Uzziah Reigns in Judah

1 And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 2 He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. 3 Uzziah was ^esixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 He set himself to seek God ^fin the days of Zechariah, ^gwho instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

6 He went out and ^hmade war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. 7 God helped him ⁱagainst the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the ^jMeunites. 8 The Ammonites ^kpaid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. 9 Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at ^lthe Corner Gate and at ^mthe Valley Gate and at ⁿthe Angle, and fortified them. 10 And he built towers in the wilderness and ^ocut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. 11 Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders. 12 The whole number of the heads of fathers’ houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600. 13 Under their command was an army of ^p307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14 And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, ^qcoats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. 15 In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

Uzziah’s Pride and Punishment

16 But when ^rhe was strong, ^she grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 But ^tAzariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, 18 and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, ^u“It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, ^vbut for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.” 19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, ^wleprosy¹ broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. 21 ^xAnd King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived ^yin a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the king’s household, governing the people of the land.

22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, ^zIsaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote. 23 And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

The First Beast

1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, ^owith ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and ^pblasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was ^qlike a leopard; its feet were like ^ra bear’s, and its mouth was like ^sa lion’s mouth. And to it ^tthe dragon gave his power and ^uhis throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and ^vthe whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ^w“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

5 And the beast was given ^xa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for ^yforty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,¹ that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed ^zto make war on the saints and to conquer them.² And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all ^awho dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in ^bthe book of life of ^cthe Lamb ^dwho was slain. 9 ^eIf anyone has an ear, let him hear:

^hHere is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

The Second Beast

11 Then ⁱI saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,³ and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, ^jwhose mortal wound was healed. 13 ^kIt performs great signs, even ^lmaking fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of⁴ the beast ^mit deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast ⁿthat was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not ^oworship the image of the beast ^pto be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,^{5 q}to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, ^rthe name of the beast or ^sthe number of its name. 18 ^tThis calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number ^uof a man, and his number is 666.⁶

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

The Coming King of Zion

The Lord Will Save His People

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

1 Six days before ⁱthe Passover, ^jJesus therefore came to Bethany, ^kwhere Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. ^lMartha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 ^mMary 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 denarii² and ⁿgiven to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and ⁿhaving 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 it³ for the day of my burial. 8 For the 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, ^owhom he had raised from the dead. 10 ^pSo the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because ^qon account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

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

16 ^xHis disciples did not understand these things at first, but ^ywhen Jesus was glorified, then ^zthey remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 ^aThe 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 ^bwas that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, ^c“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, ^dthe world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

20 Now ^eamong those who went up to worship at the feast were some ^fGreeks. 21 So these came to ^gPhilip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told ^hAndrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, ⁱ“The hour has come ^jfor the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, ^kunless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 ^lWhoever loves his life loses it, and ^mwhoever ⁿhates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must ^ofollow me; and ^pwhere I am, there will my servant be also. ^qIf anyone serves me, ^rthe Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

27 ^s“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, ^tsave me from ^uthis hour’? But ^vfor this purpose I have come to ^uthis hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then ^wa voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ^x“An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, ^y“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 ^zNow is the judgment of this world; now will ^athe ruler of this world ^bbe cast out. 32 And I, ^cwhen I am lifted up from the earth, ^dwill draw ^eall people to myself.” 33 He said this ^fto show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that ^gthe Christ remains forever. How can you say that ^hthe Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, ⁱ“The light is among you ^jfor a little while longer. ^kWalk while you have the light, lest darkness ^lovertake you. ^mThe one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become ⁿsons of light.”

The Unbelief of the People

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 ^oso that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

39 Therefore they ^qcould not believe. For again Isaiah said,

41 Isaiah said these things because ^the saw his glory and ^uspoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, ^vmany even of the authorities believed in him, but ^wfor fear of the Pharisees they did not ^xconfess it, so that they would not be ^xput out of the synagogue; 43 ^yfor they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Jesus Came to Save the World

44 And Jesus cried out and said, ^z“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but ^ain him who sent me. 45 And ^bwhoever ^csees me sees him who sent me. 46 ^dI have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone ^ehears my words and does not keep them, ^fI do not judge him; for ^gI did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 ^hThe one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; ⁱthe word that I have spoken will judge him ^jon the last day. 49 For ^kI have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father ^lwho sent me has himself given me ^ma commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”