Ahab Killed in Battle

29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ^o“I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. 31 Now the king of Syria had commanded ^pthe thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 34 But a certain man drew his bow at random¹ and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, ^qfor I am wounded.” 35 And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. 36 And about sunset a cry went through the army, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”

37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, ^raccording to the word of the Lord that he had spoken. 39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and ^sthe ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

41 ^tJehoshaphat the son of ^uAsa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 ^vHe walked in all the way of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. Yet ^wthe high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. 44 ^xJehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written ^yin the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 46 And from the land he exterminated the remnant ^zof the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa.

47 ^aThere was no king in Edom; a deputy was king. 48 Jehoshaphat made ^bships of Tarshish to go to ^cOphir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at ^dEzion-geber. 49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships,” but Jehoshaphat was not willing. 50 ^eAnd Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

Ahaziah Reigns in Israel

51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab ^fbegan to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. 52 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord ^gand walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. 53 ^hHe served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger ⁱin every way that his father had done.

Warning Against Worldliness

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions¹ are ^yat war within you?² 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask ^zwrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 ^aYou adulterous people!³ Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? ^bTherefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit ^cthat he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But ^dhe gives more grace. Therefore it says, ^e“God opposes the proud but ^dgives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. ^fResist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 ^gDraw near to God, and he will draw near to you. ^hCleanse your hands, you sinners, and ⁱpurify your hearts, ^jyou double-minded. 9 ^kBe wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 ^lHumble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 ^mDo not speak evil against one another, brothers.⁴ The one who speaks against a brother or ⁿjudges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only ^oone lawgiver and ^pjudge, he who is able to save and ^qto destroy. But ^rwho are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, ^s“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For ^tyou are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, ^u“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. ^vAll such boasting is evil. 17 ^wSo whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Warning to the Rich

1 Come now, ^xyou rich, weep and howl for the ^ymiseries that are coming upon you. 2 ^zYour riches have rotted and ^zyour garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^aYou have laid up treasure ^bin the last days. 4 Behold, ^cthe wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and ^dthe cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of ^ethe Lord of hosts. 5 ^fYou have lived on the earth in luxury and ^gin self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in ^ha day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and ⁱmurdered ^jthe righteous person. He does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,⁵ until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives ^kthe early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. ^lEstablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^mis at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, ⁿso that you may not be judged; behold, ^othe Judge is standing ^pat the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take ^qthe prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of ^rthe steadfastness of Job, and you have seen ^sthe purpose of the Lord, how ^tthe Lord is compassionate and merciful.

12 But above all, my brothers, ^udo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him ^vsing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ^wanointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And ^xif he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, ^yconfess your sins to one another and pray for one another, ^zthat you may be healed. ^aThe prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.⁶ 17 Elijah was a man ^bwith a nature like ours, and ^che prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for ^dthree years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 ^eThen he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

19 My brothers, ^fif anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone ^gbrings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering ^hwill save his soul from death and ⁱwill cover a multitude of sins.