Forgiveness

2 Corinthians 2 ⁵I don't want to be hard on you. But if one of you has made someone feel bad, I am not really the one who has been made to feel bad. Some of you are the ones. ⁶Most of you have already pointed out the wrong that person did, and that is punishment enough for what was done.
⁷When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair. ⁸You should make them sure of your love for them.
⁹I also wrote because I wanted to test you and find out if you would follow my instructions. ¹⁰I will forgive anyone you forgive. Yes, for your sake and with Christ as my witness, I have forgiven whatever needed to be forgiven. ¹¹I have done this to keep Satan from getting the better of us. We all know what goes on in his mind.
¹²When I went to Troas to preach the good news about Christ, I found that the Lord had already prepared the way. ¹³But I was worried when I didn't find my friend Titus there. So I left the other followers and went on to Macedonia.
¹⁴I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume. ^15-16In fact, God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone. For people who are being saved, this perfume has a sweet smell and leads them to a better life. But for people who are lost, it has a bad smell and leads them to a horrible death.
No one really has what it takes to do this work. ¹⁷A lot of people try to get rich from preaching God's message. But we are God's sincere messengers, and by the power of Christ we speak our message with God as our witness.

God's New Agreement

2 Corinthians 3 Are we once again bragging about ourselves? Do we need letters to you or from you to tell others about us? Some people do need letters that tell about them. ²But you are our letter, and you are in our hearts for everyone to read and understand. ³You are like a letter written by Christ and delivered by us. But you are not written with pen and ink or on tablets made of stone. You are written in our hearts by the Spirit of the living God.
⁴We are sure about all this. Christ makes us sure in the very presence of God. ⁵We don't have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all that we do. ⁶He makes us worthy to be the servants of his new agreement that comes from the Holy Spirit and not from a written Law. After all, the Law brings death, but the Spirit brings life.
⁷The Law of Moses brought only the promise of death, even though it was carved on stones and given in a wonderful way. Still the Law made Moses' face shine so brightly that the people of Israel could not look at it, even though it was a fading glory. ⁸So won't the agreement that the Spirit brings to us be even more wonderful? ⁹If something that brings the death sentence is glorious, won't something that makes us acceptable to God be even more glorious? ¹⁰In fact, the new agreement is so wonderful that the Law is no longer glorious at all. ¹¹The Law was given with a glory that faded away. But the glory of the new agreement is much greater, because it will never fade away.
¹²This wonderful hope makes us feel like speaking freely. ¹³We are not like Moses. His face was shining, but he covered it to keep the people of Israel from seeing the brightness fade away. ¹⁴The people were stubborn, and something still keeps them from seeing the truth when the Law is read. Only Christ can take away the covering that keeps them from seeing.
¹⁵When the Law of Moses is read, they have their minds covered over ¹⁶with a covering that is removed only for those who turn to the Lord. ¹⁷The Lord and the Spirit are one and the same, and the Lord's Spirit sets us free. ¹⁸So our faces are not covered. They show the bright glory of the Lord, as the Lord's Spirit makes us more and more like our glorious Lord.

King Azariah of Judah
(2 Chronicles 26.1-23)

2 Kings 15 Azariah son of Amaziah became king of Judah in Jeroboam's twenty-seventh year as king of Israel. ²He was only sixteen years old when he became king, and he ruled fifty-two years from Jerusalem, which was also the hometown of his mother Jecoliah.
³Azariah obeyed the LORD by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴But Azariah did not destroy the local shrines, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.
⁵The LORD punished Azariah with leprosy for the rest of his life. He wasn't allowed to live in the royal palace, so his son Jotham lived there and ruled in his place.
⁶Everything else Azariah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ⁷Azariah died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Jotham then became king.

King Zechariah of Israel

⁸Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah's rule in Judah, but he ruled only six months from Samaria. ⁹Like his ancestors, Zechariah disobeyed the LORD by following the evil ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
¹⁰Shallum son of Jabesh plotted against Zechariah and killed him in public. Shallum then became king. ^11-12So the LORD had kept his promise to Jehu that the next four kings of Israel would come from his family.
Everything else Zechariah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Shallum of Israel

¹³Shallum became king of Israel in the thirty-ninth year of Azariah's rule in Judah. But only one month after Shallum became king, ^14-16Menahem son of Gadi came to Samaria from Tirzah and killed him. Menahem then became king. The town of Tiphsah would not surrender to him, so he destroyed it and all the surrounding towns as far as Tirzah. He killed everyone living in Tiphsah, and with his sword he even ripped open pregnant women.
Everything else Shallum did while he was king, including his plot against Zechariah, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Menahem of Israel

¹⁷Menahem became king of Israel in Azariah's thirty-ninth year as king of Judah, and he ruled Israel ten years from Samaria. ¹⁸He constantly disobeyed the LORD by following the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
¹⁹During Menahem's rule, King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria invaded Israel. He agreed to help Menahem keep control of his kingdom, if Menahem would pay him over thirty tons of silver. ²⁰So Menahem ordered every rich person in Israel to give him at least one pound of silver, and he gave it all to Tiglath Pileser, who stopped his attack and left Israel.
²¹Everything else Menahem did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ²²Menahem died, and his son Pekahiah became king.

