Jehu Slaughters Ahab’s Descendants

1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in ^pSamaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,¹ to the elders, and to ^qthe guardians of the sons² of Ahab, saying, 2 “Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons, 3 select the best and fittest of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne and fight for your master’s house.” 4 But they were exceedingly afraid and said, “Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand?” 5 So he who was over the palace, and he who was over the city, together with the elders and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, ^r“We are your servants, and we will do all that you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your eyes.” 6 Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, ^qwho were bringing them up. 7 And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons ^sand slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8 When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.” 9 Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. ^tIt was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? 10 Know then that there shall ^ufall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done ^vwhat he said by his servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

12 Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, 13 Jehu met ^wthe relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah, and we came down to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother.” 14 He said, “Take them alive.” And they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two persons, and he spared none of them.

15 And when he departed from there, he met ^xJehonadab the son of ^yRechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said,³ “If it is, ^zgive me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot. 16 And he said, “Come with me, and see ^amy zeal for the Lord.” So he⁴ had him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he came to Samaria, ^bhe struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord ^vthat he spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Strikes Down the Prophets of Baal

18 Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, ^c“Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore call to me all the ^dprophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu ordered, ^e“Sanctify ^fa solemn assembly for Baal.” So ^gthey proclaimed it. 21 And Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered ^hthe house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. 22 He said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 Then they⁵ went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape ⁱshall forfeit his life.” 25 So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, ^j“Go in and strike them down; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room of the house of Baal, 26 and they brought out the ^kpillar that was in ^hthe house of Baal and burned it. 27 And they demolished the ^kpillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it ^la latrine to this day.

Jehu Reigns in Israel

28 Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. 29 But Jehu did not turn aside from ^mthe sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ⁿwhich he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan. 30 And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, ^oyour sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” 31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. ^pHe did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

32 In those days the Lord ^qbegan to cut off parts of Israel. ^rHazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: 33 from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from ^sAroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, ^tGilead and Bashan. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 35 So Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. 36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Zayin

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aan apostle of Christ Jesus ^bby command of ^cGod our Savior and of Christ Jesus ^dour hope,

2 To Timothy, ^emy true child in the faith:

^fGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Warning Against False Teachers

3 ^gAs I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not ^hto teach any different doctrine, 4 nor ⁱto devote themselves to myths and endless ^jgenealogies, which promote ^kspeculations rather than the stewardship¹ from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love ^lthat issues from a pure heart and ^ma good conscience and ⁿa sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by ^oswerving from these, have wandered away into ^pvain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, ^qwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

8 Now we know that ^rthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the ^slaw is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,² liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to ^tsound³ doctrine, 11 in accordance with ^uthe gospel of the glory of ^vthe blessed God ^wwith which I have been entrusted.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

12 I thank him ^xwho has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, ^yappointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, ^zpersecutor, and insolent opponent. But ^aI received mercy ^bbecause I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and ^cthe grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the ^dfaith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is ^etrustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus ^fcame into the world to save sinners, ^gof whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To ^hthe King of the ages, ⁱimmortal, ^jinvisible, ^kthe only God, ^lbe honor and glory forever and ever.⁴ Amen.

18 This charge ^mI entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with ⁿthe prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may ^owage the good warfare, 19 ^pholding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have ^qmade shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are ^rHymenaeus and ^sAlexander, whom I ^thave handed over to Satan that they may learn not to ^ublaspheme.

Pray for All People

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 ^vfor kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and ^wdignified in every way. 3 This is good, and ^xit is pleasing in the sight of ^yGod our Savior, 4 who desires ^zall people to be saved and ^ato come to ^bthe knowledge of the truth. 5 For ^cthere is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man⁵ Christ Jesus, 6 ^dwho gave himself as a ransom for all, which is ^ethe testimony given ^fat the proper time. 7 ^gFor this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (^hI am telling the truth, I am not lying), ⁱa teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that ^jin every place the men should pray, ^klifting ^lholy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also ^mthat women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 ⁿbut with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly ^owith all submissiveness. 12 ^pI do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 ^qFor Adam was formed first, ^rthen Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but ^sthe woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through ^tchildbearing—if they continue in ^ufaith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Qualifications for Overseers

1 The saying is ^vtrustworthy: If anyone aspires to ^wthe office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore ^xan overseer⁶ must be above reproach, ^ythe husband of one wife,^{7 z}sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, ^ahospitable, ^bable to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but ^cgentle, not quarrelsome, ^dnot a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity ^ekeeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for ^wGod’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may ^fbecome puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by ^goutsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into ^ha snare of the devil.

Qualifications for Deacons

8 ⁱDeacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,^{8 j}not addicted to much wine, ^knot greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must ^lhold the mystery of the faith with ^ma clear conscience. 10 And ⁿlet them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 ^oTheir wives likewise⁹ must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, ^pfaithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be ^qthe husband of one wife, ^qmanaging their children and their own households well. 13 For ^rthose who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

The Mystery of Godliness

14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: