2 Chronicles 30 - 31, Luke 23, Psalms 60 - 61

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

30And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem to ¹celebrate the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel. ²And the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel ^ato celebrate the Passover in the second month, ³since they could not celebrate it ^aat that time, because the priests had not set themselves apart as holy in sufficient numbers, nor had the people been gathered to Jerusalem. ⁴Thus the thing was right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly. ⁵So they established a decree to make a ¹proclamation pass throughout all Israel ^afrom Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to celebrate the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem. For they had not celebrated it in great numbers as it was written. ⁶^aAnd the ¹couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the hand of the king and his princes, even according to the commandment of the king, saying, “O sons of Israel, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may return to those of you who escaped and remain from ^bthe ²hand of the kings of Assyria. ⁷“^aNow do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were unfaithful to Yahweh, the God of their fathers, so that ^bHe made them an object of horror, as you see. ⁸“Now do not ^astiffen your neck like your fathers, but give your hand to Yahweh and enter His sanctuary which He has set apart as holy forever, and serve Yahweh your God, ^bthat His burning anger may turn away from you. ⁹“For ^awhen you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your sons will find compassion before those who led them captive and will return to this land. ^bFor Yahweh your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

¹⁰So the ¹couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but ^athey were laughing at them to scorn and mocking them. ¹¹Nevertheless ^asome men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹²The ^ahand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of Yahweh.

¹³Now many people were gathered at Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^ain the second month, a very large assembly. ¹⁴And they arose and took away the altars which were in Jerusalem; they also ^atook away all the incense altars and ^bcast them into the brook Kidron. ¹⁵Then ^athey slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth of the second month. And ^bthe priests and Levites were ashamed of themselves, and set themselves apart as holy and brought burnt offerings to the house of Yahweh. ¹⁶^aAnd they stood at their stations according to the legal judgment for them, according to the law of Moses the man of God; the priests splashed the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷For there were many in the assembly who had not set themselves apart as holy; therefore, ^athe Levites were over the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was unclean, in order to set them apart as holy to Yahweh. ¹⁸For a multitude of the people, ^aeven many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, ^byet they ate the Passover ^cotherwise than what was written. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May Yahweh, who is good, atone ¹⁹^afor everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, Yahweh, the God of his fathers, though not according to the rules of cleansing of the sanctuary.” ²⁰So Yahweh heard Hezekiah and ^ahealed the people. ²¹And the sons of Israel present in Jerusalem ^acelebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised Yahweh day after day with loud instruments to Yahweh. ²²Then Hezekiah ^aspoke to the hearts of all the Levites who showed good insight in the things of Yahweh. So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and ^bgiving thanks to Yahweh, the God of their fathers.

²³Then the whole assembly ^atook counsel to determine to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with gladness. ²⁴For ^aHezekiah king of Judah had contributed to the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep, and the princes had contributed to the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep; and ^ba large number of priests set themselves apart as holy. ²⁵And all the assembly of Judah were glad, with the priests and the Levites and ^aall the assembly that came from Israel, both the sojourners who came from the land of Israel and those living in Judah. ²⁶So there was great gladness in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem ^asince the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. ²⁷Then ^athe Levitical priests arose and ^bblessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came to ^cHis holy habitation, to heaven.

31Now when all this was completed, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, ^ashattered the pillars, cut the ¹Asherim in pieces, and tore down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until the destruction was completed. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.

Hezekiah Sets Up Priests for Service

²And Hezekiah set up ^athe divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, ^bfor burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of Yahweh. ³He also appointed ^athe king’s portion of his goods for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths and for the new moons and for the appointed times, ^bas it is written in the law of Yahweh. ⁴Also he said to the people who lived in Jerusalem to give ^athe portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might be strong in ^bthe law of Yahweh. ⁵As soon as the word spread forth, the sons of Israel provided in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly ^athe tithe of all. ⁶Now the sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and ^athe tithe of the holy gifts which were made holy to Yahweh their God, and put them in heaps. ⁷In the third month they began to ¹make the heaps, and completed them by the seventh month. ⁸Then Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, and they blessed Yahweh and ^aHis people Israel. ⁹Then Hezekiah inquired of the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰And Azariah the chief priest ^aof the house of Zadok said to ¹him, “^bSince the contributions began to be brought into the house of Yahweh, there has been much to eat and be satisfied with and have left over, for Yahweh has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”

¹¹Then Hezekiah ordered them to prepare ^arooms in the house of Yahweh, and they prepared them. ¹²And they faithfully brought in the contribution and the tithe and the holy things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer over ^athem and his brother Shimei was second. ¹³Now Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers ¹assisting at the hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and ^aAzariah was the chief officer of the house of God. ¹⁴And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the contributions for Yahweh and the most holy things. ¹⁵Now assisting ¹by his hand were ^aEden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in ^bthe cities of the priests, to distribute faithfully their portions to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small, ¹⁶without regard to their genealogical record, to the males from ¹^,^athirty years old and upward—everyone who entered the house of Yahweh ^bfor his daily obligations—for their service in their responsibilities according to their divisions; ¹⁷as well as the priests who were recorded genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites ^afrom twenty years old and upwards, by their responsibilities and their divisions. ¹⁸The genealogical record included ¹all their little ones, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they set themselves apart ²faithfully in holiness. ¹⁹Also for the sons of Aaron the priests who were in ^athe pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city, ^bthere were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone genealogically recorded among the Levites.

²⁰Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and ^ahe did what was good, right, and true before Yahweh his God. ²¹And every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment—to seek his God—he did with all his heart and ^asucceeded.

Jesus Before Pilate

23Then their whole assembly rose up and ^abrought Him before Pilate. ²^aAnd they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man ^bmisleading our nation and ^cforbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is ¹Christ, a King.” ³So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “^aYou yourself say it.” ⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “^aI find no guilt in this man.” ⁵But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, ^astarting from Galilee even as far as this place.”

