1 Now three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. 2 In the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Are you aware that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are hesitant to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” 4 So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go to battle with me at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Consider me yours, my people yours, and my horses yours!”
5 However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please request the word of the Lord first.” 6 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Should I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead or should I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.” 7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of him?” 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not say so.” 9 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.” 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’” 12 All the prophets were prophesying this as well, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”
13 Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, I shall speak it.”
15 When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” And he said, “Go up and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king!” 16 Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 17 So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
Like sheep that have no shepherd.
And the Lord said,
‘These people have no master.
Each of them is to return to his house in peace.’”
18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad?”
19 And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the angels of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.’ 23 Now then, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”
24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” 25 And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you go from one inner room to another trying to hide yourself.” 26 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says: “Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I return safely.”’” 28 But Micaiah said, “If you actually return safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people!”
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. 31 Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely he is the king of Israel!” And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 Then, when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
34 Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am severely wounded.” 35 The battle raged on that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and he died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot. 36 Then the word passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”
37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. 38 They washed out the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (it was there that the prostitutes bathed themselves) in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken. 39 Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahab and everything that he did, and the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab lay down with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.
41 Now 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 for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 He walked entirely in the way of his father Asa; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
45 Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he showed and how he made war, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 46 And the remnant of the cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he eliminated from the land.
47 Now there was no king in Edom; a governor served as king. 48 Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, because the ships were destroyed at Ezion-geber. 49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat was not willing. 50 And Jehoshaphat lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoram became king in his place.
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. 52 He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who misled Israel into sin. 53 So he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.
1 Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.
12 But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to recognize those who diligently labor among you and are in leadership over you in the Lord, and give you instruction, 13 and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will do it.
25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. 27 I put you under oath by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.
28 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages who live in all the earth: “May your peace be great! 2 I am pleased to declare the signs and miracles that the Most High God has done for me.
3 How great are His signs
And how mighty are His miracles!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And His dominion is from generation to generation.
4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and happy in my palace. 5 I saw a dream and it startled me; and these appearances as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. 6 So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, so that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the soothsayer priests, the sorcerers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me. 8 But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying, 9 ‘Belteshazzar, chief of the soothsayer priests, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no secret baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.
10 ‘Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the middle of the earth and its height was great.
11 The tree grew large and became strong
And its height reached to the sky,
And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.
12 Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The animals of the field found shade under it,
And the birds of the sky lived in its branches,
And all living creatures fed from it.
13 ‘I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.
14 He shouted out and spoke as follows:
“Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the animals flee from under it
And the birds from its branches.
15 Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground,
But with a band of iron and bronze around it
In the new grass of the field;
And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
And let him share with the animals in the grass of the earth.
16 Let his mind change from that of a human
And let an animal’s mind be given to him,
And let seven periods of time pass over him.
17 This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers,
And the decision is a command of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,
And He grants it to whomever He wishes
And sets over it the lowliest of people.”
18 This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, since none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, because a spirit of the holy gods is in you.’
19 “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your adversaries! 20 The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth, 21 and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the sky settled— 22 it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth. 23 And in that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the animals of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,” 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 25 that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the animals of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. 26 And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will remain as yours after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules. 27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: wipe away your sin by doing righteousness, and your wrongdoings by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’
28 “All of this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king began speaking and was saying, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?’ 31 While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, 32 and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the animals of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ 33 Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
34 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever;
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are of no account,
But He does according to His will among the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can fend off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
36 At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the honor of my kingdom, and my state counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just; and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
1 My heart is steadfast, God;
I will sing, I will sing praises also with my soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your mercy is great above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, God,
And may Your glory be above all the earth.
6 So that Your beloved may be rescued,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem,
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;
Judah is My scepter.
9 Moab is My washbowl;
I will throw My sandal over Edom;
I will shout aloud over Philistia.”
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 God, have You Yourself not rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, God?
12 Give us help against the enemy,
For deliverance by man is worthless.
13 Through God we will do valiantly,
And it is He who will trample down our enemies.
1 God of my praise,
Do not be silent!
2 For they have opened a wicked and deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me without cause.
4 In return for my love they act as my accusers;
But I am in prayer.
5 So they have repaid me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked person over him,
And may an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, may he come out guilty,
And may his prayer become sin.
8 May his days be few;
May another take his office.
9 May his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander about and beg;
And may they seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.
11 May the creditor seize everything that he has,
And may strangers plunder the product of his labor.
12 May there be none to extend kindness to him,
Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be eliminated;
May their name be wiped out in a following generation.
14 May the guilt of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
And do not let the sin of his mother be wiped out.
15 May they be before the Lord continually,
So that He may eliminate their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the afflicted and needy person,
And the despondent in heart, to put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it entered his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
19 May it be to him as a garment with which he covers himself,
And as a belt which he constantly wears around himself.
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,
And of those who speak evil against my soul.
21 But You, God, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name;
Because Your mercy is good, rescue me;
22 For I am afflicted and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am passing like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like the locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 I also have become a disgrace to them;
When they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, Lord my God;
Save me according to Your mercy.
27 And may they know that this is Your hand;
You, Lord, have done it.
28 They will curse, but You bless;
When they arise, they will be ashamed,
But Your servant will be glad.
29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And may they cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;
And I will praise Him in the midst of many.
31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy,
To save him from those who judge his soul.
