Jehoshaphat’s Reforms

1 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2 But ⁿJehu the son of ^oHanani ^pthe seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you ^qhelp the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, ^rwrath has gone out against you from the Lord. 3 Nevertheless, ^ssome good is found in you, for ^tyou destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have ^uset your heart to seek God.”

4 Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to ^vthe hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 5 He appointed ^wjudges in the land in all ^xthe fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, ^yfor you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. 7 Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for ^zthere is no injustice with the Lord our God, ^aor partiality or taking bribes.”

8 Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat ^bappointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, ^yto give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. 9 And he charged them: ^c“Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, ^dand with your whole heart: 10 ^ewhenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and ^fwrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. 11 And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you ^gin all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers. ^hDeal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”¹

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

1 After this ⁱthe Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,² came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,³ from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in ^jHazazon-tamar” (that is, ^kEngedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face ^lto seek the Lord, and ^mproclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not ⁿGod in heaven? You ^orule over all the kingdoms of the nations. ^pIn your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, ^qdrive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of ^rAbraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ^s‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,⁴ or pestilence, or famine, ^twe will stand before this house and before you—^ufor your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of ^vAmmon and Moab and ^wMount Seir, whom ^xyou would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, ^yand whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us ^zby coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not ^aexecute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but ^bour eyes are on you.”

13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And ^cthe Spirit of the Lord came⁵ upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ^d‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, ^efor the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of ^fthe valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 ^gYou will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ ^dDo not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, ^hand the Lord will be with you.”

18 Then Jehoshaphat ⁱbowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the ^jKohathites and the ^kKorahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into ^lthe wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! ^mBelieve in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him ⁿin holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ^pan ambush against the men of ^qAmmon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, ^rthey all helped to destroy one another.

The Lord Delivers Judah

24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there⁶ were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,⁷ for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ^sfor the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 ^tAnd the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, ^ufor his God gave him rest all around.

31 ^vThus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. 33 ^wThe high places, however, were not taken away; ^xthe people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers.

34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of ^yJehu the son of Hanani, ^zwhich are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

35 ^aAfter this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. 36 He joined him in building ships to go to ^bTarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, ^c“Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

1 ^wWhen morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^xtook counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And they bound him and ^yled him away and ^zdelivered him over to ^aPilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

3 Then when ^bJudas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus¹ was condemned, ^che changed his mind and brought back ^dthe thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? ^eSee to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, ^fhe departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into ^gthe treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore ^hthat field has been called the Field of Blood ⁱto this day. 9 ^jThen was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^k“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

11 ^lNow Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^mthe King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ⁿ“You have said so.” 12 ^oBut when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, ^p“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

15 ^qNow at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or ^rJesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out ^sof envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on ^tthe judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^uthat righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^vin a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^wask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^xThey all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? ^yWhat evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^za riot was beginning, he took water and ^awashed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^bthis man’s blood;^{2 c}see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, ^d“His blood be on us and ^eon our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^fscourged³ Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

27 ^gThen the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^hgovernor’s headquarters,⁴ and they gathered the whole ⁱbattalion⁵ before him. 28 And they stripped him and put ^ja scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^kmocked him, saying, “Hail, ^lKing of the Jews!” 30 And ^mthey spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ⁿled him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

32 ^opAs they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to ^ocarry his cross. 33 ^qAnd when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 ^rthey offered him wine to drink, mixed with ^sgall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, ^tthey divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and ^ukept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, ^vthe King of the Jews.” 38 Then two ^wrobbers were crucified with him, ^xone on the right and one on the left. 39 And ^ythose who passed by ^zderided him, ^awagging their heads 40 and saying, ^b“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^cIf you are ^dthe Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 ^e“He saved others; ^fhe cannot save himself. ^gHe is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 ^hHe trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 ⁱAnd the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

45 Now from the sixth hour⁶ there was darkness over all the land⁷ until the ninth hour.⁸ 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus ^jcried out with a loud voice, saying, ^k“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with ^lsour wine, and put it on a reed and ^mgave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus ⁿcried out again with a loud voice and ^oyielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, ^pthe curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^qthe earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^rthe saints ^swho had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^tthe holy city and appeared to many. 54 ^uWhen the centurion and those who were with him, ^vkeeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^w“Truly this was the Son⁹ of God!”

55 There were also ^xmany women there, looking on ^yfrom a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ^zministering to him, 56 among whom were ^zMary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and ^athe mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

57 ^bWhen it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and ^claid it in his own new tomb, ^dwhich he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^ea great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and ^fthe other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of ^gPreparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how ^hthat impostor said, while he was still alive, ⁱ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^jlest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have ^ka guard¹⁰ of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by ^lsealing the stone and setting a guard.

The Resurrection

1 ^mNow after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and ⁿthe other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for ^oan angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 ^pHis appearance was like lightning, and ^qhis clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and ^rbecame like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, ^sas he said. Come, see the place where he¹¹ lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, ^the is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb ^uwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus ^vmet them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and ^wtook hold of his feet and ^xworshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ^ygo and tell ^zmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”