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

1 Uzziah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the 27th year that Jeroboam was king of Israel. Uzziah was the son of Amaziah.

2 Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother's name was Jecoliah. She was from Jerusalem.

3 Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done.

4 But the high places weren't removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

5 The LORD caused King Uzziah to suffer from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in a separate house. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace. Jotham ruled over the people of the land.

6 The other events of the rule of Uzziah are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.

7 Uzziah joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried near them in the City of David. His son Jotham became the next king after him.

8 Zechariah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 38th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Zechariah ruled for six months. He was the son of Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash.

9 Zechariah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did what the kings of Israel before him had done. He didn't turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

10 Shallum made evil plans against Zechariah. He attacked Zechariah in front of the people and killed him. Then he became the next king after him. Shallum was the son of Jabesh.

11 The other events of the rule of Zechariah are written down. They are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

12 That's what the LORD had said would happen. He had spoken that message to Jehu. It had said, "Your sons after you will sit on the throne of Israel. They will rule until the time of your children's grandchildren." (2 Kings 10:30)

13 Shallum became king of Israel. It was in the 39th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Shallum ruled in Samaria for one month. He was the son of Jabesh.

14 Menahem went from Tirzah up to Samaria. There he attacked Shallum, the son of Jabesh. He killed him and became the next king after him. Menahem was the son of Gadi.

15 The other events of Shallum's rule are written down. The evil things he planned are written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

16 At that time Menahem started out from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He attacked everyone in the city and the area around it. That's because they refused to open their gates for him. He destroyed Tiphsah. He ripped open all of their pregnant women.

17 Menahem became king of Israel. It was in the 39th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Menahem ruled in Samaria for ten years. He was the son of Gadi.

18 Menahem did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. During his entire rule he didn't turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

19 Then Tiglath-Pileser marched into the land of Israel. He was king of Assyria. Menahem gave him 37 tons of silver to get his help. He wanted to make his control over the kingdom stronger.

20 Menahem forced Israel to give him that money. Every wealthy person had to give him 20 ounces of silver. All of it went to the king of Assyria. So he pulled his troops back. He didn't stay in the land anymore.

21 The other events of the rule of Menahem are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

22 Menahem joined the members of his family who had already died. His son Pekahiah became the next king after him.

23 Pekahiah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 50th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Pekahiah ruled for two years. He was the son of Menahem.

24 Pekahiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn't turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

25 One of Pekahiah's chief officers was Pekah. He was the son of Remaliah. Pekah made evil plans against Pekahiah. He took 50 men of Gilead with him and killed Pekahiah. He also killed Argob and Arieh. He killed all of them in the safest place in the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah. He became the next king after him.

26 The other events of the rule of Pekahiah are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

27 Pekah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 52nd year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Pekah ruled for 20 years. He was the son of Remaliah.

28 Pekah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn't turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

29 During the rule of Pekah, the king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser marched into the land again. He was king of Assyria. He took the towns of Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He also took the lands of Gilead and Galilee. That included the whole territory of Naphtali. He took the people away from their own land. He sent them off to Assyria.

30 Then Hoshea made evil plans against Pekah, the son of Remaliah. Hoshea was the son of Elah. Hoshea attacked Pekah and killed him. Then Hoshea became the next king after him. It was in the 20th year of the rule of Jotham, the son of Uzziah.

31 The other events of the rule of Pekah are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

32 Jotham began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the second year that Pekah was king of Israel. He was the son of Remaliah. Jotham was the son of Uzziah.

33 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother's name was Jerusha. She was the daughter of Zadok.

34 Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done.

35 But the high places weren't removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the LORD's temple.

36 The other events of the rule of Jotham are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.

37 In those days the LORD began to send Rezin and Pekah against Judah. Rezin was king of Aram. Pekah was the son of Remaliah.

38 Jotham joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the family tomb in the city of King David. His son Ahaz became the next king after him.

1 Ahaz began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the 17th year of the rule of Pekah, the son of Remaliah. Ahaz was the son of Jotham.

2 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. Ahaz didn't do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He didn't do what King David had done.

3 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his son in the fire to another god. He followed the practices of the nations. The LORD hated those practices. He had driven out those nations to make room for the people of Israel.

4 Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places. He also did it on the tops of hills and under every green tree.

5 Rezin and Pekah marched up to Jerusalem and surrounded it. Rezin was king of Aram. Pekah, the son of Remaliah, was king of Israel. They attacked Ahaz. But they couldn't overpower him.

6 At that time Rezin, the king of Aram, got back Elath for Aram. He drove out the people of Judah. Then the people of Edom moved into Elath. And they still live there to this very day.

7 Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser. He was king of Assyria. The message of Ahaz said, "I am your servant. You are my master. Come up and save me from the powerful hands of the kings of Aram and Israel. They are attacking me."

8 Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the LORD's temple. He also took the silver and gold that were among the treasures in the royal palace. He sent all of it as a gift to the king of Assyria.

9 So the king of Assyria did what Ahaz asked him to do. He attacked the city of Damascus and captured it. He sent its people away to Kir. And he put Rezin to death.

10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus. He went there to see Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria. Ahaz saw an altar in Damascus. He sent a drawing of it to the priest Uriah. He also sent him plans for building it.

11 So the priest Uriah built an altar. He followed all of the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. He finished it before Ahaz returned.

12 The king came back from Damascus. When he saw the altar, he approached it. Then he offered sacrifices on it.

13 He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering. He poured out his drink offering. And he sprinkled blood from his friendship offerings on the altar.

14 The bronze altar for burnt offerings stood in front of the Lord. It was between the new altar and the LORD's temple. Ahaz took it away from the front of the temple. He put it on the north side of the new altar.

15 Then King Ahaz gave orders to the priest Uriah. He said, "Offer sacrifices on the large new altar. Offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering. Offer my burnt offering and my grain offering. Offer the burnt offering of all of the people of the land. Offer their grain offering and their drink offering. Sprinkle on the altar all of the blood from the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to look for advice and direction."

16 The priest Uriah did just as King Ahaz had ordered.

17 Ahaz took away the sides of the bronze stands. He removed the bowls from the stands. He removed the huge bowl from the bronze bulls it stood on. He placed the bowl on a stone base.

18 He took away the covered area that had been used on the Sabbath day. It had been built at the LORD's temple. He removed the royal entrance that was outside the temple. Ahaz did all of that to honor the king of Assyria.

19 The other events of the rule of Ahaz are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.

20 Ahaz joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the family tomb in the City of David. His son Hezekiah became the next king after him.

1 There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers.

2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren't, you couldn't do the miraculous signs you are doing."

3 Jesus replied, "What I'm about to tell you is true. No one can see God's kingdom without being born again."

4 "How can I be born when I am old?" Nicodemus asked. "I can't go back inside my mother! I can't be born a second time!"

5 Jesus answered, "What I'm about to tell you is true. No one can enter God's kingdom without being born through water and the Holy Spirit.

6 People give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

7 You should not be surprised when I say, 'You must all be born again.'

8 "The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it makes. But you can't tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born through the Spirit."

9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus. "Don't you understand these things?

11 "What I'm about to tell you is true. We speak about what we know. We give witness to what we have seen. But still you people do not accept our witness.

12 I have spoken to you about earthly things, and you do not believe. So how will you believe if I speak about heavenly things?

13 "No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven. He is the Son of Man.

14 Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. The Son of Man must be lifted up also.

15 Then everyone who believes in him can live with God forever.

16 "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

17 "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world. He sent his Son to save the world through him.

18 Anyone who believes in him is not judged. But anyone who does not believe is judged already. He has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.