\p 1 Kings 0.0: \id 1KI \p 1 Kings 1.0: \c 1 \p \p 1 Kings 1.1: \v 1 Now King David was old and well along in years, and though they covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm. \p 1 Kings 1.2: \v 2 So his servants said to him, “Let us search for a young virgin for our lord the king, to attend to him and care for him and lie by his side to keep him warm.”
\p 1 Kings 1.3: \v 3 Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king. \p 1 Kings 1.4: \v 4 The girl was unsurpassed in beauty; she cared for the king and served him, but he had no relations with her.
\p 1 Kings 1.5: \v 5 At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.
\p 1 Kings 1.6: \v 6 (His father had never once reprimanded him by saying, “Why do you act this way?” Adonijah was also very handsome, born next after Absalom.)
\p 1 Kings 1.7: \v 7 So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, who supported him. \p 1 Kings 1.8: \v 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men would not join Adonijah.
\p 1 Kings 1.9: \v 9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened calves near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel. He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah who were servants of the king. \p 1 Kings 1.10: \v 10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or his brother Solomon.
\p 1 Kings 1.11: \v 11 Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king, and our lord David does not know it? \p 1 Kings 1.12: \v 12 Now please, come and let me advise you. Save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. \p 1 Kings 1.13: \v 13 Go at once to King David and say, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to your maidservant, “Surely your son Solomon will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ \p 1 Kings 1.14: \v 14 Then, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”
\p 1 Kings 1.15: \v 15 So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. Since the king was very old, Abishag the Shunammite was serving him. \p 1 Kings 1.16: \v 16 And Bathsheba bowed down in homage to the king, who asked, “What is your desire?”
\p 1 Kings 1.17: \v 17 “My lord,” she replied, “you yourself swore to your maidservant by the LORD your God: ‘Surely your son Solomon will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ \p 1 Kings 1.18: \v 18 But now, behold, Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, did not know it. \p 1 Kings 1.19: \v 19 And he has sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the other sons of the king, as well as Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army. But he did not invite your servant Solomon. \p 1 Kings 1.20: \v 20 And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. \p 1 Kings 1.21: \v 21 Otherwise, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be counted as criminals.”
\p 1 Kings 1.22: \v 22 And just then, while Bathsheba was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. \p 1 Kings 1.23: \v 23 So the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And Nathan went in and bowed facedown before the king.
\p 1 Kings 1.24: \v 24 “My lord the king,” said Nathan, “did you say, ‘Adonijah will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne’? \p 1 Kings 1.25: \v 25 For today he has gone down and sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ \p 1 Kings 1.26: \v 26 But me your servant he did not invite, nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. \p 1 Kings 1.27: \v 27 Has my lord the king let this happen without informing your servant who should sit on the throne after my lord the king?”
\p 1 Kings 1.28: \v 28 Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba for me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.
\p 1 Kings 1.29: \v 29 And the king swore an oath, saying, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, \p 1 Kings 1.30: \v 30 I will carry out this very day exactly what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Surely your son Solomon will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”
\p 1 Kings 1.31: \v 31 Bathsheba bowed facedown in homage to the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
\p 1 Kings 1.32: \v 32 Then King David said, “Call in for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king.
\p 1 Kings 1.33: \v 33 “Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. \p 1 Kings 1.34: \v 34 There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ \p 1 Kings 1.35: \v 35 Then you shall go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. For I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”
\p 1 Kings 1.36: \v 36 “Amen,” replied Benaiah son of Jehoiada. “May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. \p 1 Kings 1.37: \v 37 Just as the LORD was with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon and make his throne even greater than that of my lord King David.”
\p 1 Kings 1.38: \v 38 Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. \p 1 Kings 1.39: \v 39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”
\p 1 Kings 1.40: \v 40 All the people followed him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth was split by the sound.
\p 1 Kings 1.41: \v 41 Now Adonijah and all his guests were finishing their feast when they heard the sound of the ram’s horn. “Why is the city in such a loud uproar?” asked Joab.
\p 1 Kings 1.42: \v 42 As he was speaking, suddenly Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest arrived. “Come in,” said Adonijah, “for you are a man of valor. You must be bringing good news.”
\p 1 Kings 1.43: \v 43 “Not at all,” Jonathan replied. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. \p 1 Kings 1.44: \v 44 And with Solomon, the king has sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, and they have set him on the king’s mule. \p 1 Kings 1.45: \v 45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there with rejoicing that rings out in the city. That is the noise you hear.
\p 1 Kings 1.46: \v 46 Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne.
\p 1 Kings 1.47: \v 47 The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than your own name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’
And the king has bowed in worship on his bed, \p 1 Kings 1.48: \v 48 saying, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel! Today He has provided one to sit on my throne, and my eyes have seen it.’”
\p 1 Kings 1.49: \v 49 At this, all the guests of Adonijah arose in terror and scattered. \p 1 Kings 1.50: \v 50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
\p 1 Kings 1.51: \v 51 It was reported to Solomon: “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me not to put his servant to the sword.’”
\p 1 Kings 1.52: \v 52 And Solomon replied, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die.”
\p 1 Kings 1.53: \v 53 So King Solomon summoned Adonijah down from the altar, and he came and bowed down before King Solomon, who said to him, “Go to your home.” \p 1 Kings 2.0: \c 2 \p \p 1 Kings 2.1: \v 1 As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon, \p 1 Kings 2.2: \v 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man. \p 1 Kings 2.3: \v 3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn, \p 1 Kings 2.4: \v 4 and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
\p 1 Kings 2.5: \v 5 Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. \p 1 Kings 2.6: \v 6 So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
\p 1 Kings 2.7: \v 7 But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
\p 1 Kings 2.8: \v 8 Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’ \p 1 Kings 2.9: \v 9 Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.”
\p 1 Kings 2.10: \v 10 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. \p 1 Kings 2.11: \v 11 The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
\p 1 Kings 2.12: \v 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
\p 1 Kings 2.13: \v 13 Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?”
“Yes, in peace,” he replied. \p 1 Kings 2.14: \v 14 Then he said, “I have something to tell you.”
“Say it,” she answered.
\p 1 Kings 2.15: \v 15 “You know that the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected that I should reign, but the kingship has turned to my brother, for it has come to him from the LORD. \p 1 Kings 2.16: \v 16 So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.”
“State your request,” she told him.
\p 1 Kings 2.17: \v 17 Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
\p 1 Kings 2.18: \v 18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”
\p 1 Kings 2.19: \v 19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand.
\p 1 Kings 2.20: \v 20 “I have just one small request of you,” she said. “Do not deny me.”
“Make your request, my mother,” the king replied, “for I will not deny you.”
\p 1 Kings 2.21: \v 21 So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
\p 1 Kings 2.22: \v 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
\p 1 Kings 2.23: \v 23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life. \p 1 Kings 2.24: \v 24 And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
\p 1 Kings 2.25: \v 25 So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
\p 1 Kings 2.26: \v 26 Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.” \p 1 Kings 2.27: \v 27 So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD and thus fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli.
\p 1 Kings 2.28: \v 28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.
\p 1 Kings 2.29: \v 29 It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD and is now beside the altar.”
So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down!”
\p 1 Kings 2.30: \v 30 And Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”
But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.”
So Benaiah relayed the message to the king, saying, “This is how Joab answered me.”
\p 1 Kings 2.31: \v 31 And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed. \p 1 Kings 2.32: \v 32 The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. \p 1 Kings 2.33: \v 33 Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.”
\p 1 Kings 2.34: \v 34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness. \p 1 Kings 2.35: \v 35 And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.
\p 1 Kings 2.36: \v 36 Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. \p 1 Kings 2.37: \v 37 On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
\p 1 Kings 2.38: \v 38 “The sentence is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
\p 1 Kings 2.39: \v 39 After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”
\p 1 Kings 2.40: \v 40 So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath.
\p 1 Kings 2.41: \v 41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, \p 1 Kings 2.42: \v 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, ‘On the day you leave and go elsewhere, know for sure that you will die’? And you told me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will comply.’ \p 1 Kings 2.43: \v 43 So why have you not kept your oath to the LORD and the command that I gave you?”
\p 1 Kings 2.44: \v 44 The king also said, “You know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore the LORD will bring your evil back upon your head. \p 1 Kings 2.45: \v 45 But King Solomon will be blessed and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.”
\p 1 Kings 2.46: \v 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon. \p 1 Kings 3.0: \c 3 \p \p 1 Kings 3.1: \v 1 Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.
\p 1 Kings 3.2: \v 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places because a house for the Name of the LORD had not yet been built. \p 1 Kings 3.3: \v 3 And Solomon loved the LORD and walked in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
\p 1 Kings 3.4: \v 4 Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
\p 1 Kings 3.5: \v 5 One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
\p 1 Kings 3.6: \v 6 Solomon replied, “You have shown much loving devotion to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. And You have maintained this loving devotion by giving him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
\p 1 Kings 3.7: \v 7 And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in. \p 1 Kings 3.8: \v 8 Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number.
\p 1 Kings 3.9: \v 9 Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
\p 1 Kings 3.10: \v 10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had made this request. \p 1 Kings 3.11: \v 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies—but you have asked for discernment to administer justice— \p 1 Kings 3.12: \v 12 behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.
\p 1 Kings 3.13: \v 13 Moreover, I will give you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal. \p 1 Kings 3.14: \v 14 So if you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments, just as your father David did, I will prolong your days.”
\p 1 Kings 3.15: \v 15 Then Solomon awoke, and indeed it had been a dream. So he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.
\p 1 Kings 3.16: \v 16 At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
\p 1 Kings 3.17: \v 17 One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house. \p 1 Kings 3.18: \v 18 On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone, with no one in the house but the two of us. \p 1 Kings 3.19: \v 19 During the night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on him. \p 1 Kings 3.20: \v 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her bosom and put her dead son at my bosom. \p 1 Kings 3.21: \v 21 The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.”
\p 1 Kings 3.22: \v 22 “No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.”
But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king.
\p 1 Kings 3.23: \v 23 Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’”
\p 1 Kings 3.24: \v 24 The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword, \p 1 Kings 3.25: \v 25 and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
\p 1 Kings 3.26: \v 26 Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!”
But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!”
\p 1 Kings 3.27: \v 27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.”
\p 1 Kings 3.28: \v 28 When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. \p 1 Kings 4.0: \c 4 \p \p 1 Kings 4.1: \v 1 So King Solomon ruled over Israel, \v 1 So King Solomon ruled over Israel, \v 1 So King Solomon ruled over Israel, \p 1 Kings 4.2: \v 2 and these were his chief officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; \v 2 and these were his chief officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; \v 2 and these were his chief officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; \p 1 Kings 4.3: \v 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; \v 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; \v 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; \p 1 Kings 4.4: \v 4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; \v 4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; \v 4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; \p 1 Kings 4.5: \v 5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king; \v 5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king; \v 5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king; \p 1 Kings 4.6: \v 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor. \v 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor. \v 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor. \p 1 Kings 4.7: \v 7 Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year, \v 7 Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year, \v 7 Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year, \p 1 Kings 4.8: \v 8 and these were their names:
Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim; \v 8 and these were their names:
Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim; \v 8 and these were their names:
Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim; \p 1 Kings 4.9: \v 9 Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan; \v 9 Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan; \v 9 Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan; \p 1 Kings 4.10: \v 10 Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him); \v 10 Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him); \v 10 Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him); \p 1 Kings 4.11: \v 11 Ben-abinadab in Naphath-dor (Taphath, a daughter of Solomon, was his wife); \v 11 Ben-abinadab in Naphath-dor (Taphath, a daughter of Solomon, was his wife); \v 11 Ben-abinadab in Naphath-dor (Taphath, a daughter of Solomon, was his wife); \p 1 Kings 4.12: \v 12 Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam; \v 12 Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam; \v 12 Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam; \p 1 Kings 4.13: \v 13 Ben-geber in Ramoth-gilead (the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan with its sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); \v 13 Ben-geber in Ramoth-gilead (the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan with its sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); \v 13 Ben-geber in Ramoth-gilead (the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan with its sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); \p 1 Kings 4.14: \v 14 Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim; \v 14 Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim; \v 14 Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim; \p 1 Kings 4.15: \v 15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he had married Basemath, a daughter of Solomon); \v 15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he had married Basemath, a daughter of Solomon); \v 15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he had married Basemath, a daughter of Solomon); \p 1 Kings 4.16: \v 16 Baana son of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth; \v 16 Baana son of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth; \v 16 Baana son of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth; \p 1 Kings 4.17: \v 17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar; \v 17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar; \v 17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar; \p 1 Kings 4.18: \v 18 Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin; \v 18 Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin; \v 18 Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin; \p 1 Kings 4.19: \v 19 Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead, including the territories of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan.
There was also one governor in the land of Judah.
\v 19 Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead, including the territories of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan.
There was also one governor in the land of Judah.
\v 19 Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead, including the territories of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan.
There was also one governor in the land of Judah.
\p 1 Kings 4.20: \v 20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing. \v 20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing. \p 1 Kings 4.21: \v 21 And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
\p 1 Kings 4.22: \v 22 Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal, \p 1 Kings 4.23: \v 23 ten fat oxen, twenty range oxen, and a hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened poultry. \p 1 Kings 4.24: \v 24 For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates—over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides. \p 1 Kings 4.25: \v 25 Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
\p 1 Kings 4.26: \v 26 Solomon had ٤,٠٠٠ stalls for his chariot horses and ١٢,٠٠٠ horses. \p 1 Kings 4.27: \v 27 Each month the governors in turn provided food for King Solomon and all who came to his table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. \p 1 Kings 4.28: \v 28 Each one also brought to the required place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and other horses.
\p 1 Kings 4.29: \v 29 And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore. \p 1 Kings 4.30: \v 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. \p 1 Kings 4.31: \v 31 He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations.
\p 1 Kings 4.32: \v 32 Solomon composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. \p 1 Kings 4.33: \v 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
\p 1 Kings 4.34: \v 34 So men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. \p 1 Kings 5.0: \c 5 \p \p 1 Kings 5.1: \v 1 Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
\v 1 Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
\p 1 Kings 5.2: \v 2 And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:
\v 2 And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:
\p 1 Kings 5.3: \v 3 “As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet. \v 3 “As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet. \p 1 Kings 5.4: \v 4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
\v 4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
\p 1 Kings 5.5: \v 5 So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.’
\v 5 So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.’
\p 1 Kings 5.6: \v 6 Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”
\v 6 Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”
\p 1 Kings 5.7: \v 7 When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!” \v 7 When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!” \p 1 Kings 5.8: \v 8 Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying:
“I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber. \v 8 Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying:
“I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber. \p 1 Kings 5.9: \v 9 My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”
\v 9 My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”
\p 1 Kings 5.10: \v 10 So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, \v 10 So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, \p 1 Kings 5.11: \v 11 and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with ٢٠,٠٠٠ cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as ٢٠,٠٠٠ baths of pure olive oil.
\v 11 and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with ٢٠,٠٠٠ cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as ٢٠,٠٠٠ baths of pure olive oil.
\p 1 Kings 5.12: \v 12 And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
\v 12 And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
\p 1 Kings 5.13: \v 13 Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of ٣٠,٠٠٠ men from all Israel. \v 13 Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of ٣٠,٠٠٠ men from all Israel. \p 1 Kings 5.14: \v 14 He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of ١٠,٠٠٠ men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
\v 14 He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of ١٠,٠٠٠ men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
\p 1 Kings 5.15: \v 15 Solomon had ٧٠,٠٠٠ porters and ٨٠,٠٠٠ stonecutters in the mountains, \v 15 Solomon had ٧٠,٠٠٠ porters and ٨٠,٠٠٠ stonecutters in the mountains, \p 1 Kings 5.16: \v 16 not including his ٣,٣٠٠ foremen who supervised the workers.
