Today's Reading

¹In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

²Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

³However the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

⁴Jehoash said to the priests, "All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the Lord, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all the money that it comes into any man's heart to bring into the house of the Lord,

⁵let the priests take it to them, every man from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wherever any breach shall be found."

⁶But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.

⁷Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said to them, "Why do you not repair the breaches of the house? Now therefore take no more money from your treasurers, but deliver it for the breaches of the house."

⁸The priests consented that they should take no more money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house.

⁹But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord: and the priests who kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord.

¹⁰It was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord.

¹¹They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the Lord: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, who worked on the house of the Lord,

¹²and to the masons and the stone cutters, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

¹³But there were not made for the house of the Lord cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the Lord;

¹⁴for they gave that to those who did the work, and repaired therewith the house of the Lord.

¹⁵Moreover they did not demand an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to those who did the work; for they dealt faithfully.

¹⁶The money for the trespass offerings, and the money for the sin offerings, was not brought into the house of the Lord: it was the priests'.

¹⁷Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

¹⁸Jehoash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own holy things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.

¹⁹Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁰His servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.

²¹For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

¹In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria for seventeen years.

²He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it.

³The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, continually.

⁴Jehoahaz begged the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for he saw the oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed them.

⁵(The Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel lived in their tents as before.

⁶Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin, but walked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.)

⁷For he did not leave to Jehoahaz of the people any more than fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria destroyed them, and made them like the dust in threshing.

⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

⁹Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his place.

¹⁰In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria for sixteen years.

¹¹He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; but he walked therein.

¹²Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

¹³Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat on his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

¹⁴Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness of which he died: and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!"

¹⁵Elisha said to him, "Take bow and arrows"; and he took to him bow and arrows.

¹⁶He said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow"; and he put his hand on it. Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands.

¹⁷He said, "Open the window eastward"; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot!" and he shot. He said, "The Lord's arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Syria; for you shall strike the Syrians in Aphek, until you have consumed them."

¹⁸He said, "Take the arrows"; and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground"; and he struck three times, and stopped.

¹⁹The man of God was angry with him, and said, "You should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck Syria until you had consumed it, whereas now you shall strike Syria just three times."

²⁰Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

²¹It happened, as they were burying a man, that behold, they spied a band; and they cast the man into the tomb of Elisha: and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

²²Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

²³But the Lord was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and had respect to them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.

²⁴Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his place.

²⁵Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Joash struck him three times, and recovered the cities of Israel.

¹In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel began Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah to reign.

²He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.

³He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not like David his father: he did according to all that Joash his father had done.

⁴However the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

⁵It happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he killed his servants who had slain the king his father:

⁶but the children of the murderers he did not put to death; according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, as the Lord commanded, saying, "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin."

⁷He killed of Edom in the Valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Sela by war, and called its name Joktheel, to this day.

⁸Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us look one another in the face."

⁹Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as wife. Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.

¹⁰You have indeed struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Enjoy the glory of it, and stay at home; for why should you meddle to your harm, that you should fall, even you, and Judah with you?'"

¹¹But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

¹²Judah was defeated by Israel; and they fled every man to his tent.

¹³Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

¹⁴He took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

¹⁵Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

¹⁶Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

¹⁷Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.

¹⁸Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

¹⁹They made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent after him to Lachish, and killed him there.

²⁰They brought him on horses; and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.

²¹All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.

²²He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.

²³In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria for forty-one years.

²⁴He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.

²⁵He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath Hepher.

²⁶For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for there was none shut up nor left at large, neither was there any helper for Israel.

²⁷The Lord did not say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under the sky; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

²⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, for Israel, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

²⁹Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zechariah his son reigned in his place.

¹After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia.

²When he had gone through those parts, and had encouraged them with many words, he came into Greece.

³When he had spent three months there, and a plot was made against him by Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia.

⁴He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus of Beroea; Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; Gaius of Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

⁵But these had gone ahead, and were waiting for us at Troas.

⁶We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas in five days, where we stayed seven days.

⁷On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight.

⁸There were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered together.

⁹A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead.

¹⁰Paul went down, and fell upon him, and embracing him said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him."

¹¹When he had gone up, and had broken bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even until break of day, he departed.

¹²They brought the boy in alive, and were greatly comforted.

¹³But we who went ahead to the ship set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for he had so arranged, intending himself to go by land.

¹⁴When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard, and came to Mitylene.

¹⁵Sailing from there, we came the following day opposite Chios. The next day we landed at Samos, and the day after we came to Miletus.

¹⁶For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷From Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to himself the elders of the church.

¹⁸When they had come to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time,

¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews;

²⁰how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house,

²¹testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus.

²²Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there;

²³except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.

²⁴But I make my life an account of nothing precious to myself, so that I may finish my race, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.

²⁵"Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about proclaiming the Kingdom, will see my face no more.

²⁶Therefore I testify to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all men,

²⁷for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

²⁸Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood.

²⁹For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

³⁰Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

³¹Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears.

³²Now I entrust you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

³³I coveted no one's silver, or gold, or clothing.

³⁴You yourselves know that these hands served my necessities, and those who were with me.

³⁵In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

³⁶When he had spoken these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

³⁷They all wept a lot, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him,

³⁸sorrowing most of all because of the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

¹ God of my praise, do not remain silent,

²for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.

³They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.

⁴In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer.

⁵They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

⁶Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand.

⁷When he is judged, let him come forth guilty. Let his prayer be turned into sin.

⁸Let his days be few. Let another take his office.

⁹Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

¹⁰Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins.

¹¹Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.

¹²Let there be none to extend kindness to him, neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.

¹³Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out.

¹⁴Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the Lord. Do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

¹⁵Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;

¹⁶because he did not remember to show kindness, but persecuted the poor and needy man, the broken in heart, to kill them.

¹⁷Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He did not delight in blessing, and it was far from him.

¹⁸He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, like oil into his bones.

¹⁹Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, for the belt that is always around him.

²⁰This is the reward of my adversaries from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my soul.

²¹But deal with me, the Lord the Lord, for your name's sake, because your loving kindness is good, deliver me;

²²for I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me.

²³I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat.

²⁵I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head.

²⁶Help me, Lord, my God. Save me according to your loving kindness;

²⁷that they may know that this is your hand; that you, Lord, have done it.

²⁸They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, but your servant shall rejoice.

²⁹Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

³⁰I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth. Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.

³¹For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.

¹The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

²All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weighs the motives.

³Commit your deeds to the Lord, and your plans shall succeed.

⁴The Lord has made everything for its own end- yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.

⁵Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: they shall certainly not be unpunished.

⁶By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

⁷When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.

⁹A man's heart plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

¹⁰Inspired judgments are on the lips of the king. He shall not betray his mouth.

¹¹Honest balances and scales are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are his work.

¹²It is an abomination for kings to do wrong, for the throne is established by righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings. They value one who speaks the truth.

¹⁴The king's wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.

¹⁵In the light of the king's face is life. His favor is like a cloud of the spring rain.

¹⁶How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil. He who keeps his way preserves his soul.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, than to divide the plunder with the proud.

²⁰He who heeds the Word finds prosperity. Whoever trusts in the Lord is blessed.

²¹The wise in heart shall be called prudent. Pleasantness of the lips promotes instruction.

²²Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, but the punishment of fools is their folly.

²³The heart of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

²⁵There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

²⁶The appetite of the laboring man labors for him; for his mouth urges him on.

²⁷A worthless man devises mischief. His speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.

²⁹A man of violence entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰One who winks his eyes to plot perversities, one who compresses his lips, is bent on evil.

³¹Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.

³²One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.