¹In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king. ²He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ³And he did what was right in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, ⁴except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ⁵Then the Lᴏʀᴅ struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land. ⁶Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ⁷So Azariah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jotham his son reigned in his place. ⁸In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. ⁹And he did evil in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. ¹⁰Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck and killed him in front of the people; and he reigned in his place. ¹¹Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹²This was the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it was. ¹³Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. ¹⁴For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place. ¹⁵Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he led, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶Then from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All the women there who were with child he ripped open. ¹⁷In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. ¹⁸And he did evil in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. ¹⁹Pul king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his control. ²⁰And Menahem exacted the money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land. ²¹Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ²²So Menahem rested with his fathers. Then Pekahiah his son reigned in his place. ²³In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. ²⁴And he did evil in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. ²⁵Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, an officer of his, conspired against him and killed him in Samaria, in the citadel of the king’s house, along with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in his place. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁷In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. ²⁸And he did evil in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. ²⁹In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria. ³⁰Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. ³¹Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ³²In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. ³³He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴And he did what was right in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵However the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ³⁶Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ³⁷In those days the Lᴏʀᴅ began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. ³⁸So Jotham rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

¹Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, ²in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, ³but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; ⁴To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁵For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— ⁶if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. ⁷For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, ⁸but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, ⁹holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. ¹⁰For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹²One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ¹³This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. ¹⁵To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. ¹⁶They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

¹“Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law. ²Israel will cry to Me, ‘My God, we know You!’ ³Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him. ⁴“They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold They made idols for themselves— That they might be cut off. ⁵Your calf is rejected, O Samaria! My anger is aroused against them— How long until they attain to innocence? ⁶For from Israel is even this: A workman made it, and it is not God; But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. ⁷“They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; It shall never produce meal. If it should produce, Aliens would swallow it up. ⁸Israel is swallowed up; Now they are among the Gentiles Like a vessel in which is no pleasure. ⁹For they have gone up to Assyria, Like a wild donkey alone by itself; Ephraim has hired lovers. ¹⁰Yes, though they have hired among the nations, Now I will gather them; And they shall sorrow a little, Because of the burden of the king of princes. ¹¹“Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin, They have become for him altars for sinning. ¹²I have written for him the great things of My law, But they were considered a strange thing. ¹³For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it, But the Lᴏʀᴅ does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt. ¹⁴“For Israel has forgotten his Maker, And has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; But I will send fire upon his cities, And it shall devour his palaces.”

¹A Song of Ascents. Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. ²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the Lᴏʀᴅ our God, Until He has mercy on us. ³Have mercy on us, O Lᴏʀᴅ, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. ⁴Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud.

¹A Song of Ascents. Of David. “If it had not been the Lᴏʀᴅ who was on our side,” Let Israel now say— ²“If it had not been the Lᴏʀᴅ who was on our side, When men rose up against us, ³Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us; ⁴Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul; ⁵Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.” ⁶Blessed be the Lᴏʀᴅ, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. ⁷Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. ⁸Our help is in the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ, Who made heaven and earth.

¹A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. ²As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lᴏʀᴅ surrounds His people From this time forth and forever. ³For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest On the land allotted to the righteous, Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity. ⁴Do good, O Lᴏʀᴅ, to those who are good, And to those who are upright in their hearts. ⁵As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, The Lᴏʀᴅ shall lead them away With the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel!