Jehu Slaughters Ahab’s Descendants

1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,¹ to the elders, and to the 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, ^dthe 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, “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, who were bringing them up. 7 And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and 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. ^eIt was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? 10 Know then that there shall ^ffall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, ^gwhich the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done what he said by his servant Elijah.” 11 ^hSo 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 ⁱJehu met the 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 ^jJehonadab the son of Rechab 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, give 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 my ^kzeal for the Lord.” So he⁴ had him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, ^laccording to the word of the Lord that he spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Strikes Down the Prophets of Baal

18 Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab ^mserved Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore call to me all the ⁿprophets 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, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they 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 the ^ohouse 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 shall 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, “Go in and strike them down; ^plet 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 ^qpillar that was in the house of Baal and burned it. 27 And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and ^rmade it a latrine ^sto this day.

Jehu Reigns in Israel

28 Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. 29 But Jehu did not turn aside from the ^tsins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which 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 ^ucarrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, ^vyour 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. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

32 In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel. ^wHazael 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 Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, Gilead 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 ^xBook of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 35 So Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And ^yJehoahaz his son reigned in his place. 36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Zayin

Greeting

1 Paul, an ^aapostle of Christ Jesus ^bby command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our ^chope,

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

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

Warning Against False Teachers

3 ^fAs I urged you ^gwhen I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to ^hteach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to ⁱmyths and endless ^jgenealogies, which promote ^kspeculations rather than the ^lstewardship¹ from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is ^mlove that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a ⁿsincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by ^oswerving from these, have ^pwandered away into ^qvain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, ^rwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

8 Now we know that ^sthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, ^tfor the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for ^uthose who strike their fathers and mothers, for ^vmurderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, ^wenslavers,² liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to ^xsound³ doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the ^yblessed God with which I have been ^zentrusted.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

12 ^aI thank him who has given me ^bstrength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, ^cappointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, ^dpersecutor, and insolent opponent. But I ^ereceived mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me ^fwith the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 ^gThe saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that ^hChrist Jesus came into the world to save sinners, ⁱof whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received ^jmercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an ^kexample to those who were to ^lbelieve in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, ^mimmortal, ⁿinvisible, the ^oonly God, be honor and glory forever and ever.⁴ Amen.

18 This charge I ^pentrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with ^qthe prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the ^rgood ^swarfare, 19 ^tholding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made ^ushipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are ^vHymenaeus and ^wAlexander, whom I have ^xhanded over to Satan that they may learn not to ^yblaspheme.

Pray for All People

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 ^zfor kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and ^aquiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is ^bpleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 ^cwho desires all people to be saved and to come to the ^dknowledge of the truth. 5 For ^ethere is one God, and ^fthere is one ^gmediator between God and men, the man⁵ Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ^hransom for ⁱall, which is the testimony given ^jat the proper time. 7 For this I was ^kappointed a preacher and an ^lapostle ^m(I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that in every place the men should ⁿpray, lifting ^oholy hands without anger or ^pquarreling; 9 likewise also that ^qwomen should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and ^rself-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 ^sLet a woman learn quietly ^twith all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For ^uAdam was formed first, ^vthen Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but ^wthe woman was ^xdeceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved ^ythrough ^zchildbearing—if they continue in ^afaith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Qualifications for Overseers

1 ^bThe saying is trustworthy: ^cIf anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an ^doverseer⁶ must be above reproach, ^ethe husband of one wife,⁷ sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must ^fmanage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, ^ghow will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become ^hpuffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a ⁱsnare of the devil.

Qualifications for Deacons

8 ^jDeacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,⁸ not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must ^khold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And ^llet them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise⁹ must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be ^mthe husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great ⁿconfidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

The Mystery of Godliness

14 ^oI 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 ^phousehold of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we ^qconfess, is the mystery of godliness: