they brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

³ Surely, it was _⌊on the command_⌋* of Yahweh against Judah to remove them from his sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done. ⁴ Also, for the blood of the innocent that he had shed—and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood—Yahweh was not willing to forgive.

¹³ Ahaz was his son, Hezekiah was his son, Manasseh was his son, ¹⁴ Amon was his son, Josiah was his son. ¹⁵ And the sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum.

³³ And Hezekiah slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him in the upper part of the burial sites of the descendants* of David. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son became king in his place.

² to whom the word of Yahweh came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. ³ It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

³¹ Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

¹¹ The remainder of the people left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the remainder of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard deported.

¹⁵ And the sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. ¹⁶ And the _⌊descendants_⌋* of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son. ¹⁷ And the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son,

¹ And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. ² Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and laid a tribute upon the land of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. ⁴ And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt. ⁵ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh his God. ⁶ Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up against him, and he bound him with bronze fetters to bring him to Babylon. ⁷ And Nebuchadnezzar brought to Babylon the objects of the house of Yahweh and put them into the temple in Babylon. ⁸ Now the remainder of the words of Jehoiakim and the detestable things that he did and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

¹⁰ And at the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with objects of the treasure of the house of Yahweh. And he made Zedekiah his brother king in Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁰ And he took _⌊those who escaped the sword_⌋* to Babylon. And they became servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,

¹⁰ For go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, and send to Kedar and consider very closely, and see if there has been a thing like this: ¹¹ Has a nation exchanged gods? And they are not gods! But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit. ¹² Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder; be utterly desolate," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ¹³ "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the source* of living water, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. ¹⁴ Is Israel a slave? Or _⌊a slave born in a house_⌋?* Why has he become plunder? ¹⁵ The young lions have roared against him, they have _⌊raised_⌋* their voices.* And they have made his land as horror; his cities are destroyed, _⌊without_⌋* an inhabitant. ¹⁶ Moreover, people of Memphis and Tahpanhes will _⌊shave_⌋* your skull.* ¹⁷ Did you not do this to yourself, by forsaking Yahweh, your God, at the time of your leading in the way? ¹⁸ And now _⌊why do you go_⌋* the way of Egypt to drink the waters of the Shihor? And _⌊why do you go_⌋* the way of Assyria to drink the waters of the _⌊Euphrates_⌋?* ¹⁹ Your wickedness will chastise you, and your apostasies will reprove you. Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter, your forsaking of Yahweh, your God, and fear of me is not in you," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord, Yahweh of hosts. ²⁰ "For from long ago you have broken your yoke, you tore to pieces your bonds. And you said, 'I will not serve!' But on every high hill and under every leafy tree you were lying down as a prostitute. ²¹ Yet I planted you as a choice vine, all of it a seed of trustworthiness. How then have you altered before me into something that is degenerate, the foreign vine? ²² For if you wash with natron, and you _⌊use much soap_⌋,* your guilt is sticking as a stain _⌊before_⌋* me," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ²³ "How can you say, 'I have not defiled myself, I have not gone after the Baals?' Look at your way in the valley, know what you have done. You are a young she-camel, interweaving her ways. ²⁴ A wild ass accustomed to the desert,* in the desire of her soul. She gasps for wind in her rutting time. Who can quell* her lust? All those who seek her will not grow weary, in her month they will find her. ²⁵ Restrain your foot from being barefoot, and your throat from thirst. But you said, 'It is hopeless. No! For I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.'* ²⁶ As the shame of a thief when he is caught in the act, so the house of Israel will be ashamed. They, their kings, their officials, and their priests, and their prophets. ²⁷ Those who say to the tree, 'You are my father,' and to the stone, 'You gave birth to me.' For they have turned their _⌊backs_⌋* to me, and not their faces. But in the time of their trouble they say, 'Arise and save us.' ²⁸ But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble. For according to the number of your towns are your gods, O Judah.

²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, did not take when he deported Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, _⌊along with_⌋* all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁹ Then the rest of the people who were left in the city, and those deserting who had deserted to him, and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,* deported to Babylon.

¹¹ Then he made blind the eyes of Zedekiah, and they tied him up with bronze fetters, and the king of Babylon brought him to Babylon. And he put him in _⌊prison_⌋* until the day of his death. ¹² Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard,* who stood _⌊before_⌋* the king of Babylon, entered into Jerusalem. ¹³ And he burned the _⌊temple_⌋* of Yahweh, and the palace* of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁴ And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard* broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around. ¹⁵ And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard* deported some of the poor of the people, and the rest of the people who were left in the city, and the deserters who deserted to the king of Babylon, along with the rest of the craftsmen.

²⁸ This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar deported: in the seventh year, three thousand twenty-three Judeans; ²⁹ in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, eight hundred and thirty-two persons* from Jerusalem; ³⁰ in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,* deported seven hundred and forty-five Judean persons;* there were four thousand six hundred persons* in all.

² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah into his hand and _⌊some of_⌋* of the utensils of the temple of God,* and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the temple of his gods, and he brought the utensils to _⌊the treasury_⌋* of his gods.

²⁷ It happened in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month on the twenty-seventh of the month, lifted Evil-Merodach king of Babylon in the year that he became king, the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from the house of imprisonment.

¹⁷ And the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son,

¹⁹ And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei. And the sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister, ²⁰ and Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-Hesed, five. ²¹ And the sons of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. The sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shecaniah. ²² And the sons of Shecaniah: Shemaiah. And the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat, six. ²³ And the sons of Neariah: Elioenai, Hezekiah, and Azrikam, three. ²⁴ And the sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, seven.

² And Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his brothers the priests stood up, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers built the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

² Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak set out and began to build the house of God that is in Jerusalem. And with them the prophets of God were helping them.

¹ These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

²⁴ "As I live," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "surely if Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were the seal on my right hand, surely from there I would wrench you off.

²⁸ Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered vessel? Or a vessel in which there is no delight? Why are he and his offspring thrown far, and cast away to the land that they do not know?"

¹ In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day, the word of Yahweh came _⌊through_⌋* Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

¹² Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people gave heed to the voice of Yahweh their God and to the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him, _⌊and the people feared Yahweh_⌋.*

¹⁴ And Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and did the work on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God,

² "Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,

²³ 'On that day,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts, 'I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will make you a signet ring, for I have chosen you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts."

²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found _⌊to be pregnant_⌋* by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ So Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to divorce her secretly. ²⁰ But as* he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name 'Jesus,' because he will save his people from their sins." ²² Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, ²³ "Behold, the virgin _⌊will become pregnant_⌋* and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel,"*
which is translated, "God with us."* ²⁴ And Joseph, when he* woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife ²⁵ and _⌊did not have sexual relations with_⌋* her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

¹³ Now after they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."

¹⁷ So after* they had assembled, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you—Jesus* Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?"

²² Pilate said to them, "What then should I do with Jesus, the one who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!"

³ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they were offended by him.

²⁷ to a virgin legally promised in marriage to a man _⌊named_⌋* Joseph of the house of David. And the name of the virgin was Mary.

³¹ And behold, you will conceive in the womb and will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus. ³² This one will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. ³³ And he will reign over the house of Jacob _⌊forever_⌋,* and of his kingdom there will be no end. ³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?" ³⁵ And the angel answered and* said to her,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the one to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, ⁵ to be registered together with Mary, who was legally promised in marriage to him and* was pregnant.

⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

¹⁰ And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring good news to you of great joy which will be for all the people: ¹¹ that today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.

⁴⁸ And when they* saw him, they were astounded and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have been searching for you anxiously!"

²³ And Jesus, when he* began his ministry,* was himself about thirty years old, being the son (as it was believed) of Joseph the son of Eli,

²² And they were all speaking well of him, and were astonished at the gracious words that were coming out of his mouth. And they were saying, "Is this man not the son of Joseph?"

²⁵ The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (the one called Christ); "whenever that one comes, he will proclaim all things to us."

¹⁴ He deported all of Jerusalem: all of the commanders, ten thousand of the skilled warriors, and the artisans; no one was left over except the poorest of the people of the land.

¹¹ and Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. ¹² And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,* and Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel,

² Now when* John* heard in prison the deeds of Christ, he sent word* by his disciples

⁴¹ This one first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is translated "Christ").

