2 Kings 13-14, 2 Chronicles 25, Psalm 53, Matthew 12 - NASB - New American Standard Bible

2 Kings 13-14

Kings of Israel: Jehoahaz and Jehoash

In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^awith which he made Israel sin; he did not turn from them. 3 ^aSo the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of ^bHazael king of Aram, and into the hand of ^cBen-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then ^aJehoahaz entreated the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for ^bHe saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. 5 The Lord gave Israel a ¹^adeliverer, so that they ²escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly. 6 Nevertheless they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, ^awith which he made Israel sin, but walked in ¹them; and ^bthe Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. 7 For he left to Jehoahaz of the ¹army not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and ^amade them like the dust at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Joash his son became king in his place.
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin, but he walked in ¹them. 12 ^aNow the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Death of Elisha

14 When Elisha ¹became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over ²him and said, “^aMy father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he ¹took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 He said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will ¹defeat the Arameans at ^aAphek until you have ²destroyed them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and ¹stopped. 19 So ^athe man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have ¹destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram ^bonly three times.”
20 Elisha died, and they buried him. Now ^athe bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man ¹touched the bones of Elisha he ^arevived and stood up on his feet.
22 Now ^aHazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the ^aLord was gracious to them and ^bhad compassion on them and turned to them because of ^cHis covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them or cast them from His presence until now.
24 When Hazael king of Aram died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. 25 Then ^aJehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of Jehoahaz his father. ^bThree times Joash ¹defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

Amaziah Reigns over Judah

^aIn the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, ^bAmaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3 He did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his father; he did according to all that Joash his father had done. 4 Only ^athe high places were not taken away; ^bthe people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, that he ¹^akilled his servants who had slain the king his father. 6 But the sons of the ¹slayers he did not put to death, according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses, as the Lord commanded, saying, “^aThe fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers; but ^beach shall be put to death for his own sin.”
7 He ¹killed of Edom in ^athe Valley of Salt 10,000 and took ^bSela by war, and named it ^cJoktheel to this day.
8 ^aThen Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “^bCome, let us face each other.” 9 Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “^aThe thorn bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trampled the thorn bush. 10 ^aYou have indeed ¹defeated Edom, and ^byour heart has ²become proud. Enjoy your glory and stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall, and Judah with you?”
11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at ^aBeth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 Judah was defeated ¹by Israel, and ^athey fled each to his tent. 13 Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from ^athe Gate of Ephraim to ^bthe Corner Gate, 400 ¹cubits. 14 ^aHe took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

Jeroboam II Succeeds Jehoash in Israel

15 ^aNow the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 16 So Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son became king in his place.

Azariah (Uzziah) Succeeds Amaziah in Judah

17 ^aAmaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 19 They conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to ^aLachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 20 Then they brought him on horses and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. 21 All the people of Judah took ¹Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. 22 ^aHe built Elath and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers.
23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. 24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. 25 ^aHe restored the border of Israel from ^bthe entrance of Hamath as far as ^cthe Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which He spoke ¹through His servant ^dJonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of ^eGath-hepher. 26 For the ^aLord saw the affliction of Israel, which was very bitter; for ^bthere was neither bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel. 27 The ^aLord did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

Zechariah Reigns over Israel

28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he recovered for Israel, ^aDamascus and ^bHamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son became king in his place.

2 Chronicles 25

Amaziah Succeeds Joash in Judah

^aAmaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 He did right in the sight of the Lord, ^ayet not with a whole heart. 3 Now ^ait came about as soon as the kingdom was ¹firmly in his grasp, that he killed his servants who had slain his father the king. 4 However, he did not put their children to death, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, which the Lord commanded, saying, “^aFathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor sons be put to death for fathers, but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Amaziah Defeats Edomites

5 Moreover, Amaziah assembled Judah and appointed them according to their fathers’ households under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin; and he ¹took a census of those ^afrom twenty years old and upward and found them to be ^b300,000 choice men, able to go to war and handle spear and shield. 6 He hired also 100,000 valiant warriors out of Israel for one hundred talents of silver. 7 But ^aa man of God came to him saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel nor with any of the sons of Ephraim. 8 But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will ¹bring you down before the enemy, ^afor God has power to help and to ¹bring down.” 9 Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “^aThe Lord has much more to give you than this.” 10 Then Amaziah ¹dismissed them, the troops which came to him from Ephraim, to go home; so their anger burned against Judah and they returned ²home in fierce anger.
11 Now Amaziah strengthened himself and led his people forth, and went to ^athe Valley of Salt and struck down 10,000 of the sons of Seir. 12 The sons of Judah also captured 10,000 alive and brought them to the top of the cliff and threw them down from the top of the cliff, so that they were all dashed to pieces. 13 But the ¹troops whom Amaziah sent back from going with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 of them and plundered much spoil.