\v 16 not including his ٣,٣٠٠ foremen who supervised the workers.
\p 1 Kings 5.17: \v 17 And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones. \v 17 And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones. \p 1 Kings 5.18: \v 18 So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple. \v 18 So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple. \p 1 Kings 5.19: \v 19 I Kings 6:1: In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv, the second month of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, he began to build the house of the LORD.
\p 1 Kings 5.20: \v 20 I Kings 6:2: The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. \p 1 Kings 5.21: \v 21 I Kings 6:3: The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.
\p 1 Kings 5.22: \v 22 I Kings 6:4: He also had narrow windows framed high in the temple.
\p 1 Kings 5.23: \v 23 I Kings 6:5: Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms. \p 1 Kings 5.24: \v 24 I Kings 6:6: The bottom floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits, and the third floor seven cubits. He also placed offset ledges around the outside of the temple, so that nothing would be inserted into its walls.
\p 1 Kings 5.25: \v 25 I Kings 6:7: The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
\p 1 Kings 5.26: \v 26 I Kings 6:8: The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the middle level, and from there to the third floor.
\p 1 Kings 5.27: \v 27 I Kings 6:9: So Solomon built the temple and finished it, roofing it with beams and planks of cedar. \p 1 Kings 5.28: \v 28 I Kings 6:10: He built chambers all along the temple, each five cubits high and attached to the temple with beams of cedar.
\p 1 Kings 5.29: \v 29 I Kings 6:11: Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying: \p 1 Kings 5.30: \v 30 I Kings 6:12: “As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. \p 1 Kings 5.31: \v 31 I Kings 6:13: And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”
\p 1 Kings 5.32: \v 32 I Kings 6:14: So Solomon built the temple and finished it. \p 1 Kings 6.0: \c 6 \p \p 1 Kings 6.1: \v 1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv, the second month of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, he began to build the house of the LORD.
\v 1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv, the second month of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, he began to build the house of the LORD.
\p 1 Kings 6.2: \v 2 The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. \v 2 The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. \p 1 Kings 6.3: \v 3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.
\v 3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.
\p 1 Kings 6.4: \v 4 He also had narrow windows framed high in the temple.
\v 4 He also had narrow windows framed high in the temple.
\p 1 Kings 6.5: \v 5 Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms. \v 5 Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms. \p 1 Kings 6.6: \v 6 The bottom floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits, and the third floor seven cubits. He also placed offset ledges around the outside of the temple, so that nothing would be inserted into its walls.
\v 6 The bottom floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits, and the third floor seven cubits. He also placed offset ledges around the outside of the temple, so that nothing would be inserted into its walls.
\p 1 Kings 6.7: \v 7 The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
\v 7 The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
\p 1 Kings 6.8: \v 8 The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the middle level, and from there to the third floor.
\v 8 The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the middle level, and from there to the third floor.
\p 1 Kings 6.9: \v 9 So Solomon built the temple and finished it, roofing it with beams and planks of cedar. \v 9 So Solomon built the temple and finished it, roofing it with beams and planks of cedar. \p 1 Kings 6.10: \v 10 He built chambers all along the temple, each five cubits high and attached to the temple with beams of cedar.
\v 10 He built chambers all along the temple, each five cubits high and attached to the temple with beams of cedar.
\p 1 Kings 6.11: \v 11 Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying: \v 11 Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying: \p 1 Kings 6.12: \v 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. \v 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. \p 1 Kings 6.13: \v 13 And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”
\v 13 And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”
\p 1 Kings 6.14: \v 14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. \v 14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. \p 1 Kings 6.15: \v 15 He lined the interior walls with cedar paneling from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and he covered the floor with cypress boards.
\v 15 He lined the interior walls with cedar paneling from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and he covered the floor with cypress boards.
\p 1 Kings 6.16: \v 16 He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. \v 16 He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. \p 1 Kings 6.17: \v 17 And the main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long.
\v 17 And the main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long.
\p 1 Kings 6.18: \v 18 The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
\v 18 The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
\p 1 Kings 6.19: \v 19 Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. \v 19 Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. \p 1 Kings 6.20: \v 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
\v 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
\p 1 Kings 6.21: \v 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. \v 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. \p 1 Kings 6.22: \v 22 So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
\v 22 So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
\p 1 Kings 6.23: \v 23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood. \v 23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood. \p 1 Kings 6.24: \v 24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits. \v 24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits. \p 1 Kings 6.25: \v 25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape, \v 25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape, \p 1 Kings 6.26: \v 26 and the height of each cherub was ten cubits.
\v 26 and the height of each cherub was ten cubits.
\p 1 Kings 6.27: \v 27 And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched. \v 27 And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched. \p 1 Kings 6.28: \v 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
\v 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
\p 1 Kings 6.29: \v 29 Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. \v 29 Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. \p 1 Kings 6.30: \v 30 And he overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.
\v 30 And he overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.
\p 1 Kings 6.31: \v 31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, Solomon constructed doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts. \v 31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, Solomon constructed doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts. \p 1 Kings 6.32: \v 32 The double doors were made of olive wood, and he carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.
\v 32 The double doors were made of olive wood, and he carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.
\p 1 Kings 6.33: \v 33 In the same way he made four-sided doorposts of olive wood for the sanctuary entrance. \v 33 In the same way he made four-sided doorposts of olive wood for the sanctuary entrance. \p 1 Kings 6.34: \v 34 The two doors were made of cypress wood, and each had two folding panels. \v 34 The two doors were made of cypress wood, and each had two folding panels. \p 1 Kings 6.35: \v 35 He carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold, hammered evenly over the carvings.
\v 35 He carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold, hammered evenly over the carvings.
\p 1 Kings 6.36: \v 36 Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.
\v 36 Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.
\p 1 Kings 6.37: \v 37 The foundation of the house of the LORD was laid in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, in the month of Ziv. \p 1 Kings 6.38: \v 38 In his eleventh year and eighth month, the month of Bul, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years. \p 1 Kings 7.0: \c 7 \p \p 1 Kings 7.1: \v 1 Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.
\v 1 Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.
\p 1 Kings 7.2: \v 2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.
\v 2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.
\p 1 Kings 7.3: \v 3 The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row. \v 3 The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row. \p 1 Kings 7.4: \v 4 There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers. \v 4 There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers. \p 1 Kings 7.5: \v 5 All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.
\v 5 All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.
\p 1 Kings 7.6: \v 6 Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico.
\v 6 Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico.
\p 1 Kings 7.7: \v 7 In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.
\v 7 In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.
\p 1 Kings 7.8: \v 8 And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
\v 8 And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
\p 1 Kings 7.9: \v 9 All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard. \v 9 All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard. \p 1 Kings 7.10: \v 10 The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long. \v 10 The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long. \p 1 Kings 7.11: \v 11 Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.
\v 11 Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.
\p 1 Kings 7.12: \v 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.
\v 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.
\p 1 Kings 7.13: \v 13 Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre. \v 13 Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre. \p 1 Kings 7.14: \v 14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.
\v 14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.
\p 1 Kings 7.15: \v 15 He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. \v 15 He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. \p 1 Kings 7.16: \v 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high. \v 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high. \p 1 Kings 7.17: \v 17 For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.
\v 17 For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.
\p 1 Kings 7.18: \v 18 Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars. \v 18 Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars. \p 1 Kings 7.19: \v 19 And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high. \v 19 And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high. \p 1 Kings 7.20: \v 20 On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.
\v 20 On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.
\p 1 Kings 7.21: \v 21 Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, and the pillar to the north he named Boaz. \v 21 Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, and the pillar to the north he named Boaz. \p 1 Kings 7.22: \v 22 And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.
\v 22 And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.
\p 1 Kings 7.23: \v 23 He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference. \v 23 He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference. \p 1 Kings 7.24: \v 24 Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.
\v 24 Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.
\p 1 Kings 7.25: \v 25 The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center. \v 25 The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center. \p 1 Kings 7.26: \v 26 It was a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.
\v 26 It was a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.
\p 1 Kings 7.27: \v 27 In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
\v 27 In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
\p 1 Kings 7.28: \v 28 This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights, \v 28 This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights, \p 1 Kings 7.29: \v 29 and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.
\v 29 and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.
\p 1 Kings 7.30: \v 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side. \v 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side. \p 1 Kings 7.31: \v 31 The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep, with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide. And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round.
\v 31 The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep, with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide. And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round.
\p 1 Kings 7.32: \v 32 There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter. \v 32 There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter. \p 1 Kings 7.33: \v 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.
\v 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.
\p 1 Kings 7.34: \v 34 Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand. \v 34 Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand. \p 1 Kings 7.35: \v 35 At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high. The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.
\v 35 At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high. The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.
\p 1 Kings 7.36: \v 36 He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around. \v 36 He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around. \p 1 Kings 7.37: \v 37 In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.
\v 37 In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.
\p 1 Kings 7.38: \v 38 He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.
\v 38 He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.
\p 1 Kings 7.39: \v 39 He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.
\v 39 He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.
\p 1 Kings 7.40: \v 40 Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:
\v 40 Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:
\p 1 Kings 7.41: \v 41 the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars; \v 41 the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars; \p 1 Kings 7.42: \v 42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars); \v 42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars); \p 1 Kings 7.43: \v 43 the ten stands; the ten basins on the stands; \v 43 the ten stands; the ten basins on the stands; \p 1 Kings 7.44: \v 44 the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea; \v 44 the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea; \p 1 Kings 7.45: \v 45 and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.
All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze. \v 45 and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.
All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze. \p 1 Kings 7.46: \v 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. \v 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. \p 1 Kings 7.47: \v 47 Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.
\v 47 Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.
\p 1 Kings 7.48: \v 48 Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD:
the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence; \v 48 Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD:
the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence; \p 1 Kings 7.49: \v 49 the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; \v 49 the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; \p 1 Kings 7.50: \v 50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple. \v 50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple. \p 1 Kings 7.51: \v 51 So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed.
Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. \p 1 Kings 8.0: \c 8 \p \p 1 Kings 8.1: \v 1 At that time Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David. \p 1 Kings 8.2: \v 2 And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim.
\p 1 Kings 8.3: \v 3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, \p 1 Kings 8.4: \v 4 and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. So the priests and Levites carried them up.
\p 1 Kings 8.5: \v 5 There, before the ark, King Solomon and the whole congregation of Israel who had assembled with him sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
\p 1 Kings 8.6: \v 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim. \p 1 Kings 8.7: \v 7 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles.
\p 1 Kings 8.8: \v 8 The poles extended far enough that their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.
\p 1 Kings 8.9: \v 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.
\p 1 Kings 8.10: \v 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD \p 1 Kings 8.11: \v 11 so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
\p 1 Kings 8.12: \v 12 Then Solomon declared:
“The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud. \p 1 Kings 8.13: \v 13 I have indeed built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.” \p 1 Kings 8.14: \v 14 And as the whole assembly of Israel stood there, the king turned around and blessed them all \p 1 Kings 8.15: \v 15 and said:
“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His own hand what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying, \p 1 Kings 8.16: \v 16 ‘Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there. But I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
\p 1 Kings 8.17: \v 17 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. \p 1 Kings 8.18: \v 18 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart. \p 1 Kings 8.19: \v 19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’
\p 1 Kings 8.20: \v 20 Now the LORD has fulfilled the word that He spoke. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. \p 1 Kings 8.21: \v 21 And there I have provided a place for the ark, which contains the covenant of the LORD that He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
\p 1 Kings 8.22: \v 22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven, \p 1 Kings 8.23: \v 23 and said:
“O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below, keeping Your covenant of loving devotion with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. \p 1 Kings 8.24: \v 24 You have kept Your promise to Your servant, my father David. What You spoke with Your mouth You have fulfilled with Your hand this day.
\p 1 Kings 8.25: \v 25 Therefore now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for Your servant, my father David, what You promised when You said: ‘You will never fail to have a man to sit before Me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants guard their way to walk before Me as you have done.’ \p 1 Kings 8.26: \v 26 And now, O God of Israel, please confirm what You promised to Your servant, my father David.
\p 1 Kings 8.27: \v 27 But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built. \p 1 Kings 8.28: \v 28 Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.
\p 1 Kings 8.29: \v 29 May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place. \p 1 Kings 8.30: \v 30 Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.
\p 1 Kings 8.31: \v 31 When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple, \p 1 Kings 8.32: \v 32 then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
\p 1 Kings 8.33: \v 33 When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, praying and pleading with You in this temple, \p 1 Kings 8.34: \v 34 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel. May You restore them to the land You gave to their fathers.
\p 1 Kings 8.35: \v 35 When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, \p 1 Kings 8.36: \v 36 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.
\p 1 Kings 8.37: \v 37 When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come, \p 1 Kings 8.38: \v 38 then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple— \p 1 Kings 8.39: \v 39 be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men— \p 1 Kings 8.40: \v 40 so that they may fear You all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
\p 1 Kings 8.41: \v 41 And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name— \p 1 Kings 8.42: \v 42 for they will hear of Your great name and mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, \p 1 Kings 8.43: \v 43 then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.
\p 1 Kings 8.44: \v 44 When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house I have built for Your Name, \p 1 Kings 8.45: \v 45 then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.
\p 1 Kings 8.46: \v 46 When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far or near, \p 1 Kings 8.47: \v 47 and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’ \p 1 Kings 8.48: \v 48 and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name, \p 1 Kings 8.49: \v 49 then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition, and may You uphold their cause. \p 1 Kings 8.50: \v 50 May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.
\p 1 Kings 8.51: \v 51 For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron. \p 1 Kings 8.52: \v 52 May Your eyes be open to the pleas of Your servant and of Your people Israel, and may You listen to them whenever they call to You. \p 1 Kings 8.53: \v 53 For You, O Lord GOD, as Your inheritance, have set them apart from all the peoples of the earth, as You spoke through Your servant Moses when You brought our fathers out of Egypt.”
\p 1 Kings 8.54: \v 54 Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. \p 1 Kings 8.55: \v 55 And he stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
\p 1 Kings 8.56: \v 56 “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses.
\p 1 Kings 8.57: \v 57 May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He never leave us nor forsake us. \p 1 Kings 8.58: \v 58 May He incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep the commandments and statutes and ordinances He commanded our fathers.
\p 1 Kings 8.59: \v 59 And may these words with which I have made my petition before the LORD be near to the LORD our God day and night, so that He may uphold the cause of His servant and of His people Israel as each day requires, \p 1 Kings 8.60: \v 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God. There is no other!
\p 1 Kings 8.61: \v 61 So let your heart be fully devoted to the LORD our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”
\p 1 Kings 8.62: \v 62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. \p 1 Kings 8.63: \v 63 And Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD ٢٢,٠٠٠ oxen and ١٢٠,٠٠٠ sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the LORD.
\p 1 Kings 8.64: \v 64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to contain all these offerings.
\p 1 Kings 8.65: \v 65 So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast before the LORD our God for seven days and seven more days—fourteen days in all.
\p 1 Kings 8.66: \v 66 On the fifteenth day Solomon sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things that the LORD had done for His servant David and for His people Israel. \p 1 Kings 9.0: \c 9 \p \p 1 Kings 9.1: \v 1 Now when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all that he had desired to do, \p 1 Kings 9.2: \v 2 the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. \p 1 Kings 9.3: \v 3 And the LORD said to him:
“I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
\p 1 Kings 9.4: \v 4 And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances, \p 1 Kings 9.5: \v 5 then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
\p 1 Kings 9.6: \v 6 But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods, \p 1 Kings 9.7: \v 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.
