1 Kings 15:9-24, 2 Chronicles 14, Matthew 3-4:11, Psalm 5

Asa Reigns over Judah

⁹Now in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. ¹⁰And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and ^ahis mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹^aAnd Asa did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, like David his father. ¹²^aHe also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and ^bremoved all the idols which his fathers had made. ¹³¹^,^aHe also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ²for Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and ^bburned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁴^aBut the high places were not removed; nevertheless ^bthe heart of Asa was ¹wholly devoted to Yahweh all his days. ¹⁵^aAnd he brought into the house of Yahweh the holy things of his father and his own holy things: silver and gold and utensils.

Asa Wars Against Baasha

¹⁶^aNow there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷^aAnd Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and ^bbuilt up Ramah ^cin order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸Then ^aAsa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And ^bKing Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in ^cDamascus, saying, ¹⁹“Let there be a ^acovenant between ¹you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ²⁰So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his military force against the cities of Israel, and struck down ^aIjon, ^bDan, ^cAbel-beth-maacah and all ^dChinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. ²¹Now it happened that when Baasha heard of it, ^ahe ceased building up Ramah and remained in ^bTirzah. ²²Then King Asa caused an announcement to be heard throughout all Judah—none was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building. And King Asa built with them ^aGeba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

²³^aNow the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and ^aJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Asa Reigns over Judah

14¹^,^aSo Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son became king in his place. The land was quiet for ten years during his days.

²¹And Asa did what was good and right in the sight of Yahweh his God, ³for he removed ^athe foreign altars and ^bhigh places, shattered the sacred pillars, cut the ¹^,^cAsherim in pieces, ⁴and said for Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. ⁵He also ¹removed the high places and the ^aincense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was quiet before him. ⁶^aAnd he built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was quiet, and ¹there was no one at war with him during those years, ^bbecause Yahweh had given him rest. ⁷And he said to Judah, “^aLet us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ¹ours because we have sought Yahweh our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded. ⁸Now Asa had a military force of ^a300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were mighty men of valor.

⁹Then Zerah the Ethiopian ^awent out against them with a military force of one million men and 300 chariots, and he came to ^bMareshah. ¹⁰So Asa went out ¹to meet him, and they arranged themselves for battle in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹Then Asa ^acalled to Yahweh his God and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between those of abundant power and those who have no power; so help us, O Yahweh our God, ^bfor we lean on You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, You are our God; let not mortal man prevail against You.” ¹²So ^aYahweh smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^aGerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ¹they could not recover, for they were shattered before Yahweh and before His ²army. And they carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴And they struck down all the cities around Gerar, ^afor the dread of Yahweh had fallen on them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵They also struck down ¹those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

The Preaching of John the Baptist

3Now ^ain those days ¹^,^bJohn the Baptist *²came, ³preaching in the ^cwilderness of Judea, saying, ²“^aRepent, for ^bthe kingdom of heaven ¹is at hand.” ³For this is the ^aone referred to ¹by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “^bThe voice of one ²crying in the wilderness,‘^cMake ready the way of the ³Lord,Make His paths straight!’”

⁴Now John himself had ¹^,^aa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^blocusts and wild honey. ⁵Then Jerusalem ^awas going out to him, and all Judea, and all ^bthe district around the Jordan; ⁶and they were being ^abaptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the ^aPharisees and ^bSadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You ^cbrood of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^dthe wrath to come? ⁸“^aTherefore bear fruit ^bin keeping with repentance; ⁹and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘^aWe have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰“And the ^aaxe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore ^bevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹“As for me, ^aI baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^bHe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²“His ^awinnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^bgather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^cchaff with ^dunquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³^aThen Jesus *arrived ^bfrom Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. ¹⁴But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ^ato fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him. ¹⁶And after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and ¹^,^ahe saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him, ¹⁷and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “^aThis is ¹My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

4^aThen Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^bto be tempted by the devil. ²And after He had ^afasted forty days and forty nights, He ¹then became hungry. ³And ^athe tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the ^bSon of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘^aMan shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

⁵Then the devil *took Him into ^athe holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘^aHe will command His angels concerning You’; and‘On their hands they will bear You up,Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘^aYou shall not put the ¹Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸^aAgain, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹and he said to Him, “^aAll these things I will give You, if You fall down and ¹worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘^aYou shall worship the ¹Lord your God, and ²serve Him only.’” ¹¹Then the devil *left Him; and behold, ^aangels came and began to minister to Him.

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

For the choir director. For ¹the flutes. A Psalm of David.

^aGive ear to my words, O Yahweh,Consider my ^bmeditation.²Give heed to ^athe sound of my cry for help, ^bmy King and my God,For to You I pray.³O Yahweh, in the morning, ¹You will hear my voice;In the ^amorning I will order my ²prayer to You and eagerly ^bwatch.⁴For You are not a God ^awho delights in wickedness;^bEvil does not sojourn with You.⁵The ^aboastful shall not ^bstand before Your eyes;You ^chate all workers of iniquity.⁶You ^adestroy those who speak falsehood;Yahweh abhors ^bthe man of bloodshed and deceit.⁷But as for me, ^ain the abundance of Your lovingkindness I will enter Your house,¹At Your holy temple I will ^bworship in ^cfear of You.⁸O Yahweh, ^alead me ^bin Your righteousness ^cbecause of ¹my foes;Make Your way ²straight before me.⁹There is ^anothing ¹reliable in their mouth;Their ^binward part is destruction itself.Their ^cthroat is an open grave;They ²flatter with their tongue.¹⁰Hold them guilty, O God;^aBy their own devices let them fall!In the abundance of their transgressions ^bthrust them out,For they are ^crebellious against You.¹¹But let all who ^atake refuge in You ^bbe glad,Let them ever sing for joy;And ¹may You ^cshelter them,That those who ^dlove Your name may exult in You.¹²For it is You who ^ablesses the righteous one, O Yahweh,You ^bsurround him with favor as with a large shield.