1 Kings 22; 2 Kings 1; John 16

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1 Kings 22

Ahab and the False Prophets

For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. sBut in the third year tJehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you know that uRamoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, vI am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire first for the word of the Lord. Then the king of Israel wgathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain? And they said, Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But xJehoshaphat said, Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire? And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah. 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor yat the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself zhorns of iron and said, Thus says the Lord, With these ayou shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed. 12 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

13 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably. 14 But Micaiah said, bAs the Lord lives, cwhat the Lord says to me, that I will speak. 15 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. 16 But the king said to him, How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? 17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, das sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master; let each return to his home in peace. 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, eDid I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? 19 And Micaiah said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord: fI saw the Lord sitting on his throne, gand all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the Lord said, Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, I will entice him. 22 And the Lord said to him, By what means? And he said, I will go out, and will be ha lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so. 23 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.

24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near iand struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, How did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you? 25 And Micaiah said, Behold, you shall see on that day when you go jinto an inner chamber to hide yourself. 26 And the king of Israel said, Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 27 and say, Thus says the king, kPut this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, luntil I come in peace. 28 And Micaiah said, If you return in peace, mthe Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, nHear, all you peoples!

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, oI 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.


2 Kings 1

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

aAfter the death of Ahab, Moab brebelled against Israel.

Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, Go, inquire of cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron, dwhether I shall recover from this sickness. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah ethe Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, fYou shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die. So Elijah went.

The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, Why have you returned? And they said to him, There came a man to meet us, and said to us, Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die. He said to them, What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things? They answered him, gHe wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, hO man of God, the king says, Come down. 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, ilet fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, O man of God, this is the king’s order, Come down quickly! 12 But Elijah answered them, If I am a man of God, jlet fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, kbe precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight. 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, Go down with him; do not be afraid of him. So he arose and went down with him to the king 16 and said to him, Thus says the Lord, Because you have sent messengers to inquire of cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekronis it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.

17 So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place lin the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?


John 16

I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. xThey will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, ythe hour is coming when zwhoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things abecause they have not known the Father, nor me. But bI have said these things to you, that when ctheir hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

I did not say these things to you from the beginning, dbecause I was with you. But now eI am going to him who sent me, and fnone of you asks me, Where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, gsorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for hif I do not go away, ithe Helper will not come to you. But jif kI go, lI will send him to you. mAnd when he comes, he will nconvict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, obecause they do not believe in me; 10 pconcerning righteousness, qbecause I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 rconcerning judgment, because the ruler of this world sis judged.

12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When tthe Spirit of truth comes, uhe will vguide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but wwhatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will xglorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 yAll that the Father has is mine; ztherefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

16 aA little while, and you will see me no longer; and bagain a little while, and you will see me. 17 So csome of his disciples said to one another, What is this that he says to us, dA little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me; and, ebecause I am going to the Father? 18 So they were saying, What does he mean by a little while? fWe do not know what he is talking about. 19 gJesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, hyou will weep and lament, but ithe world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but jyour sorrow will turn into joy. 21 kWhen a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 lSo also you have sorrow now, but mI will see you again, and nyour hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 oIn that day you will pask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, qwhatever you ask of the Father in my name, rhe will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. sAsk, and you will receive, tthat your joy may be full.

I Have Overcome the World

25 I have said these things to you in figures of speech. uThe hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 vfor the Father himself loves you, because wyou have loved me and xhave believed that I came from God.1 28 yI came from the Father and have come into the world, and now zI am leaving the world and going to the Father.

29 His disciples said, Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not ausing figurative speech! 30 Now we know that byou know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that cyou came from God. 31 Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? 32 Behold, dthe hour is coming, indeed it has come, when eyou will be scattered, each to his own home, and fwill leave me alone. gYet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that hin me you may have peace. iIn the world you will have jtribulation. But ktake heart; lI have overcome the world.