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Jehu kills Joram
14 So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi, became an enemy of King Joram.
Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole army of Israel. They were fighting against Hazael, the king of Syria, who wanted to attack Israel. 15 The Syrian soldiers had hurt King Joram in the battle against King Hazael. So he returned to Jezreel to get well again.
Jehu said to his men, ‘If you really want to help me, do not let anyone leave this city. Nobody must go to warn the people in Jezreel.’ 16 Then Jehu got into his chariot and he rode to Jezreel, because King Joram was resting there. Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had also gone to Jezreel to visit King Joram.
17 A guard was standing on the tower in Jezreel to watch for enemies. He saw Jehu's soldiers coming towards the city. He shouted, ‘I can see a group of soldiers who are coming here on horses.’
King Joram said, ‘Send out a man on a horse to meet the soldiers. Ask them. “Are you coming to us as friends?” ’ 18 The man on the horse rode out of the city to meet Jehu. He said to Jehu, ‘The king asks you, “Are you coming here as friends?” ’ Jehu replied, ‘Whether we are friends or not, turn round and ride behind me!’
The guard on the tower reported to Joram, ‘The man that you sent with the message has reached them. But he is not coming back yet.’ 19 So King Joram sent a second man out on a horse. The rider said to Jehu, ‘The king asks you, “Are you coming here as friends?” ’ Jehu replied, ‘Whether we are friends or not, turn round and ride behind me!’
20 The guard reported to Joram, ‘The man has reached them, but he is not coming back yet either. Their leader is driving his chariot like Nimshi's son, Jehu. He drives like a crazy man!’
21 Then King Joram commanded, ‘Prepare my chariot for me.’ So they brought his chariot to him. Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah rode out of the city to meet Jehu. Each king was riding in his own chariot. They met Jehu at the piece of land that had once belonged to Naboth, the man from Jezreel.[a] 22 When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, ‘Have you come as a friend, Jehu?’ Jehu replied, ‘We cannot be friends. Your mother Jezebel still causes people to worship idols and to use magic.’
23 Joram turned his chariot round and he drove away quickly. He shouted to King Ahaziah, ‘Ahaziah, they have deceived us!’ 24 Then Jehu used his bow to shoot an arrow at Joram. The arrow hit Joram between his shoulders and it went through his heart. He fell over in his chariot and he died. 25 Jehu gave a command to his officer, Bidkar. He said to him, ‘Pick him up! Throw his body onto the field that once belonged to Naboth. Remember, you and I rode together in chariots behind Joram's father, Ahab. That was when the Lord said this about Ahab: 26 “Yesterday, I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons where you murdered them. One day, I will punish you as you deserve. I will do it here on this piece of land. That is what the Lord says.” So now pick up Joram's body and throw it on this piece of land. Do what the Lord has promised he would do.’
27 King Ahaziah of Judah saw what had happened to Joram. So he rode away quickly on the road towards Beth Haggan. Jehu chased after him and he shouted, ‘Kill him too!’ Jehu's men shot arrows at Ahaziah as he rode in his chariot up the hill to Gur, near Ibleam. He escaped to Megiddo and he died there.
28 King Ahaziah's servants took his body back to Jerusalem in a chariot. They buried him there in a grave beside his ancestors in the City of David. 29 Ahaziah had become king of Judah when Ahab's son Joram had been king of Israel for 11 years.
30 After that, Jehu went to Jezreel. Jezebel heard what had happened. So she made her eyes and her hair look beautiful. Then she looked out of a window in the palace.[b] 31 When Jehu came through the gate of the city, Jezebel called out to him, ‘Have you come as a friend, Zimri? No, you have murdered your master!’[c] 32 Jehu looked up at the window and he saw her. Then he shouted, ‘Who wants to help me? Anyone there?’ Two or three eunuchs looked out though a window at him.[d] 33 Jehu shouted to them, ‘Throw her down!’ So they threw her down. When she hit the ground, some of her blood splashed on the wall. It also splashed on Jehu's horses as he drove them over her body.
34 Jehu went into the palace and he ate a meal. Then he said, ‘Take away that evil woman's body. She was the daughter of a king, so you should bury her properly.’ 35 But when they went out to bury her, not much of her body was still there. They found only her skull, her feet and her hands. 36 They went back and they told Jehu. He said, ‘The Lord told his servant, Elijah from Tishbe, that this would happen. He said, “Dogs will eat Jezebel's dead body on the ground in Jezreel. 37 Her dead body will lie on the ground in Jezreel like dung. Nobody will be able to recognize who it is.” ’
Jehu kills Ahab's descendants
10 Ahab had 70 sons who lived in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and he sent them to Samaria. He sent them to Jezreel's officers and leaders, as well as to the men who took care of Ahab's sons.[e] 2 This was what the letter said:
‘When this letter reaches you, your master's sons will be with you. You also have his chariots and horses in a strong city. And you have weapons. 3 Choose the best person to be king from among your master's sons. Make him your king instead of his father. Then prepare to fight on behalf of your master's family.’
4 But the letter made the officers in Samaria very afraid. They said, ‘Even two kings could not win against Jehu. So we can never fight against him and win!’
5 So these people sent a message to Jehu:
the officer who took care of the king's palace,
the man who ruled the city of Samaria,
the city's leaders,
and the men who took care of Ahab's children.
The message said, ‘We are your servants. We will do anything that you tell us. We will not make anyone king. You must do what you think is right.’
6 So Jehu wrote a second letter to them. It said, ‘If you are ready to help me and you will obey me, do this: Bring the heads of your master's sons here to me in Jezreel. Bring them by this time tomorrow.’[f]
At that time, important leaders of the city were taking care of the king's 70 sons. 7 When the letter arrived, these men took hold of the king's sons. They killed all 70 of them. They put their heads in baskets. Then they sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. 8 Someone told Jehu, ‘They have brought the heads of the king's sons.’ Then Jehu said, ‘Put them in two heaps at the gate of the city. Leave them there until the morning.’
9 The next morning, Jehu went out to the city's gate. He stood there in front of all the people. He said to them, ‘You are not guilty of any murder. I was the one who decided to kill my master, the king. But who killed these descendants of Ahab? It was not my decision! 10 You must realize this: Every punishment that the Lord said would happen to Ahab's family must happen. The Lord has done what he told his servant Elijah he would do.’
11 After that, Jehu killed everybody in Jezreel who was a descendant of Ahab. He also killed Ahab's officers, his friends and his priests. No descendant of Ahab remained alive.
12 Jehu left Jezreel and he went towards Samaria. He came to Beth Eked, where shepherds had a camp. 13 He met some relatives of Ahaziah, the king of Judah. Jehu asked them, ‘Who are you?’ They said, ‘We are relatives of Ahaziah. We are going to Jezreel to visit the families of the king and his mother.’[g] 14 Jehu said to his men, ‘Catch them, but do not kill them!’ So they took hold of them. Then they killed them all near the well at Beth Eked. They killed 42 people, so that none of them remained alive.
15 When Jehu left Beth Eked, he met Rekab's son Jehonadab. He was coming to meet Jehu. Jehu said, ‘Hello! Do you trust me, as I trust you?’ Jehonadab answered, ‘Yes, I do!’ Jehu replied, ‘Then hold your hand out to me.’ So he did that and Jehu pulled him up into his chariot. 16 Jehu said, ‘Come with me. You will see that I want to serve the Lord faithfully.’ So Jehonadab rode with Jehu in his chariot. 17 Jehu arrived in Samaria. He killed all the descendants of Ahab who were still alive in Samaria. The Lord had told Elijah that this would happen.
Jehu removes false prophets
18 Then Jehu called all the people to come together. He said to them, ‘Ahab served Baal, but he did not do it very well. But I, Jehu, will serve Baal much better! 19 So tell all the prophets who serve Baal to come here, as well as all Baal's servants and his priests. Make sure that they all come. I want to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. If any of them does not come, I will punish him with death.’
But Jehu was deceiving them. He wanted to kill all Baal's servants. 20 He gave a command, ‘Prepare a special day when we can all worship Baal.’ So Jehu's servants told everybody about it.
21 Jehu sent a notice to everyone in Israel. All the servants of Baal came to the meeting. There was nobody who did not come. They all went into the temple of Baal, so that it was completely full of people. 22 Then Jehu said to the man who took care of the special clothes, ‘Bring out the robes for the servants of Baal to wear.’ So the man brought out the robes for them. 23 Then Jehu and Rekab's son Jehonadab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, ‘Look around carefully. Be sure that there are no servants of the Lord here with you. There must only be servants of Baal here.’ 24 So they went into the temple to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. But Jehu had put 80 of his men outside the temple. He had said to them, ‘Do not let any of these men escape. If you let anyone escape, I will punish you with death.’
25 When Jehu had finished offering the sacrifices, he said to the guards and the soldiers, ‘Go into the temple and kill all Baal's servants. Do not let any of them escape.’ So the guards and soldiers used their swords to cut all the people down. They threw the dead bodies out of the temple. Then they went into the inside room of the temple. 26 They took out the stones from the house of Baal and they destroyed them. 27 They broke the special stone pillar of Baal and they destroyed the temple. People still use it as a toilet, even today!
28 That is how Jehu stopped people from worshipping Baal in Israel. 29 But Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Nebat's son, Jeroboam. Jeroboam had caused Israel to worship images of calves. There were still gold calves at Bethel and Dan. 30 The Lord said to Jehu, ‘You have done well. You have done the things that I say are right. You have punished Ahab's family in the way that I wanted. So your descendants will be kings of Israel for four generations.’[h] 31 But Jehu was not careful to obey completely the law of the Lord, Israel's God. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam which he had caused Israel to do.
What happened in Thessalonica
17 Paul and his friends continued their journey. They went through the two towns called Amphipolis and Apollonia.[a] Then they arrived in the city of Thessalonica. There was a Jewish meeting place there. 2 Paul went to the meeting place, as he usually did on a Jewish day of rest. On three rest days, he spoke God's message to the people there. He read from the Bible and he explained what it meant. 3 He told the people what was true about God's Messiah. He used the Bible to show them clearly that the Messiah had to suffer and die. He also showed them that the Messiah had to become alive again. Paul said to them, ‘I have been telling you about Jesus. He is the Messiah that God has sent to us.’
4 Some of the Jews believed Paul's message. They joined the group with Paul and Silas. A large number of Greek people who now worshipped God also joined this group.[b] Many important women in the city also believed and they joined the group.
5 Some other Jews in the city were jealous of Paul and Silas, because people believed their message. So they went to the city's market place and they found some bad men there. These men often caused trouble in the city. Now the Jews brought these men to come together with them in an angry crowd. This crowd made a lot of noise and trouble in the streets of the city. They went to Jason's house and they broke down his door. They wanted to find Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring them out of the house to the crowd. 6 But they did not find Paul and Silas there. So they took hold of Jason and some other believers. They pulled them out of the house. They made them go and stand in front of the important officers of the city. They shouted, ‘These men have caused much trouble everywhere. Now they have come to our city. 7 Jason has let them stay in his house. They speak against the laws that Caesar has given to us. They say that there is another king. This other king is called Jesus.’
8 The whole crowd of people and the important officers heard this report about Paul and Silas. They became very angry and upset. 9 The officers decided how much money Jason and the other believers should pay to go free. When they received it, they allowed them to go.
Many people in Berea believe Paul's message
10 As soon as it became dark, the believers in Thessalonica sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived in that town, they went to the Jewish meeting place. 11 The Jewish people in Berea were better than the people in Thessalonica. They were happy to listen carefully to Paul. Every day they also studied the Bible. They wanted to know if Paul's message was true. 12 Many of the Jewish people in Berea believed the good news about Jesus. Many Greek men and some important Greek women also believed in Jesus.
13 But the Jews in Thessalonica heard news about what Paul was doing in Berea. They heard that he was telling people God's message about Jesus. So some of them went to Berea. They said bad things against Paul to the people there. As a result, a large crowd became angry with Paul. 14 Immediately, the believers in Berea sent Paul away to go to the coast. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15 When Paul left Berea, some men went with him. They went with him as far as the city of Athens.[c] Before these men returned to Berea, Paul gave them a message for Silas and Timothy. He said, ‘Please come quickly and meet me here in Athens.’
Paul visits Athens
16 While Paul was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he walked around. He saw that the people in the city had many idols. When Paul saw this, he became very upset. 17 So he went to the Jewish meeting place and he talked with the Jews. He also talked there with those Gentiles who now worshipped God. Every day he also went to the market place in the city and he talked with the people there. 18 There were some teachers there who liked to talk about the things that people should believe. Some of them were called Epicureans and some were called Stoics.[d] After they talked to Paul, some of them said to each other, ‘Who is this silly man? He knows nothing and he talks too much!’ But some of these teachers said, ‘We think that he is talking about strange gods.’ They said this because Paul was telling people the good news about Jesus. He was also talking about the time when God will cause dead people to live again.
19 So these men asked Paul to go with them to Areopagus hill. They wanted him to speak to the city's important officers who met there.[e] 20 The officers said, ‘These strange ideas that you are teaching surprise us. Please explain to us what these ideas mean.’ 21 (The people of Athens liked to talk about new ideas. So did the foreign people who lived there. They all wanted to hear new things and to talk about them. They seemed to do this all the time.)
22 So Paul stood up in front of the important officers of the city. He said to them, ‘People of Athens. I see that you have many gods. 23 I have walked in the streets of your city. I see that you have built many special places where you worship your gods. I saw one altar with a notice on it. The notice said, “To the god that we do not know.” This shows that you want to worship a god that you do not know. Now I will tell you clearly about who this God is.
24 The true God made the earth and everything that is in it. He rules everything in the earth and in heaven. He does not live in any buildings that people have made for him. 25 People make things to give to God. But God does not need anything like that. It is God himself who causes everyone to live. He gives them everything that they need. 26 God first made one man. From that one man he made all the different groups of people. He caused them to live in different places all over the world. He decided where each group of people should live. He also decided how long they should live in each place. 27 God did all this so that people would want to know him. They would look carefully for him and perhaps they would find him. Really, God is near to each of us. 28 Someone said this: “Because God gives us life, we are alive. Because of him, we can move about. Because of him we can be who we are.” One of your writers has also said, “We too are God's children.”
29 So, because we are God's children, we should not think that he is a thing like an idol. Clever people use gold or silver or stone to make images of gods. But God is not like these things that people choose to make for themselves. 30 In past times people did not know the true things about God. Because of this, God did not punish them. But now God tells people everywhere, “Stop doing bad things and turn to me!” 31 God has already chosen one special day. On that day he will judge everyone in the world in a completely right way. He has chosen a man who will do this for him. He has shown clearly to everyone who that man is. He showed it like this: People killed that man. But God caused him to live again.’
32 Paul had said, ‘God caused that man to live again.’ When the people heard this, some of them laughed at him. But other people said to Paul, ‘We want you to tell us more about this on another day.’ 33 So then Paul left the meeting of the important officers of the city. 34 Some of the people who had heard Paul's message joined his group. They believed the good news about Jesus. One of these believers was a man called Dionysius. He belonged to the group of important officers. A woman called Damaris also became a believer. Several other people also believed Paul's message about Jesus.
This is a song that David wrote.
God is strong and we praise him
144 Lord, I praise you!
You are my strong Rock!
You teach me how to fight well.
You show me how to use my weapons.
2 You always love me.
You are the strong place where I am safe.
You save me from the power of my enemies.
You are like a shield for me.
I know that I am safe with you.
You give me power over nations.[a]
3 Lord, why do you even think about men and women?
Why do you take care of humans?
4 People soon pass away, just like a breath.
Their life is like a shadow that soon goes.
5 Lord, open up the heavens!
Leave your home and come down to earth!
Touch the mountains so that they burn with smoke.
6 Send bright lightning to frighten your enemies.
Shoot your arrows at them
so that they run away.[b]
7 Put your hand down from heaven,
and pick me out from the deep water.[c]
Save me from the power of foreign people.
8 Their mouths speak lies.
Even when they make a promise,
they are deceiving people.
9 I will sing to you a new song, God.
I will make music to you on my harp.[d]
10 You help kings to win against their enemies.
You also save me, your servant David, from my enemies,
when they try to kill me with their dangerous swords.
11 Keep me safe from the power of foreign people.
They speak lies.
Even when they make a promise, it is false.
12 When our sons are young,
may they grow quickly, like strong plants.
May our daughters become tall and beautiful,
like the beautiful pillars in a king's house.
13 May our homes have plenty of different kinds of food.
May our sheep have thousands of lambs,
so that there is no space in our fields.
14 May our cows become fat.[e]
I pray that our enemies will never knock down our city's walls.
I pray that none of us will become their prisoners.
I pray that nobody will cry in our city's streets because they are afraid.
15 When God does that for a nation,
he has surely blessed those people!
If people know that the Lord is their God,
then God has blessed them!
27 A wise person does not talk too much.
Anyone who keeps quiet shows that he understands things.
28 Even a fool seems to be wise if he keeps quiet.
If he keeps his mouth shut, people will think that he is clever.
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