1 Kings 15:25-16:34, Matthew 6-7:14, Psalm 7

Nadab Reigns over Israel

²⁵Now ^aNadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and ^awalked in the way of his father and ^bin his sin which he made Israel sin. ²⁷Then ^aBaasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck him down at ^bGibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸So Baasha put him to death in the third year of Asa king of Judah and became king in his place. ²⁹Now it happened that as soon as he was king, he struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone who drew breath, until he had destroyed them, ^aaccording to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and ^awhich he made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger.

³¹^aNow the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ³²^aNow there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

Baasha Reigns over Israel

³³In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and ^awalked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.

16Now the word of Yahweh came to ^aJehu the son of ^bHanani against Baasha, saying, ²“Inasmuch as I ^aexalted you from the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, and ^byou have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made My people Israel sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins, ³behold, ^aI am going to sweep away ^bBaasha and his house, and ^cI will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ⁴“^aAnyone of Baasha who dies in the city the dogs will eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the sky will eat.”

⁵^aNow the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁶And Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried in ^aTirzah, and Elah his son became king in his place. ⁷Moreover, the word of Yahweh through the hand of ^athe prophet Jehu the son of Hanani also came about against Baasha and his household, both because of all the evil which he did in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger with ^bthe work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because ^che struck ¹it.

Elah Reigns over Israel

⁸In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel at Tirzah, and reigned two years. ⁹And his servant ^aZimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was at Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, ^bwho was over the household at Tirzah. ¹⁰Then Zimri went in and struck him and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and became king in his place. ¹¹Now it happened when he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, that ^ahe struck down all the household of Baasha; he did not leave ¹a single male—not even any of his kinsman redeemers or his friends.

¹²Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, ^aaccording to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke against Baasha by the hand of ^bJehu the prophet, ¹³for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel sin, ^aprovoking Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their ¹idols. ¹⁴^aNow the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Zimri Reigns over Israel

¹⁵In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days at Tirzah. Now the people were camped against ^aGibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. ¹⁶And the people who were camped heard ¹it said, “Zimri has conspired and has also struck down the king.” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. ¹⁷Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸Now it happened that when Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire, and ^adied, ¹⁹because of his sins which he sinned, doing what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^awalking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, making Israel sin. ²⁰^aNow the rest of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he ¹carried out, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Omri Reigns over Israel

²¹Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; the other half followed Omri. ²²But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri became king. ²³In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned twelve years; he reigned six years at ^aTirzah. ²⁴And he bought the hill ¹Samaria from Shemer for two ²talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built ³^,^aSamaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

²⁵^aAnd Omri did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and ^bacted more wickedly than all who were before him. ²⁶For he ^awalked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins which he made Israel sin, provoking Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their ¹idols. ²⁷Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he ¹showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁸So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son became king in his place.

Ahab Reigns over Israel

²⁹Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. ³⁰And Ahab the son of Omri did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh ^amore than all who were before him.

³¹Now it happened, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that ^ahe took Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the ^bSidonians as a wife, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. ³²So he erected an altar for Baal in ^athe house of Baal which he built in Samaria. ³³Ahab also made ^athe ¹Asherah. Thus ^bAhab did more to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. ³⁴^aIn his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by the hand of Joshua the son of Nun.

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

6“Beware of doing your righteousness before men ^ato be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

²“Therefore, when you ¹give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they ^amay be glorified by men. ^bTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ³“But when you ¹give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your ¹giving will be in secret; and ^ayour Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁵“And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to ^astand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners ¹^,^bso that they may be seen by men. ^cTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ⁶“But you, when you pray, ^ago into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and ^byour Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁷“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their ^amany words. ⁸“Therefore, do not be like them; for ^ayour Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

⁹“^aPray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven,Hallowed be Your name.

¹⁰‘^aYour kingdom come.^bYour will be done,On earth as it is in heaven.¹¹‘^aGive us this day ¹our daily bread.¹²‘And ^aforgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.¹³‘And do not lead us into temptation, but ^adeliver us from ¹^,^bthe evil one. ²[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

¹⁴“^aFor if you forgive ¹others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵“But ^aif you do not forgive ¹others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting

¹⁶“^aNow whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they ¹neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. ^bTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ¹⁷“But you, when you fast, ^aanoint your head and wash your face ¹⁸so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your ^aFather who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹“^aDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰“But store up for yourselves ^atreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹for ^awhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“^aThe eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is ¹clear, your whole body will be full of light. ²³“But if ^ayour eye is ¹bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴“^aNo one can ¹serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot ²serve God and ³^,^bwealth.

Do Not Worry

²⁵“^aFor this reason I say to you, ¹do not be ^bworried about your ²life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶“^aLook at the birds of the ¹air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷“And which of you by ^aworrying can ^badd a single ¹cubit to his ²life span? ²⁸“And why are you ^aworried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹yet I say to you that not even ^aSolomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰“But if God so clothes the ^agrass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? ^bYou of little faith! ³¹“Do not ^aworry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³²“For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for ^ayour heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³“But ¹seek first ²His kingdom and His righteousness, and ^aall these things will be ³added to you.

³⁴“So do not ^aworry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. ¹Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Judging Others

7“^aDo not judge, so that you will not be judged. ²“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and ^awith what measure you measure, it will be measured to you. ³“And why do you ^alook at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴“^aOr how ¹can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

⁶“^aDo not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, and It Will Be Given

⁷“¹^,^aAsk, and ^bit will be given to you; ²seek, and you will find; ³knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹“Or what man is there among you ¹who, when his son asks for a loaf, ²will give him a stone? ¹⁰“Or ¹if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^ahow much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

¹²“^aTherefore, in all things, whatever you want people to do for you, so do for them, for ^bthis is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow Gate

¹³“^aEnter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴“For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

In You I Have Taken Refuge

A ¹Shiggaion of David, which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.

O Yahweh my God, ^ain You I have taken refuge;Save me from all those who pursue me, and ^bdeliver me,²Lest he tear ¹my soul ^alike a lion,Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.³O Yahweh my God, if I have done this,If there is ^ainjustice in my hands,⁴If I have ^arewarded evil to him who ¹is at peace with me,Or have ^bplundered my adversary without cause,⁵Let the enemy pursue ¹my soul and overtake ²it;And let him trample my life down to the groundAnd cause my glory to dwell in the dust. ³ Selah.⁶^aArise, O Yahweh, in Your anger;^bLift up Yourself against ^cthe fury of my adversaries,And ^darouse Yourself ¹for me; You have appointed judgment.⁷Let the congregation of the ^apeoples encompass You,And over ¹them return on high.⁸Yahweh ^ajudges the peoples;¹^,^bGive justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.⁹O let ^athe evil of the wicked come to an end, but ^bestablish the righteous;For the righteous God ^ctests the hearts and ¹minds.¹⁰My ^ashield is ¹with God,Who ^bsaves the upright in heart.¹¹God is a ^arighteous judge,And a God who has ^bindignation every day.¹²If ¹a man ^adoes not repent, He will ^bsharpen His sword;He has ^cbent His bow and prepared it.¹³He has also prepared ¹for Himself deadly weapons;He makes His ^aarrows fiery shafts.¹⁴Behold, he travails with wickedness,And he ^aconceives mischief and gives birth to falsehood.¹⁵He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,And has ^afallen into the hole which he made.¹⁶His ^amischief will return upon his own head,And his ^bviolence will descend upon ¹his own skull.¹⁷I will give thanks to Yahweh ^aaccording to His righteousnessAnd will ^bsing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.