Ahab’s Family Killed

10 Now there were in Samaria^(A) seventy sons^(B) of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel,^[a](C) to the elders and to the guardians^(D) of Ahab’s children. He said, ² “You have your master’s sons with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons. Now as soon as this letter reaches you, ³ choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”

⁴ But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, how can we?”

⁵ So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants^(E) and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best.”

⁶ Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”

Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them. ⁷ When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy^(F) of them. They put their heads^(G) in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. ⁸ When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes.”

Then Jehu ordered, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”

⁹ The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? ¹⁰ Know, then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he announced^(H) through his servant Elijah.”^{(I) 11} So Jehu^(J) killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.^(K)

¹² Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria. At Beth Eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?”

They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah,^(L) and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.^(M)”

¹⁴ “Take them alive!” he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two of them. He left no survivor.^(N)

¹⁵ After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab^(O) son of Rekab,^(P) who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”

“I am,” Jehonadab answered.

“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.”^(Q) So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. ¹⁶ Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal^(R) for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.

¹⁷ When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab’s family;^(S) he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.

Servants of Baal Killed

¹⁸ Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served^(T) Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now summon^(U) all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.

²⁰ Jehu said, “Call an assembly^(V) in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. ²¹ Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. ²² And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.

²³ Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only servants of Baal.” ²⁴ So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”^(W)

²⁵ As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill^(X) them; let no one escape.”^(Y) So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. ²⁶ They brought the sacred stone^(Z) out of the temple of Baal and burned it. ²⁷ They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple^(AA) of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.

²⁸ So Jehu^(AB) destroyed Baal worship in Israel. ²⁹ However, he did not turn away from the sins^(AC) of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves^(AD) at Bethel^(AE) and Dan.

³⁰ The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”^{(AF) 31} Yet Jehu was not careful^(AG) to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins^(AH) of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

³² In those days the Lord began to reduce^(AI) the size of Israel. Hazael^(AJ) overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory ³³ east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer^(AK) by the Arnon^(AL) Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.

³⁴ As for the other events of Jehu’s reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals^(AM) of the kings of Israel?

³⁵ Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. ³⁶ The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

At the Potter’s House

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay^(A) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,^(B) Israel. ⁷ If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,^(C) torn down and destroyed, ⁸ and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent^(D) and not inflict on it the disaster^(E) I had planned. ⁹ And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built^(F) up and planted, ¹⁰ and if it does evil^(G) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider^(H) the good I had intended to do for it.^(I)

¹¹ “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster^(J) for you and devising a plan^(K) against you. So turn^(L) from your evil ways,^(M) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’^{(N) 12} But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.^(O) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.^(P)’”

¹³ Therefore this is what the Lord says:

¹⁸ They said, “Come, let’s make plans^(AF) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest^(AG) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,^(AH) nor the word from the prophets.^(AI) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues^(AJ) and pay no attention to anything he says.”

19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.^(AZ) Take along some of the elders^(BA) of the people and of the priests ² and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,^(BB) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, ³ and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings^(BC) of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster^(BD) on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.^{(BE) 4} For they have forsaken^(BF) me and made this a place of foreign gods^(BG); they have burned incense^(BH) in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.^{(BI) 5} They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children^(BJ) in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.^{(BK) 6} So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth^(BL) or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,^(BM) but the Valley of Slaughter.^(BN)

⁷ “‘In this place I will ruin^[b] the plans^(BO) of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,^(BP) at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses^(BQ) as food^(BR) to the birds and the wild animals. ⁸ I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;^(BS) all who pass by will be appalled^(BT) and will scoff because of all its wounds.^{(BU) 9} I will make them eat^(BV) the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies^(BW) will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’

¹⁰ “Then break the jar^(BX) while those who go with you are watching, ¹¹ and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash^(BY) this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury^(BZ) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. ¹² This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. ¹³ The houses^(CA) in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled^(CB) like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs^(CC) to all the starry hosts^(CD) and poured out drink offerings^(CE) to other gods.’”

¹⁴ Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court^(CF) of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, ¹⁵ “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster^(CG) I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked^(CH) and would not listen^(CI) to my words.’”

1 Paul, an apostle^(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,^(B) and Timothy^(C) our brother,

To the church of God^(D) in Corinth,^(E) together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:^(F)

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(G)

Praise to the God of All Comfort

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^(H) the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us^(I) in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ,^(J) so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation;^(K) if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings,^(L) so also you share in our comfort.

⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed,^(M) brothers and sisters,^[a] about the troubles we experienced^(N) in the province of Asia.^(O) We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God,^(P) who raises the dead.^{(Q) 10} He has delivered us from such a deadly peril,^(R) and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope^(S) that he will continue to deliver us, ¹¹ as you help us by your prayers.^(T) Then many will give thanks^(U) on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Paul’s Change of Plans

¹² Now this is our boast: Our conscience^(V) testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity^[b](W) and godly sincerity.^(X) We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom^(Y) but on God’s grace. ¹³ For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, ¹⁴ as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.^(Z)

¹⁵ Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you^(AA) first so that you might benefit twice.^{(AB) 16} I wanted to visit you on my way^(AC) to Macedonia^(AD) and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way^(AE) to Judea.^{(AF) 17} Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner^(AG) so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

¹⁸ But as surely as God is faithful,^(AH) our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God,^(AI) Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas^[c](AJ) and Timothy^(AK)—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always^(AL) been “Yes.” ²⁰ For no matter how many promises^(AM) God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen”^(AN) is spoken by us to the glory of God.^{(AO) 21} Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm^(AP) in Christ. He anointed^(AQ) us, ²² set his seal^(AR) of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.^(AS)

²³ I call God as my witness^(AT)—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you^(AU) that I did not return to Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we lord it over^(AV) your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.^(AW) 2 ¹ So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.^{(AX) 2} For if I grieve you,^(AY) who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? ³ I wrote as I did,^(AZ) so that when I came I would not be distressed^(BA) by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence^(BB) in all of you, that you would all share my joy. ⁴ For I wrote you^(BC) out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

Forgiveness for the Offender

⁵ If anyone has caused grief,^(BD) he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. ⁶ The punishment^(BE) inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷ Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him,^(BF) so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ Another reason I wrote you^(BG) was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.^{(BH) 10} Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹ in order that Satan^(BI) might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.^(BJ)

Ministers of the New Covenant

¹² Now when I went to Troas^(BK) to preach the gospel of Christ^(BL) and found that the Lord had opened a door^(BM) for me, ¹³ I still had no peace of mind,^(BN) because I did not find my brother Titus^(BO) there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.^(BP)

¹⁴ But thanks be to God,^(BQ) who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma^(BR) of the knowledge^(BS) of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma^(BT) of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.^{(BU) 16} To the one we are an aroma that brings death;^(BV) to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?^{(BW) 17} Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.^(BX) On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity,^(BY) as those sent from God.^(BZ)