2 Kings 15; 2 Kings 16; John 3:1-18

1 In the twenty-seventh year of Israel's King Jeroboam, Azariah son of Amaziah became king of Judah.

2 He was 16 years old when he became king; he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah; [she was] from Jerusalem.

3 Azariah did what was right in the Lord's sight just as his father Amaziah had done.

4 Yet, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

5 The Lord afflicted the king, and he had a serious skin disease until the day of his death. He lived in a separate house,while Jotham, the king's son, was over the household governing the people of the land.

6 The rest of the events of Azariah's [reign], along with all his accomplishments, are written about in the Historical Record of Judah's Kings.

7 Azariah rested with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His son Jotham became king in his place.

8 In the thirty-eighth year of Judah's King Azariah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria for six months.

9 He did what was evil in the Lord's sight as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He struck him down publicly, killed him, and became king in his place.

11 As for the rest of the events of Zechariah's [reign], they are written about in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.

12 The word of the Lord that He spoke to Jehu was, "Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel." And it was so.

13 In the thirty-ninth year of Judah's King Uzziah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king; he reigned in Samaria a full month.

14 Then Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah to Samaria and struck down Shallum son of Jabesh there. He killed him and became king in his place.

15 As for the rest of the events of Shallum's [reign], along with the conspiracy that he formed, they are written about in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.

16 At that time, [starting] from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were in it, and its territory. Because they wouldn't surrender, he attacked [it and] ripped open all the pregnant women.

17 In the thirty-ninth year of Judah's King Azariah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel; [he reigned] 10 years in Samaria.

18 He did what was evil in the Lord's sight. Throughout his reign, he did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

19 Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, so Menahem gave Pul 75,000 pounds of silver so that Pul would support him to strengthen his grip on the kingdom.

20 Then Menahem exacted 20 ounces of silver from each of the wealthy men of Israel to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not stay there in the land.

21 The rest of the events of Menahem's [reign], along with all his accomplishments, are written about in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.

22 Menahem rested with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah became king in his place.

23 In the fiftieth year of Judah's King Azariah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria; [he reigned] two years.

24 He did what was evil in the Lord's sight and did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

25 Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him and struck him down, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria at the citadel of the king's palace. There were 50 Gileadite men with Pekah. He killed Pekahiah and became king in his place.

26 As for the rest of the events of Pekahiah's [reign], along with all his accomplishments, they are written about in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.

27 In the fifty-second year of Judah's King Azariah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria; [he reigned] 20 years.

28 He did what was evil in the Lord's sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee-all the land of Naphtali-and deported the people to Assyria.

30 Then Hoshea son of Elah organized a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked him, killed him, and became king in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.

31 As for the rest of the events of Pekah's [reign], along with all his accomplishments, they are written about in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.

32 In the second year of Israel's King Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah.

33 He was 25 years old when he became king; he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.

34 He did what was right in the Lord's sight just as his father Uzziah had done.

35 Yet, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. It was Jotham who built the Upper Gate of the Lord's temple.

36 The rest of the events of Jotham's [reign], along with all his accomplishments, are written about in the Historical Record of Judah's Kings.

37 In those days the Lord began sending Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.

38 Jotham rested with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.

1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.

2 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king; he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God like his ancestor David

3 but walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even made his son pass through the fire, imitating the abominations of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.

4 He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

5 Then Aram's King Rezin and Israel's King Pekah son of Remaliah came to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but were not able to conquer him.

6 At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath. Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they live there until today.

7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the power of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me."

8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the Lord's temple and in the treasuries of the king's palace and sent [them] to the king of Assyria as a gift.

9 So the king of Assyria listened to him and marched up to Damascus and captured it. He deported its people to Kir but put Rezin to death.

10 King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to Uriah the priest.

11 Uriah built the altar according to all [the instructions] King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, Uriah the priest had made it.

12 When the king came back from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then he approached the altar and ascended it.

13 He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.

14 He took the bronze altar that was before the Lord in front of the temple between [his] altar and the Lord's temple, and put it on the north side of [his] altar.

15 Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, "Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king's burnt offering and his grain offering. [Also offer] the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance."

16 Uriah the priest did everything King Ahaz commanded.

17 Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water carts and removed the bronze basin from [each of] them. He took the reservoirfrom the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement.

18 To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the Lord's temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and [he closed] the outer entrance for the king.

19 The rest of the events of Ahaz's [reign], along with his accomplishments, are written about in the Historical Record of Judah's Kings.

20 Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.

1 There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

2 This man came to Him at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him."

3 Jesus replied, "I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

4 "But how can anyone be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked Him. "Can he enter his mother's womb a second time and be born?"

5 Jesus answered, "I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.

8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

9 "How can these things be?" asked Nicodemus.

10 "Are you a teacher of Israel and don't know these things?" Jesus replied.

11 "I assure you: We speak what We know and We testify to what We have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony.

12 If I have told you about things that happen on earth and you don't believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things of heaven?

13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven-the Son of Man.

14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

15 so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.

16 "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.