¹⁵ And I will put hostility between you and between the woman, and between your offspring* and between her offspring;* he will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel."

⁴ "Who can bring a clean thing from an unclean thing? No one!*

¹⁴ "What is a human being, that he can be clean, or* that one born of a woman can be righteous?

¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

²⁵ "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days in which he has concerned himself with me,* to take away my disgrace among people."

²⁷ to a virgin legally promised in marriage to a man _⌊named_⌋* Joseph of the house of David. And the name of the virgin was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and* said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." ²⁹ But she was greatly perplexed at the statement, and was pondering what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in the womb and will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus. ³² This one will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. ³³ And he will reign over the house of Jacob _⌊forever_⌋,* and of his kingdom there will be no end. ³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?" ³⁵ And the angel answered and* said to her,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the one to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth—she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷ For _⌊nothing will be impossible with God_⌋."* ³⁸ So Mary said, "Behold, the Lord's female slave! May it happen to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

⁴ But when the fullness of time came, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ in order that he might redeem those under the law, in order that we might receive the adoption.

²⁶ For a high priest such as this indeed is fitting for us, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and having become exalted above the heavens,

⁵ Therefore, when he* came into the world, he said,
"Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but a body you prepared for me;

⁹ These are the generations* of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, without defect in his generations. Noah walked with God.

²⁴ And _⌊about three months later_⌋* it was told to Judah, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the whore, and now, behold, she has conceived by prostitution." And Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned."

²⁰ " 'And when a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen and she is a female slave promised to a man, but* she indeed has not been ransomed or freedom has not be given to her, there shall be an obligation to compensate; they shall not be put to death, because she has not been freed.

¹⁰ " 'As for* a man who commits adultery with a man's wife, who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, both the man who commits adultery and the woman who commits adultery shall surely be put to death.

²¹ and then they shall bring out the young woman to the doorway of the house of her father, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones, and she shall die, because she did a disgraceful thing in Israel _⌊by playing the harlot_⌋* in the house of her father, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst. ²² "If a man is found lying _⌊with a married woman_⌋,* then they shall both die; _⌊both of them_⌋,* the man who lay with the woman and the woman also, so you shall purge the evil from Israel. ²³ "If it happens that a young woman, a virgin, is engaged to a man, and a man finds her in the town and lies with her, ²⁴ then you shall bring out _⌊both of them_⌋* to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them with stones so that they shall die, the young woman because she did not cry out in the town, and the man because* he violated his neighbor's wife; and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

¹ "When* a man takes a wife and he marries her _⌊and then_⌋* _⌊she does not please him_⌋,* because he found _⌊something objectionable_⌋* and writes her a letter of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her away from his house, ² and she goes from his house, and she goes out and becomes a wife _⌊for another man_⌋,* ³ and then the second man dislikes her and he writes her a letter of divorce and places it into her hand and sends her from his house, or if the second man dies who took her _⌊to himself_⌋* as a wife, ⁴ her first husband who sent her away is not allowed _⌊to take her again_⌋* to become a wife to him after she has _⌊been defiled_⌋,* for that is a detestable thing _⌊before_⌋* Yahweh, and so you shall not mislead into sin the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance.

⁴ His light rises in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and compassionate and righteous. ⁵ It goes well for a man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his _⌊business properly_⌋.*

²⁰ For Herod was afraid of John, because he* knew him to be a righteous and holy man and protected him. And when he* listened to him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he listened to him gladly.

⁴ So they said, "Moses permitted a man* to write a certificate of divorce and to send her* away."

²⁵ And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem _⌊whose name was_⌋* Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

⁴ they said to him, testing him,* "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery! ⁵ Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?"

²² And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man—and well spoken of by the whole nation of the Jews—was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you."

¹¹ Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am.'

³ Then he said, "I am the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.

⁶ and he said,
"Please hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak to him in a dream.*

³ And an angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman, and he said to her, "Behold, you are infertile and have not borne children, but you will conceive and bear a son.

⁸ Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh and said, "Excuse me, my Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent again come to us and teach us what we should do concerning the boy who will be born." ⁹ And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and an angel of God came again to the woman; she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her.