\p 1 Kings 9.8: \v 8 And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ \p 1 Kings 9.9: \v 9 And others will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—because of this, the LORD has brought all this disaster upon them.’”
\p 1 Kings 9.10: \v 10 Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace, \p 1 Kings 9.11: \v 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire. \p 1 Kings 9.12: \v 12 So Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them.
\p 1 Kings 9.13: \v 13 “What are these towns you have given me, my brother?” asked Hiram, and he called them the Land of Cabul, as they are called to this day.
\p 1 Kings 9.14: \v 14 And Hiram had sent the king ١٢٠ talents of gold.
\p 1 Kings 9.15: \v 15 This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
\p 1 Kings 9.16: \v 16 Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. \p 1 Kings 9.17: \v 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, \p 1 Kings 9.18: \v 18 Baalath, and Tamar in the Wilderness of Judah, \p 1 Kings 9.19: \v 19 as well as all the store cities that Solomon had for his chariots and horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.
\p 1 Kings 9.20: \v 20 As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— \p 1 Kings 9.21: \v 21 their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.
\p 1 Kings 9.22: \v 22 But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. \p 1 Kings 9.23: \v 23 They were also the chief officers over Solomon’s projects: ٥٥٠ supervisors over the people who did the work.
\p 1 Kings 9.24: \v 24 As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
\p 1 Kings 9.25: \v 25 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.
\p 1 Kings 9.26: \v 26 King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. \p 1 Kings 9.27: \v 27 And Hiram sent his servants, men who knew the sea, to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s servants. \p 1 Kings 9.28: \v 28 They sailed to Ophir and imported gold from there—٤٢٠ talents—and delivered it to Solomon. \p 1 Kings 10.0: \c 10 \p \p 1 Kings 10.1: \v 1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. \p 1 Kings 10.2: \v 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones.
So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind. \p 1 Kings 10.3: \v 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.
\p 1 Kings 10.4: \v 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, \p 1 Kings 10.5: \v 5 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
\p 1 Kings 10.6: \v 6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true. \p 1 Kings 10.7: \v 7 But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard. \p 1 Kings 10.8: \v 8 How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! \p 1 Kings 10.9: \v 9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”
\p 1 Kings 10.10: \v 10 Then she gave the king ١٢٠ talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such an abundance of spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
\p 1 Kings 10.11: \v 11 (The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones. \p 1 Kings 10.12: \v 12 The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen to this day.)
\p 1 Kings 10.13: \v 13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.
\p 1 Kings 10.14: \v 14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was ٦٦٦ talents, \p 1 Kings 10.15: \v 15 not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.
\p 1 Kings 10.16: \v 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. \p 1 Kings 10.17: \v 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
\p 1 Kings 10.18: \v 18 Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. \p 1 Kings 10.19: \v 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest. \p 1 Kings 10.20: \v 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
\p 1 Kings 10.21: \v 21 All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. \p 1 Kings 10.22: \v 22 For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
\p 1 Kings 10.23: \v 23 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. \p 1 Kings 10.24: \v 24 The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart. \p 1 Kings 10.25: \v 25 Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
\p 1 Kings 10.26: \v 26 Solomon accumulated ١,٤٠٠ chariots and ١٢,٠٠٠ horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. \p 1 Kings 10.27: \v 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.
\p 1 Kings 10.28: \v 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. \p 1 Kings 10.29: \v 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram. \p 1 Kings 11.0: \c 11 \p \p 1 Kings 11.1: \v 1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. \p 1 Kings 11.2: \v 2 These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. \p 1 Kings 11.3: \v 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away.
\p 1 Kings 11.4: \v 4 For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. \p 1 Kings 11.5: \v 5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. \p 1 Kings 11.6: \v 6 So Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; unlike his father David, he did not follow the LORD completely.
\p 1 Kings 11.7: \v 7 At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites. \p 1 Kings 11.8: \v 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
\p 1 Kings 11.9: \v 9 Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. \p 1 Kings 11.10: \v 10 Although He had warned Solomon explicitly not to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command.
\p 1 Kings 11.11: \v 11 Then the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. \p 1 Kings 11.12: \v 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. \p 1 Kings 11.13: \v 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
\p 1 Kings 11.14: \v 14 Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom.
\p 1 Kings 11.15: \v 15 Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom. \p 1 Kings 11.16: \v 16 Joab and all Israel had stayed there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom. \p 1 Kings 11.17: \v 17 But Hadad, still just a young boy, had fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites who were servants of his father.
\p 1 Kings 11.18: \v 18 Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men from Paran with them and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.
\p 1 Kings 11.19: \v 19 There Hadad found such great favor in the sight of Pharaoh that he gave to him in marriage the sister of Queen Tahpenes, his own wife. \p 1 Kings 11.20: \v 20 And the sister of Tahpenes bore Hadad a son named Genubath. Tahpenes herself weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace, and Genubath lived there among the sons of Pharaoh.
\p 1 Kings 11.21: \v 21 When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had rested with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”
\p 1 Kings 11.22: \v 22 But Pharaoh asked him, “What have you lacked here with me that you suddenly want to go back to your own country?”
“Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but please let me go.”
\p 1 Kings 11.23: \v 23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah, \p 1 Kings 11.24: \v 24 and had gathered men to himself. When David killed the Zobaites, Rezon captained a band of raiders and went to Damascus, where they settled and gained control.
\p 1 Kings 11.25: \v 25 Rezon was Israel’s enemy throughout the days of Solomon, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled over Aram with hostility toward Israel.
\p 1 Kings 11.26: \v 26 Now Jeroboam son of Nebat was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon, but he rebelled against the king, \p 1 Kings 11.27: \v 27 and this is the account of his rebellion against the king.
Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David. \p 1 Kings 11.28: \v 28 Now Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So when Solomon noticed that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.
\p 1 Kings 11.29: \v 29 During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field.
\p 1 Kings 11.30: \v 30 And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces, \p 1 Kings 11.31: \v 31 and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes. \p 1 Kings 11.32: \v 32 But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
\p 1 Kings 11.33: \v 33 For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.
\p 1 Kings 11.34: \v 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David My servant, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and statutes. \p 1 Kings 11.35: \v 35 But I will take ten tribes of the kingdom from the hand of his son and give them to you. \p 1 Kings 11.36: \v 36 I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name. \p 1 Kings 11.37: \v 37 But as for you, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your heart desires, and you will be king over Israel.
\p 1 Kings 11.38: \v 38 If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. \p 1 Kings 11.39: \v 39 Because of this, I will humble David’s descendants—but not forever.’”
\p 1 Kings 11.40: \v 40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, where he remained until the death of Solomon.
\p 1 Kings 11.41: \v 41 As for the rest of the acts of Solomon—all that he did, as well as his wisdom—are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? \p 1 Kings 11.42: \v 42 Thus the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
\p 1 Kings 11.43: \v 43 And Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place. \p 1 Kings 12.0: \c 12 \p \p 1 Kings 12.1: \v 1 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. \p 1 Kings 12.2: \v 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about this, he was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. \p 1 Kings 12.3: \v 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, \p 1 Kings 12.4: \v 4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you should lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
\p 1 Kings 12.5: \v 5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then return to me.” So the people departed.
\p 1 Kings 12.6: \v 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked.
\p 1 Kings 12.7: \v 7 They replied, “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”
\p 1 Kings 12.8: \v 8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him. \p 1 Kings 12.9: \v 9 He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to these people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
\p 1 Kings 12.10: \v 10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! \p 1 Kings 12.11: \v 11 Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
\p 1 Kings 12.12: \v 12 After three days, Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, since the king had said, “Come back to me on the third day.” \p 1 Kings 12.13: \v 13 And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders \p 1 Kings 12.14: \v 14 and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”
\p 1 Kings 12.15: \v 15 So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
\p 1 Kings 12.16: \v 16 When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king:
“What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!”
So the Israelites went home, \p 1 Kings 12.17: \v 17 but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.
\p 1 Kings 12.18: \v 18 Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem. \p 1 Kings 12.19: \v 19 So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David.
\p 1 Kings 12.20: \v 20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
\p 1 Kings 12.21: \v 21 And when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—١٨٠,٠٠٠ chosen warriors—to fight against the house of Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.
\p 1 Kings 12.22: \v 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: \p 1 Kings 12.23: \v 23 “Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people \p 1 Kings 12.24: \v 24 that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for this word is from Me.’”
So they listened to the word of the LORD and turned back according to the word of the LORD.
\p 1 Kings 12.25: \v 25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.
\p 1 Kings 12.26: \v 26 Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David. \p 1 Kings 12.27: \v 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, their hearts will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah; then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
\p 1 Kings 12.28: \v 28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
\p 1 Kings 12.29: \v 29 One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. \p 1 Kings 12.30: \v 30 And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves.
\p 1 Kings 12.31: \v 31 Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites. \p 1 Kings 12.32: \v 32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.
\p 1 Kings 12.33: \v 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense. \p 1 Kings 13.0: \c 13 \p \p 1 Kings 13.1: \v 1 Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD. \p 1 Kings 13.2: \v 2 And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’”
\p 1 Kings 13.3: \v 3 That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’”
\p 1 Kings 13.4: \v 4 Now when King Jeroboam, who was at the altar in Bethel, heard the word that the man of God had cried out against it, he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward him withered, so that he could not pull it back. \p 1 Kings 13.5: \v 5 And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
\p 1 Kings 13.6: \v 6 Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.”
So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before.
\p 1 Kings 13.7: \v 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
\p 1 Kings 13.8: \v 8 But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your possessions, I still would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. \p 1 Kings 13.9: \v 9 For this is what I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’”
\p 1 Kings 13.10: \v 10 So the man of God went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
\p 1 Kings 13.11: \v 11 Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words that the man had spoken to the king.
\p 1 Kings 13.12: \v 12 “Which way did he go?” their father asked.
And his sons showed him the way taken by the man of God, who had come from Judah. \p 1 Kings 13.13: \v 13 So the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.”
Then they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it \p 1 Kings 13.14: \v 14 and went after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
“I am,” he replied.
\p 1 Kings 13.15: \v 15 So the prophet said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some bread.”
\p 1 Kings 13.16: \v 16 But the man replied, “I cannot return with you or eat bread or drink water with you in this place. \p 1 Kings 13.17: \v 17 For I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”
\p 1 Kings 13.18: \v 18 Then the prophet replied, “I too am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’”
The old prophet was lying to him, \p 1 Kings 13.19: \v 19 but the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water.
\p 1 Kings 13.20: \v 20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back, \p 1 Kings 13.21: \v 21 and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment that the LORD your God gave you, \p 1 Kings 13.22: \v 22 but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to do so, your body shall never reach the tomb of your fathers.’”
\p 1 Kings 13.23: \v 23 And after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him. \p 1 Kings 13.24: \v 24 As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
\p 1 Kings 13.25: \v 25 And there were men passing by who saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported this in the city where the old prophet lived.
\p 1 Kings 13.26: \v 26 When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.”
\p 1 Kings 13.27: \v 27 Then the old prophet instructed his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it, \p 1 Kings 13.28: \v 28 and he went and found the body lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or mauled the donkey. \p 1 Kings 13.29: \v 29 So the old prophet lifted up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. \p 1 Kings 13.30: \v 30 Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!”
\p 1 Kings 13.31: \v 31 After he had buried him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, you must bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones, \p 1 Kings 13.32: \v 32 for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.”
\p 1 Kings 13.33: \v 33 Even after these events, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways, but again he appointed priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained anyone who desired to be a priest of the high places. \p 1 Kings 13.34: \v 34 And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth. \p 1 Kings 14.0: \c 14 \p \p 1 Kings 14.1: \v 1 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, \p 1 Kings 14.2: \v 2 and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now get up, disguise yourself so they will not recognize you as my wife, and go to Shiloh. For Ahijah the prophet is there; it was he who spoke about my kingship over this people. \p 1 Kings 14.3: \v 3 Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the boy.”
\p 1 Kings 14.4: \v 4 Jeroboam’s wife did as instructed; she arose and went to Shiloh and arrived at Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. \p 1 Kings 14.5: \v 5 But the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. You are to say such and such to her, because when she arrives, she will be disguised.”
\p 1 Kings 14.6: \v 6 So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? For I have been sent to you with bad news. \p 1 Kings 14.7: \v 7 Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over My people Israel. \p 1 Kings 14.8: \v 8 I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, doing only what was right in My eyes.
\p 1 Kings 14.9: \v 9 You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back. \p 1 Kings 14.10: \v 10 Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam:
I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone! \p 1 Kings 14.11: \v 11 Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.’ For the LORD has spoken. \p 1 Kings 14.12: \v 12 As for you, get up and go home. When your feet enter the city, the child will die. \p 1 Kings 14.13: \v 13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. For this is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will receive a proper burial, because only in him has the LORD, the God of Israel, found any good in the house of Jeroboam.
\p 1 Kings 14.14: \v 14 Moreover, the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day—yes, even today! \p 1 Kings 14.15: \v 15 For the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD to anger. \p 1 Kings 14.16: \v 16 So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
\p 1 Kings 14.17: \v 17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and departed for Tirzah, and as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. \p 1 Kings 14.18: \v 18 And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.
\p 1 Kings 14.19: \v 19 As for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he waged war and how he reigned, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
\p 1 Kings 14.20: \v 20 And the length of Jeroboam’s reign was twenty-two years, and he rested with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 14.21: \v 21 Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.
\p 1 Kings 14.22: \v 22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done. \p 1 Kings 14.23: \v 23 They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. \p 1 Kings 14.24: \v 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
\p 1 Kings 14.25: \v 25 In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. \p 1 Kings 14.26: \v 26 He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.
\p 1 Kings 14.27: \v 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. \p 1 Kings 14.28: \v 28 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would bear the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.
\p 1 Kings 14.29: \v 29 As for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, along with all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
\p 1 Kings 14.30: \v 30 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days. \p 1 Kings 14.31: \v 31 And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And his son Abijam reigned in his place. \p 1 Kings 15.0: \c 15 \p \p 1 Kings 15.1: \v 1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah, \p 1 Kings 15.2: \v 2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
\p 1 Kings 15.3: \v 3 And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been. \p 1 Kings 15.4: \v 4 Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong. \p 1 Kings 15.5: \v 5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
\p 1 Kings 15.6: \v 6 And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam’s life.
\p 1 Kings 15.7: \v 7 As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
\p 1 Kings 15.8: \v 8 And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 15.9: \v 9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah, \p 1 Kings 15.10: \v 10 and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
\p 1 Kings 15.11: \v 11 And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. \p 1 Kings 15.12: \v 12 He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. \p 1 Kings 15.13: \v 13 He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
\p 1 Kings 15.14: \v 14 The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days. \p 1 Kings 15.15: \v 15 And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.
\p 1 Kings 15.16: \v 16 Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days. \p 1 Kings 15.17: \v 17 Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
\p 1 Kings 15.18: \v 18 So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus: \p 1 Kings 15.19: \v 19 “Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
\p 1 Kings 15.20: \v 20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
\p 1 Kings 15.21: \v 21 When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. \p 1 Kings 15.22: \v 22 Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.
\p 1 Kings 15.23: \v 23 Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.
\p 1 Kings 15.24: \v 24 And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 15.25: \v 25 In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years. \p 1 Kings 15.26: \v 26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.
