Legacy Standard Bible

1 Kings 15:1-8

Abijam Reigns over Judah

15aNow in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. 2He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was 1,aMaacah the daughter of 2,bAbishalom. 3And he walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and ahis heart was not 1wholly devoted to Yahweh his God, like the heart of his father David. 4But for David’s sake Yahweh his God gave him a alamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem; 5abecause David did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, bexcept in the case of Uriah the Hittite. 6aNow there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
7Now athe rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? bAnd there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8aAnd Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son became king in his place.

2 Chronicles 13

Abijah Reigns over Judah

13aIn the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. 2He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. aNow there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3And Abijah began the battle with a military force of mighty men, 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam arranged them all for battle against him with 800,000 chosen men who were mighty men of valor.

God Smites Israel Before Judah

4Then Abijah rose up on Mount aZemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel: 5“Do you not know that aYahweh, the God of Israel, gave the rule over Israel forever to David 1and his sons by ba covenant of salt? 6“Yet aJeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his 1master, 7and worthless men gathered about him, vile men, who proved too strong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon; 1,ahe was young and timid and could not exert his strength before them.
8“So now you 1intend to exert your strength before the kingdom of Yahweh by the hand of the sons of David, 2being a great multitude and having with you athe golden calves which Jeroboam made for gods for you. 9“aHave you not driven out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes bto ordain himself with a bull from the herd and seven rams, even he may become a priest of what are cno gods. 10“But as for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to Yahweh as priests, and the Levites are in their work. 11“And every morning and evening athey 1burn to Yahweh burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and bthe showbread is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the responsibility given by Yahweh our God, but you have forsaken Him. 12“And behold, God is with us at our head and aHis priests with the signal trumpets to raise the shout of war against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”
13But Jeroboam ahad encircled an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them. 14So Judah turned around, and behold, 1they were attacked both front and rear; so athey cried to Yahweh, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15Then the men of Judah raised a shout of war, and when the men of Judah raised the shout of war, then it was that God asmote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16So the sons of Israel fled before Judah, and aGod gave them into their hand. 17And Abijah and his people struck them down with a great slaughter, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. 18Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah were strong abecause they leaned upon Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 19And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its towns, Jeshanah with its towns, and 1Ephron with its towns.

Death of Jeroboam

20Now Jeroboam did not again recover power in the days of Abijah; and aYahweh smote him and bhe died.
21But Abijah became stronger; and he took fourteen wives to himself, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in athe 1treatise of bthe prophet Iddo.

Matthew 1 - 2

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1The book of the genealogy of 1Jesus 2Christ, athe son of David, bthe son of Abraham:
2Abraham 1was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob was the father of 2Judah and his brothers. 3And Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and aPerez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron was the father of 1Ram. 4And Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon was the father of Salmon. 5And Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed was the father of Jesse. 6And Jesse was the father of David the king. And David awas the father of Solomon by 1the wife of Uriah. 7And Solomon awas the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam was the father of Abijah, and Abijah was the father of 1Asa. 8And Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat was the father of 1Joram, and Joram was the father of Uzziah. 9And Uzziah was the father of 1Jotham, and Jotham was the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. 10And Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh was the father of 1Amon, and Amon was the afather of Josiah. 11And Josiah was the father of 1Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the adeportation to Babylon. 12And after the adeportation to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of 1Shealtiel, and Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. 13And Zerubbabel was the father of 1Abihud, and Abihud was the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim was the father of Azor. 14And Azor was the father of Zadok, and Zadok was the father of Achim, and Achim was the father of Eliud. 15And Eliud was the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar was the father of Matthan, and Matthan was the father of Jacob. 16And Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, awho is called 1Christ.
17Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the adeportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the bdeportation to Babylon to 1the Christ, fourteen generations.

The Conception and Birth of Jesus

18Now the birth of Jesus 1Christ was as follows: when His amother Mary had been 2betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was bfound to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned 1,ato send her away secretly. 20But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the 1Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “aJoseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for 2the One who has been 3conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21“And she will bear a Son; and ayou shall call His name Jesus, for 1He bwill save His people from their sins.” 22Now all this 1took place in order that what was aspoken by the 2Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, 23“aBehold, the virgin shall be with bchild and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name 1Immanuel,” which translated means, “cGod with us.” 24And Joseph got up from his sleep and did as the angel of the 1Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 251but kept her a virgin until she 2,agave birth to a Son; and bhe called His name Jesus.

The Visit of the Magi

2Now after Jesus was aborn in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of bHerod the king, behold, 1magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2“Where is He who has been born aKing of the Jews? For we saw bHis star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the 1Christ was to be born. 5And they said to him, “aIn Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written 1by the prophet:
6‘aAnd you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;For out of you shall come forth a LeaderWho will bshepherd My people Israel.’”
7Then Herod secretly called the magi and carefully determined from them 1the time athe star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9Now after hearing the king, they went their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, was going on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11And after coming into the house they saw the Child with aMary His mother; and they 1fell to the ground and bworshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been awarned bin a dream not to return to Herod, the magi departed for their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

13Now when they had departed, behold, an aangel of the 1Lord *bappeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”
14So 1Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and departed for Egypt. 15And he 1remained there until the death of Herod, in order that what had been spoken by the 2Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “aOut of Egypt I called bMy Son.”

Herod Slaughters Children

16Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by athe magi, he became very enraged, and sent and bslew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully determined from the magi. 17Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
18“aA voice was heard in Ramah,Weeping and great mourning,Rachel weeping for her children;And she was refusing to be comforted,Because they were no more.”
19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the 1Lord *aappeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20“Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21So 1Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being awarned by God in a dream, he departed for the district of Galilee, 23and came and lived in a city called aNazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He shall be called a bNazarene.”

Psalm 4

Yahweh Makes Me Abide in Safety

4
1For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
aAnswer me when bI call, O God 2of my righteousness!You have 3,crelieved me in my distress;Be dgracious to me and ehear my prayer.2O sons of men, how long will amy glory become ba reproach?How long will you love cwhat is worthless and seek dfalsehood? 1 Selah.3But know that Yahweh has 1,aset apart the bholy one for Himself;Yahweh chears when I call to Him.41,aTremble, 2,band do not sin;3,cPonder in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.5Offer 1the asacrifices of righteousness,And btrust in Yahweh.6Many are saying, “aWho will show us good?”bLift up the light of Your face upon us, O Yahweh!7You have put agladness in my heart,More than when their grain and new wine abound.8In peace I will 1both alie down and sleep,For You alone, O Yahweh, make me to babide in safety.