2 Chronicles 15 - 16, Matthew 4:12-5:48, Psalm 6

The Spirit of God Comes on Azariah

15Now ^athe Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ²and he went out ¹to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^aYahweh is with you when you are with Him. And ^bif you seek Him, He will be found; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. ³“^aNow for many days Israel was without the true God and without ^ba teaching priest and without law. ⁴“But ^ain their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and they searched for Him, and He was found by them. ⁵“^aNow in those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for much confusion was upon all the inhabitants of the lands. ⁶“^aAnd nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God threw them into confusion with every kind of distress. ⁷“But you, ^abe strong and do not let your hands fall limp, for there is ^breward for your work.”

Asa Takes Away Detestable Idols

⁸Now when Asa heard these words and the ¹prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he strengthened himself and took away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from ^athe cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^bHe then renewed the altar of Yahweh which was in front of the porch of Yahweh. ⁹And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon ^awho sojourned with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him. ¹⁰So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ¹¹^aAnd they sacrificed to Yahweh that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. ¹²^aThey entered into the covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; ¹³and whoever would not seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^ashould be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴Moreover, they swore an oath to Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. ¹⁵All Judah was glad concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had searched for Him with all their desire, and He was found by them. So ^aYahweh gave them rest on every side.

¹⁶^aHe also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ¹as ^ban Asherah; and ^cAsa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁷But the high places were not ¹removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was wholly devoted all his days. ¹⁸And he brought into the house of God the holy things of his father and his own holy things: silver and gold and utensils. ¹⁹And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Asa Wars Against Baasha

16In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign ^aBaasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built up Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ²Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³“Let there be a covenant between ¹you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ⁴So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his military forces against the cities of Israel, and they struck down Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all ^athe ¹store cities of Naphtali. ⁵Now it happened that when Baasha heard of it, he ceased building up Ramah and stopped his work. ⁶Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

Asa Imprisons a Seer

⁷Now at that time ^aHanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “^bBecause you have leaned on the king of Aram and have not leaned on Yahweh your God, therefore the military force of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. ⁸“Were not ^athe Ethiopians and the Lubim ^ba vast military force with an exceedingly vast number of chariots and horsemen? Yet ^cbecause you leaned on Yahweh, He gave them into your hand. ⁹“For ^athe eyes of Yahweh move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those ^bwhose heart is wholly devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” ¹⁰Then Asa was vexed with the seer and put him in ¹prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.

¹¹^aNow behold, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹²And Asa became diseased in his feet in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he ^adid not seek Yahweh, but the physicians. ¹³So Asa slept with his fathers. And he died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴And they buried him in his own tomb which he had ¹cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled ^awith spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and ^bthey made a very great fire for him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹²Now when Jesus heard that ^aJohn had been taken into custody, ^bHe departed into Galilee; ¹³and leaving Nazareth, He came and ^alived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

¹⁵“^aThe land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,¹By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the ²Gentiles—¹⁶^aThe people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,Upon them a Light dawned.”

¹⁷^aFrom that time Jesus began to ¹preach and say, “^bRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The First Disciples

¹⁸^aNow as Jesus was walking by ^bthe Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, ^cSimon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And He *said to them, “¹Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹And going on from there He saw two other brothers, ¹^,^aJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. ²²And immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Ministry in Galilee

²³And Jesus was going ^athroughout all Galilee, ^bteaching in their synagogues and ^cpreaching the ¹gospel of the kingdom, and ^dhealing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

²⁴And the news about Him spread ^athroughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, ^bdemoniacs, ¹^,^cepileptics, ^dparalytics; and He healed them. ²⁵And large crowds ^afollowed Him from Galilee and ^bthe Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from ^cbeyond the Jordan.

The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

5^aNow when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on ^bthe ¹mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ²^aAnd He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³“¹^,^aBlessed are the ²poor in spirit, for ^btheirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Blessed are ^athose who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ⁵Blessed are ^athe ¹lowly, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶Blessed are ^athose who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ⁷Blessed are ^athe merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ⁸Blessed are ^athe pure in heart, for ^bthey shall see God. ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for ^athey shall be called sons of God. ¹⁰Blessed are those who have been ^apersecuted for the sake of righteousness, for ^btheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people ^ainsult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹²“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for ^ain the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but ^aif the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men.

¹⁴“You are ^athe light of the world. A city set on a ¹hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵^anor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a ¹basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may ^asee your good works, and ^bglorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not think that I came to abolish the ^aLaw or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸“For truly I say to you, ^auntil heaven and earth pass away, not ¹the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches ¹others to do the same, shall be called least ^ain the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰“For I say to you that unless your ^arighteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Personal Relationships

²¹“^aYou have heard that ¹the ancients were told, ‘^bYou shall not murder’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before ^cthe court.’ ²²“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before ^athe court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘¹Raca,’ shall be guilty before the ²^,^bSanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ³^,^cfiery hell. ²³“Therefore if you are ^apresenting your ¹offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your ¹offering there before the altar and go; first be ^areconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ²offering. ²⁵“^aMake friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶“Truly I say to you, ^ayou will not come out of there until you have paid up the last ¹quadrans.

²⁷“^aYou have heard that it was said, ‘^bYou shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ^ato lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹“^aBut if your right eye makes you ¹stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you ²to lose one of the parts of your body, ³than for your whole body to be thrown into ⁴^,^bhell. ³⁰“^aAnd if your right hand makes you ¹stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you ²to lose one of the parts of your body, ³than for your whole body to go into ⁴^,^bhell.

³¹“Now it was said, ‘^aWhoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; ³²^abut I say to you that everyone who ¹divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a ²divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, ^ayou have heard that ¹the ancients were told, ‘²^,^bYou shall not ³make false vows, but shall fulfill your ⁴vows to the ⁵Lord.’ ³⁴“But I say to you, ^amake no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is ^bthe throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is the ^afootstool of His feet, or ¹by Jerusalem, for it is ^bthe city of the great King. ³⁶“Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ¹of ^athe evil one.

³⁸“^aYou have heard that it was said, ‘^bAn eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but ^awhoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰“And if anyone wants to sue you and take your ¹tunic, let him have your ²garment also. ⁴¹“And whoever ¹forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²“^aGive to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“^aYou have heard that it was said, ‘^bYou shall love your neighbor ^cand hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴“But I say to you, ^alove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may ¹be ^asons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶“For ^aif you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷“And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸“Therefore ¹^,^ayou are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Yahweh, Rescue My Soul

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. According to the ¹Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

O Yahweh, ^ado not reprove me in Your anger,Nor discipline me in Your wrath.²Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, for I am ^apining away;^bHeal me, O Yahweh, for ^cmy bones are dismayed.³And my ^asoul is greatly dismayed;But You, O Yahweh—^bhow long?⁴Return, O Yahweh, ^arescue my ¹soul;Save me because of Your lovingkindness.⁵For ^athere is no remembrance of You in death;In Sheol who will give You thanks?⁶I am ^aweary with my sighing;Every night I make my bed swim,I flood my couch with ^bmy tears.⁷My ^aeye has wasted away with grief;It has become old because of all my adversaries.⁸^aDepart from me, all you workers of iniquity,For Yahweh ^bhas heard the sound of my weeping.⁹Yahweh ^ahas heard my supplication,Yahweh ^breceives my prayer.¹⁰All my enemies will ^abe ashamed and greatly dismayed;They shall ¹turn back, they will ^bsuddenly be ashamed.