\p 1 Kings 15.27: \v 27 Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city. \p 1 Kings 15.28: \v 28 In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 15.29: \v 29 As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, \p 1 Kings 15.30: \v 30 because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.
\p 1 Kings 15.31: \v 31 As for the rest of the acts of Nadab, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? \p 1 Kings 15.32: \v 32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.
\p 1 Kings 15.33: \v 33 In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.
\p 1 Kings 15.34: \v 34 And Baasha did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit. \p 1 Kings 16.0: \c 16 \p \p 1 Kings 16.1: \v 1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying: \p 1 Kings 16.2: \v 2 “Even though I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused My people Israel to sin and to provoke Me to anger by their sins. \p 1 Kings 16.3: \v 3 So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:
\p 1 Kings 16.4: \v 4 Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.” \p 1 Kings 16.5: \v 5 As for the rest of the acts of Baasha, along with his accomplishments and might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? \p 1 Kings 16.6: \v 6 And Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 16.7: \v 7 Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.
\p 1 Kings 16.8: \v 8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.
\p 1 Kings 16.9: \v 9 However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. \p 1 Kings 16.10: \v 10 So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 16.11: \v 11 As soon as Zimri began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend. \p 1 Kings 16.12: \v 12 So Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, according to the word that the LORD had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet. \p 1 Kings 16.13: \v 13 This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.
\p 1 Kings 16.14: \v 14 As for the rest of the acts of Elah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
\p 1 Kings 16.15: \v 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines, \p 1 Kings 16.16: \v 16 and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.
\p 1 Kings 16.17: \v 17 Then Omri and all the Israelites marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. \p 1 Kings 16.18: \v 18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died \p 1 Kings 16.19: \v 19 because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.
\p 1 Kings 16.20: \v 20 As for the rest of the acts of Zimri and the treason he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
\p 1 Kings 16.21: \v 21 At that time the people of Israel were divided: Half of the people supported Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half supported Omri. \p 1 Kings 16.22: \v 22 But the followers of Omri proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.
\p 1 Kings 16.23: \v 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. \p 1 Kings 16.24: \v 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.
\p 1 Kings 16.25: \v 25 But Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD and acted more wickedly than all who were before him. \p 1 Kings 16.26: \v 26 For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.
\p 1 Kings 16.27: \v 27 As for the rest of the acts of Omri, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
\p 1 Kings 16.28: \v 28 And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 16.29: \v 29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.
\p 1 Kings 16.30: \v 30 However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. \p 1 Kings 16.31: \v 31 And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
\p 1 Kings 16.32: \v 32 First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria. \p 1 Kings 16.33: \v 33 Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
\p 1 Kings 16.34: \v 34 In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun. \p 1 Kings 17.0: \c 17 \p \p 1 Kings 17.1: \v 1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
\p 1 Kings 17.2: \v 2 Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah: \p 1 Kings 17.3: \v 3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. \p 1 Kings 17.4: \v 4 And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
\p 1 Kings 17.5: \v 5 So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. \p 1 Kings 17.6: \v 6 The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook. \p 1 Kings 17.7: \v 7 Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
\p 1 Kings 17.8: \v 8 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: \p 1 Kings 17.9: \v 9 “Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
\p 1 Kings 17.10: \v 10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.” \p 1 Kings 17.11: \v 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”
\p 1 Kings 17.12: \v 12 But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
\p 1 Kings 17.13: \v 13 “Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son, \p 1 Kings 17.14: \v 14 for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’”
\p 1 Kings 17.15: \v 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. \p 1 Kings 17.16: \v 16 The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.
\p 1 Kings 17.17: \v 17 Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him. \p 1 Kings 17.18: \v 18 “O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
\p 1 Kings 17.19: \v 19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.”
So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. \p 1 Kings 17.20: \v 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?” \p 1 Kings 17.21: \v 21 Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”
\p 1 Kings 17.22: \v 22 And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived. \p 1 Kings 17.23: \v 23 Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared.
\p 1 Kings 17.24: \v 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.” \p 1 Kings 18.0: \c 18 \p \p 1 Kings 18.1: \v 1 After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”
\p 1 Kings 18.2: \v 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria, \p 1 Kings 18.3: \v 3 and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace.
(Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD, \p 1 Kings 18.4: \v 4 for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
\p 1 Kings 18.5: \v 5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
\p 1 Kings 18.6: \v 6 So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
\p 1 Kings 18.7: \v 7 Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
\p 1 Kings 18.8: \v 8 “It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
\p 1 Kings 18.9: \v 9 But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? \p 1 Kings 18.10: \v 10 As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you. \p 1 Kings 18.11: \v 11 And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
\p 1 Kings 18.12: \v 12 I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth. \p 1 Kings 18.13: \v 13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water. \p 1 Kings 18.14: \v 14 And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
\p 1 Kings 18.15: \v 15 Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
\p 1 Kings 18.16: \v 16 So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah. \p 1 Kings 18.17: \v 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
\p 1 Kings 18.18: \v 18 “I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. \p 1 Kings 18.19: \v 19 Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
\p 1 Kings 18.20: \v 20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. \p 1 Kings 18.21: \v 21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people did not answer a word.
\p 1 Kings 18.22: \v 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. \p 1 Kings 18.23: \v 23 Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. \p 1 Kings 18.24: \v 24 Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.”
And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”
\p 1 Kings 18.25: \v 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
\p 1 Kings 18.26: \v 26 And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!”
But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
\p 1 Kings 18.27: \v 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”
\p 1 Kings 18.28: \v 28 So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
\p 1 Kings 18.29: \v 29 Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
\p 1 Kings 18.30: \v 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.
\p 1 Kings 18.31: \v 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.” \p 1 Kings 18.32: \v 32 And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
\p 1 Kings 18.33: \v 33 Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, \p 1 Kings 18.34: \v 34 and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.”
“Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time.
“Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time.
\p 1 Kings 18.35: \v 35 So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
\p 1 Kings 18.36: \v 36 At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. \p 1 Kings 18.37: \v 37 Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”
\p 1 Kings 18.38: \v 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.
\p 1 Kings 18.39: \v 39 When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
\p 1 Kings 18.40: \v 40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
\p 1 Kings 18.41: \v 41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
\p 1 Kings 18.42: \v 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees. \p 1 Kings 18.43: \v 43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant.
So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.”
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
\p 1 Kings 18.44: \v 44 On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”
And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
\p 1 Kings 18.45: \v 45 Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
\p 1 Kings 18.46: \v 46 And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. \p 1 Kings 19.0: \c 19 \p \p 1 Kings 19.1: \v 1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. \p 1 Kings 19.2: \v 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those you killed!”
\p 1 Kings 19.3: \v 3 And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, \p 1 Kings 19.4: \v 4 while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
\p 1 Kings 19.5: \v 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep.
Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
\p 1 Kings 19.6: \v 6 And he looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.
\p 1 Kings 19.7: \v 7 A second time the angel of the LORD returned and touched him, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”
\p 1 Kings 19.8: \v 8 So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
\p 1 Kings 19.9: \v 9 There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
\p 1 Kings 19.10: \v 10 “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
\p 1 Kings 19.11: \v 11 Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.”
And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
\p 1 Kings 19.12: \v 12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a still, small voice. \p 1 Kings 19.13: \v 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
\p 1 Kings 19.14: \v 14 “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
\p 1 Kings 19.15: \v 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. \p 1 Kings 19.16: \v 16 You are also to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet.
\p 1 Kings 19.17: \v 17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
\p 1 Kings 19.18: \v 18 Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
\p 1 Kings 19.19: \v 19 So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.
\p 1 Kings 19.20: \v 20 So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.”
“Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?”
\p 1 Kings 19.21: \v 21 So Elisha turned back from him, took his pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s equipment, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow and serve Elijah. \p 1 Kings 20.0: \c 20 \p \p 1 Kings 20.1: \v 1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it. \v 1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it. \p 1 Kings 20.2: \v 2 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, \v 2 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, \p 1 Kings 20.3: \v 3 saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”
\v 3 saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”
\p 1 Kings 20.4: \v 4 And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”
\v 4 And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”
\p 1 Kings 20.5: \v 5 The messengers came back and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent to you to demand your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children. \v 5 The messengers came back and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent to you to demand your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children. \p 1 Kings 20.6: \v 6 But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your palace and the houses of your servants. They will seize and carry away all that is precious to you.’”
\v 6 But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your palace and the houses of your servants. They will seize and carry away all that is precious to you.’”
\p 1 Kings 20.7: \v 7 Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”
\v 7 Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”
\p 1 Kings 20.8: \v 8 And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”
\v 8 And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”
\p 1 Kings 20.9: \v 9 So Ahab answered the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded of your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’”
So the messengers departed and relayed the message to Ben-hadad.
\v 9 So Ahab answered the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded of your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’”
So the messengers departed and relayed the message to Ben-hadad.
\p 1 Kings 20.10: \v 10 Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
\v 10 Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
\p 1 Kings 20.11: \v 11 And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”
\v 11 And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”
\p 1 Kings 20.12: \v 12 Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
\v 12 Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
\p 1 Kings 20.13: \v 13 Meanwhile a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this very day, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”
\v 13 Meanwhile a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this very day, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”
\p 1 Kings 20.14: \v 14 “By whom?” Ahab asked.
And the prophet replied, “This is what the LORD says: ‘By the young officers of the district governors.’”
“Who will start the battle?” asked Ahab.
“You will,” answered the prophet.
\v 14 “By whom?” Ahab asked.
And the prophet replied, “This is what the LORD says: ‘By the young officers of the district governors.’”
“Who will start the battle?” asked Ahab.
“You will,” answered the prophet.
\p 1 Kings 20.15: \v 15 So Ahab assembled the young officers of the district governors, and there were ٢٣٢ men. And after them, he assembled the rest of the Israelite troops, ٧,٠٠٠ in all.
\v 15 So Ahab assembled the young officers of the district governors, and there were ٢٣٢ men. And after them, he assembled the rest of the Israelite troops, ٧,٠٠٠ in all.
\p 1 Kings 20.16: \v 16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the ٣٢ kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. \v 16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the ٣٢ kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. \p 1 Kings 20.17: \v 17 And the young officers of the district governors marched out first.
Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”
\v 17 And the young officers of the district governors marched out first.
Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”
\p 1 Kings 20.18: \v 18 “If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”
\v 18 “If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”
\p 1 Kings 20.19: \v 19 Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them, \v 19 Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them, \p 1 Kings 20.20: \v 20 and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with the cavalry.
\v 20 and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with the cavalry.
\p 1 Kings 20.21: \v 21 Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.
\v 21 Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.
\p 1 Kings 20.22: \v 22 Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”
\v 22 Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”
\p 1 Kings 20.23: \v 23 Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail. \v 23 Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail. \p 1 Kings 20.24: \v 24 So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers. \v 24 So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers. \p 1 Kings 20.25: \v 25 And you must raise an army like the one you have lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight the Israelites on the plain, where we will surely prevail.”
And the king approved their plan and acted accordingly.
\v 25 And you must raise an army like the one you have lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight the Israelites on the plain, where we will surely prevail.”
And the king approved their plan and acted accordingly.
\p 1 Kings 20.26: \v 26 In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. \v 26 In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. \p 1 Kings 20.27: \v 27 The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them.
The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
\v 27 The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them.
The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
\p 1 Kings 20.28: \v 28 Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
\v 28 Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
\p 1 Kings 20.29: \v 29 For seven days the armies camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle ensued, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans—a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
\v 29 For seven days the armies camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle ensued, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans—a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
\p 1 Kings 20.30: \v 30 The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.
\p 1 Kings 20.31: \v 31 Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
\p 1 Kings 20.32: \v 32 So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’”
And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
\p 1 Kings 20.33: \v 33 Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at this word and replied, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.”
“Go and get him!” said the king.
Then Ben-hadad came out, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot.
\p 1 Kings 20.34: \v 34 Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”
“By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.
\p 1 Kings 20.35: \v 35 Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!”
But the man refused to strike him.
\p 1 Kings 20.36: \v 36 Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.”
And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.
\p 1 Kings 20.37: \v 37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!”
So the man struck him and wounded him, \p 1 Kings 20.38: \v 38 and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
\p 1 Kings 20.39: \v 39 As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’ \p 1 Kings 20.40: \v 40 But while your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”
And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have pronounced it on yourself.”
\p 1 Kings 20.41: \v 41 Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
\p 1 Kings 20.42: \v 42 And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”
\p 1 Kings 20.43: \v 43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria. \p 1 Kings 21.0: \c 21 \p \p 1 Kings 21.1: \v 1 Some time later, Naboth the Jezreelite happened to own a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. \v 1 Some time later, Naboth the Jezreelite happened to own a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. \p 1 Kings 21.2: \v 2 So Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place—or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”
\v 2 So Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place—or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”
\p 1 Kings 21.3: \v 3 But Naboth replied, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
\v 3 But Naboth replied, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
\p 1 Kings 21.4: \v 4 So Ahab went to his palace, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had told him, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and refused to eat.
\v 4 So Ahab went to his palace, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had told him, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and refused to eat.
\p 1 Kings 21.5: \v 5 Soon his wife Jezebel came in and asked, “Why are you so sullen that you refuse to eat?”
\v 5 Soon his wife Jezebel came in and asked, “Why are you so sullen that you refuse to eat?”
\p 1 Kings 21.6: \v 6 Ahab answered, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and told him, ‘Give me your vineyard for silver, or if you wish, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ And he replied, ‘I will not give you my vineyard!’”
\v 6 Ahab answered, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and told him, ‘Give me your vineyard for silver, or if you wish, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ And he replied, ‘I will not give you my vineyard!’”
\p 1 Kings 21.7: \v 7 But his wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
\v 7 But his wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
\p 1 Kings 21.8: \v 8 Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. \v 8 Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. \p 1 Kings 21.9: \v 9 In the letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a fast and give Naboth a seat of honor among the people. \v 9 In the letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a fast and give Naboth a seat of honor among the people. \p 1 Kings 21.10: \v 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
\v 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
\p 1 Kings 21.11: \v 11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them. \v 11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them. \p 1 Kings 21.12: \v 12 They proclaimed a fast and gave Naboth a seat of honor among the people.
\v 12 They proclaimed a fast and gave Naboth a seat of honor among the people.
\p 1 Kings 21.13: \v 13 And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!”
So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. \v 13 And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!”
So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. \p 1 Kings 21.14: \v 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
\v 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
\p 1 Kings 21.15: \v 15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, who refused to give it to you for silver. For Naboth is no longer alive, but dead.”
\v 15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, who refused to give it to you for silver. For Naboth is no longer alive, but dead.”
\p 1 Kings 21.16: \v 16 And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
\v 16 And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
\p 1 Kings 21.17: \v 17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, \v 17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, \p 1 Kings 21.18: \v 18 “Get up and go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria. See, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has gone to take possession.
\v 18 “Get up and go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria. See, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has gone to take possession.
\p 1 Kings 21.19: \v 19 Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’
Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”
\v 19 Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’
Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”
\p 1 Kings 21.20: \v 20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.”
He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD. \v 20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.”
He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD. \p 1 Kings 21.21: \v 21 This is what the LORD says:
‘I will bring calamity on you and consume your descendants; I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both slave and free. \v 21 This is what the LORD says:
‘I will bring calamity on you and consume your descendants; I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both slave and free. \p 1 Kings 21.22: \v 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked My anger and caused Israel to sin.’ \v 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked My anger and caused Israel to sin.’ \p 1 Kings 21.23: \v 23 And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel:
‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ \v 23 And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel:
‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ \p 1 Kings 21.24: \v 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.” \v 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.” \p 1 Kings 21.25: \v 25 (Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel. \v 25 (Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel. \p 1 Kings 21.26: \v 26 He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols, just like the Amorites whom the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.)