¹³ Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go and do according to your word; only make for me a small bread cake from it first, and bring it out to me. Make it for yourself and for your son afterward.

¹³ Amid troubling thoughts from night visions, at the falling of deep sleep on men, ¹⁴ dread met me, and trembling, and it made many of my bones shake. ¹⁵ And a spirit glided before my face; the hair of my flesh* bristled. ¹⁶ It stood still, but* I could not recognize its appearance; a form was _⌊before_⌋* my eyes; there was a hush, and I heard a voice:

¹⁵ "In a dream, a vision of the night, when a deep sleep falls on men slumbering on their bed, ¹⁶ then he opens the ear of men, and _⌊he frightens them with a warning_⌋* ¹⁷ to turn human beings aside from their deeds, and he keeps man from pride.

⁸ Good and right is Yahweh; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. ⁹ He causes the humble to walk in justice, and teaches the humble his way.

¹⁹ When my troubled thoughts were many _⌊within me_⌋,* your consolations cheered my soul.

¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your statutes.

⁸ Cause me to hear your loyal love in the morning, for I trust you. Cause me to know the way that I should go, for I lift up my soul to you.

⁵ _⌊Trust Yahweh_⌋* with all your heart; do not lean toward your own understanding. ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will straighten your paths.

⁵ The thoughts of the righteous are* just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.

² When it was reported to the house of David, saying "Aram stands by Ephraim," his heart and the heart of his people shook like the shaking of the trees of the forest because of the wind.

¹³ Then he said, "Hear, house of David! Is it too little for you to make men weary, that you should also make my God weary?

³ You will protect a firm inclination in peace, in peace because he trusts in you.

²¹ And your ears shall hear a word from behind you, saying, "this is the way; walk in it," when you go to your right and when you go to your left.

⁷ Listen to me, you who know righteousness, people who have my teaching in their heart; you must not fear the reproach of men, or be terrified because of their abuse.

²² _⌊How long_⌋* will you waver, O unfaithful daughter? For Yahweh has created a new thing on the earth, a woman, she shelters a man."

⁹ And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, _⌊saying_⌋,* "You must not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans. Stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.

²⁸ * And it will happen afterward thus: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.

¹⁹ Now after* Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

²² But when he* heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee.

⁵ But the angel answered and* said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

¹⁰ And the whole crowd of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was terrified when he* saw the angel,* and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him,
"Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John.

¹⁹ And the angel answered and* said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.

²⁶ Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee _⌊named_⌋* Nazareth,

⁴ So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David,

⁸ And there were shepherds in the same region, living out of doors and keeping watch, guarding over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and _⌊they were terribly frightened_⌋.* ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring good news to you of great joy which will be for all the people: ¹¹ that today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. ¹² And this will be the sign for you: you will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger." ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people _⌊with whom he is pleased_⌋!"*

¹⁹ And God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear a son for you, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant to his offspring after him.

²¹ But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this appointed time next year."

¹⁰ And he* said, "I will certainly return to you _⌊in the spring_⌋,* and look, Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the doorway of the tent, and which was behind him.

¹⁶ And he said, "At this time _⌊next spring_⌋,* you will be embracing a son." She said, "No, my lord, O man of God! You must not tell a lie to your servant!" ¹⁷ But the woman conceived, and she bore a son _⌊in the spring_⌋,* which Elisha had promised to her.

⁷ O Israel, wait* for Yahweh. For with Yahweh there is loyal love, and with him there is abundant redemption. ⁸ And he will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

¹ And you will say on that day, "I will give you thanks, Yahweh, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me. ² Look! God is my salvation; I will trust, and I will not be afraid, for my strength and might is Yah, Yahweh; and he has become salvation for me."

²¹ Declare and present your case, also let them consult together! Who _⌊made this known_⌋* from _⌊former times_⌋,* declared it from _⌊of old_⌋?* Was it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God besides me, and no savior besides me. ²² Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none besides me.

⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell _⌊in safety_⌋,* and this is his name by which he will be called: 'Yahweh is our righteousness.'

¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell _⌊safely_⌋,* and this is what they shall call it: "Yahweh is our righteousness." '

²⁵ And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. ²⁶ And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give* into your inner parts, and I will remove the* heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will give* my spirit into your inner parts, and I will make it so that you will go* in my rules, and my regulations you will remember, and you will do them. ²⁸ And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors,* and you will be to me as a people, and I will be to you as* God. ²⁹ And I will save you from all of your uncleanness, and I will call to the grain, and I will cause it to increase, and I will not bring famine upon you.

²⁴ "Seventy weeks is decreed for your people and _⌊for your holy city_⌋,* to put an end to the transgression and to seal up sin* and to make atonement for guilt and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal vision and prophet and to anoint _⌊the most holy place_⌋.*

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king comes to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a male donkey, _⌊the foal of_⌋* a female donkey!

¹³ But the angel said to him,
"Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John.

³¹ And behold, you will conceive in the womb and will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus.

³⁵ And the angel answered and* said to her,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the one to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth—she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.

¹¹ that today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.

²¹ And when eight days were completed _⌊so that he could be circumcised_⌋,* he was named Jesus, his name that he was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²⁹ On the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

²⁶ God, after he* had raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning each of you back from your wickedness!"

¹² And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved."

³¹ This one God has exalted to his right hand as Leader and Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

²³ From the descendants of this man, according to his promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.

³⁸ "Therefore let it be known to you, men and brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, ³⁹ by this one everyone who believes is justified!

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her; ²⁶ in order that he might sanctify her by cleansing her* with the washing of water by the word; ²⁷ in order that he might present to himself the church glorious, not having a spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she may be holy and blameless.

²⁰ and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by* making peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. ²¹ And _⌊although you were formerly alienated_⌋** and enemies in attitude, because of your evil deeds, ²² but now you have been reconciled* by _⌊his physical body_⌋* through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³ if indeed you remain in the faith, established and steadfast and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

¹⁴ who gave himself for us, in order that he might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.

²⁵ Therefore also he is able to save completely those who draw near to God through him, because he* always lives in order to intercede on their behalf.

⁷ But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

¹ My little children, I am writing these things to you in order that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one, ² and he* is the propitiation* for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

⁵ And you know that that one was revealed in order that he might take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To the one who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the power _⌊forever and ever_⌋*. Amen.

¹⁴ And I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me,
"These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ Then he said, "Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel who has promised with his mouth to David my father and fulfilled _⌊by his oath_⌋,* saying,

²⁴ You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled it this very day.

¹ In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to accomplish the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, Yahweh stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia and he sent a message to all of his kingdom and also put the message in writing:

¹⁵ And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
"Out of Egypt I called my son."

²³ And he came and* lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled:* "He will be called a Nazarene."

¹⁷ "Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to fulfill them.

¹⁷ in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
"He himself took away our sicknesses, and carried away our diseases."*

¹⁷ in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,

²¹ But he does not have a root in himself, but _⌊lasts only a little while_⌋,* and when* affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away.

³⁵ in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,
"I will open my mouth in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation."**

²² because these are days of vengeance, so that all the things that are written can be fulfilled.

⁴⁴ And he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I* was still with you, that everything that is written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."

³⁵ If he called them 'gods' to whom the word of God came—and the scripture cannot be broken—

³⁸ in order that the word of the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
"Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"* ³⁹ For this reason they were not able to believe, because again Isaiah said, ⁴⁰ "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they see with their* eyes and understand with their* hearts and turn, and I heal them."*

²⁵ But this happened* so that the word that is written in their law would be fulfilled, 'They hated me without a reason.'

¹² When I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given to me, and guarded them,* and none of them has perished except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture would be fulfilled.

⁹ in order that the word that he had spoken would be fulfilled: "Those whom you have given to me—I have not lost anyone of them."*

³⁶ For these things happened in order that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not a bone of his will be broken."* ³⁷ And again another scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced."*

¹⁸ But the things which God foretold through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ* would suffer, he has fulfilled in this way.

²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they* did not recognize this one, and the voices of the prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled them* by* condemning him.* ²⁸ And although they* found no charge worthy of death, they asked Pilate that he be executed. ²⁹ And when they had carried out all the things that were written about him, they took him* down from the tree and* placed him* in a tomb.

