Jehu Anointed King of Israel

1 Then Elisha the prophet called one of ^cthe sons of the prophets and said to him, ^d“Tie up your garments, and take this ^eflask of oil in your hand, and go to ^fRamoth-gilead. 2 And when you arrive, look there for Jehu ^gthe son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among ^hhis fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. 3 Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, ⁱI anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.”

4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” 6 So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ⁱI anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 7 And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge ^jon Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, ^kand I will cut off from Ahab ^levery male, ^mbond or free, in Israel. 9 And I will make the house of Ahab like ⁿthe house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like ^othe house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10 ^pAnd the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.

11 When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, ^q“Is all well? Why did ^rthis mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.” 12 And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’” 13 Then in haste ^severy man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare¹ steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, ^t“Jehu is king.”

Jehu Assassinates Joram and Ahaziah

14 Thus Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (^uNow Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ramoth-gilead against ^vHazael king of Syria, 15 ^wbut King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) So Jehu said, “If this is your decision, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to visit Joram.

17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” 18 So a man on horseback went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.” 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” 20 Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving ^xis like the driving of Jehu ^ythe son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

21 Joram said, ^z“Make ready.” And they made ready his chariot. ^aThen Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu, and met him ^bat the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as ^cthe whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?” 23 Then Joram reined about and fled, saying to Ahaziah, “Treachery, O Ahaziah!” 24 And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar ^dhis aide, “Take him up and throw him ^bon the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember, when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, how ^ethe Lord made this ^fpronouncement against him: 26 ‘As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—declares the Lord—I will repay you on this plot of ground.’ Now therefore take him up and throw him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”

27 ^gWhen Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled in the direction of Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him also.” And they shot him² in the chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is by ^hIbleam. And he fled to ^hMegiddo and died there. 28 ⁱHis servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.

29 In the ^jeleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

Jehu Executes Jezebel

30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And ^kshe painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. 31 And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, ^l“Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” 32 And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33 He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. 34 Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, ^mfor she is a king’s daughter.” 35 But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ⁿ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, 37 and the corpse of Jezebel shall be ^oas dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’”

Waw

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

1 Finally, my brothers,^{1 k}rejoice in the Lord. ^lTo write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

2 Look out for ^mthe dogs, look out for ⁿthe evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For ^owe are the circumcision, ^pwho worship ^qby the Spirit of God² and ^rglory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 ^sthough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 ^tcircumcised on the eighth day, ^uof the people of Israel, ^vof the tribe of Benjamin, ^ua Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, ^wa Pharisee; 6 ^xas to zeal, ^ya persecutor of the church; ^zas to righteousness under the law,³ blameless. 7 But ^awhatever gain I had, ^bI counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of ^cthe surpassing worth of ^dknowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ^ehave suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having ^fa righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but ^gthat which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 ^hthat I may know him and ⁱthe power of his resurrection, and ^jmay share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may ^kattain the resurrection from the dead.

Straining Toward the Goal

12 Not that I have already ^lobtained this or ^mam already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: ⁿforgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for ^othe prize of the upward ^pcall of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are ^qmature think this way, and if in anything ^ryou think otherwise, ^sGod will reveal that also to you. 16 Only ^tlet us hold true to what we have attained.

17 Brothers, ^ujoin in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk ^vaccording to the example you have in us. 18 For ^wmany, of whom I have often told you and now tell you ^xeven with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 ^yTheir end is destruction, ^ztheir god is their belly, and ^athey glory in their shame, with ^bminds set on earthly things. 20 But ^cour citizenship is in heaven, and ^dfrom it we ^eawait a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform ^four lowly body ^gto be like his glorious body, ^hby the power that enables him even ⁱto subject all things to himself.

1 Therefore, my brothers,⁴ whom I love and ^jlong for, ^kmy joy and ^lcrown, ^mstand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Exhortation, Encouragement, and Prayer

2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to ⁿagree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion,⁵ help these women, who have labored⁶ side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, ^owhose names are in the book of life.

4 ^pRejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness⁷ be known to everyone. ^qThe Lord is at hand; 6 ^rdo not be anxious about anything, ^sbut in everything by prayer and supplication ^twith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And ^uthe peace of God, ^vwhich surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned⁸ and ^wreceived and heard and seen ^xin me—practice these things, and ^ythe God of peace will be with you.

God’s Provision

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length ^zyou have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be ^acontent. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and ^bhunger, abundance and ^cneed. 13 I can do all things ^dthrough him who strengthens me.

14 Yet it was kind of you ^eto share⁹ my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that ^fin the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, ^gno church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 ^hNot that I seek the gift, but I seek ⁱthe fruit that increases to your credit.¹⁰ 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, ^jhaving received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, ^ka fragrant offering, ^la sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God ^mwill supply every need of yours ⁿaccording to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To ^oour God and Father be ^pglory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. ^qThe brothers who are with me greet you. 22 ^rAll the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

23 ^sThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

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.