Hoshea Reigns in Israel

1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, ^xHoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 ^yAgainst him came up ^zShalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it.

The Fall of Israel

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria ^acaptured Samaria, ^band he carried the Israelites away to Assyria ^cand placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of ^dGozan, and in the cities of ^ethe Medes.

Exile Because of Idolatry

7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, ^fwho had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 ^gand walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, ^hand in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, ⁱfrom watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves ^jpillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, 12 and they served idols, ^kof which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the Lord ^lwarned Israel and Judah ^mby every prophet ⁿand every seer, saying, ^o“Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”

14 But they would not listen, ^pbut were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 They despised his statutes ^qand his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after ^rfalse idols ^sand became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the ^tLord had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of ^utwo calves; and they ^vmade an Asherah and ^wworshiped all the host of heaven and served ^xBaal. 17 ^yAnd they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings¹ and used ^zdivination and ^aomens and ^bsold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but ^cthe tribe of Judah only.

19 ^dJudah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced. 20 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them ^eand gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight.

21 ^fWhen he had torn Israel from the house of David, ^gthey made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord ^hand made them commit great sin. 22 The people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They did not depart from them, 23 until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, ⁱas he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. ^jSo Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Assyria Resettles Samaria

24 ^kAnd the king of Assyria brought people from ^lBabylon, Cuthah, ^mAvva, ⁿHamath, and ^oSepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him² go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in ^pBethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord.

29 But every nation still made gods of its own and put them ^qin the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. 30 The men of ^rBabylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites ^sburned their children in the fire to ^tAdrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of ^uSepharvaim. 32 ^vThey also feared the Lord ^wand appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of ^xthe high places. 33 So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

34 To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, ^ywhom he named Israel. 35 The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, ^z“You shall not fear other gods ^aor bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, 36 but ^byou shall fear the Lord, ^cwho brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and ^dwith an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. 37 And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, ^eyou shall always be careful to do. ^zYou shall not fear other gods, 38 and ^fyou shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. ^zYou shall not fear other gods, 39 but ^byou shall fear the Lord your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner.

41 ^gSo these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aa prisoner for Christ Jesus, and ^bTimothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and ^cArchippus our ^dfellow soldier, and ^ethe church in your house:

3 ^fGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 ^gI thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I ^hhear of your love and ⁱof the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full ^jknowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.¹ 7 For I have derived much joy and ^kcomfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints ^lhave been refreshed through you.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

8 Accordingly, ^mthough I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do ⁿwhat is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now ^oa prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for ^pmy child, ^qOnesimus,^{2 r}whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me ^son your behalf ^tduring my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be ^uby compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why ^vhe was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 ^wno longer as a bondservant³ but more than a bondservant, as ^xa beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, ^yboth in the flesh and in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me ^zyour partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 ^aI, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. ^bRefresh my heart in Christ.

21 ^cConfident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for ^dI am hoping that ^ethrough your prayers ^fI will be graciously given to you.

Final Greetings

23 ^gEpaphras, my ^hfellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do ⁱMark, ⁱAristarchus, ^jDemas, and ^jLuke, my fellow workers.

25 ^kThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

The Light of the Gospel

1 Therefore, having ^xthis ministry ^yby the mercy of God,¹ we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced ^zdisgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice² cunning or ^ato tamper with God’s word, but ^bby the open statement of the truth ^cwe would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even ^dif our gospel is veiled, ^eit is veiled to ^fthose who are perishing. 4 In their case ^gthe god of this world ^dhas blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^hthe light of ⁱthe gospel of the glory of Christ, ^jwho is the image of God. 5 For what ^kwe proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^lourselves as your servants³ for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, ^m“Let light shine out of darkness,” ⁿhas shone in our hearts to give ^othe light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

7 But we have this treasure in ^pjars of clay, ^qto show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are ^rafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but ^snot forsaken; ^tstruck down, but not destroyed; 10 ^ualways carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^vso that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So ^wdeath is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have ^xthe same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^y“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that ^zhe who raised the Lord Jesus ^awill raise us also with Jesus and ^bbring us with you into his presence. 15 For ^cit is all for your sake, so that as ^dgrace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^eto the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. ^fThough our outer self⁴ is wasting away, ^gour inner self ^his being renewed day by day. 17 For ⁱthis light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 ^jas we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Our Heavenly Dwelling

1 For we know that if ^kthe tent that is ^lour earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, ^ma house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent ⁿwe groan, longing to ^oput on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on⁵ we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal ^pmay be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, ^qwho has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.⁶

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that ^rwhile we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for ^swe walk by faith, not ^tby sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we ^uwould rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to ^vplease him. 10 For ^wwe must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ^xso that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

11 Therefore, knowing ^ythe fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But ^zwhat we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 ^aWe are not commending ourselves to you again but ^bgiving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13 For if we ^care beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ ^dcontrols us, because we have concluded this: that ^eone has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, ^fthat those who live might no longer live for themselves but ^gfor him who for their sake died and was raised.

16 From now on, therefore, ^hwe regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is ⁱin Christ, he is ^ja new creation.^{7 k}The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, ^lwho through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us ^mthe ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling⁸ the world to himself, ⁿnot counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us ^mthe message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, ^owe are ambassadors for Christ, ^pGod making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 ^qFor our sake he made him to be sin ^rwho knew no sin, so that in him we might become ^sthe righteousness of God.

1 ^tWorking together with him, then, ^uwe appeal to you ^vnot to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,

Behold, ^xnow is the ^yfavorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We ^zput no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but ^aas servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: ^bby great endurance, ^cin afflictions, ^dhardships, calamities, 5 ^ebeatings, imprisonments, ^friots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 ^gby purity, ^hknowledge, patience, kindness, ⁱthe Holy Spirit, ^jgenuine love; 7 by ^ktruthful speech, and ^lthe power of God; with ^mthe weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, ⁿthrough slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and ^oyet well known; ^pas dying, and behold, we live; ^qas punished, and yet not killed; 10 ^ras sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; ^sas poor, yet making many rich; ^tas having nothing, ^uyet possessing everything.

11 We have spoken freely to you,⁹ Corinthians; ^vour heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but ^wyou are restricted in your own affections. 13 ^xIn return (I speak ^yas to children) widen your hearts also.

The Temple of the Living God

14 ^zDo not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For ^awhat partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or ^bwhat fellowship has light with darkness? 15 ^cWhat accord has Christ with Belial?¹⁰ Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For ^dwe are the temple of the living God; as God said,