⁶Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to ^aHerod, who himself also was in Jerusalem in those days.

Jesus Before Herod

⁸Now when Herod saw Jesus, he rejoiced greatly; for ^ahe had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some ¹sign performed by Him. ⁹And he questioned Him ¹at some length, but ^aHe answered him nothing. ¹⁰And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, vehemently accusing Him. ¹¹And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, ^adressed Him in a bright robe and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹²Now ^aHerod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been at enmity with each other.

Pilate Grants the Crowd’s Request

¹³And Pilate summoned the chief priests and the ^arulers and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who ¹^,^aincites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I ^bhave found in this man no guilt of what you are accusing Him. ¹⁵“No, nor has ^aHerod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. ¹⁶“Therefore I will ^apunish Him and release Him.” ¹⁷¹[Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]

¹⁸But they cried out all together, saying, “^aAway with this man, and release for us Barabbas!” ¹⁹(He had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city and for murder.) ²⁰But again Pilate addressed them, wanting to release Jesus, ²¹but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!” ²²And he said to them a third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt worthy of death; therefore I will ^apunish Him and release Him.” ²³But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices were prevailing. ²⁴And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. ²⁵And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered Jesus to their will.

Simon Carries the Cross

²⁶^aAnd when they led Him away, they took hold of a man, Simon of ^bCyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

²⁷And following Him was a large multitude of the people, and of women who were ¹^,^amourning and lamenting Him. ²⁸But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop crying for Me, but cry for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹“For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘^aBlessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ³⁰“Then they will begin to ^asay to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹“For if they do these things ¹when the tree is green, what will happen ²when it is dry?”

³²^aNow two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him.

The Crucifixion

³³^aAnd when they came to the place called ¹The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. ³⁴¹But Jesus was saying, “^aFather, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” ^bAnd they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. ³⁵And the people stood by, looking on. And even the ^arulers were scoffing at Him, saying, “He saved others; ^blet Him save Himself if this is the ¹Christ of God, His Chosen One.” ³⁶And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, ^aoffering Him sour wine, ³⁷and saying, “^aIf You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” ³⁸Now there was also an inscription above Him, “^aTHIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁹^aAnd one of the criminals hanging there was blaspheming Him, saying, “Are You not the ¹Christ? ^bSave Yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving ¹what we deserve for what we have done; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come ¹in Your kingdom!” ⁴³And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in ^aParadise.”

⁴⁴^aAnd it was now about ¹^,^bthe sixth hour, and darkness ²fell over the whole land until ³the ninth hour, ⁴⁵¹because the sun was obscured. And ^athe veil of the ²sanctuary was torn ³in two. ⁴⁶And Jesus, ^acrying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, ^binto Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. ⁴⁷^aNow when the centurion saw what had happened, he began ^bpraising God, saying, “Certainly this man was righteous.” ⁴⁸And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, were returning, ¹^,^abeating their chests. ⁴⁹^aAnd all His acquaintances and ^bthe women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁰^aAnd behold, a man named Joseph, who was a ^bCouncil member, a good and righteous man ⁵¹(he had not consented to their counsel and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was ^awaiting for the kingdom of God; ⁵²this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. ⁵⁴It was ¹^,^aPreparation day, and the Sabbath was about to ²begin. ⁵⁵Now ^athe women, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and beheld the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶Then after they returned, they ^aprepared spices and perfumes. And ^bon the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Through God We Shall Do Valiantly

For the choir director. According to ¹Shushan Eduth. A ²Mikhtam of David. For teaching. ³When he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

O God, ^aYou have rejected us. You have ⁴^,^bbroken us;You have been ^cangry; Oh, ^drestore us.²You have made the ¹^,^aland quake, You have split it open;^bHeal its breaches, for it shakes.³You have ^acaused Your people to see hardship;You have given us ¹wine to ^bdrink that causes reeling.⁴You have given a ^abanner to those who fear You,¹In order to flee to it from the bow. ² Selah.⁵^aThat Your ^bbeloved may be rescued,^cSave with Your right hand, and answer ¹us!⁶God has spoken in His ¹^,^aholiness:“I will exult, I will portion out ^bShechem and measure out the valley of ^cSuccoth.⁷“^aGilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;^bEphraim also is the ¹helmet of My head;Judah is My ²^,^cscepter.⁸“^aMoab is My washbowl;Over ^bEdom I shall throw My shoe;Make a loud shout, O ^cPhilistia, because of Me!”⁹Who will bring me into the fortified city?Who ¹will lead me to Edom?¹⁰Have You Yourself, O God, not ^arejected us?And ^bwill You, O God, not go forth with our armies?¹¹Oh give us help against the adversary,For ^asalvation ¹by man is worthless.¹²¹Through God we shall ^ado valiantly,And it is He who will ^btread down our adversaries.

Lead Me to the Rock

For the choir director. On a stringed instrument. Of David.

^aHear my cry of lamentation, O God;^bGive heed to my prayer.²From the ^aend of the earth I call to You when my heart is ^bfaint;Lead me to ^cthe rock that is higher than I.³For You have been a ^arefuge for me,A ^btower of strength before the enemy.⁴Let me ^asojourn in Your tent forever;Let me ^btake refuge in the shelter of Your wings. ¹ Selah.⁵For You, O God, have heard my ^avows;You have given me the inheritance of those who ^bfear Your name.⁶You will ^aadd days to the king’s ¹life;His years will be from generation to generation.⁷He will sit enthroned ^abefore God forever;Appoint ^blovingkindness and truth that they may guard him.⁸So I will ^asing praise to Your name forever,As I ^bpay my vows day by day.