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2 Kings chapter 17

1
In the twelfth year of the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for nine years.
2
He sinned against the LORD, but not as much as the kings who had ruled Israel before him.
3
Emperor Shalmaneser of Assyria made war against him; Hoshea surrendered to Shalmaneser and paid him tribute every year.
4
But one year Hoshea sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, asking for his help, and stopped paying the annual tribute to Assyria. When Shalmaneser learned of this, he had Hoshea arrested and put in prison.
5
Then Shalmaneser invaded Israel and besieged Samaria. In the third year of the siege,
6
which was the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, the Assyrian emperor captured Samaria, took the Israelites to Assyria as prisoners, and settled some of them in the city of Halah, some near the Habor River in the district of Gozan and some in the cities of Media.
7
Samaria fell because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the king of Egypt and had led them out of Egypt. They worshiped other gods,
8
followed the customs of the people whom the LORD had driven out as his people advanced, and adopted customs introduced by the kings of Israel.
9
The Israelites did things that the LORD their God disapproved of. They built pagan places of worship in all their towns, from the smallest village to the largest city.
10
On all the hills and under every shady tree they put up stone pillars and images of the goddess Asherah,
11
and they burned incense on all the pagan altars, following the practice of the people whom the LORD had driven out of the land. They aroused the LORD's anger with all their wicked deeds
12
and disobeyed the LORD's command not to worship idols.
13
The LORD had sent his messengers and prophets to warn Israel and Judah: "Abandon your evil ways and obey my commands, which are contained in the Law I gave to your ancestors and which I handed on to you through my servants the prophets."
14
But they would not obey; they were stubborn like their ancestors, who had not trusted in the LORD their God.
15
They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them.
16
They broke all the laws of the LORD their God and made two metal bull-calves to worship; they also made an image of the goddess Asherah, worshiped the stars, and served the god Baal.
17
They sacrificed their sons and daughters as burnt offerings to pagan gods; they consulted mediums and fortunetellers, and they devoted themselves completely to doing what is wrong in the LORD's sight, and so aroused his anger.
18
The LORD was angry with the Israelites and banished them from his sight, leaving only the kingdom of Judah.
19
But even the people of Judah did not obey the laws of the LORD their God; they imitated the customs adopted by the people of Israel.
20
The LORD rejected all the Israelites, punishing them and handing them over to cruel enemies until at last he had banished them from his sight.
21
After the LORD had separated Israel from Judah, the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam caused them to abandon the LORD and led them into terrible sins.
22
They followed Jeroboam and continued to practice all the sins he had committed,
23
until at last the LORD banished them from his sight, as he had warned through his servants the prophets that he would do. So the people of Israel were taken into exile to Assyria, where they still live.
24
The emperor of Assyria took people from the cities of Babylon, Cuth, Ivvah, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the exiled Israelites. They took possession of these cities and lived there.
25
When they first settled there, they did not worship the LORD, and so he sent lions, which killed some of them.
26
The emperor of Assyria was told that the people he had settled in the cities of Samaria did not know the law of the god of that land, and so the god had sent lions, which were killing them.
27
So the emperor commanded: "Send back one of the priests we brought as prisoners; have him go back and live there, in order to teach the people the law of the god of that land."
28
So an Israelite priest who had been deported from Samaria went and lived in Bethel, where he taught the people how to worship the LORD.
29
But the people who settled in Samaria continued to make their own idols, and they placed them in the shrines that the Israelites had built. Each different group made idols in the cities they were living in:
30
the people of Babylon made idols of the god Succoth Benoth; the people of Cuth, idols of Nergal; the people of Hamath, idols of Ashima;
31
the people of Ivvah, idols of Nibhaz and Tartak; and the people of Sepharvaim sacrificed their children as burnt offerings to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.
32
These people also worshiped the LORD and chose from among their own number all sorts of people to serve as priests at the pagan places of worship and to offer sacrifices for them there.
33
So they worshiped the LORD, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the customs of the countries from which they had come.
34
They still carry on their old customs to this day. They do not worship the LORD nor do they obey the laws and commands which he gave to the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel.
35
The LORD had made a covenant with them and had ordered them: "Do not worship other gods; do not bow down to them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them.
36
You shall obey me, the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with great power and strength; you are to bow down to me and offer sacrifices to me.
37
You shall always obey the laws and commands that I wrote for you. You shall not obey other gods,
38
and you shall not forget the covenant I made with you.
39
You shall obey me, the LORD your God, and I will rescue you from your enemies."
40
But those people would not listen, and they continued to follow their old customs.
41
So those people worshiped the LORD, but they also worshiped their idols; and to this day their descendants continue to do the same.

2 Chronicles chapter 28

1
Ahaz became king at the age of twenty, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not follow the good example of his ancestor King David; instead, he did what was not pleasing to the LORD
2
and followed the example of the kings of Israel. He had metal images of Baal made,
3
burned incense in Hinnom Valley, and even sacrificed his own sons as burnt offerings to idols, imitating the disgusting practice of the people whom the LORD had driven out of the land as the Israelites advanced.
4
At the pagan places of worship, on the hills, and under every shady tree Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense.
5
Because King Ahaz sinned, the LORD his God let the king of Syria defeat him and take a large number of Judeans back to Damascus as prisoners. The LORD also let the king of Israel, Pekah son of Remaliah, defeat Ahaz and kill 120,000 of the bravest Judean soldiers in one day. The LORD, the God of their ancestors, permitted this to happen, because the people of Judah had abandoned him.
6
(SEE 28:5)
7
An Israelite soldier named Zichri killed King Ahaz' son Maaseiah, the palace administrator Azrikam, and Elkanah, who was second in command to the king.
8
Even though the Judeans were their own relatives, the Israelite army captured 200,000 women and children as prisoners and took them back to Samaria, along with large amounts of loot.
9
A man named Oded, a prophet of the LORD, lived in the city of Samaria. He met the returning Israelite army with its Judean prisoners as it was about to enter the city, and he said, "The LORD God of your ancestors was angry with Judah and let you defeat them, but now he has heard of the vicious way you slaughtered them.
10
And now you intend to make the men and women of Jerusalem and Judah your slaves. Don't you know that you also have committed sins against the LORD your God?
11
Listen to me! These prisoners are your brothers and sisters. Let them go, or the LORD will punish you in his anger."
12
Four of the leading men of the Northern Kingdom, Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai also opposed the actions of the army.
13
They said, "Don't bring those prisoners here! We have already sinned against the LORD and made him angry enough to punish us. Now you want to do something that will increase our guilt."
14
So then the army handed the prisoners and the loot over to the people and their leaders,
15
and the four men were appointed to provide the prisoners with clothing from the captured loot. They gave them clothes and sandals to wear, gave them enough to eat and drink, and put olive oil on their wounds. Those who were too weak to walk were put on donkeys, and all the prisoners were taken back to Judean territory at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then the Israelites returned home to Samaria.
16
The Edomites began to raid Judah again and captured many prisoners, so King Ahaz asked Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, to send help.
17
(SEE 28:16)
18
At this same time the Philistines were raiding the towns in the western foothills and in southern Judah. They captured the cities of Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, and the cities of Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their villages, and settled there permanently.
19
Because King Ahaz of Judah had violated the rights of his people and had defied the LORD, the LORD brought troubles on Judah.
20
The Assyrian emperor, instead of helping Ahaz, opposed him and caused him trouble.
21
So Ahaz took the gold from the Temple, the palace, and the homes of the leaders of the people, and gave it to the emperor, but even this did not help.
22
When his troubles were at their worst, that man Ahaz sinned against the LORD more than ever.
23
He offered sacrifices to the gods of the Syrians, who had defeated him. He said, "The Syrian gods helped the kings of Syria, so if I sacrifice to them, they may help me too." This brought disaster on him and on his nation.
24
In addition, he took all the Temple equipment and broke it in pieces. He closed the Temple and set up altars in every part of Jerusalem.
25
In every city and town in Judah he built pagan places of worship, where incense was to be burned to foreign gods. In this way he brought on himself the anger of the LORD, the God of his ancestors.
26
All the other events of his reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
27
King Ahaz died and was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. His son Hezekiah succeeded him as king.

Psalm chapter 46

1
God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
2
So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the ocean depths;
3
even if the seas roar and rage, and the hills are shaken by the violence.
4
There is a river that brings joy to the city of God, to the sacred house of the Most High.
5
God is in that city, and it will never be destroyed; at early dawn he will come to its aid.
6
Nations are terrified, kingdoms are shaken; God thunders, and the earth dissolves.
7
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
8
Come and see what the LORD has done. See what amazing things he has done on earth.
9
He stops wars all over the world; he breaks bows, destroys spears, and sets shields on fire.
10
"Stop fighting," he says, "and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme over the world."
11
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

James chapter 3

1
My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others.
2
All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being.
3
We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want.
4
Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go.
5
So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!
6
And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.
7
We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures---wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish.
8
But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison.
9
We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God.
10
Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen!
11
No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening.
12
A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.
13
Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom.
14
But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don't sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom.
15
Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic.
16
Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil.
17
But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy.
18
And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.

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