\v 26 He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols, just like the Amorites whom the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.)
\p 1 Kings 21.27: \v 27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
\v 27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
\p 1 Kings 21.28: \v 28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: \v 28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: \p 1 Kings 21.29: \v 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity during his days, but I will bring it upon his house in the days of his son.” \v 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity during his days, but I will bring it upon his house in the days of his son.” \p 1 Kings 21.30: \v 30 I Kings 22:1: Then three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.
\p 1 Kings 21.31: \v 31 I Kings 22:2: However, in the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel, \p 1 Kings 21.32: \v 32 I Kings 22:3: who said to his servants, “Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, but we have failed to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?”
\p 1 Kings 21.33: \v 33 I Kings 22:4: So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?”
Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, “I am like you, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.”
\p 1 Kings 21.34: \v 34 I Kings 22:5: But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.”
\p 1 Kings 21.35: \v 35 I Kings 22:6: So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?”
“Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
\p 1 Kings 21.36: \v 36 I Kings 22:7: But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?”
\p 1 Kings 21.37: \v 37 I Kings 22:8: The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
\p 1 Kings 21.38: \v 38 I Kings 22:9: So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
\p 1 Kings 21.39: \v 39 I Kings 22:10: Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.
\p 1 Kings 21.40: \v 40 I Kings 22:11: Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
\p 1 Kings 21.41: \v 41 I Kings 22:12: And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
\p 1 Kings 21.42: \v 42 I Kings 22:13: Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold now, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
\p 1 Kings 21.43: \v 43 I Kings 22:14: But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
\p 1 Kings 22.0: \c 22 \p \p 1 Kings 22.1: \v 1 Then three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.
\v 1 Then three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.
\p 1 Kings 22.2: \v 2 However, in the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel, \v 2 However, in the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel, \p 1 Kings 22.3: \v 3 who said to his servants, “Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, but we have failed to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?”
\v 3 who said to his servants, “Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, but we have failed to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?”
\p 1 Kings 22.4: \v 4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?”
Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, “I am like you, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.”
\v 4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?”
Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, “I am like you, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.”
\p 1 Kings 22.5: \v 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.”
\v 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.”
\p 1 Kings 22.6: \v 6 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?”
“Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
\v 6 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?”
“Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
\p 1 Kings 22.7: \v 7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?”
\v 7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?”
\p 1 Kings 22.8: \v 8 The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
\v 8 The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
\p 1 Kings 22.9: \v 9 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
\v 9 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
\p 1 Kings 22.10: \v 10 Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.
\v 10 Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.
\p 1 Kings 22.11: \v 11 Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
\v 11 Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
\p 1 Kings 22.12: \v 12 And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
\v 12 And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
\p 1 Kings 22.13: \v 13 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold now, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
\v 13 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold now, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
\p 1 Kings 22.14: \v 14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
\v 14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
\p 1 Kings 22.15: \v 15 When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?”
“Go up and triumph,” Micaiah replied, “for the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.”
\v 15 When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?”
“Go up and triumph,” Micaiah replied, “for the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.”
\p 1 Kings 22.16: \v 16 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”
\v 16 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”
\p 1 Kings 22.17: \v 17 So Micaiah declared:
“I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’” \v 17 So Micaiah declared:
“I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’” \p 1 Kings 22.18: \v 18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he never prophesies good for me, but only bad?”
\v 18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he never prophesies good for me, but only bad?”
\p 1 Kings 22.19: \v 19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.
\v 19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.
\p 1 Kings 22.20: \v 20 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’
And one suggested this, and another that.
\v 20 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’
And one suggested this, and another that.
\p 1 Kings 22.21: \v 21 Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.
\v 21 Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.
\p 1 Kings 22.22: \v 22 And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’
‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’
\v 22 And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’
‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’
\p 1 Kings 22.23: \v 23 So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”
\v 23 So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”
\p 1 Kings 22.24: \v 24 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”
\v 24 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”
\p 1 Kings 22.25: \v 25 Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”
\v 25 Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”
\p 1 Kings 22.26: \v 26 And the king of Israel declared, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, \v 26 And the king of Israel declared, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, \p 1 Kings 22.27: \v 27 and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’”
\v 27 and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’”
\p 1 Kings 22.28: \v 28 But Micaiah replied, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take heed, all you people!”
\v 28 But Micaiah replied, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take heed, all you people!”
\p 1 Kings 22.29: \v 29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. \v 29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. \p 1 Kings 22.30: \v 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
\v 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
\p 1 Kings 22.31: \v 31 Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
\v 31 Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
\p 1 Kings 22.32: \v 32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely this is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. \v 32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely this is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. \p 1 Kings 22.33: \v 33 And when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
\v 33 And when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
\p 1 Kings 22.34: \v 34 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
\v 34 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
\p 1 Kings 22.35: \v 35 The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. And the blood from his wound ran out onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. \v 35 The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. And the blood from his wound ran out onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. \p 1 Kings 22.36: \v 36 As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army:
“Every man to his own city, and every man to his own land!” \v 36 As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army:
“Every man to his own city, and every man to his own land!” \p 1 Kings 22.37: \v 37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, where they buried him. \v 37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, where they buried him. \p 1 Kings 22.38: \v 38 And the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up Ahab’s blood, according to the word that the LORD had spoken.
\v 38 And the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up Ahab’s blood, according to the word that the LORD had spoken.
\p 1 Kings 22.39: \v 39 As for the rest of the acts of Ahab, along with all his accomplishments and the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
\v 39 As for the rest of the acts of Ahab, along with all his accomplishments and the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
\p 1 Kings 22.40: \v 40 And Ahab rested with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.
\v 40 And Ahab rested with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 22.41: \v 41 In the fourth year of Ahab’s reign over Israel, Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah. \v 41 In the fourth year of Ahab’s reign over Israel, Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah. \p 1 Kings 22.42: \v 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
\v 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
\p 1 Kings 22.43: \v 43 And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
The high places, however, were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. \v 43 And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
The high places, however, were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. \p 1 Kings 22.44: \v 44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
\v 44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
\p 1 Kings 22.45: \v 45 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, along with the might he exercised and how he waged war, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? \v 45 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, along with the might he exercised and how he waged war, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? \p 1 Kings 22.46: \v 46 He banished from the land the male shrine prostitutes who remained from the days of his father Asa. \v 46 He banished from the land the male shrine prostitutes who remained from the days of his father Asa. \p 1 Kings 22.47: \v 47 And there was no king in Edom; a deputy served as king.
\v 47 And there was no king in Edom; a deputy served as king.
\p 1 Kings 22.48: \v 48 Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber. \v 48 Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber. \p 1 Kings 22.49: \v 49 At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants sail with your servants,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
\v 49 At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants sail with your servants,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
\p 1 Kings 22.50: \v 50 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And his son Jehoram reigned in his place.
\v 50 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And his son Jehoram reigned in his place.
\p 1 Kings 22.51: \v 51 In the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria two years. \v 51 In the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria two years. \p 1 Kings 22.52: \v 52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.
\v 52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.
\p 1 Kings 22.53: \v 53 Ahaziah served and worshiped Baal, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.
\v 53 Ahaziah served and worshiped Baal, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.
\p 1 Kings 22.54: \v 54 II Kings 1:1: After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.
\p Obadiah 0.0: \id OBA \p Obadiah 1.0: \c 1 \p \p Obadiah 1.1: \v 1 This is the vision of Obadiah:
This is what the Lord GOD says about Edom— We have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent among the nations to say, “Rise up, and let us go to battle against her!”— \p Obadiah 1.2: \v 2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you will be deeply despised. \p Obadiah 1.3: \v 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ \p Obadiah 1.4: \v 4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD. \p Obadiah 1.5: \v 5 “If thieves came to you, if robbers by night— oh, how you will be ruined— would they not steal only what they wanted? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? \p Obadiah 1.6: \v 6 But how Esau will be pillaged, his hidden treasures sought out! \p Obadiah 1.7: \v 7 All the men allied with you will drive you to the border; the men at peace with you will deceive and overpower you. Those who eat your bread will set a trap for you without your awareness of it. \p Obadiah 1.8: \v 8 In that day, declares the LORD, will I not destroy the wise men of Edom and the men of understanding in the mountains of Esau? \p Obadiah 1.9: \v 9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone in the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the slaughter. \p Obadiah 1.10: \v 10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. \p Obadiah 1.11: \v 11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. \p Obadiah 1.12: \v 12 But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress. \p Obadiah 1.13: \v 13 You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster. \p Obadiah 1.14: \v 14 Nor should you stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, nor deliver up their survivors in the day of their distress. \p Obadiah 1.15: \v 15 For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head. \p Obadiah 1.16: \v 16 For as you drank on My holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and gulp it down; they will be as if they had never existed. \p Obadiah 1.17: \v 17 But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will reclaim their possession. \p Obadiah 1.18: \v 18 Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire, and the house of Joseph a burning flame; but the house of Esau will be stubble— Jacob will set it ablaze and consume it. Therefore no survivor will remain from the house of Esau.” For the LORD has spoken. \p Obadiah 1.19: \v 19 Those from the Negev will possess the mountains of Esau; those from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead. \p Obadiah 1.20: \v 20 And the exiles of this host of the Israelites will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath; and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev. \p Obadiah 1.21: \v 21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the LORD.
\p Matthew 0.0: \id MAT \p Matthew 1.0: \c 1 \p \p Matthew 1.1: \v 1 This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
\p Matthew 1.2: \v 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. \p Matthew 1.3: \v 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. \p Matthew 1.4: \v 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. \p Matthew 1.5: \v 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, \p Matthew 1.6: \v 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
Next:
David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife, \p Matthew 1.7: \v 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. \p Matthew 1.8: \v 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. \p Matthew 1.9: \v 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. \p Matthew 1.10: \v 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, \p Matthew 1.11: \v 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. \p Matthew 1.12: \v 12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, \p Matthew 1.13: \v 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. \p Matthew 1.14: \v 14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. \p Matthew 1.15: \v 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, \p Matthew 1.16: \v 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. \p Matthew 1.17: \v 17 In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
\p Matthew 1.18: \v 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. \p Matthew 1.19: \v 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
\p Matthew 1.20: \v 20 But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. \p Matthew 1.21: \v 21 She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
\p Matthew 1.22: \v 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
\p Matthew 1.23: \v 23 “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”). \p Matthew 1.24: \v 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. \p Matthew 1.25: \v 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus. \p Matthew 2.0: \c 2 \p \p Matthew 2.1: \v 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, \p Matthew 2.2: \v 2 asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
\p Matthew 2.3: \v 3 When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. \p Matthew 2.4: \v 4 And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
\p Matthew 2.5: \v 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
\p Matthew 2.6: \v 6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’” \p Matthew 2.7: \v 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared. \p Matthew 2.8: \v 8 And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”
\p Matthew 2.9: \v 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was. \p Matthew 2.10: \v 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight. \p Matthew 2.11: \v 11 On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
\p Matthew 2.12: \v 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
\p Matthew 2.13: \v 13 When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
\p Matthew 2.14: \v 14 So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, \p Matthew 2.15: \v 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
\p Matthew 2.16: \v 16 When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi. \p Matthew 2.17: \v 17 Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
\p Matthew 2.18: \v 18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” \p Matthew 2.19: \v 19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. \p Matthew 2.20: \v 20 “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”
\p Matthew 2.21: \v 21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. \p Matthew 2.22: \v 22 But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, \p Matthew 2.23: \v 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.” \p Matthew 3.0: \c 3 \p \p Matthew 3.1: \v 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea \p Matthew 3.2: \v 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” \p Matthew 3.3: \v 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” \p Matthew 3.4: \v 4 John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. \p Matthew 3.5: \v 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan. \p Matthew 3.6: \v 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
\p Matthew 3.7: \v 7 But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? \p Matthew 3.8: \v 8 Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. \p Matthew 3.9: \v 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. \p Matthew 3.10: \v 10 The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
\p Matthew 3.11: \v 11 I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. \p Matthew 3.12: \v 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
\p Matthew 3.13: \v 13 At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. \p Matthew 3.14: \v 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
\p Matthew 3.15: \v 15 “Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.
\p Matthew 3.16: \v 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him. \p Matthew 3.17: \v 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” \p Matthew 4.0: \c 4 \p \p Matthew 4.1: \v 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. \p Matthew 4.2: \v 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.
\p Matthew 4.3: \v 3 The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
\p Matthew 4.4: \v 4 But Jesus answered, “It is written:
‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” \p Matthew 4.5: \v 5 Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. \p Matthew 4.6: \v 6 “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” \p Matthew 4.7: \v 7 Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
\p Matthew 4.8: \v 8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. \p Matthew 4.9: \v 9 “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”
\p Matthew 4.10: \v 10 “Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
\p Matthew 4.11: \v 11 Then the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him.
\p Matthew 4.12: \v 12 When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee. \p Matthew 4.13: \v 13 Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, \p Matthew 4.14: \v 14 to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
\p Matthew 4.15: \v 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— \p Matthew 4.16: \v 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” \p Matthew 4.17: \v 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
\p Matthew 4.18: \v 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. \p Matthew 4.19: \v 19 “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” \p Matthew 4.20: \v 20 And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
\p Matthew 4.21: \v 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them, \p Matthew 4.22: \v 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
\p Matthew 4.23: \v 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. \p Matthew 4.24: \v 24 News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed—and He healed them.
\p Matthew 4.25: \v 25 The large crowds that followed Him came from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. \p Matthew 5.0: \c 5 \p \p Matthew 5.1: \v 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him, \p Matthew 5.2: \v 2 and He began to teach them, saying:
\p Matthew 5.3: \v 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. \p Matthew 5.4: \v 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. \p Matthew 5.5: \v 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. \p Matthew 5.6: \v 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. \p Matthew 5.7: \v 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. \p Matthew 5.8: \v 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. \p Matthew 5.9: \v 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. \p Matthew 5.10: \v 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. \p Matthew 5.11: \v 11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. \p Matthew 5.12: \v 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
\p Matthew 5.13: \v 13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
\p Matthew 5.14: \v 14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. \p Matthew 5.15: \v 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. \p Matthew 5.16: \v 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
\p Matthew 5.17: \v 17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. \p Matthew 5.18: \v 18 For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
\p Matthew 5.19: \v 19 So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. \p Matthew 5.20: \v 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
\p Matthew 5.21: \v 21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ \p Matthew 5.22: \v 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.
\p Matthew 5.23: \v 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, \p Matthew 5.24: \v 24 leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
\p Matthew 5.25: \v 25 Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. \p Matthew 5.26: \v 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
\p Matthew 5.27: \v 27 You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ \p Matthew 5.28: \v 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. \p Matthew 5.29: \v 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. \p Matthew 5.30: \v 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.
\p Matthew 5.31: \v 31 It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ \p Matthew 5.32: \v 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
\p Matthew 5.33: \v 33 Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ \p Matthew 5.34: \v 34 But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; \p Matthew 5.35: \v 35 or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. \p Matthew 5.36: \v 36 Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. \p Matthew 5.37: \v 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.
\p Matthew 5.38: \v 38 You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ \p Matthew 5.39: \v 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; \p Matthew 5.40: \v 40 if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; \p Matthew 5.41: \v 41 and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. \p Matthew 5.42: \v 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
\p Matthew 5.43: \v 43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ \p Matthew 5.44: \v 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, \p Matthew 5.45: \v 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. \p Matthew 5.46: \v 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same? \p Matthew 5.47: \v 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?
