2 Chronicles 17; 2 Chronicles 18; John 13:1-20

1 Jehoshaphat succeeded his father Asa as king and strengthened his position against Israel.

2 He stationed troops in the fortified cities of Judah, in the Judean countryside, and in the cities which Asa had captured in the territory of Ephraim.

3 The Lord blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early life and did not worship Baal.

4 He served his father's God, obeyed God's commands, and did not act the way the kings of Israel did.

5 The Lord gave Jehoshaphat firm control over the kingdom of Judah, and all the people brought him gifts, so that he became wealthy and highly honored.

6 He took pride in serving the Lord and destroyed all the pagan places of worship and the symbols of the goddess Asherah in Judah.

7 In the third year of his reign he sent out the following officials to teach in the cities of Judah: Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah.

8 They were accompanied by nine Levites and two priests. The Levites were Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and the priests were Elishama and Jehoram.

9 They took the book of the Law of the Lord and went through all the towns of Judah, teaching it to the people.

10 The Lord made all the surrounding kingdoms afraid to go to war against King Jehoshaphat.

11 Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat a large amount of silver and other gifts, and some Arabs brought him 7,700 sheep and 7,700 goats.

12 So Jehoshaphat continued to grow more and more powerful. Throughout Judah he built fortifications and cities,

13 where supplies were stored in huge amounts. In Jerusalem he stationed outstanding officers,

14 according to their clans. Adnah was the commander of the troops from the clans of Judah, and he had 300,000 soldiers under him.

15 Second in rank was Jehohanan, with 280,000 soldiers,

16 and third was Amasiah son of Zichri, with 200,000. (Amasiah had volunteered to serve the Lord.)

17 The commander of the troops from the clans of Benjamin was Eliada, an outstanding soldier, in command of 200,000 men armed with shields and bows.

18 His second in command was Jehozabad with 180,000 men, well-equipped for battle.

19 These soldiers served the king in Jerusalem, and in addition he stationed others in the other fortified cities of Judah.

1 When King Jehoshaphat of Judah became rich and famous, he arranged a marriage between a member of his family and the family of King Ahab of Israel.

2 A number of years later Jehoshaphat went to the city of Samaria to visit Ahab. To honor Jehoshaphat and those with him, Ahab had a large number of sheep and cattle slaughtered for a feast. He tried to persuade Jehoshaphat to join him in attacking the city of Ramoth in Gilead.

3 He asked, "Will you go with me to attack Ramoth?" Jehoshaphat replied, "I am ready when you are, and so is my army. We will join you."

4 Then he added, "But first let's consult the Lord."

5 So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, "Should I go and attack Ramoth, or not?" "Attack it," they answered. "God will give you victory."

6 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Isn't there another prophet through whom we can consult the Lord?"

7 Ahab answered, "There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad." "You shouldn't say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.

8 So King Ahab called in a court official and told him to go and get Micaiah at once.

9 The two kings, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on their thrones at the threshing place just outside the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.

10 One of them, Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said to Ahab, "This is what the Lord says, "With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.' "

11 All the other prophets said the same thing. "March against Ramoth and you will win," they said. "The Lord will give you victory."

12 Meanwhile, the official who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, "All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king, and you had better do the same."

13 But Micaiah answered, "By the living Lord I will say what my God tells me to!"

14 When he appeared before King Ahab, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should King Jehoshaphat and I go and attack Ramoth, or not?" "Attack!" Micaiah answered. "Of course you'll win. The Lord will give you victory."

15 But Ahab replied, "When you speak to me in the name of the Lord, tell the truth! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

16 Micaiah answered, "I can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, "These men have no leader; let them go home in peace.' "

17 Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "I told you that he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad!"

18 Micaiah went on: "Now listen to what the Lord says! I saw the Lord sitting on his throne in heaven, with all his angels standing beside him.

19 The Lord asked, "Who will deceive Ahab so that he will go and get killed at Ramoth?' Some of the angels said one thing, and others said something else,

20 until a spirit stepped forward, approached the Lord, and said, "I will deceive him.' "How?' the Lord asked.

21 The spirit replied, "I will go and make all of Ahab's prophets tell lies.' The Lord said, "Go and deceive him. You will succeed.' "

22 And Micaiah concluded: "This is what has happened. The Lord has made these prophets of yours lie to you. But he himself has decreed that you will meet with disaster!"

23 Then the prophet Zedekiah went up to Micaiah, slapped his face, and asked, "Since when did the Lord's spirit leave me and speak to you?"

24 "You will find out when you go into some back room to hide," Micaiah replied.

25 Then King Ahab ordered one of his officers, "Arrest Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Prince Joash.

26 Tell them to throw him in prison and to put him on bread and water until I return safely."

27 "If you return safely," Micaiah exclaimed, "then the Lord has not spoken through me!" And he added, "Listen, everyone, to what I have said!"

28 Then King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to attack the city of Ramoth in Gilead.

29 Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "As we go into battle, I will disguise myself, but you wear your royal garments." So the king of Israel went into battle in disguise.

30 The king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders to attack no one else except the king of Israel.

31 So when they saw King Jehoshaphat, they all thought that he was the king of Israel, and they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat gave a shout, and the Lord God rescued him and turned the attack away from him.

32 The chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, so they stopped pursuing him.

33 By chance, however, a Syrian soldier shot an arrow which struck King Ahab between the joints of his armor. "I'm wounded!" he cried out to his chariot driver. "Turn around and pull out of the battle!"

34 While the battle raged on, King Ahab remained propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians. At sunset he died.

1 It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.

2 Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus.

3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God.

4 So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel around his waist.

5 Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?"

7 Jesus answered him, "You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later."

8 Peter declared, "Never at any time will you wash my feet!" "If I do not wash your feet," Jesus answered, "you will no longer be my disciple."

9 Simon Peter answered, "Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!"

10 Jesus said, "Those who have taken a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet. All of you are clean - all except one.

11 (Jesus already knew who was going to betray him; that is why he said, "All of you, except one, are clean.")

12 After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. "Do you understand what I have just done to you?" he asked.

13 "You call me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am.

14 I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet.

15 I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you.

16 I am telling you the truth: no slaves are greater than their master, and no messengers are greater than the one who sent them.

17 Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!

18 "I am not talking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the scripture must come true that says, "The man who shared my food turned against me.'

19 I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that "I Am Who I Am.'

20 I am telling you the truth: whoever receives anyone I send receives me also; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me."