King Pekahiah of Israel

²³Pekahiah became king of Israel in the fiftieth year of Azariah's rule in Judah, and he ruled two years from Samaria. ²⁴He disobeyed the LORD and caused the Israelites to sin, just as Jeroboam son of Nebat had done.
²⁵Pekah son of Remaliah was Pekahiah's chief officer, but he made plans to kill the king. So he and fifty men from Gilead broke into the strongest part of the palace in Samaria and murdered Pekahiah, together with Argob and Arieh. Pekah then became king.
²⁶Everything else Pekahiah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Pekah of Israel

²⁷Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Azariah's fifty-second year as king of Judah, and he ruled twenty years from Samaria. ²⁸He disobeyed the LORD and followed the evil example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
²⁹During Pekah's rule, King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria marched into Israel. He captured the territories of Gilead and Galilee, including the towns of Ijon, Abel-Bethmaacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor, as well as the entire territory of Naphtali. Then he took Israelites from those regions to Assyria as prisoners.
³⁰In the twentieth year of Jotham's rule in Judah, Hoshea son of Elah plotted against Pekah and murdered him. Hoshea then became king of Israel.
³¹Everything else Pekah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Jotham of Judah
(2 Chronicles 27.1-9)

³²Jotham son of Azariah became king of Judah in the second year of Pekah's rule in Israel. ³³Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled sixteen years from Jerusalem. His mother Jerusha was the daughter of Zadok.
³⁴Jotham followed the example of his father by obeying the LORD and doing right. ³⁵It was Jotham who rebuilt the Upper Gate that led into the court around the LORD's temple. But the local shrines were not destroyed, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.
³⁶Everything else Jotham did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ³⁷During his rule, the LORD let King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel start attacking Judah. ³⁸Jotham died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Ahaz became king.

King Ahaz of Judah
(2 Chronicles 28.1-27)

2 Kings 16 Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah in the seventeenth year of Pekah's rule in Israel. ²He was twenty years old at the time, and he ruled from Jerusalem for sixteen years.
Ahaz wasn't like his ancestor David. Instead, he disobeyed the LORD ³and was even more sinful than the kings of Israel. He sacrificed his own son, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the LORD had forced out of Israel. ⁴Ahaz offered sacrifices at the local shrines, as well as on every hill and in the shade of large trees.
^5-6While Ahaz was ruling Judah, the king of Edom recaptured the town of Elath from Judah and forced out the people of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath, and they still live there.
About the same time, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel marched to Jerusalem and attacked, but they could not capture it.
⁷Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria that said, "Your Majesty, King Rezin and King Pekah are attacking me, your loyal servant. Please come and rescue me." ⁸Along with the message, Ahaz sent silver and gold from the LORD's temple and from the palace treasury as a gift for the Assyrian king.
⁹As soon as Tiglath Pileser received the message, he and his troops marched to Syria. He captured the capital city of Damascus, then he took the people living there to the town of Kir as prisoners and killed King Rezin.
¹⁰Later, Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser. And while Ahaz was there, he saw an altar and sent a model of it back to Uriah the priest, along with the plans for building one. ¹¹Uriah followed the plans and built an altar exactly like the one in Damascus, finishing it just before Ahaz came back.
¹²When Ahaz returned, he went to see the altar and to offer sacrifices on it. He walked up to the altar ¹³and poured wine over it. Then he offered sacrifices to please the LORD, to give him thanks, and to ask for his blessings. ¹⁴After that, he had the bronze altar moved aside, so his new altar would be right in front of the LORD's temple. ¹⁵He told Uriah the priest:

From now on, the morning and evening sacrifices as well as all gifts of grain and wine are to be offered on this altar. The sacrifices for the people and for the king must also be offered here. Sprinkle the blood from all the sacrifices on it, but leave the bronze altar for me to use for prayer and finding out what God wants me to do.

¹⁶Uriah did everything Ahaz told him.
¹⁷Ahaz also had the side panels and the small bowls taken off the movable stands in the LORD's temple. He had the large bronze bowl, called the Sea, removed from the bronze bulls on which it rested and had it placed on a stand made of stone. ¹⁸He took down the special tent that was used for worship on the Sabbath and closed up the private entrance that the kings of Judah used for going into the temple. He did all these things to please Tiglath Pileser.
¹⁹Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁰Ahaz died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Hezekiah became king.

A Promised Ruler

Micah 5 Jerusalem, enemy troops have surrounded you; they have struck Israel's ruler in the face with a stick.

²Bethlehem Ephrath, you are one of the smallest towns
in the nation of Judah.
But the LORD will choose one of your people
to rule the nation--
someone whose family goes back to ancient times.
³The LORD will abandon Israel only until this ruler is born,
and the rest of his family returns to Israel.
⁴Like a shepherd taking care of his sheep,
this ruler will lead and care for his people
by the power and glorious name of the LORD his God.
His people will live securely,
and the whole earth will know his true greatness,
⁵because he will bring peace.

Assyria Will Be Defeated

Let Assyria attack our country and our palaces.
We will counterattack, led by a number of rulers
⁶whose strong army will defeat the nation of Assyria.
Yes, our leaders will rescue us,
if those Assyrians dare to invade our land.

The Survivors Will Be Safe

⁷A few of Jacob's descendants survived and are scattered
among the nations.
But the LORD will let them cover the earth
like dew and rain that refreshes the soil.
⁸At present they are scattered, but later they will attack,
as though they were fierce lions pouncing on sheep.
Their enemies will be torn to shreds,
with no one to save them;
⁹they will be helpless, completely destroyed.

Idols Will Be Destroyed in Israel

¹⁰The LORD said:
At that time I will wipe out your cavalry and chariots,
¹¹as well as your cities and your fortresses.
¹²I will stop you from telling fortunes
and practicing witchcraft.
¹³You will no longer worship the idols or stone images
you have made--
I will destroy them, ¹⁴together with the sacred poles
and even your towns.
¹⁵I will become furious and take revenge
on the nations that refuse to obey me.