\p Matthew 5.48: \v 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. \p Matthew 6.0: \c 6 \p \p Matthew 6.1: \v 1 “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
\p Matthew 6.2: \v 2 So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. \p Matthew 6.3: \v 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, \p Matthew 6.4: \v 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
\p Matthew 6.5: \v 5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. \p Matthew 6.6: \v 6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
\p Matthew 6.7: \v 7 And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. \p Matthew 6.8: \v 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
\p Matthew 6.9: \v 9 So then, this is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. \p Matthew 6.10: \v 10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. \p Matthew 6.11: \v 11 Give us this day our daily bread. \p Matthew 6.12: \v 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. \p Matthew 6.13: \v 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ \p Matthew 6.14: \v 14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. \p Matthew 6.15: \v 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.
\p Matthew 6.16: \v 16 When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. \p Matthew 6.17: \v 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, \p Matthew 6.18: \v 18 so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
\p Matthew 6.19: \v 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. \p Matthew 6.20: \v 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. \p Matthew 6.21: \v 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
\p Matthew 6.22: \v 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. \p Matthew 6.23: \v 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
\p Matthew 6.24: \v 24 No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
\p Matthew 6.25: \v 25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? \p Matthew 6.26: \v 26 Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? \p Matthew 6.27: \v 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
\p Matthew 6.28: \v 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. \p Matthew 6.29: \v 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. \p Matthew 6.30: \v 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
\p Matthew 6.31: \v 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ \p Matthew 6.32: \v 32 For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. \p Matthew 6.33: \v 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
\p Matthew 6.34: \v 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. \p Matthew 7.0: \c 7 \p \p Matthew 7.1: \v 1 “Do not judge, or you will be judged. \p Matthew 7.2: \v 2 For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
\p Matthew 7.3: \v 3 Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? \p Matthew 7.4: \v 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye? \p Matthew 7.5: \v 5 You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
\p Matthew 7.6: \v 6 Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
\p Matthew 7.7: \v 7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. \p Matthew 7.8: \v 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
\p Matthew 7.9: \v 9 Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? \p Matthew 7.10: \v 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? \p Matthew 7.11: \v 11 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
\p Matthew 7.12: \v 12 In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
\p Matthew 7.13: \v 13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. \p Matthew 7.14: \v 14 But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.
\p Matthew 7.15: \v 15 Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. \p Matthew 7.16: \v 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? \p Matthew 7.17: \v 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. \p Matthew 7.18: \v 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. \p Matthew 7.19: \v 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. \p Matthew 7.20: \v 20 So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
\p Matthew 7.21: \v 21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. \p Matthew 7.22: \v 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
\p Matthew 7.23: \v 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
\p Matthew 7.24: \v 24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. \p Matthew 7.25: \v 25 The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.
\p Matthew 7.26: \v 26 But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. \p Matthew 7.27: \v 27 The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”
\p Matthew 7.28: \v 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, \p Matthew 7.29: \v 29 because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. \p Matthew 8.0: \c 8 \p \p Matthew 8.1: \v 1 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. \p Matthew 8.2: \v 2 Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
\p Matthew 8.3: \v 3 Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
\p Matthew 8.4: \v 4 Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”
\p Matthew 8.5: \v 5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him, \p Matthew 8.6: \v 6 “Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.”
\p Matthew 8.7: \v 7 “I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied.
\p Matthew 8.8: \v 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. \p Matthew 8.9: \v 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”
\p Matthew 8.10: \v 10 When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. \p Matthew 8.11: \v 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. \p Matthew 8.12: \v 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
\p Matthew 8.13: \v 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.
\p Matthew 8.14: \v 14 When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, He saw Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. \p Matthew 8.15: \v 15 So He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve Him.
\p Matthew 8.16: \v 16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. \p Matthew 8.17: \v 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“He took on our infirmities and carried our diseases.” \p Matthew 8.18: \v 18 When Jesus saw a large crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the sea. \p Matthew 8.19: \v 19 And one of the scribes came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
\p Matthew 8.20: \v 20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
\p Matthew 8.21: \v 21 Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
\p Matthew 8.22: \v 22 But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
\p Matthew 8.23: \v 23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. \p Matthew 8.24: \v 24 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. \p Matthew 8.25: \v 25 The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
\p Matthew 8.26: \v 26 “You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.
\p Matthew 8.27: \v 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
\p Matthew 8.28: \v 28 When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.
\p Matthew 8.29: \v 29 “What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
\p Matthew 8.30: \v 30 In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. \p Matthew 8.31: \v 31 So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
\p Matthew 8.32: \v 32 “Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.
\p Matthew 8.33: \v 33 Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men. \p Matthew 8.34: \v 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region. \p Matthew 9.0: \c 9 \p \p Matthew 9.1: \v 1 Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. \p Matthew 9.2: \v 2 Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
\p Matthew 9.3: \v 3 On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”
\p Matthew 9.4: \v 4 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts? \p Matthew 9.5: \v 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’ \p Matthew 9.6: \v 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” \p Matthew 9.7: \v 7 And the man got up and went home.
\p Matthew 9.8: \v 8 When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
\p Matthew 9.9: \v 9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.
\p Matthew 9.10: \v 10 Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. \p Matthew 9.11: \v 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
\p Matthew 9.12: \v 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. \p Matthew 9.13: \v 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
\p Matthew 9.14: \v 14 At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
\p Matthew 9.15: \v 15 Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
\p Matthew 9.16: \v 16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.
\p Matthew 9.17: \v 17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
\p Matthew 9.18: \v 18 While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”
\p Matthew 9.19: \v 19 So Jesus got up and went with him, along with His disciples. \p Matthew 9.20: \v 20 Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. \p Matthew 9.21: \v 21 She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”
\p Matthew 9.22: \v 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was cured from that very hour.
\p Matthew 9.23: \v 23 When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd. \p Matthew 9.24: \v 24 “Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him.
\p Matthew 9.25: \v 25 After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. \p Matthew 9.26: \v 26 And the news about this spread throughout that region.
\p Matthew 9.27: \v 27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
\p Matthew 9.28: \v 28 After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked.
“Yes, Lord,” they answered.
\p Matthew 9.29: \v 29 Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” \p Matthew 9.30: \v 30 And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!” \p Matthew 9.31: \v 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land.
\p Matthew 9.32: \v 32 As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus. \p Matthew 9.33: \v 33 And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
\p Matthew 9.34: \v 34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”
\p Matthew 9.35: \v 35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. \p Matthew 9.36: \v 36 When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
\p Matthew 9.37: \v 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. \p Matthew 9.38: \v 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.” \p Matthew 10.0: \c 10 \p \p Matthew 10.1: \v 1 And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness.
\p Matthew 10.2: \v 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; \p Matthew 10.3: \v 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; \p Matthew 10.4: \v 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
\p Matthew 10.5: \v 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go onto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. \p Matthew 10.6: \v 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. \p Matthew 10.7: \v 7 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ \p Matthew 10.8: \v 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
\p Matthew 10.9: \v 9 Do not carry any gold or silver or copper in your belts. \p Matthew 10.10: \v 10 Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staff; for the worker is worthy of his provisions.
\p Matthew 10.11: \v 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on. \p Matthew 10.12: \v 12 As you enter the home, greet its occupants. \p Matthew 10.13: \v 13 If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it; but if it is not, let your peace return to you. \p Matthew 10.14: \v 14 And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. \p Matthew 10.15: \v 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
\p Matthew 10.16: \v 16 Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. \p Matthew 10.17: \v 17 But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues. \p Matthew 10.18: \v 18 On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. \p Matthew 10.19: \v 19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say. \p Matthew 10.20: \v 20 For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
\p Matthew 10.21: \v 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. \p Matthew 10.22: \v 22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
\p Matthew 10.23: \v 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
\p Matthew 10.24: \v 24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. \p Matthew 10.25: \v 25 It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
\p Matthew 10.26: \v 26 So do not be afraid of them. For there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. \p Matthew 10.27: \v 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.
\p Matthew 10.28: \v 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
\p Matthew 10.29: \v 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. \p Matthew 10.30: \v 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. \p Matthew 10.31: \v 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
\p Matthew 10.32: \v 32 Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. \p Matthew 10.33: \v 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.
\p Matthew 10.34: \v 34 Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. \p Matthew 10.35: \v 35 For I have come to turn
‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. \p Matthew 10.36: \v 36 A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ \p Matthew 10.37: \v 37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; \p Matthew 10.38: \v 38 and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. \p Matthew 10.39: \v 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
\p Matthew 10.40: \v 40 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me. \p Matthew 10.41: \v 41 Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. \p Matthew 10.42: \v 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.” \p Matthew 11.0: \c 11 \p \p Matthew 11.1: \v 1 After Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
\p Matthew 11.2: \v 2 Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples \p Matthew 11.3: \v 3 to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”
\p Matthew 11.4: \v 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: \p Matthew 11.5: \v 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. \p Matthew 11.6: \v 6 Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”
\p Matthew 11.7: \v 7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? \p Matthew 11.8: \v 8 Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces. \p Matthew 11.9: \v 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. \p Matthew 11.10: \v 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’ \p Matthew 11.11: \v 11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. \p Matthew 11.12: \v 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence, and the violent lay claim to it. \p Matthew 11.13: \v 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. \p Matthew 11.14: \v 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
\p Matthew 11.15: \v 15 He who has ears, let him hear.
\p Matthew 11.16: \v 16 To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
\p Matthew 11.17: \v 17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ \p Matthew 11.18: \v 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ \p Matthew 11.19: \v 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”
\p Matthew 11.20: \v 20 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. \p Matthew 11.21: \v 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. \p Matthew 11.22: \v 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
\p Matthew 11.23: \v 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. \p Matthew 11.24: \v 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
\p Matthew 11.25: \v 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. \p Matthew 11.26: \v 26 Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
\p Matthew 11.27: \v 27 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
\p Matthew 11.28: \v 28 Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. \p Matthew 11.29: \v 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. \p Matthew 11.30: \v 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” \p Matthew 12.0: \c 12 \p \p Matthew 12.1: \v 1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. \p Matthew 12.2: \v 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
\p Matthew 12.3: \v 3 Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? \p Matthew 12.4: \v 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.
\p Matthew 12.5: \v 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent? \p Matthew 12.6: \v 6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
\p Matthew 12.7: \v 7 If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. \p Matthew 12.8: \v 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
\p Matthew 12.9: \v 9 Moving on from there, Jesus entered their synagogue, \p Matthew 12.10: \v 10 and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
\p Matthew 12.11: \v 11 He replied, “If one of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? \p Matthew 12.12: \v 12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
\p Matthew 12.13: \v 13 Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored to full use, just like the other. \p Matthew 12.14: \v 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
\p Matthew 12.15: \v 15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all, \p Matthew 12.16: \v 16 warning them not to make Him known. \p Matthew 12.17: \v 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
\p Matthew 12.18: \v 18 “Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations. \p Matthew 12.19: \v 19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. \p Matthew 12.20: \v 20 A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory. \p Matthew 12.21: \v 21 In His name the nations will put their hope.” \p Matthew 12.22: \v 22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see. \p Matthew 12.23: \v 23 The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”
\p Matthew 12.24: \v 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”
\p Matthew 12.25: \v 25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. \p Matthew 12.26: \v 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? \p Matthew 12.27: \v 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. \p Matthew 12.28: \v 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
\p Matthew 12.29: \v 29 Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
\p Matthew 12.30: \v 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
\p Matthew 12.31: \v 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. \p Matthew 12.32: \v 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.
\p Matthew 12.33: \v 33 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. \p Matthew 12.34: \v 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. \p Matthew 12.35: \v 35 The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure. \p Matthew 12.36: \v 36 But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. \p Matthew 12.37: \v 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
\p Matthew 12.38: \v 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
\p Matthew 12.39: \v 39 Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. \p Matthew 12.40: \v 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
\p Matthew 12.41: \v 41 The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here. \p Matthew 12.42: \v 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.
\p Matthew 12.43: \v 43 When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. \p Matthew 12.44: \v 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. \p Matthew 12.45: \v 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”
\p Matthew 12.46: \v 46 While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. \p Matthew 12.47: \v 47 Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.”
\p Matthew 12.48: \v 48 But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” \p Matthew 12.49: \v 49 Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. \p Matthew 12.50: \v 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” \p Matthew 13.0: \c 13 \p \p Matthew 13.1: \v 1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. \p Matthew 13.2: \v 2 Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore.
\p Matthew 13.3: \v 3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. \p Matthew 13.4: \v 4 And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
\p Matthew 13.5: \v 5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. \p Matthew 13.6: \v 6 But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
\p Matthew 13.7: \v 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.
\p Matthew 13.8: \v 8 Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.
\p Matthew 13.9: \v 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
\p Matthew 13.10: \v 10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
\p Matthew 13.11: \v 11 He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. \p Matthew 13.12: \v 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. \p Matthew 13.13: \v 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ \p Matthew 13.14: \v 14 In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled:
‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. \p Matthew 13.15: \v 15 For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ \p Matthew 13.16: \v 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. \p Matthew 13.17: \v 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
\p Matthew 13.18: \v 18 Consider, then, the parable of the sower: \p Matthew 13.19: \v 19 When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
\p Matthew 13.20: \v 20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. \p Matthew 13.21: \v 21 But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
\p Matthew 13.22: \v 22 The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
\p Matthew 13.23: \v 23 But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”
\p Matthew 13.24: \v 24 Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. \p Matthew 13.25: \v 25 But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. \p Matthew 13.26: \v 26 When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
\p Matthew 13.27: \v 27 The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
\p Matthew 13.28: \v 28 ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
\p Matthew 13.29: \v 29 ‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. \p Matthew 13.30: \v 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”
\p Matthew 13.31: \v 31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. \p Matthew 13.32: \v 32 Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
\p Matthew 13.33: \v 33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
\p Matthew 13.34: \v 34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable. \p Matthew 13.35: \v 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” \p Matthew 13.36: \v 36 Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
\p Matthew 13.37: \v 37 He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. \p Matthew 13.38: \v 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, \p Matthew 13.39: \v 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
\p Matthew 13.40: \v 40 As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. \p Matthew 13.41: \v 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. \p Matthew 13.42: \v 42 And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. \p Matthew 13.43: \v 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
He who has ears, let him hear.
\p Matthew 13.44: \v 44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.
\p Matthew 13.45: \v 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. \p Matthew 13.46: \v 46 When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.
\p Matthew 13.47: \v 47 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish. \p Matthew 13.48: \v 48 When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.
\p Matthew 13.49: \v 49 So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous, \p Matthew 13.50: \v 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
\p Matthew 13.51: \v 51 Have you understood all these things?”
“Yes,” they answered.
\p Matthew 13.52: \v 52 Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
\p Matthew 13.53: \v 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He withdrew from that place. \p Matthew 13.54: \v 54 Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked. \p Matthew 13.55: \v 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? \p Matthew 13.56: \v 56 Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?” \p Matthew 13.57: \v 57 And they took offense at Him.
But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.” \p Matthew 13.58: \v 58 And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief. \p Matthew 14.0: \c 14 \p \p Matthew 14.1: \v 1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus \p Matthew 14.2: \v 2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
\p Matthew 14.3: \v 3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, \p Matthew 14.4: \v 4 because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” \p Matthew 14.5: \v 5 Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.
\p Matthew 14.6: \v 6 On Herod’s birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod \p Matthew 14.7: \v 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.
\p Matthew 14.8: \v 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
\p Matthew 14.9: \v 9 The king was grieved, but because of his oaths and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted \p Matthew 14.10: \v 10 and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.
