2 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 34, Acts 13-14:7, Psalm 88

Josiah Reigns over Judah

22^aJosiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of ^bBozkath. ²And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh and walked in all the way of his father David and did not ^aturn aside to the right or to the left.

³Now it happened ^ain the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of Yahweh saying, ⁴“^aGo up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may ¹count the money brought into the house of Yahweh which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. ⁵“^aAnd let them give it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh, and let them give it to those who do the work, who are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the ¹damages of the house, ⁶to the craftsmen and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house. ⁷“Only ^ano accounting shall be made with them for the money given into their hands, for they deal faithfully.”

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

⁸Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “^aI have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. ⁹Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and responded to the king with a word and said, “Your servants have poured out the money that was found in the house and have given it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh.” ¹⁰Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

¹¹Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the book of the law, ^ahe tore his clothes. ¹²Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, ^aAhikam the son of Shaphan, ¹^,^bAchbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ¹³“Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and the people and all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found, for ^agreat is the wrath of Yahweh which is set aflame against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

Huldah Says Yahweh Is Bringing Evil

¹⁴So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ¹^,^aTikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the ^bSecond Quarter); and they spoke to her. ¹⁵And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I ^aam bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷“^aBecause they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath is set aflame against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ ¹⁸“But to ^athe king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, ¹⁹^abecause your heart was soft and ^byou humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become ^can object of horror, and a ^dcurse, and you have ^etorn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh. ²⁰“Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and ^ayou will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah Reigns over Judah

34^aJosiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ²^aAnd he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. ³Now in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to ^aseek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began ^bto cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the graven images, and the molten images. ⁴And they tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and ^athe incense altars that were high above them he cut in pieces; also the Asherim, the graven images, and the molten images he broke in pieces and ^bground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵Then ^ahe burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶^aAnd in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ¹ruins, ⁷he also tore down the altars and ^abeat the Asherim and the graven images into powder, and cut in pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Repairs the House of Yahweh

⁸^aNow in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah ^ban official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of Yahweh his God. ⁹And they came to ^aHilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the ¹doorkeepers, had gathered from the hand of ^bManasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰Then they gave it into the hand of ¹those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of Yahweh; and those who did the work, who were doing this in the house of Yahweh, ²used it to restore and repair the house. ¹¹They in turn gave it to the craftsmen and to the builders to buy hewn stone and timber for clamps and to make beams for the houses ^awhich the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. ¹²^aAnd the men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to direct: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and ^bthe Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments. ¹³They were also over ^athose who carried loads, and directed all those who did the work from service to service; and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

¹⁴When they were taking out the money which had been brought into the house of Yahweh, ^aHilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Yahweh given by the hand of Moses. ¹⁵So Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and furthermore ¹responded to the king with a word, saying, “Everything that was given to the hand of your servants they are doing. ¹⁷“They have also poured out the money that was found in the house of Yahweh, and have given it into the hand of the supervisors and those who did the work.” ¹⁸Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹Now it happened that when the king heard ^athe words of the law, ^bhe tore his clothes. ²⁰Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ¹Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ²¹“Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found, for ^agreat is the wrath of Yahweh which is poured out against us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Yahweh, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Josiah Will Not See Yahweh’s Wrath

²²So Hilkiah and those whom the king ¹had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ²Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this. ²³And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to Me, ²⁴thus says Yahweh, “Behold, ^aI am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all ^bthe curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. ²⁵“^aBecause they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore My wrath will be poured out against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ ²⁶“But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh, thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, ²⁷^abecause your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh. ²⁸“Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

²⁹^aThen the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰And the king went up to the house of Yahweh and ^aall the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the Levites and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Yahweh.

Josiah Cuts a Covenant with Yahweh

³¹Then the king ^astood in his place and ^bcut a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³²Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³And Josiah ^atook away all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve Yahweh their God. Throughout his ¹lifetime they did not turn away from following Yahweh, the God of their fathers.

Barnabas and Saul Sent from Antioch by the Holy Spirit

13Now there were at ^aAntioch, in the ^bchurch that was there, ^cprophets and ^dteachers: ^eBarnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of ^fCyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ²And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, ^athe Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me ^bBarnabas and Saul for ^cthe work to which I have called them.” ³Then, when they had fasted and ^aprayed and ^blaid their hands on them, ^cthey sent them away.

On Cyprus

⁴So, being ^asent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^bCyprus. ⁵And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^athe synagogues of the Jews, and they also had ^bJohn as their helper. ⁶And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^amagician, a Jewish ^bfalse prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷who was with the ^aproconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸But Elymas the ^amagician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^bproconsul away from ^cthe faith. ⁹But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ¹^,^afilled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, ¹⁰and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^ason of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked ^bthe straight ways of the ¹Lord? ¹¹“Now, behold, ^athe hand of the ¹Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. ¹²Then the ^aproconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at ^bthe teaching of the Lord.

In Pisidian Antioch

¹³Now after Paul and his companions set sail from ^aPaphos, they came to ^bPerga in ^cPamphylia, but ^dJohn left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴But going on from Perga, they arrived at ^aPisidian ^bAntioch. And on ^cthe Sabbath day, they went into ^dthe synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵And after ^athe reading of the Law and ^bthe Prophets ^cthe synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” ¹⁶So Paul stood up, and ^amotioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and ^byou who fear God, listen: ¹⁷“The God of this people Israel ^achose our fathers and ¹^,^blifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm ^cHe led them out from it. ¹⁸“And for ^aa period of about forty years ^bHe put up with them in the wilderness. ¹⁹“^aAnd when He destroyed ^bseven nations in the land of Canaan, He ^cdistributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took ^dabout 450 years. ²⁰“After these things He ^agave them judges until ^bSamuel the prophet. ²¹“Then they ^aasked for a king, and God gave them ^bSaul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²²“And after He had ^aremoved him, He raised up David to be their king, about whom He also said, bearing witness, ‘^bI have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My ¹will.’ ²³“^aFrom the seed of this man, ^baccording to promise, God has brought to Israel ^ca Savior, Jesus, ²⁴after ^aJohn had preached before ¹His coming a ^bbaptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵“And as John ^awas fulfilling his course, ^bhe kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of His feet.’

