Jotham Reigns in Judah

1 ^aJotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done, ^bexcept he did not enter the temple of the Lord. But the people still followed corrupt practices. 3 He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord and did much building on the wall of ^cOphel. 4 Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. 5 He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents¹ of silver, and 10,000 cors² of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years. 6 So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God. 7 ^dNow the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He was ^etwenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Ahaz Reigns in Judah

1 ^fAhaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, 2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made ^gmetal images for ^hthe Baals, 3 and ⁱhe made offerings in the ^jValley of the Son of Hinnom and ^kburned his sons as an offering,³ according to ^lthe abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and ⁱmade offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Defeated

5 ^mTherefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. 6 For ⁿPekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.

8 The men of Israel took captive 200,000 ^oof their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. 9 But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, ^pwas angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage ^qthat has reached up to heaven. 10 And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the Lord your God? 11 Now hear me, and send back the captives ^ofrom your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

12 Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war 13 and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the Lord in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” 14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the assembly. 15 And ^rthe men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, ^sprovided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, ^tthe city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

16 ^uAt that time King Ahaz sent to the king⁴ of Assyria for help. 17 For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. 18 ^vAnd the Philistines had made raids on ^wthe cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco ^xwith its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. 19 For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made ^yJudah act sinfully⁵ and had been very unfaithful to the Lord. 20 So ^zTiglath-pileser⁶ king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21 ^aFor Ahaz took a portion from the house of the Lord and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

Ahaz’s Idolatry

22 In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. 23 For ^bhe sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, ^c“Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. 24 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and ^dcut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made himself ^ealtars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 In every city of Judah he made high places to ^fmake offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his fathers. 26 ^gNow the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for ^hthey did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

The Lamb and the 144,000

1 Then I looked, and behold, on ^vMount Zion ^wstood the Lamb, and with him ^x144,000 who ^yhad his name and his Father’s name written ^zon their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven ^alike the roar of many waters and ^blike the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of ^charpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing ^da new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. ^eNo one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for ^fthey are virgins. It is these ^gwho follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as ^hfirstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and ⁱin their mouth no lie was found, for they are ^jblameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

6 Then I saw another angel ^kflying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to ^lthose who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, ^m“Fear God and ⁿgive him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and ^oworship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the ^psprings of water.”

8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, ^q“Fallen, fallen is ^rBabylon the great, ^sshe who made all nations drink ^tthe wine of the passion¹ of her sexual immorality.”

9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^uworships the beast and its image and receives ^va mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink ^wthe wine of God’s wrath, ^xpoured full strength into the cup of his anger, and ^yhe will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And ^zthe smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and ^athey have no rest, day or night, these ^uworshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

12 ^bHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who ^ckeep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.²

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: ^dBlessed are the dead ^ewho die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, ^f“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

The Harvest of the Earth

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one ^glike a son of man, ^hwith a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel ⁱcame out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, ^j“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for ^kthe harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, ^lthe angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, ^mfor its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great ⁿwinepress of the wrath of God. 20 And ^othe winepress was trodden ^poutside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as ^qa horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.³

The Restoration for Judah and Israel

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

1 Now ⁿbefore ^othe Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that ^phis hour had come ^qto depart out of this world to the Father, ^rhaving loved ^shis own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when ^tthe devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing ^uthat the Father had given all things into his hands, and that ^vhe had come from God and ^wwas going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, ^xtied it around his waist. 5 Then he ^ypoured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 ^zJesus answered him, “What I am doing ^ayou do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 ^bPeter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, ^c“If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, ^dexcept for his feet,¹ but is completely clean. And ^eyou² are clean, ^fbut not every one of you.” 11 ^gFor he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When he had washed their feet and ^hput on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ⁱ“Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 ^jYou call me ^kTeacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, ^lyou also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, ^mthat you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, ⁿa servant³ is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, ^oblessed are you if you do them. 18 ^pI am not speaking of all of you; I know ^qwhom I have chosen. But ^rthe Scripture will be fulfilled,^{4 s}‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 ^tI am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, ^uwhoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

One of You Will Betray Me

21 After saying these things, ^vJesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ^w“Truly, truly, I say to you, ^xone of you will betray me.” 22 ^yThe disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 ^zOne of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table ^aat Jesus’ side,⁵ 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus⁶ of whom he was speaking. 25 ^bSo that disciple, ^cleaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, ^d“It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread ^ewhen I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, ^fhe gave it to Judas, ^gthe son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, ^hSatan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ⁱ“What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, ^jbecause Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need ^kfor the feast,” or that he should ^lgive something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. ^mAnd it was night.

A New Commandment

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, ⁿ“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and ^oGod is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, ^pGod will also glorify him in himself, and ^qglorify him at once. 33 Little children, ^ryet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just ^sas I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 ^tA new commandment ^uI give to you, ^vthat you love one another: ^wjust as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 ^xBy this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” ^yJesus answered him, “Where I am going ^zyou cannot follow me now, ^abut you will follow afterward.” 37 ^bPeter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, ^cthe rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.