The Arrest of Jesus
(Matthew 26.47-56; Mark 14.43-50; Luke 22.47-53)

John 18 After Jesus had said this prayer, he left with his disciples and went across Kidron Brook. There was a garden in that place, and Jesus and his disciples went in. ²Judas, the traitor, knew where it was, because many times Jesus had met there with his disciples. ³So Judas went to the garden, taking with him a group of Roman soldiers, and some Temple guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees; they were armed and carried lanterns and torches. ⁴Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward and asked them, "Who is it you are looking for?"
⁵"Jesus of Nazareth," they answered.
"I am he," he said.
Judas, the traitor, was standing there with them. ⁶When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they moved back and fell to the ground. ⁷Again Jesus asked them, "Who is it you are looking for?"
"Jesus of Nazareth," they said.
⁸"I have already told you that I am he," Jesus said. "If, then, you are looking for me, let these others go." ( ⁹He said this so that what he had said might come true: "Father, I have not lost even one of those you gave me.")
¹⁰Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the High Priest's slave, cutting off his right ear. The name of the slave was Malchus. ¹¹Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back in its place! Do you think that I will not drink the cup of suffering which my Father has given me?"

Jesus before Annas

¹²Then the Roman soldiers with their commanding officer and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus, tied him up, ¹³and took him first to Annas. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year. ¹⁴It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jewish authorities that it was better that one man should die for all the people.

Peter Denies Jesus
(Matthew 26.69, 70; Mark 14.66-68; Luke 22.55-57)

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple was well known to the High Priest, so he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the High Priest's house, ¹⁶while Peter stayed outside by the gate. Then the other disciple went back out, spoke to the girl at the gate, and brought Peter inside. ¹⁷The girl at the gate said to Peter, "Aren't you also one of the disciples of that man?"
"No, I am not," answered Peter.
¹⁸It was cold, so the servants and guards had built a charcoal fire and were standing around it, warming themselves. So Peter went over and stood with them, warming himself.

King Uzziah of Judah
(2 Kings 14.21, 22; 15.1-7)

2 Chronicles 26 All the people of Judah chose Amaziah's sixteen-year-old son Uzziah to succeed his father as king. ( ²It was after the death of Amaziah that Uzziah recaptured Elath and rebuilt the city.)
³Uzziah became king at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. ⁴Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the LORD. ⁵As long as Zechariah, his religious adviser, was living, he served the LORD faithfully, and God blessed him.
⁶Uzziah went to war against the Philistines. He tore down the walls of the cities of Gath, Jamnia, and Ashdod, and built fortified cities near Ashdod and in the rest of Philistia. ⁷God helped him defeat the Philistines, the Arabs living at Gurbaal, and the Meunites. ⁸The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and he became so powerful that his fame spread even to Egypt.
⁹Uzziah strengthened the fortifications of Jerusalem by building towers at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and where the wall turned. ¹⁰He also built fortified towers in the open country and dug many cisterns, because he had large herds of livestock in the western foothills and plains. Because he loved farming, he encouraged the people to plant vineyards in the hill country and to farm the fertile land.
¹¹He had a large army ready for battle. Its records were kept by his secretaries Jeiel and Maaseiah under the supervision of Hananiah, a member of the king's staff. ¹²The army was commanded by 2,600 officers. ¹³Under them were 307,500 soldiers able to fight effectively for the king against his enemies. ¹⁴Uzziah supplied the army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and arrows, and stones for slinging. ¹⁵In Jerusalem his inventors made equipment for shooting arrows and for throwing large stones from the towers and corners of the city wall. His fame spread everywhere, and he became very powerful because of the help he received from God.

Uzziah Is Punished for His Pride

¹⁶But when King Uzziah became strong, he grew arrogant, and that led to his downfall. He defied the LORD his God by going into the Temple to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷Azariah the priest, accompanied by eighty strong and courageous priests, followed the king ¹⁸to resist him. They said, "Uzziah! You have no right to burn incense to the LORD. Only the priests who are descended from Aaron have been consecrated to do this. Leave this holy place. You have offended the LORD God, and you no longer have his blessing."
¹⁹Uzziah was standing there in the Temple beside the incense altar and was holding an incense burner. He became angry with the priests, and immediately a dreaded skin disease broke out on his forehead. ²⁰Azariah and the other priests stared at the king's forehead in horror and then forced him to leave the Temple. He hurried to get out, because the LORD had punished him.
²¹For the rest of his life King Uzziah was ritually unclean because of his disease. Unable to enter the Temple again, he lived in his own house, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country.
²²The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz recorded all the other things that King Uzziah did during his reign. ²³Uzziah died and was buried in the royal burial ground, but because of his disease he was not buried in the royal tombs. His son Jotham succeeded him as king.

A Prayer for the Defeat of Israel's Enemies

Psalm 83 O God, do not keep silent;
do not be still, do not be quiet!
²Look! Your enemies are in revolt,
and those who hate you are rebelling.
³They are making secret plans against your people;
they are plotting against those you protect.
⁴"Come," they say, "let us destroy their nation,
so that Israel will be forgotten forever."

⁵They agree on their plan
and form an alliance against you:
⁶the people of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
the people of Moab and the Hagrites;
⁷the people of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
and of Philistia and Tyre.
⁸Assyria has also joined them
as a strong ally of the Ammonites and Moabites, the descendants of Lot.

⁹Do to them what you did to the Midianites,
and to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
¹⁰You defeated them at Endor,
and their bodies rotted on the ground.
¹¹Do to their leaders what you did to Oreb and Zeeb;
defeat all their rulers as you did Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹²who said, "We will take for our own
the land that belongs to God."

¹³Scatter them like dust, O God,
like straw blown away by the wind.
¹⁴As fire burns the forest,
as flames set the hills on fire,
¹⁵chase them away with your storm
and terrify them with your fierce winds.
¹⁶Cover their faces with shame, O LORD,
and make them acknowledge your power.
¹⁷May they be defeated and terrified forever;
may they die in complete disgrace.
¹⁸May they know that you alone are the LORD,
supreme ruler over all the earth.