²⁶“Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of ^athis salvation was sent. ²⁷“For those who live in Jerusalem, and their ^arulers, ^brecognizing neither Him nor the ¹utterances of ^cthe prophets which are ^dread every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. ²⁸“And though they found no ground for death, they ^aasked Pilate that He be ¹executed. ²⁹“And when they had ^afinished all that was written concerning Him, ^bthey took Him down from ^cthe tree and ^dlaid Him in a tomb. ³⁰“But God ^araised Him from the dead; ³¹and for many days ^aHe appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now ^bHis witnesses to the people. ³²“And we ^aproclaim to you the good news of ^bthe promise made to the fathers, ³³that God has fulfilled this promise ¹to our children in that He ^araised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘^bYou are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ ³⁴“But that He ^araised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way: ‘^bI will give you the holy and ¹faithful lovingkindnesses of David.’ ³⁵“Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘^aYou will not give Your ¹Holy One over to see corruption.’ ³⁶“For ^aDavid, after he had ¹served ^bthe purpose of God in his own generation, ^cfell asleep and was laid among his fathers and saw corruption; ³⁷but He whom God ^araised did not see corruption. ³⁸“Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that ^athrough ¹Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹and that in Him, ^aeveryone who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified from ¹through the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰“Therefore watch out, so that the thing spoken of ^ain the Prophets may not come upon you:

⁴¹‘^aLook, you scoffers, and marvel, and ¹perish;For I am accomplishing a work in your days,A work which you will never believe, though someone should recount it to you.’”

⁴²And as ¹Paul and Barnabas were leaving, the people kept pleading that these words might be spoken to them the next ^aSabbath. ⁴³Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the ^aGod-fearing ¹^,^bproselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in ^cthe grace of God.

Many Gentiles Believe

⁴⁴And the next ^aSabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of ¹the ²Lord. ⁴⁵But when ^athe Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, ¹blaspheming. ⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you ^afirst. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, ^bwe are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷“For so the ¹Lord has commanded us, ‘^aI have placed You as a ^blight for the Gentiles,That You may ²bring salvation to the end of the earth.’”

⁴⁸And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying ^athe word of ¹the ²Lord, and as many as ^bhad been appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹And ^athe word of the ¹Lord was being spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰But ^athe Jews incited the ¹^,^bGod-fearing women ^cof prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their ²district. ⁵¹But ^ahaving shaken off the dust of their feet against them, they went to ^bIconium. ⁵²And the disciples were continually ^afilled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

In Iconium

14Now it happened that in ^aIconium ^bthey entered the synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a manner ^cthat a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of ^dGreeks. ²But ^athe ¹^,^bunbelieving Jews instigated and embittered the ²minds of the Gentiles against ^cthe brothers. ³Therefore they spent a long time there ^aspeaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that ¹^,^bsigns and wonders be done through their hands. ⁴^aBut the multitude of the city was divided; and some ¹sided with ^bthe Jews, and some with ^cthe apostles. ⁵And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and ^athe Jews with their rulers to mistreat and to ^bstone them, ⁶they became aware of it and fled to the cities of ^aLycaonia, ^bLystra and ^cDerbe, and the surrounding region; ⁷and there they continued to ^aproclaim the gospel.

Incline Your Ear to My Cry

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A ¹Maskil of Heman ²the Ezrahite.

O Yahweh, the ^aGod of my salvation,I have ^bcried out by day and throughout the night before You.²Let my prayer ^acome before You;^bIncline Your ear to my cry of lamentation!³For my ^asoul has been saturated with calamities,And ^bmy life has reached Sheol.⁴I am counted among those who ^ago down to the pit;I am like a man ^bwithout strength,⁵Released ^aamong the dead,Like the slain who lie in the grave,Whom You remember no more,And they are ^bcut off from Your hand.⁶You have put me in ^athe pit far below,In ^bdark places, in the ^cdepths.⁷Your wrath ^alies upon me,And You afflict me with ^ball Your breaking waves. ¹ Selah.⁸You have removed ^amy acquaintances far from me;You have set me as ¹an ^babomination to them;I am ^cshut up and cannot go out.⁹My ^aeye has wasted away because of affliction;I have ^bcalled upon You every day, O Yahweh;I have ^cspread out my ¹hands to You.¹⁰Will You do wonders for the dead?Will ^athe ¹departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah.¹¹Will Your lovingkindness be recounted in the grave,Your faithfulness in ¹Abaddon?¹²Will Your wonders be known in the ^adarkness?And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?¹³But as for me, O Yahweh, I have cried out ^ato You for help,And ^bin the morning my prayer comes before You.¹⁴O Yahweh, why ^ado You reject my soul?Why do You ^bhide Your face from me?¹⁵I have been afflicted and ^aabout to breathe my last from my youth on;I bear ^bYour terrors; I am ¹overcome.¹⁶Your ^aburning anger has passed over me;Your horrors have ¹^,^bdestroyed me.¹⁷They have ^asurrounded me ^blike water all day long;They have ^cencompassed me altogether.¹⁸You have removed ^alover and friend far from me;My acquaintances are in darkness.