Manasseh Reigns in Judah

¹jManasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ²And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to kthe abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. ³For he rebuilt the high places lthat his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made mAsheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. ⁴And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, n“In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” ⁵And he built altars for all the host of heaven in othe two courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶pAnd he burned his sons as an offering qin the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and rused fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with smediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. ⁷And tthe carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, nI will put my name forever, ⁸and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land uthat I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” ⁹Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Manasseh's Repentance

¹⁰The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. ¹¹vTherefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and wbound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. ¹²And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God xand humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. ¹³He prayed to him, and yGod was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. zThen Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

¹⁴Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of aGihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into bthe Fish Gate, and carried it around cOphel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. ¹⁵And dhe took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. ¹⁶He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁷eNevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

¹⁸Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and fhis prayer to his God, and the words of gthe seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the hChronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁹And his prayer, and how yGod was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites ion which he built high places and set up the iAsherim and the images, before xhe humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.1 ²⁰So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon's Reign and Death

²¹jAmon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²²And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images kthat Manasseh his father had made, and served them. ²³And he did not humble himself before the Lord, las Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. ²⁴And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. ²⁵But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

Rejoicing in Heaven

¹After this I heard nwhat seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

oSalvation and glory and power belong to our God,

²for phis judgments are true and just;

for he has judged qthe great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her immorality,

and rhas avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³Once more they cried out,

“Hallelujah!

sThe smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

⁴And tthe twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵And from the throne came a voice saying,

u“Praise our God,

all you his servants,

vyou who fear him,

small and great.”

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

⁶Then I heard what seemed to be wthe voice of a great multitude, like xthe roar of many waters and ylike the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty zreigns.

⁷Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for athe marriage of the Lamb has come,

and bhis Bride has made herself ready;

⁸cit was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is dthe righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹And the angel said1 to me, “Write this: eBlessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, f“These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰Then gI fell down at his feet to worship him, hbut he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to ithe testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Rider on a White Horse

¹¹Then I saw jheaven opened, and behold, ka white horse! The one sitting on it is called lFaithful and True, and min righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹²nHis eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are omany diadems, and he has pa name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³He is clothed in qa robe dipped in2 blood, and the name by which he is called is rThe Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies of heaven, sarrayed in fine linen, white and pure, twere following him on white horses. ¹⁵uFrom his mouth comes a sharp sword vwith which to strike down the nations, and whe will rule3 them with a rod of iron. xHe will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh yhe has a name written, zKing of kings and Lord of lords.

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to aall the birds that fly directly overhead, b“Come, gather for cthe great supper of God, ¹⁸dto eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,4 both small and great.” ¹⁹And I saw ethe beast and the kings of the earth with their armies fgathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. ²⁰And the beast was captured, and with it gthe false prophet hwho in its presence5 had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who iworshiped its image. These two were jthrown alive into the lake of kfire that burns with sulfur. ²¹And the rest were slain by the sword lthat came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and mall the birds were gorged with their flesh.

¹The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.1

The Lord's Love for Israel

²a“I have loved you,” says the Lord. bBut you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau cJacob's brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet dI have loved Jacob ³but Esau I have hated. eI have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” ⁴If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” ⁵fYour own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”

The Priests' Polluted Offerings

⁶g“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am ha father, where is my honor? And if I am ia master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. bBut you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ ⁷jBy offering polluted food upon my altar. bBut you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that kthe Lord's table may be despised. ⁸lWhen you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. ⁹And now mentreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, nwill he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. ¹⁰oOh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, pand I will not accept an offering from your hand. ¹¹For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name qwill be2 great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name qwill be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. ¹²But you profane it when you say that rthe Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. ¹³But you say, s‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. tYou bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. ¹⁴Cursed be the cheat who has ua male in his flock, and vvows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For wI am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name xwill be feared among the nations.

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

¹When Jesus had spoken these words, nhe went out with his disciples across othe brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. ²Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew pthe place, for qJesus often met there with his disciples. ³rSo Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴Then Jesus, sknowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, t“Whom do you seek?” ⁵They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.”1 Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. ⁶uWhen Jesus2 said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷So he asked them again, t“Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” ⁹vThis was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” ¹⁰Then Simon Peter, whaving a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant3 and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) ¹¹So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; xshall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas

¹²So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews4 arrested Jesus and bound him. ¹³First they yled him to zAnnas, for he was the father-in-law of aCaiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews bthat it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

Peter Denies Jesus

¹⁵cSimon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, ¹⁶dbut Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷eThe servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸Now the servants5 and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. fPeter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

¹⁹gThe high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. ²⁰Jesus answered him, “I have spoken hopenly ito the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. jI have said nothing in secret. ²¹Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” ²²When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, k“Is that how you answer the high priest?” ²³Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” ²⁴lAnnas then sent him bound to lCaiaphas the high priest.

Peter Denies Jesus Again

²⁵mNow Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” ²⁶One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of nthe man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you oin the garden with him?” ²⁷Peter again denied it, and pat once a rooster crowed.

Jesus Before Pilate

²⁸qThen they led Jesus rfrom the house of Caiaphas to sthe governor's headquarters.6 It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, tso that they would not be defiled, ubut could eat the Passover. ²⁹vSo Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” ³¹Pilate said to them, w“Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” ³²xThis was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken yto show by what kind of death he was going to die.

My Kingdom Is Not of This World

³³zSo Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, a“Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” ³⁵Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶Jesus answered, b“My kingdom cis not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, dmy servants would have been fighting, that eI might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” ³⁷Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, f“You say that I am a king. gFor this purpose I was born and for this purpose hI have come into the world—ito bear witness to the truth. jEveryone who is kof the truth llistens to my voice.” ³⁸Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, mhe went back outside to the Jews and told them, n“I find no guilt in him. ³⁹oBut you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰They cried out again, p“Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.7