Amaziah Rebuked for Idolatry

14 Now after Amaziah came from slaughtering the Edomites, ^ahe brought the gods of the sons of Seir, set them up as his gods, bowed down before them and burned incense to them. 15 Then the anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people ^awho have not delivered their own people from your hand?” 16 As he was talking with him, ¹the king said to him, “Have we appointed you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” Then the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

Amaziah Defeated by Joash of Israel

17 ^aThen Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face each other.” 18 Joash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “^aThe thorn bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trampled the thorn bush. 19 You said, ‘Behold, you have ¹defeated Edom.’ And ^ayour heart has ²become proud in boasting. Now stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall and Judah with you?”
20 But Amaziah would not listen, for it was from God, that He might deliver them into the hand of Joash because they had sought the gods of Edom. 21 So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which belonged to Judah. 22 Judah was defeated ¹by Israel, and they fled each to his tent. 23 Then Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of ^aJehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, 400 ¹cubits. 24 He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of God with ^aObed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.
25 ^aAnd Amaziah, the son of Joash king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, behold, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel? 27 From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 28 Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

Psalm 53

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the choir director; according to ¹Mahalath. A ²Maskil of David.

^aThe fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”

They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;

^bThere is no one who does good.

God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there is ^aanyone who ¹understands,

Who ^bseeks after God.

^aEvery one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

Have the workers of wickedness ^ano knowledge,

Who eat up My people as though they ate bread

And have not called upon God?

There they were in great ¹fear ^awhere no ¹fear had been;

For God ^bscattered the bones of ²him who encamped against you;

You ^cput them to shame, because ^dGod had rejected them.

Oh, that ^athe salvation of Israel ¹would come out of Zion!

When God ²restores His captive people,

³Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Matthew 12

Sabbath Questions

^aAt that ¹time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^bpick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ^ais not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and ^athey ate the ¹consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ¹break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something ^agreater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this ¹means, ‘^aI desire ²compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

8 For ^athe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 ^aDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ¹Jesus, asking, “^aIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”⁠—so that they might accuse Him. 11 And He said to them, “^aWhat man ¹is there among you who ²has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 ^aHow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ¹good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^aHe stretched it out, and it was restored to ¹normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and ¹^aconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
15 But Jesus, ¹aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^aHe healed them all, 16 and ^awarned them not to ¹tell who He was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
18

“^aBehold, My ¹Servant whom I ²have chosen;

^bMy Beloved in whom My soul ³is well‑pleased;

^cI will put My Spirit upon Him,

^aAnd He shall proclaim ⁴justice to the ⁵Gentiles.

“^aHe will not quarrel, nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

“^aA battered reed He will not break off,

And a smoldering wick He will not put out,

Until He ¹leads ²justice to victory.

“^aAnd in His name the ¹Gentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 ^aThen a ^bdemon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to ¹Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^aSon of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^acasts out demons only by ¹Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 ^aAnd ^bknowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “¹Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and ¹any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If ^aSatan casts out Satan, he ¹is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I ^aby ¹Beelzebul cast out demons, ^bby whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But ^aif I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

30 ^aHe who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “^aTherefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 ^aWhoever ¹speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever ¹speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^bthis age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for ^athe tree is known by its fruit. 34 ^aYou brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak ¹what is good? ^bFor the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 ^aThe good man brings out of his good treasure ¹what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure ²what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every ¹careless word that people ²speak, they shall give an accounting for it in ^athe day of judgment. 37 For ¹by your words you will be justified, and ¹by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^awe want to see a ¹sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “^aAn evil and adulterous generation craves for a ¹sign; and yet no ¹sign will be given to it but the ¹sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as ^aJonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will ^bthe Son of Man be ^cthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 ^aThe men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^bthey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, ^csomething greater than Jonah is here. 42 ^aThe Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, ^bsomething greater than Solomon is here.
43 “^aNow when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and ^athe last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

46 ^aWhile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^bmother and ^cbrothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”¹ 48 But ¹Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

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