2 Kings 13–14; Mark 12

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2 Kings 13–14

Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, mwhich he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. nAnd the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of oHazael king of Syria and into the hand of pBen-hadad the son of Hazael. Then Jehoahaz qsought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, rfor he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. (Therefore the Lord gave Israel sa savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in ttheir homes as formerly. Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, mwhich he made Israel to sin, but walked1 in them; and uthe Asherah also remained in Samaria.) For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust vat threshing. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.

Jehoash Reigns in Israel

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash2 the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, mwhich he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 wNow the rest of the acts of Joash xand all that he did, yand the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

The Death of Elisha

14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, zMy father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen! 15 And Elisha said to him, Take a bow and arrows. So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, Draw the bow, and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, Open the window eastward, and he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot, and he shot. And he said, The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in aAphek until you have made an end of them. 18 And he said, Take the arrows, and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Strike the ground with them. And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then bthe man of God was angry with him and said, You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only cthree times.

20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of dMoabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

22 eNow Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 fBut the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, gand he turned toward them, hbecause of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.

24 When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities ithat he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. jThree times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

kIn the lsecond year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, mAmaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done. nBut the high places were not removed; othe people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. And as soon as the royal power was pfirmly in his hand, he struck down his servants qwho had struck down the king his father. But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, rFathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.

sHe struck down ten thousand Edomites in tthe Valley of Salt and took uSela by storm, and called it vJoktheel, which is its name to this day.

wThen Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash3 the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, xlet us look one another in the face. And Jehoash king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, yA thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son for a wife, and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. 10 You have indeed zstruck down Edom, aand your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?

11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah xfaced one another in battle at bBeth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, cand every man fled to his home. 13 And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits,4 from dthe Ephraim Gate to ethe Corner Gate. 14 And he seized fall the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.

15 gNow the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

17 hAmaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 18 Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 19 And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to iLachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. 20 And they brought him on horses; and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. 21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 22 He built jElath and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.

Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel

23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, kwhich he made Israel to sin. 25 lHe restored the border of Israel mfrom Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of nthe Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant oJonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from pGath-hepher. 26 For the Lord qsaw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, rfor there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. 27 sBut the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he restored tDamascus and uHamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son reigned in his place.


Mark 12

The Parable of the Tenants

bAnd he began to speak to them in parables. A man planted ca vineyard dand put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and eleased it to tenants and fwent into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant1 to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. gAnd they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. gAgain hhe sent to them another servant, and ithey struck him on the head and jtreated him shamefully. gAnd he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, ka beloved son. lFinally he sent him to them, saying, They will respect my son. But those tenants said to one another, mThis is the heir. Come, nlet us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and killed him and othrew him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? pHe will qcome and destroy the tenants and rgive the vineyard to others. 10 sHave you not read tthis Scripture:

uThe stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;2

11  this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes?

12 And vthey were seeking to arrest him wbut feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they xleft him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13 yAnd they sent to him some of zthe Pharisees and some of zthe Herodians, to atrap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, Teacher, bwe know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For cyou are not swayed by appearances,3 but truly teach dthe way of God. Is it lawful to pay etaxes to fCaesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not? 15 But, knowing gtheir hypocrisy, he said to them, Why hput me to the test? Bring me ia denarius4 and let me look at it. 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said to him, Caesar’s. 17 Jesus said to them, jRender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at him.

The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

18 And kSadducees came to him, lwho say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 Teacher, Moses wrote for us that mif a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man5 must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.

24 Jesus said to them, Is this not the reason you are wrong, because nyou know neither the Scriptures nor othe power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither pmarry nor pare given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, qhave you not read in rthe book of Moses, in sthe passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, tI am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.

The Great Commandment

28 uAnd one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, Which commandment is the most important of all? 29 Jesus answered, The most important is, vHear, O Israel: The Lord our God, wthe Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 31 xThe second is this: yYou shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment zgreater than these. 32 And the scribe said to him, You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that whe is one, and athere is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all bthe understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, cis much more than all dwhole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. eAnd after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

35 fAnd as gJesus taught in the temple, he said, How can the scribes say that hthe Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, iin the Holy Spirit, declared,

jThe Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies kunder your feet.

37 David himself calls him Lord. So lhow is he his son? And the great throng mheard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

38 nAnd in his teaching he said, Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and othe places of honor at feasts, 40 pwho devour widows’ houses and qfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.

The Widow’s Offering

41 rAnd he sat down opposite sthe treasury and watched the people tputting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two usmall copper coins, which make a penny.6 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, Truly, I say to you, vthis poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her wpoverty has put in everything she had, all xshe had to live on.