The Lord Reigns
1 The Lord ureigns, vlet the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2 wClouds and thick darkness are all around him;
xrighteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 yFire goes before him
and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His zlightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The amountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the bLord of all the earth.
6 The cheavens proclaim his righteousness,
and dall the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are eput to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
fworship him, all you gods!
8 Zion hears and is gglad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are hmost high over all the earth;
you are exalted far iabove all gods.
10 O you who love the Lord, jhate evil!
He kpreserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown1 for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and lgive thanks to his holy name!
Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord
A Psalm.
1 Oh msing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has nmade known his salvation;
he has orevealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has premembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have qseen
the salvation of our God.
4 rMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
sbreak forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 tWith trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
7 uLet the sea roar, and all that fills it;
vthe world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills wsing for joy together
9 xbefore the Lord, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Ahab and the False Prophets
1 lFor three years Syria and Israel continued without war. 2 But in the third year mJehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” 4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, n“I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, oabout four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7 But Jehoshaphat said, p“Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 9 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” 12 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
13 qAnd the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, rwhat the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” 15 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 16 But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 17 And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, sas sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 19 And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord tsitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 23 Now therefore behold, uthe Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”
Ahab Killed in Battle
29 zSo the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will adisguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. 31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the bthirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 34 cBut a certain man drew his bow at random1 and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 35 And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. 36 And about sunset a cry went through the army, d“Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, eaccording to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.
Greeting
1 aSimeon1 Peter, a servant2 and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of bour God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 cMay grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirm Your Calling and Election
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him dwho called us to3 his own glory and eexcellence,4 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and fvery great promises, so that through them you may become gpartakers of the divine nature, having hescaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with ivirtue,5 and jvirtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with klove. 8 For if these qualities6 are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or lunfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is mblind, having forgotten that he was ncleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,7 obe all the more diligent to pconfirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never qfall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an rentrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are sestablished tin the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this ubody,8 vto stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, was our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised xmyths when ywe made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, zbut we were eyewitnesses of his amajesty. 17 For when he received honor and bglory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, c“This is my beloved Son,9 with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a dlamp eshining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the fmorning star grises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 hFor no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but imen spoke from God as they were carried along jby the Holy Spirit.