¹⁷ For God put into their hearts to carry out his purpose and to make _⌊a unanimous decision_⌋* and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

⁷ Yahweh of hosts is with us; our high stronghold is the God of Jacob. Selah

¹¹ Yahweh of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high stronghold.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you* a sign. Look! the virgin* is with child and she is about to give birth to a son, and she shall call his name 'God with us.'

⁸ And he will sweep into Judah; he will overflow and he will flood up to the neck. He will reach, and _⌊he will spread his wings out over your entire land_⌋,* God with us." ⁹ Be broken, you peoples, and be dismayed. And listen, all distant parts of the earth; gird yourselves and be dismayed; gird yourselves and be dismayed! ¹⁰ _⌊Make a plan_⌋,* but it will be frustrated! Speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us!

² Look! God is my salvation; I will trust, and I will not be afraid, for my strength and might is Yah, Yahweh; and he has become salvation for me."

²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age."

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.

⁹ And the Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent,

³ concerning his Son, who was born _⌊a descendant_⌋* of David according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared Son of God in power according to _⌊the Holy Spirit_⌋* by the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ our Lord,

¹⁹ namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

¹⁶ And most certainly, great is the mystery of godliness:
Who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated by* the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the Gentiles*, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

¹⁷ But the Lord helped me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fulfilled and all the Gentiles might hear, and he rescued me from the lion's mouth.

²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

²² And Noah did according to all that God commanded him; thus he did.

⁵ And Noah did according to all that Yahweh commanded him.

² And he said, "Take your son, your only child, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains where* I will tell you." ³ And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. And he took two of his servants with him, and Isaac his son. And he chopped wood for a burnt offering. And he got up and went to the place which God had told him.

¹⁶ And Moses did according to all that Yahweh had commanded him; so he did.

¹⁹ And he spread the tent over the tabernacle; he placed the covering of the tent over it, above it, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

²⁵ And he set up the lamps before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

²⁷ And he turned fragrant incense into smoke on it, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

³² At their going into the tent of assembly and at their approaching the altar, they washed, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

¹¹ But Naaman became angry and he went and said, "Look, I said to myself, 'Surely he will come out, stand, call upon the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hands over the spot; then he would take away the skin disease.' ¹² Are not the Abana and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them that I may be clean?" Then he turned and left in anger. ¹³ But his servants came near and spoke to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had spoken a difficult thing to you to do, would you not have done it? Why not even when he says to you, 'Wash and you shall be clean'?" ¹⁴ So he went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh returned as the flesh of a small boy, and he was clean.

⁵ His mother said to the servants, "Whatever he says to you, do it!"* ⁶ Now six stone water jars were set there, in accordance with the ceremonial cleansing of the Jews, each holding two or three measures.* ⁷ Jesus said to them, "Fill the water jars with water." And they filled them to the brim. ⁸ And he said to them, "Now draw some* out and take it* to the head steward. So they took it.*

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.

⁷ By faith Noah, having been warned about things not yet seen, out of reverence constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family, by which he pronounced sentence on the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. ⁸ By faith Abraham, when he* was called, obeyed to go out to a place that he was going to receive for an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he* was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ²⁵ choosing instead to be mistreated with the people of God rather than to experience the transitory enjoyment of sin, ²⁶ considering _⌊reproach endured for the sake of Christ_⌋* greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king, for he persevered as if he* saw the invisible one. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, in order that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. ²⁹ By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land; the Egyptians, _⌊when they made the attempt_⌋*, were drowned. ³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they* had been marched around for seven days. ³¹ By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she* welcomed the spies in peace.

²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he* offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was working together with his works, and by the works the faith was perfected. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness,"* and he was called God's friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And likewise was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she* welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

² "Consecrate to me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* among humans* and among domestic animals;* _⌊it belongs to me_⌋."*

²⁹ " 'You will not delay the fullness of your harvest and the juice from your press; you will give me the firstborn of your sons.

²¹ And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name 'Jesus,' because he will save his people from their sins."

²⁹ because those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brothers.