Abijah Reigns in Judah

1 ^hIn the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah¹ the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. 4 Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! 5 Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a ⁱcovenant ^jof salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, ^krose up and rebelled against his lord, 7 and certain worthless scoundrels² gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, ^lwhen Rehoboam was young and irresolute³ and could not withstand them.

8 “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden ^mcalves that Jeroboam made you for gods. 9 ⁿHave you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and ^omade priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination⁴ with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are ^pnot gods. 10 But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. 11 They offer to the Lord ^qevery morning and every evening burnt offerings and ^rincense of sweet spices, set out the ^sshowbread on the ^ttable of pure gold, and care for the ^ugolden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. 12 Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle ^vtrumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

13 Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops⁵ were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. 17 Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. 18 Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they ^wrelied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. 19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron⁶ with its villages. 20 Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. And the Lord ^xstruck him down, and he died. 21 But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the ^ystory of the prophet Iddo.

Asa Reigns in Judah

1 Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. 2 ^{8 z}And Asa ^adid what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He took away the foreign altars and the high places and ^bbroke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim 4 and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. 5 He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the ^cincense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. 6 He built ^dfortified cities in Judah, for the land had ^erest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace. 7 And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with ^fwalls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. 8 And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

9 Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a ^gmillion men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10 And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 And Asa ^hcried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we ⁱrely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” 12 So the Lord ^jdefeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah⁹ carried away very much spoil. 14 And they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for ^kthe fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15 And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

1 ^aSix days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, ^bwhere Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. ^cMartha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound¹ of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred ^ddenarii² and ^egiven to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it^{3 f}for the day of my burial. 8 For ^gthe poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus⁴ was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death ^has well, 11 because on account of him ⁱmany of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

12 ^jThe next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of ^kpalm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ^l“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the ^mKing of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was ^oglorified, then they ^premembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 ^qThe crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, ^rthe world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some ^sGreeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, ^t“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, ^uunless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it ^vbears much fruit. 25 ^wWhoever loves his life loses it, and whoever ^xhates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must ^yfollow me; and ^zwhere I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.