\p Matthew 14.11: \v 11 John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.
\p Matthew 14.12: \v 12 Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.
\p Matthew 14.13: \v 13 When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns. \p Matthew 14.14: \v 14 When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.
\p Matthew 14.15: \v 15 When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
\p Matthew 14.16: \v 16 “They do not need to go away,” Jesus replied. “You give them something to eat.”
\p Matthew 14.17: \v 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
\p Matthew 14.18: \v 18 “Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said. \p Matthew 14.19: \v 19 And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
\p Matthew 14.20: \v 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. \p Matthew 14.21: \v 21 About five thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children.
\p Matthew 14.22: \v 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. \p Matthew 14.23: \v 23 After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, \p Matthew 14.24: \v 24 but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
\p Matthew 14.25: \v 25 During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. \p Matthew 14.26: \v 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.
\p Matthew 14.27: \v 27 But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
\p Matthew 14.28: \v 28 “Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.”
\p Matthew 14.29: \v 29 “Come,” said Jesus.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. \p Matthew 14.30: \v 30 But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
\p Matthew 14.31: \v 31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”
\p Matthew 14.32: \v 32 And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind died down. \p Matthew 14.33: \v 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”
\p Matthew 14.34: \v 34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. \p Matthew 14.35: \v 35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding region. People brought all the sick to Him \p Matthew 14.36: \v 36 and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed. \p Matthew 15.0: \c 15 \p \p Matthew 15.1: \v 1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, \p Matthew 15.2: \v 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
\p Matthew 15.3: \v 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? \p Matthew 15.4: \v 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ \p Matthew 15.5: \v 5 But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ \p Matthew 15.6: \v 6 he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. \p Matthew 15.7: \v 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
\p Matthew 15.8: \v 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. \p Matthew 15.9: \v 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’” \p Matthew 15.10: \v 10 Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. \p Matthew 15.11: \v 11 A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
\p Matthew 15.12: \v 12 Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
\p Matthew 15.13: \v 13 But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. \p Matthew 15.14: \v 14 Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
\p Matthew 15.15: \v 15 Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
\p Matthew 15.16: \v 16 “Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. \p Matthew 15.17: \v 17 “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? \p Matthew 15.18: \v 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. \p Matthew 15.19: \v 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. \p Matthew 15.20: \v 20 These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
\p Matthew 15.21: \v 21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. \p Matthew 15.22: \v 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”
\p Matthew 15.23: \v 23 But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
\p Matthew 15.24: \v 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
\p Matthew 15.25: \v 25 The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
\p Matthew 15.26: \v 26 But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
\p Matthew 15.27: \v 27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
\p Matthew 15.28: \v 28 “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
\p Matthew 15.29: \v 29 Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down. \p Matthew 15.30: \v 30 Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them. \p Matthew 15.31: \v 31 The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
\p Matthew 15.32: \v 32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”
\p Matthew 15.33: \v 33 The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
\p Matthew 15.34: \v 34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
\p Matthew 15.35: \v 35 And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. \p Matthew 15.36: \v 36 Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
\p Matthew 15.37: \v 37 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. \p Matthew 15.38: \v 38 A total of four thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children.
\p Matthew 15.39: \v 39 After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. \p Matthew 16.0: \c 16 \p \p Matthew 16.1: \v 1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
\p Matthew 16.2: \v 2 But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’ \p Matthew 16.3: \v 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times. \p Matthew 16.4: \v 4 A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
\p Matthew 16.5: \v 5 When they crossed to the other side, the disciples forgot to take bread. \p Matthew 16.6: \v 6 “Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
\p Matthew 16.7: \v 7 They discussed this among themselves and concluded, “It is because we did not bring any bread.”
\p Matthew 16.8: \v 8 Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread? \p Matthew 16.9: \v 9 Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? \p Matthew 16.10: \v 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? \p Matthew 16.11: \v 11 How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
\p Matthew 16.12: \v 12 Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
\p Matthew 16.13: \v 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
\p Matthew 16.14: \v 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
\p Matthew 16.15: \v 15 “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
\p Matthew 16.16: \v 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
\p Matthew 16.17: \v 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. \p Matthew 16.18: \v 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. \p Matthew 16.19: \v 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
\p Matthew 16.20: \v 20 Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.
\p Matthew 16.21: \v 21 From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
\p Matthew 16.22: \v 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”
\p Matthew 16.23: \v 23 But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
\p Matthew 16.24: \v 24 Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. \p Matthew 16.25: \v 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. \p Matthew 16.26: \v 26 What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? \p Matthew 16.27: \v 27 For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
\p Matthew 16.28: \v 28 Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” \p Matthew 17.0: \c 17 \p \p Matthew 17.1: \v 1 After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. \v 1 After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. \p Matthew 17.2: \v 2 There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
\v 2 There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
\p Matthew 17.3: \v 3 Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus. \v 3 Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus. \p Matthew 17.4: \v 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
\v 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
\p Matthew 17.5: \v 5 While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” \v 5 While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” \p Matthew 17.6: \v 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.
\v 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.
\p Matthew 17.7: \v 7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Do not be afraid.” \v 7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Do not be afraid.” \p Matthew 17.8: \v 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
\v 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
\p Matthew 17.9: \v 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
\v 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
\p Matthew 17.10: \v 10 The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
\v 10 The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
\p Matthew 17.11: \v 11 Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things. \v 11 Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things. \p Matthew 17.12: \v 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”
\v 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”
\p Matthew 17.13: \v 13 Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
\v 13 Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
\p Matthew 17.14: \v 14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and knelt before Him. \v 14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and knelt before Him. \p Matthew 17.15: \v 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. \v 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. \p Matthew 17.16: \v 16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
\v 16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
\p Matthew 17.17: \v 17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.” \v 17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.” \p Matthew 17.18: \v 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
\v 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
\p Matthew 17.19: \v 19 Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
\v 19 Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
\p Matthew 17.20: \v 20 “Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
\v 20 “Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
\p Matthew 17.21: \v 21 \v 21 \p Matthew 17.22: \v 22 When they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. \v 22 When they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. \p Matthew 17.23: \v 23 They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised to life.” And the disciples were deeply grieved.
\v 23 They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised to life.” And the disciples were deeply grieved.
\p Matthew 17.24: \v 24 After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”
\v 24 After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”
\p Matthew 17.25: \v 25 “Yes,” he answered.
When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”
\v 25 “Yes,” he answered.
When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”
\p Matthew 17.26: \v 26 “From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus declared. \v 26 “From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus declared. \p Matthew 17.27: \v 27 “But so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours.” \p Matthew 18.0: \c 18 \p \p Matthew 18.1: \v 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
\p Matthew 18.2: \v 2 Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. \p Matthew 18.3: \v 3 “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. \p Matthew 18.4: \v 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. \p Matthew 18.5: \v 5 And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.
\p Matthew 18.6: \v 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
\p Matthew 18.7: \v 7 Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
\p Matthew 18.8: \v 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. \p Matthew 18.9: \v 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
\p Matthew 18.10: \v 10 See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
\p Matthew 18.11: \v 11 \p Matthew 18.12: \v 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? \p Matthew 18.13: \v 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. \p Matthew 18.14: \v 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
\p Matthew 18.15: \v 15 If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. \p Matthew 18.16: \v 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ \p Matthew 18.17: \v 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
\p Matthew 18.18: \v 18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
\p Matthew 18.19: \v 19 Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. \p Matthew 18.20: \v 20 For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”
\p Matthew 18.21: \v 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
\p Matthew 18.22: \v 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!
\p Matthew 18.23: \v 23 Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. \p Matthew 18.24: \v 24 As he began the settlements, a debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents. \p Matthew 18.25: \v 25 Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.
\p Matthew 18.26: \v 26 Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
\p Matthew 18.27: \v 27 His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.
\p Matthew 18.28: \v 28 But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’
\p Matthew 18.29: \v 29 So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’
\p Matthew 18.30: \v 30 But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt.
\p Matthew 18.31: \v 31 When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and recounted all of this to their master.
\p Matthew 18.32: \v 32 Then the master summoned him and declared, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me. \p Matthew 18.33: \v 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’ \p Matthew 18.34: \v 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.
\p Matthew 18.35: \v 35 That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” \p Matthew 19.0: \c 19 \p \p Matthew 19.1: \v 1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. \p Matthew 19.2: \v 2 Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
\p Matthew 19.3: \v 3 Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
\p Matthew 19.4: \v 4 Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ \p Matthew 19.5: \v 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? \p Matthew 19.6: \v 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
\p Matthew 19.7: \v 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
\p Matthew 19.8: \v 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning. \p Matthew 19.9: \v 9 Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”
\p Matthew 19.10: \v 10 His disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”
\p Matthew 19.11: \v 11 “Not everyone can accept this word,” He replied, “but only those to whom it has been given. \p Matthew 19.12: \v 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way; others were made that way by men; and still others live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
\p Matthew 19.13: \v 13 Then the little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. And the disciples rebuked those who brought them. \p Matthew 19.14: \v 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” \p Matthew 19.15: \v 15 And after He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there.
\p Matthew 19.16: \v 16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”
\p Matthew 19.17: \v 17 “Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
\p Matthew 19.18: \v 18 “Which ones?” the man asked.
Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, \p Matthew 19.19: \v 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”
\p Matthew 19.20: \v 20 “All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
\p Matthew 19.21: \v 21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
\p Matthew 19.22: \v 22 When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.
\p Matthew 19.23: \v 23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. \p Matthew 19.24: \v 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
\p Matthew 19.25: \v 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
\p Matthew 19.26: \v 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
\p Matthew 19.27: \v 27 “Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?”
\p Matthew 19.28: \v 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. \p Matthew 19.29: \v 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. \p Matthew 19.30: \v 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. \p Matthew 20.0: \c 20 \p \p Matthew 20.1: \v 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. \p Matthew 20.2: \v 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
\p Matthew 20.3: \v 3 About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. \p Matthew 20.4: \v 4 ‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I will pay you whatever is right.’ \p Matthew 20.5: \v 5 So they went.
He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
\p Matthew 20.6: \v 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked.
\p Matthew 20.7: \v 7 ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
So he told them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.’
\p Matthew 20.8: \v 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.’
\p Matthew 20.9: \v 9 The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. \p Matthew 20.10: \v 10 So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.
\p Matthew 20.11: \v 11 On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner. \p Matthew 20.12: \v 12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’
\p Matthew 20.13: \v 13 But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius? \p Matthew 20.14: \v 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. \p Matthew 20.15: \v 15 Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
\p Matthew 20.16: \v 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
\p Matthew 20.17: \v 17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said, \p Matthew 20.18: \v 18 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death \p Matthew 20.19: \v 19 and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. And on the third day He will be raised to life.”
\p Matthew 20.20: \v 20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and knelt down to make a request of Him.
\p Matthew 20.21: \v 21 “What do you want?” He inquired.
She answered, “Declare that in Your kingdom one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right hand, and the other at Your left.”
\p Matthew 20.22: \v 22 “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” the brothers answered.
\p Matthew 20.23: \v 23 “You will indeed drink My cup,” Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”
\p Matthew 20.24: \v 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. \p Matthew 20.25: \v 25 But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. \p Matthew 20.26: \v 26 It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, \p Matthew 20.27: \v 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— \p Matthew 20.28: \v 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
\p Matthew 20.29: \v 29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. \p Matthew 20.30: \v 30 And there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
\p Matthew 20.31: \v 31 The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
\p Matthew 20.32: \v 32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want Me to do for you?” He asked.
\p Matthew 20.33: \v 33 “Lord,” they answered, “let our eyes be opened.”
\p Matthew 20.34: \v 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and at once they received their sight and followed Him. \p Matthew 21.0: \c 21 \p \p Matthew 21.1: \v 1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples, \p Matthew 21.2: \v 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me. \p Matthew 21.3: \v 3 If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
\p Matthew 21.4: \v 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
\p Matthew 21.5: \v 5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” \p Matthew 21.6: \v 6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. \p Matthew 21.7: \v 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
\p Matthew 21.8: \v 8 A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
\p Matthew 21.9: \v 9 The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” \p Matthew 21.10: \v 10 When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
\p Matthew 21.11: \v 11 The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
\p Matthew 21.12: \v 12 Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. \p Matthew 21.13: \v 13 And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
\p Matthew 21.14: \v 14 The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. \p Matthew 21.15: \v 15 But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
\p Matthew 21.16: \v 16 “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked.
“Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read:
‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?” \p Matthew 21.17: \v 17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.
\p Matthew 21.18: \v 18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry. \p Matthew 21.19: \v 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.
\p Matthew 21.20: \v 20 When the disciples saw this, they marveled and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
\p Matthew 21.21: \v 21 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. \p Matthew 21.22: \v 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
\p Matthew 21.23: \v 23 When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”
\p Matthew 21.24: \v 24 “I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. \p Matthew 21.25: \v 25 What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?”
They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ \p Matthew 21.26: \v 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.” \p Matthew 21.27: \v 27 So they answered, “We do not know.”
And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
\p Matthew 21.28: \v 28 But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
\p Matthew 21.29: \v 29 ‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.
\p Matthew 21.30: \v 30 Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing.
‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go.
\p Matthew 21.31: \v 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. \p Matthew 21.32: \v 32 For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
\p Matthew 21.33: \v 33 Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.
\p Matthew 21.34: \v 34 When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit. \p Matthew 21.35: \v 35 But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
\p Matthew 21.36: \v 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them.
\p Matthew 21.37: \v 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
\p Matthew 21.38: \v 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’ \p Matthew 21.39: \v 39 So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
\p Matthew 21.40: \v 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?”
\p Matthew 21.41: \v 41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”
\p Matthew 21.42: \v 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? \p Matthew 21.43: \v 43 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. \p Matthew 21.44: \v 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
\p Matthew 21.45: \v 45 When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them. \p Matthew 21.46: \v 46 Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet. \p Matthew 22.0: \c 22 \p \p Matthew 22.1: \v 1 Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables: \p Matthew 22.2: \v 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. \p Matthew 22.3: \v 3 He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.
\p Matthew 22.4: \v 4 Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
\p Matthew 22.5: \v 5 But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business. \p Matthew 22.6: \v 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.
\p Matthew 22.7: \v 7 The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. \p Matthew 22.8: \v 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. \p Matthew 22.9: \v 9 Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’
\p Matthew 22.10: \v 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
\p Matthew 22.11: \v 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. \p Matthew 22.12: \v 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’
But the man was speechless.
\p Matthew 22.13: \v 13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
\p Matthew 22.14: \v 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
\p Matthew 22.15: \v 15 Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words. \p Matthew 22.16: \v 16 They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance. \p Matthew 22.17: \v 17 So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
\p Matthew 22.18: \v 18 But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me? \p Matthew 22.19: \v 19 Show Me the coin used for the tax.”
And they brought Him a denarius.
\p Matthew 22.20: \v 20 “Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?”
\p Matthew 22.21: \v 21 “Caesar’s,” they answered.
So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
\p Matthew 22.22: \v 22 And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.
\p Matthew 22.23: \v 23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him. \p Matthew 22.24: \v 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. \p Matthew 22.25: \v 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother. \p Matthew 22.26: \v 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, down to the seventh. \p Matthew 22.27: \v 27 And last of all, the woman died. \p Matthew 22.28: \v 28 In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.”
\p Matthew 22.29: \v 29 Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. \p Matthew 22.30: \v 30 In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. \p Matthew 22.31: \v 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: \p Matthew 22.32: \v 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
\p Matthew 22.33: \v 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
\p Matthew 22.34: \v 34 And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. \p Matthew 22.35: \v 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: \p Matthew 22.36: \v 36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”
\p Matthew 22.37: \v 37 Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ \p Matthew 22.38: \v 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. \p Matthew 22.39: \v 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ \p Matthew 22.40: \v 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
\p Matthew 22.41: \v 41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus questioned them: \p Matthew 22.42: \v 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?”
