Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

1 In the twenty-third year of ^lJoash the son of ^mAhaziah, king of Judah, ⁿJehoahaz the son of ^oJehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He ^pdid what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the ^qsins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. 3 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of ^rHazael king of Syria and into the hand of ^sBen-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he ^tsaw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly. 6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin, but walked¹ in them; and ^uthe Asherah also remained in Samaria.) 7 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 at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the ^vBook of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9 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 ^wJoash king of Judah, ^xJehoash² the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also ^ydid what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against ^zAmaziah 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 ^aJeroboam 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, ^b“My 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 ^cAphek 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 the 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 three times.”

20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now ^dbands of Moabites used to invade the land in the ^espring 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 ^frevived and stood on his feet.

22 Now Hazael king of Syria ^goppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of ^hhis 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, ⁱBen-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 that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

Teth

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: