1 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah over Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria seventeen years. 2And he did evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them. 3So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.

4 Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him because He saw the oppression that the king of Aram had inflicted on Israel. 5So the Lord gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel lived in their own homes as they had before.

6 Nevertheless, they did not turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, but they continued to walk in them. The Asherah pole even remained standing in Samaria.

7 Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.

8 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, along with all his accomplishments and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

9 And Jehoahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And his son Jehoash reigned in his place.

10 In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Joash over Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11And he did evil in the sight of the Lord and did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he walked in them.

12 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoash, along with all his accomplishments and his might, including his war against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

13 And Jehoash rested with his fathers, and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

15 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows.”

So Jehoash took a bow and some arrows.

16 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.”

So the king put his hand on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17“Open the east window,” said Elisha.

So he opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot.

And Elisha declared:

18 Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!”

So he took them, and Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!”

So he struck the ground three times and stopped.

19 But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to it. But now you will strike down Aram only three times.”

20 And Elisha died and was buried.

Now the Moabite raiders used to come into the land every spring. 21Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. And as soon as his body touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet.

22 And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23But the Lord was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day, the Lord has been unwilling to destroy them or cast them from His presence.

24 When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad reigned in his place. 25Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recovered the cities of Israel.

1 In the second year of the reign of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz over Israel, Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah. 2He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 3And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father David had done. He did everything as his father Joash had done.

4 Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away, and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

5 As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah executed the servants who had murdered his father the king. 6Yet he did not put the sons of the murderers to death, but acted according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the Lord commanded: “Fathers must not be put to death for their children, and children must not be put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.”

7 Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.

8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said.

9 But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle. 10You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Glory in that and stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall— you and Judah with you?”

11 But Amaziah would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah. 12And Judah was routed before Israel, and every man fled to his home.

13 There at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah.

Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate — a section of four hundred cubits. 14He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace, as well as some hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.

15 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoash, along with his accomplishments, his might, and how he waged war against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

16 And Jehoash rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And his son Jeroboam reigned in his place.

17 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. 18As for the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

19 And conspirators plotted against Amaziah in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But men were sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there. 20They carried him back on horses and buried him in Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David.

21 Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 22Azariah was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah rested with his fathers.

23 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah son of Joash over Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria forty-one years. 24And he did evil in the sight of the Lord and did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

25 This Jeroboam restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word that the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher. 26For the Lord saw that the affliction of the Israelites, both slave and free, was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel, 27and since the Lord had said that He would not blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

28 As for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, along with all his accomplishments and might, and how he waged war and recovered both Damascus and Hamath for Israel from Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

29 And Jeroboam rested with his fathers, the kings of Israel. And his son Zechariah reigned in his place.

23 After Paul had spent some time in Antioch, he traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

27 When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

“No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3“Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked.

“The baptism of John,” they replied.

4 Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.

8 Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.

11 God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.