2 KINGS 9

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Jehu Reigns over Israel  9:1 Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead. 2 When you arrive there, search out Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and bid him arise from among his brothers, and bring him to an inner room. 3 Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.”
    4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O captain.” And Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O captain.” 6 He arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. 7 You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person both bond and free in Israel. 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10 The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’” Then he opened the door and fled.
    11 Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know very well the man and his talk.” 12 They said, “It is a lie, tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’” 13 Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”
Jehoram (Joram) Is Assassinated    14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram with all Israel was defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram, 15 but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one escape or leave the city to go tell it in Jezreel.” 16 Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.
    17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” 18 So a horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” And the watchman reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.” 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” 20 The watchman reported, “He came even to them, and he did not return; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”
    21 Then Joram said, “Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him in the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” 23 So Joram reined about and fled and said to Ahaziah, “There is treachery, O Ahaziah!” 24 And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and shot Joram between his arms; and the arrow went through his heart and he sank in his chariot. 25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Take him up and cast him into the property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that the LORD laid this oracle against him: 26 ‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD, ‘and I will repay you in this property,’ says the LORD. Now then, take and cast him into the property, according to the word of the LORD.”
Jehu Assassinates Ahaziah    27 When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there. 28 Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.
    29 Now in the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.
    30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it well, Zimri, your master’s murderer?” 32 Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.
Jezebel Is Slain33 He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot. 34 When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” 35 They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 Therefore they returned and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37 and the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

PSALM 134

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Greetings of Night Watchers.A Song of Ascents.
134:1 Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD,

Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!

2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary

And bless the LORD.

3 May the LORD bless you from Zion,

He who made heaven and earth.

PSALM 135

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Praise the LORD’S Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.135:1 Praise the LORD!

Praise the name of the LORD;

Praise Him, O servants of the LORD,

2 You who stand in the house of the LORD,

In the courts of the house of our God!

3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;

Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.

4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,

Israel for His own possession.

5 For I know that the LORD is great

And that our Lord is above all gods.

6 Whatever the LORD pleases, He does,

In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.

7 He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;

Who makes lightnings for the rain,

Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.

8 He smote the firstborn of Egypt,

Both of man and beast.

9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,

Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

10 He smote many nations

And slew mighty kings,

11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,

And Og, king of Bashan,

And all the kingdoms of Canaan;

12 And He gave their land as a heritage,

A heritage to Israel His people.

13 Your name, O LORD, is everlasting,

Your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations.

14 For the LORD will judge His people

And will have compassion on His servants.

15 The idols of the nations are but silver and gold,

The work of man’s hands.

16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;

They have eyes, but they do not see;

17 They have ears, but they do not hear,

Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.

18 Those who make them will be like them,

Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

19 O house of Israel, bless the LORD;

O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;

20 O house of Levi, bless the LORD;

You who revere the LORD, bless the LORD.

21 Blessed be the LORD from Zion,

Who dwells in Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD!

PROVERBS 20

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On Life and Conduct20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,

And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

2 The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;

He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

3 Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man,

But any fool will quarrel.

4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn,

So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

5 A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water,

But a man of understanding draws it out.

6 Many a man proclaims his own loyalty,

But who can find a trustworthy man?

7 A righteous man who walks in his integrity--

How blessed are his sons after him.

8 A king who sits on the throne of justice

Disperses all evil with his eyes.

9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,

I am pure from my sin”?

10 Differing weights and differing measures,

Both of them are abominable to the LORD.

11 It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself

If his conduct is pure and right.

12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

The LORD has made both of them.

13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;

Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.

14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

But when he goes his way, then he boasts.

15 There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;

But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.

16 Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;

And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.

17 Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man,

But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

18 Prepare plans by consultation,

And make war by wise guidance.

19 He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,

Therefore do not associate with a gossip.

20 He who curses his father or his mother,

His lamp will go out in time of darkness.

21 An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning

Will not be blessed in the end.

22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

23 Differing weights are an abomination to the LORD,

And a false scale is not good.

24 Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD,

How then can man understand his way?

25 It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”

And after the vows to make inquiry.

26 A wise king winnows the wicked,

And drives the threshing wheel over them.

27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD,

Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

28 Loyalty and truth preserve the king,

And he upholds his throne by righteousness.

29 The glory of young men is their strength,

And the honor of old men is their gray hair.

30 Stripes that wound scour away evil,

And strokes reach the innermost parts.