1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that his father Amaziah had done. 4 Only the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 And the Lord afflicted the king, so that he had leprosy to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, while Jotham the king’s son was in charge of the household, judging the people of the land. 6 Now as for the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 7 And Azariah lay down with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Jotham became king in his place.
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria for six months. 9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his fathers had done; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel. 10 Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck him in the presence of the people and killed him, and reigned in his place. 11 Now as for the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 12 This is the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” And so it was.
13 Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned for one month in Samaria. 14 Then Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and struck Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him and became king in his place. 15 Now as for the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy which he formed, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 16 Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, because they did not open up to him; so he attacked it and ripped up all its women who were pregnant.
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned for ten years in Samaria. 18 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; for all his days he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.
19 Pul, the king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his rule. 20 Then Menahem collected the money from Israel, from all the mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land. 21 Now as for the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 22 And Menahem lay down with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah became king in his place.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned for two years. 24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel. 25 Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, his officer, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria, in the castle of the king’s house with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites, and he killed him and became king in his place. 26 Now as for the rest of the acts of Pekahiah and everything that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for twenty years. 28 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he led their populations into exile to Assyria. 30 And Hoshea the son of Elah formed a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him and put him to death, and he became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 31 Now as for the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah became king. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 34 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord; he acted in accordance with everything that his father Uzziah had done. 35 Only the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord. 36 Now as for the rest of the acts of Jotham which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 37 In those days the Lord began to send Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. 38 And Jotham lay down with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son Ahaz became king in his place.
1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time revealed His word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;
4 To Titus, my true son in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of indecent behavior or rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be beyond reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not overindulging in wine, not a bully, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, 9 holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
10 For there are many rebellious people, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprimand them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
1 Put the trumpet to your lips!
Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of the Lord,
Because they have violated My covenant
And rebelled against My Law.
2 They cry out to Me,
“My God, we of Israel know You!”
3 Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.
4 They have set up kings, but not by Me;
They have appointed officials, but I did not know it.
With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves,
So that they will be eliminated.
5 He has rejected your calf, Samaria, saying,
“My anger burns against them!”
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 For from Israel comes even this!
A craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Assuredly, the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.
7 For they sow wind
And they harvest a storm.
The standing grain has no kernels;
It yields no grain.
If it were to yield, strangers would swallow it.
8 Israel has been swallowed up;
They are now among the nations
Like a vessel in which no one delights.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey all alone;
Ephraim has paid fees for lovers.
10 Even though they pay for allies among the nations,
I will gather them up now;
And they will begin to diminish
Because of the burden of the king of officials.
11 Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin,
They have become altars of sinning for him.
12 Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My Law,
They are regarded as a strange thing.
13 As for My sacrificial gifts,
They sacrifice the flesh and eat it,
But the Lord has taken no delight in them.
Now He will remember their guilt,
And punish them for their sins;
They will return to Egypt.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;
And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
But I will send a fire on its cities, and it will consume its palatial buildings.
1 To You I have raised my eyes,
You who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a female servant to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
3 Be gracious to us, Lord, be gracious to us,
For we have had much more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had much more than enough
Of the scoffing of those who are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud.
1 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
Let Israel say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When people rose up against us,
3 Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have flooded over us,
The stream would have swept over our souls;
5 Then the raging waters would have swept over our souls.”
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us to be torn by their teeth.
7 Our souls have escaped like a bird from the trapper’s snare;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
1 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but remains forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time and forever.
3 For the scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the land of the righteous,
So that the righteous will not extend their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with those who practice injustice.
Peace be upon Israel.
