17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years. ² And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, yet not as the kings of Israel that were before him. ³ Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. ⁴ And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. ⁵ Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

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⁷ And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinned against Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, ⁸ and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they ^‍made. ⁹ And the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against Jehovah their God: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city; ¹⁰ and they set them up ^‍pillars and Asherim upon every high hill, and under every green tree; ¹¹ and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom Jehovah carried away before them; and they wrought wicked things to provoke Jehovah to anger; ¹² and they served idols, whereof Jehovah had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. ¹³ Yet Jehovah testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. ¹⁴ Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah their God. ¹⁵ And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom Jehovah had charged them that they should not do like them. ¹⁶ And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. ¹⁷ And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. ¹⁸ Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

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¹⁹ Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. ²⁰ And Jehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. ²¹ For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam ^‍drove Israel from following Jehovah, and made them sin a great sin. ²² And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; ²³ until Jehovah removed Israel out of his sight, as he spake by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

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²⁴ And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. ²⁵ And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not Jehovah: therefore Jehovah sent lions among them, which killed some of them. ²⁶ Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the law of the god of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the law of the god of the land.

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²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land. ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear Jehovah. ²⁹ Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. ³⁰ And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. ³² So they feared Jehovah, and made unto them from among themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. ³³ They feared Jehovah, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

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³⁴ Unto this day they do after the former manner: they fear not Jehovah, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law or after the commandment which Jehovah commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; ³⁵ with whom Jehovah had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: ³⁶ but Jehovah, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, him shall ye fear, and unto him shall ye bow yourselves, and to him shall ye sacrifice: ³⁷ and the statutes and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods: ³⁸ and the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods: ³⁹ but Jehovah your God shall ye fear; and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. ⁴⁰ Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. ⁴¹ So these nations feared Jehovah, and served their graven images; their children likewise, and their children’s children, as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.

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18 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. ² Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ³ And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done. ⁴ He removed the high places, and brake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah: and he brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made; for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it; and ^‍he called it Nehushtan. ⁵ He trusted in Jehovah, the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were before him. ⁶ For he clave to Jehovah; he departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses. ⁷ And Jehovah was with him; whithersoever he went forth he prospered: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. ⁸ He smote the Philistines unto Gaza and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

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⁹ And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it. ¹⁰ And at the end of three years they took it: in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. ¹¹ And the king of Assyria carried Israel away unto Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they obeyed not the voice of Jehovah their God, but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded, and would not hear it, nor do it.

20 And after the uproar ceased, Paul having sent for the disciples and exhorted them, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia. ² And when he had gone through those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece. ³ And when he had spent three months there, and a plot was laid against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia. ⁴ And there accompanied him as far as Asia, Sopater of Beroea, the son of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. ⁵ But these ^‍had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas. ⁶ And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we tarried seven days.

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⁷ And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight. ⁸ And there were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered together. ⁹ And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his sleep he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. ¹⁰ And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Make ye no ado; for his life is in him. ¹¹ And when he was gone up, and had broken the bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. ¹² And they brought the lad alive, and were not a little comforted.

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¹³ But we, going before to the ship, set sail for Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, intending himself to go by land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ And sailing from thence, we came the following day over against Chios; and the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after we came to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

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¹⁷ And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the ^‍elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they were come to him, he said unto them,

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Ye yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house, ²¹ testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus ^‍Christ. ²² And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: ²³ save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. ²⁴ But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, ^‍so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. ²⁵ And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more. ²⁶ Wherefore I testify unto you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God. ²⁸ Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he ^‍purchased with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears. ³² And now I commend you to ^‍God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified. ³³ I coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. ³⁴ Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ³⁵ In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

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³⁶ And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, ³⁸ sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. And they brought him on his way unto the ship.

The whole Creation invoked to praise Jehovah.

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148 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens:
Praise him in the heights.
² Praise ye him, all his angels:
Praise ye him, all his host.
³ Praise ye him, sun and moon:
Praise him, all ye stars of light.
⁴ Praise him, ye heavens of heavens,
And ye waters that are above the heavens.
⁵ Let them praise the name of Jehovah;
For he commanded, and they were created.
⁶ He hath also established them for ever and ever:
He hath made a decree ^‍which shall not pass away.
⁷ Praise Jehovah from the earth,
Ye sea-monsters, and all deeps;
⁸ Fire and hail, snow and vapor;
Stormy wind, fulfilling his word;
⁹ Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
¹⁰ Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying birds;
¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
¹² Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children:
¹³ Let them praise the name of Jehovah;
For his name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and the heavens.
¹⁴ And he hath lifted up ^‍the horn of his people,
The praise of all his saints;
Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him.
Praise ye Jehovah.

⁶ A fool’s lips enter into contention,
And his mouth calleth for stripes.
⁷ A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.