1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and he even made his son pass through the fire, in accordance with the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem for war; and they besieged Ahaz, but were not capable of fighting him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Aram restored Elath to Aram, and drove the Judeans away from Elath; and the Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day.
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the hand of the king of Aram, and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” 8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a gift to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and captured it, and led the people of it into exile to Kir, and put Rezin to death.
10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship. 11 So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to everything that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, in that way Urijah the priest made it, before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus. 12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; then the king approached the altar and went up to it, 13 and burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured out his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 And the bronze altar, which was before the Lord, he brought from the front of the house, from between his altar and the house of the Lord, and he put it on the north side of his altar. 15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening meal offering, the king’s burnt offering and his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their meal offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the bronze altar shall be for me, for making inquiries.” 16 So Urijah the priest acted in accordance with everything that King Ahaz commanded.
17 Then King Ahaz cut off the borders of the stands, and removed the wash basin from them; he also took down the Sea from the bronze oxen which were under it and put it on a pavement of stone. 18 And the covered way for the Sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entry of the king, he removed from the house of the Lord because of the king of Assyria.
19 Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20 So Ahaz lay down with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
1 But as for you, proclaim the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
6 Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; 7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, 8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.
9 Urge slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not stealing, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.
15 These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. No one is to disregard you.
1 Do not rejoice, Israel, with jubilation like the nations!
For you have been unfaithful, abandoning your God.
You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them,
And the new wine will fail them.
3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land,
But Ephraim will return to Egypt,
And in Assyria they will eat unclean food.
4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord,
Nor will their sacrifices please Him.
Their bread will be to them like mourners’ bread;
All who eat it will be defiled,
Because their bread will be for themselves alone;
It will not enter the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival
And on the day of the feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they will be gone because of destruction;
Egypt will gather them together, Memphis will bury them.
Weeds will take possession of their treasures of silver;
Thorns will be in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come,
The days of retribution have come;
Let Israel know this!
The prophet is a fool,
The inspired person is insane,
Because of the grossness of your wrongdoing,
And because your hostility is so great.
8 Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;
Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,
And there is only hostility in the house of his God.
9 They are deeply depraved
As in the days of Gibeah;
He will remember their guilt,
He will punish their sins.
10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.
But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame,
And they became as detestable as that which they loved.
11 As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them of their children until not a person is left.
Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pasture like Tyre;
But Ephraim is going to bring out his children for slaughter.
14 Give to them, Lord—what will You give?
Give them a miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.
15 All their evil is at Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house!
I will no longer love them;
All their leaders are rebels.
16 Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,
They will produce no fruit.
Even though they give birth to children,
I will put to death the precious ones of their womb.
17 My God will reject them
Because they have not listened to Him;
And they will be wanderers among the nations.
1 When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are joyful.
4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,
As the streams in the South.
5 Those who sow in tears shall harvest with joyful shouting.
6 One who goes here and there weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
1 Unless the Lord builds a house,
They who build it labor in vain;
Unless the Lord guards a city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is futile for you to rise up early,
To stay up late,
To eat the bread of painful labor;
This is how He gives to His beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
2 When you eat the fruit of the labor of your hands,
You will be happy and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
4 Behold, for so shall a man
Who fears the Lord be blessed.
5 The Lord bless you from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 Indeed, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!