“David’s,” they answered.
\p Matthew 22.43: \v 43 Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says:
\p Matthew 22.44: \v 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ \p Matthew 22.45: \v 45 So if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be David’s son?”
\p Matthew 22.46: \v 46 No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further. \p Matthew 23.0: \c 23 \p \p Matthew 23.1: \v 1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: \p Matthew 23.2: \v 2 “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. \p Matthew 23.3: \v 3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. \p Matthew 23.4: \v 4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
\p Matthew 23.5: \v 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. \p Matthew 23.6: \v 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, \p Matthew 23.7: \v 7 the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.
\p Matthew 23.8: \v 8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. \p Matthew 23.9: \v 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. \p Matthew 23.10: \v 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ. \p Matthew 23.11: \v 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. \p Matthew 23.12: \v 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
\p Matthew 23.13: \v 13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
\p Matthew 23.14: \v 14 \p Matthew 23.15: \v 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
\p Matthew 23.16: \v 16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ \p Matthew 23.17: \v 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? \p Matthew 23.18: \v 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ \p Matthew 23.19: \v 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred? \p Matthew 23.20: \v 20 So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. \p Matthew 23.21: \v 21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. \p Matthew 23.22: \v 22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.
\p Matthew 23.23: \v 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. \p Matthew 23.24: \v 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
\p Matthew 23.25: \v 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. \p Matthew 23.26: \v 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
\p Matthew 23.27: \v 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. \p Matthew 23.28: \v 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
\p Matthew 23.29: \v 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. \p Matthew 23.30: \v 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ \p Matthew 23.31: \v 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. \p Matthew 23.32: \v 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. \p Matthew 23.33: \v 33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
\p Matthew 23.34: \v 34 Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town. \p Matthew 23.35: \v 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. \p Matthew 23.36: \v 36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
\p Matthew 23.37: \v 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! \p Matthew 23.38: \v 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. \p Matthew 23.39: \v 39 For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” \p Matthew 24.0: \c 24 \p \p Matthew 24.1: \v 1 As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.
\p Matthew 24.2: \v 2 “Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
\p Matthew 24.3: \v 3 While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
\p Matthew 24.4: \v 4 Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. \p Matthew 24.5: \v 5 For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. \p Matthew 24.6: \v 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. \p Matthew 24.7: \v 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. \p Matthew 24.8: \v 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
\p Matthew 24.9: \v 9 Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. \p Matthew 24.10: \v 10 At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, \p Matthew 24.11: \v 11 and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
\p Matthew 24.12: \v 12 Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. \p Matthew 24.13: \v 13 But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
\p Matthew 24.14: \v 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
\p Matthew 24.15: \v 15 So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), \p Matthew 24.16: \v 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. \p Matthew 24.17: \v 17 Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house. \p Matthew 24.18: \v 18 And let no one in the field return for his cloak.
\p Matthew 24.19: \v 19 How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! \p Matthew 24.20: \v 20 Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath. \p Matthew 24.21: \v 21 For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. \p Matthew 24.22: \v 22 If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
\p Matthew 24.23: \v 23 At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. \p Matthew 24.24: \v 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. \p Matthew 24.25: \v 25 See, I have told you in advance.
\p Matthew 24.26: \v 26 So if they tell you, ‘There He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. \p Matthew 24.27: \v 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. \p Matthew 24.28: \v 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
\p Matthew 24.29: \v 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days:
‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ \p Matthew 24.30: \v 30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. \p Matthew 24.31: \v 31 And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
\p Matthew 24.32: \v 32 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. \p Matthew 24.33: \v 33 So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door. \p Matthew 24.34: \v 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. \p Matthew 24.35: \v 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
\p Matthew 24.36: \v 36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. \p Matthew 24.37: \v 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. \p Matthew 24.38: \v 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. \p Matthew 24.39: \v 39 And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. \p Matthew 24.40: \v 40 Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. \p Matthew 24.41: \v 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
\p Matthew 24.42: \v 42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come. \p Matthew 24.43: \v 43 But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. \p Matthew 24.44: \v 44 For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.
\p Matthew 24.45: \v 45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time? \p Matthew 24.46: \v 46 Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. \p Matthew 24.47: \v 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
\p Matthew 24.48: \v 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’ \p Matthew 24.49: \v 49 And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. \p Matthew 24.50: \v 50 The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. \p Matthew 24.51: \v 51 Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. \p Matthew 25.0: \c 25 \p \p Matthew 25.1: \v 1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. \p Matthew 25.2: \v 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. \p Matthew 25.3: \v 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil. \p Matthew 25.4: \v 4 But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps. \p Matthew 25.5: \v 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
\p Matthew 25.6: \v 6 At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
\p Matthew 25.7: \v 7 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. \p Matthew 25.8: \v 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
\p Matthew 25.9: \v 9 ‘No,’ said the wise ones, ‘or there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
\p Matthew 25.10: \v 10 But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
\p Matthew 25.11: \v 11 Later the other virgins arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’
\p Matthew 25.12: \v 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’
\p Matthew 25.13: \v 13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
\p Matthew 25.14: \v 14 For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions. \p Matthew 25.15: \v 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey. \p Matthew 25.16: \v 16 The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and gained five more. \p Matthew 25.17: \v 17 Likewise, the one with the two talents gained two more. \p Matthew 25.18: \v 18 But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
\p Matthew 25.19: \v 19 After a long time the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. \p Matthew 25.20: \v 20 The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
\p Matthew 25.21: \v 21 His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
\p Matthew 25.22: \v 22 The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more.’
\p Matthew 25.23: \v 23 His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
\p Matthew 25.24: \v 24 Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. \p Matthew 25.25: \v 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’
\p Matthew 25.26: \v 26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. \p Matthew 25.27: \v 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.
\p Matthew 25.28: \v 28 Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. \p Matthew 25.29: \v 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. \p Matthew 25.30: \v 30 And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
\p Matthew 25.31: \v 31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. \p Matthew 25.32: \v 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. \p Matthew 25.33: \v 33 He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
\p Matthew 25.34: \v 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. \p Matthew 25.35: \v 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, \p Matthew 25.36: \v 36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
\p Matthew 25.37: \v 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? \p Matthew 25.38: \v 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? \p Matthew 25.39: \v 39 When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
\p Matthew 25.40: \v 40 And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
\p Matthew 25.41: \v 41 Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. \p Matthew 25.42: \v 42 For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, \p Matthew 25.43: \v 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
\p Matthew 25.44: \v 44 And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
\p Matthew 25.45: \v 45 Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
\p Matthew 25.46: \v 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” \p Matthew 26.0: \c 26 \p \p Matthew 26.1: \v 1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He told His disciples, \p Matthew 26.2: \v 2 “You know that the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
\p Matthew 26.3: \v 3 At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, \p Matthew 26.4: \v 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him. \p Matthew 26.5: \v 5 “But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
\p Matthew 26.6: \v 6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, \p Matthew 26.7: \v 7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table.
\p Matthew 26.8: \v 8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste? \p Matthew 26.9: \v 9 This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.”
\p Matthew 26.10: \v 10 Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me. \p Matthew 26.11: \v 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me. \p Matthew 26.12: \v 12 By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial. \p Matthew 26.13: \v 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
\p Matthew 26.14: \v 14 Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests \p Matthew 26.15: \v 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver. \p Matthew 26.16: \v 16 So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
\p Matthew 26.17: \v 17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
\p Matthew 26.18: \v 18 He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.’” \p Matthew 26.19: \v 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
\p Matthew 26.20: \v 20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining with the twelve disciples. \p Matthew 26.21: \v 21 And while they were eating, He said to them, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me.”
\p Matthew 26.22: \v 22 They were deeply grieved and began to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”
\p Matthew 26.23: \v 23 Jesus answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. \p Matthew 26.24: \v 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
\p Matthew 26.25: \v 25 Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said it yourself.”
\p Matthew 26.26: \v 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”
\p Matthew 26.27: \v 27 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. \p Matthew 26.28: \v 28 This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. \p Matthew 26.29: \v 29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
\p Matthew 26.30: \v 30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
\p Matthew 26.31: \v 31 Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written:
‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ \p Matthew 26.32: \v 32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
\p Matthew 26.33: \v 33 Peter said to Him, “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will.”
\p Matthew 26.34: \v 34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
\p Matthew 26.35: \v 35 Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.
\p Matthew 26.36: \v 36 At that time Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
\p Matthew 26.37: \v 37 He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. \p Matthew 26.38: \v 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”
\p Matthew 26.39: \v 39 Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
\p Matthew 26.40: \v 40 Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. \p Matthew 26.41: \v 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
\p Matthew 26.42: \v 42 A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.” \p Matthew 26.43: \v 43 And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping—for their eyes were heavy.
\p Matthew 26.44: \v 44 So He left them and went away once more and prayed a third time, saying the same thing. \p Matthew 26.45: \v 45 Then He returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. \p Matthew 26.46: \v 46 Rise, let us go! See, My betrayer is approaching!”
\p Matthew 26.47: \v 47 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and elders of the people.
\p Matthew 26.48: \v 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him.” \p Matthew 26.49: \v 49 Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
\p Matthew 26.50: \v 50 “Friend,” Jesus replied, “do what you came for.”
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him. \p Matthew 26.51: \v 51 At this, one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
\p Matthew 26.52: \v 52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword. \p Matthew 26.53: \v 53 Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? \p Matthew 26.54: \v 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”
\p Matthew 26.55: \v 55 At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. \p Matthew 26.56: \v 56 But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.
\p Matthew 26.57: \v 57 Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered. \p Matthew 26.58: \v 58 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
\p Matthew 26.59: \v 59 Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death. \p Matthew 26.60: \v 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward \p Matthew 26.61: \v 61 and declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
\p Matthew 26.62: \v 62 So the high priest stood up and asked Him, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”
\p Matthew 26.63: \v 63 But Jesus remained silent.
Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
\p Matthew 26.64: \v 64 “You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
\p Matthew 26.65: \v 65 At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. \p Matthew 26.66: \v 66 What do you think?”
“He deserves to die,” they answered.
\p Matthew 26.67: \v 67 Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him \p Matthew 26.68: \v 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”
\p Matthew 26.69: \v 69 Meanwhile, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him. “You also were with Jesus the Galilean,” she said.
\p Matthew 26.70: \v 70 But he denied it before them all: “I do not know what you are talking about.”
\p Matthew 26.71: \v 71 When Peter had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
\p Matthew 26.72: \v 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”
\p Matthew 26.73: \v 73 After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. “Surely you are one of them,” they said, “for your accent gives you away.”
\p Matthew 26.74: \v 74 At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!”
And immediately a rooster crowed.
\p Matthew 26.75: \v 75 Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. \p Matthew 27.0: \c 27 \p \p Matthew 27.1: \v 1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death. \p Matthew 27.2: \v 2 They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.
\p Matthew 27.3: \v 3 When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. \p Matthew 27.4: \v 4 “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.
“What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”
\p Matthew 27.5: \v 5 So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
\p Matthew 27.6: \v 6 The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is unlawful to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” \p Matthew 27.7: \v 7 After conferring together, they used the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. \p Matthew 27.8: \v 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. \p Matthew 27.9: \v 9 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
“They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on Him by the people of Israel, \p Matthew 27.10: \v 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord had commanded me.” \p Matthew 27.11: \v 11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
\p Matthew 27.12: \v 12 And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.
\p Matthew 27.13: \v 13 Then Pilate asked Him, “Do You not hear how many charges they are bringing against You?”
\p Matthew 27.14: \v 14 But Jesus gave no answer, not even to a single charge, much to the governor’s amazement.
\p Matthew 27.15: \v 15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing. \p Matthew 27.16: \v 16 At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. \p Matthew 27.17: \v 17 So when the crowd had assembled, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” \p Matthew 27.18: \v 18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
\p Matthew 27.19: \v 19 While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
\p Matthew 27.20: \v 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.
\p Matthew 27.21: \v 21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they replied.
\p Matthew 27.22: \v 22 “What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify Him!”
\p Matthew 27.23: \v 23 “Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?”
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”
\p Matthew 27.24: \v 24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “You bear the responsibility.”
\p Matthew 27.25: \v 25 All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
\p Matthew 27.26: \v 26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
\p Matthew 27.27: \v 27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him. \p Matthew 27.28: \v 28 They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. \p Matthew 27.29: \v 29 And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt down before Him to mock Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” \p Matthew 27.30: \v 30 Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.
\p Matthew 27.31: \v 31 After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
\p Matthew 27.32: \v 32 Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
\p Matthew 27.33: \v 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, \p Matthew 27.34: \v 34 they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.
\p Matthew 27.35: \v 35 When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots. \p Matthew 27.36: \v 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
\p Matthew 27.37: \v 37 Above His head they posted the written charge against Him:
THIS IS JESUS,
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
\p Matthew 27.38: \v 38 Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right hand and the other on His left.
\p Matthew 27.39: \v 39 And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads \p Matthew 27.40: \v 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
\p Matthew 27.41: \v 41 In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, \p Matthew 27.42: \v 42 “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. \p Matthew 27.43: \v 43 He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
\p Matthew 27.44: \v 44 In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.
\p Matthew 27.45: \v 45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. \p Matthew 27.46: \v 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
\p Matthew 27.47: \v 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.” \p Matthew 27.48: \v 48 One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.
\p Matthew 27.49: \v 49 But the others said, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”
\p Matthew 27.50: \v 50 When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. \p Matthew 27.51: \v 51 At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. \p Matthew 27.52: \v 52 The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. \p Matthew 27.53: \v 53 After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.
\p Matthew 27.54: \v 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
\p Matthew 27.55: \v 55 And many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to minister to Him. \p Matthew 27.56: \v 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
\p Matthew 27.57: \v 57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus. \p Matthew 27.58: \v 58 He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. \p Matthew 27.59: \v 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, \p Matthew 27.60: \v 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. \p Matthew 27.61: \v 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
\p Matthew 27.62: \v 62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate. \p Matthew 27.63: \v 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ \p Matthew 27.64: \v 64 So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”
\p Matthew 27.65: \v 65 “You have a guard,” Pilate said. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” \p Matthew 27.66: \v 66 So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard. \p Matthew 28.0: \c 28 \p \p Matthew 28.1: \v 1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
\p Matthew 28.2: \v 2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. \p Matthew 28.3: \v 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. \p Matthew 28.4: \v 4 The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men.
\p Matthew 28.5: \v 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. \p Matthew 28.6: \v 6 He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. \p Matthew 28.7: \v 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.”
\p Matthew 28.8: \v 8 So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. \p Matthew 28.9: \v 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. \p Matthew 28.10: \v 10 “Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.”
\p Matthew 28.11: \v 11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. \p Matthew 28.12: \v 12 And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money \p Matthew 28.13: \v 13 and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ \p Matthew 28.14: \v 14 If this report reaches the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
\p Matthew 28.15: \v 15 So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day.
\p Matthew 28.16: \v 16 Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated. \p Matthew 28.17: \v 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.
\p Matthew 28.18: \v 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. \p Matthew 28.19: \v 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, \p Matthew 28.20: \v 20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
\p Psalms of Solomon 0.0: \id PSS \h Psalms of Solomon \toc2 Psalms of Solomon \p Letter to the Laodiceans 0.0: \id LAO \h Letter to the Laodiceans \toc2 Letter to the Laodiceans