2 Kings 23, 2 Chronicles 35, Acts 14:8-15:41, Psalm 89:1-29

Josiah Reads the Book of the Covenant

23^aThen the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ²And the king went up to the house of Yahweh and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and ^ahe read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant ^bwhich was found in the house of Yahweh. ³^aThen the king stood by the pillar and cut a covenant before Yahweh, ^bto walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to establish the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people ¹entered into the covenant.

⁴Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and ^athe priests of the second order and the ¹doorkeepers, ^bto bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, for ²Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and ^che burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁵And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the ^ahost of heaven. ⁶And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ^aground it to dust, and ^bthrew its dust on the graves of the ¹common people. ⁷He also tore down the houses of the ^amale cult prostitutes which were in the house of Yahweh, where ^bthe women were weaving ¹hangings for the Asherah. ⁸Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from ^aGeba to Beersheba; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. ⁹Nevertheless ^athe priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. ¹⁰^aHe also defiled ¹Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, ^bthat no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for ^cMolech. ¹¹And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the ^asun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. ¹²^aAlso, the altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and ^bthe altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, the king tore down; and he ¹crushed them there and ^cthrew their dust into the brook Kidron. ¹³And the high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of ^athe mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for ^bAshtoreth the detestable idol of the Sidonians, and for ^cChemosh the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. ¹⁴^aAnd he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and ^bfilled their places with human bones.

¹⁵Furthermore, ^athe altar that was at Bethel and the ^bhigh place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he ¹^,^cdemolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. ¹⁶Then Josiah turned, and he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it ^aaccording to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. ¹⁷Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “^aIt is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” ¹⁸And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they ¹left his bones undisturbed ^awith the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. ¹⁹And also all the houses of the high places which were ^ain the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking ¹Yahweh to anger, Josiah removed; and he did to them ²just as he had done in Bethel. ²⁰And all the priests of the high places who were there ^ahe ¹slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover

²¹Then the king commanded all the people saying, “^aCelebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God ^bas it is written in this book of the covenant.” ²²^aFor such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. ²³But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to Yahweh in Jerusalem.

²⁴Moreover, ^athe mediums and the spiritists and the ^bteraphim and ^cthe idols and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah purged in order ^dthat he might ¹establish the words of the law which were written ^ein the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. ²⁵And before him there was no king ^alike him who turned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

²⁶However, Yahweh did not turn from His great burning anger, His anger which burned against Judah, ^abecause of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him to anger. ²⁷And Yahweh said, “I will remove Judah also from My presence, ^aas I have removed Israel. And ^bI will reject Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the ¹house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”

Jehoahaz Reigns Over Judah

²⁸Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁹^aIn his days ^bPharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he put him to death at ^cMegiddo. ³⁰^aAnd his servants drove ¹his body in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. ^bThen the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

Jehoahaz’s Reign and Imprisonment

³¹^aJehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³²And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^aaccording to all that his fathers had done. ³³^aAnd Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at ^bRiblah in the land of ^cHamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundred ¹talents of silver and one talent of gold.

Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh

³⁴Then Pharaoh Neco made ^aEliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father and ^bchanged his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and ¹^,^cbrought him to Egypt, and he died there. ³⁵So Jehoiakim ^agave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the ¹command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

³⁶^aJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^aaccording to all that his fathers had done.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover

35Then Josiah ^acelebrated the Passover to Yahweh in Jerusalem, and ^bthey slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²And he caused the priests to stand in their responsibilities and ^astrengthened them in the service of the house of Yahweh. ³He also said to ^athe Levites who provided understanding to all Israel and who were holy to Yahweh, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; ^bit will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now serve Yahweh your God and His people Israel. ⁴“^aSo prepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and ^baccording to the writing of his son Solomon. ⁵“Moreover, ^astand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your brothers the ¹lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household. ⁶“Now ^aslaughter the Passover animals, ^bsanctify yourselves and prepare for your brothers to do according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.”

⁷And Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering 30,000 plus 3,000 bulls; these were from the king’s possessions. ⁸His officials also contributed a freewill offering to the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, ^athe officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 from the flocks and 300 bulls. ⁹^aConaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the ¹officials of the Levites, contributed to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 from the flocks and 500 bulls.

¹⁰So the service was prepared, and ^athe priests stood at their stations and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s commandment. ¹¹^aAnd ¹they slaughtered the Passover animals, and while ^bthe priests splashed ²the blood received from their hand, ^cthe Levites skinned them. ¹²Then they took away the portions for the burnt offerings that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to bring near to Yahweh, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did this also with the bulls. ¹³So ^athey roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the legal judgment, and they boiled ^bthe holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carried them speedily to all the lay people. ¹⁴Afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵The singers, the sons of Asaph, were also at their stations ^aaccording to the commandment of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and ^bthe gatekeepers at each gate did not have to turn aside from their service, because the Levites their brothers prepared for them.

¹⁶So all the service of Yahweh was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh according to the commandment of King Josiah. ¹⁷Thus ^athe sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. ¹⁸^aAnd there had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah celebrated with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated.

Josiah Dies in War

²⁰^aAfter all this, when Josiah had set the ¹house in order, Neco king of Egypt went up to make war at ^bCarchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. ²¹But ¹Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “^aWhat have I to do with you, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has said for me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not bring you to ruin.” ²²However, Josiah would not turn ¹away from him, but ^adisguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco ^bfrom the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of ^cMegiddo. ²³Then the archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” ²⁴So his servants took him out of the chariot and drove him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem ¹where he died, and he was buried in the tombs of his fathers. ^aAnd all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ²⁵Then ^aJeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them a statute in Israel; behold, they are also written in the lamentations. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of lovingkindness according to what was written in the law of Yahweh, ²⁷and his acts, first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

In Lystra and Derbe

⁸And at ^aLystra ^ba man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. ⁹This man listened to Paul as he spoke, who, ^awhen he fixed his gaze on him and saw that he had ^bfaith to be ¹saved from being lame, ¹⁰said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” ^aAnd he leaped up and began to walk. ¹¹And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the ^aLycaonian language, “^bThe gods have become like men and have come down to us.” ¹²And they began calling Barnabas, ¹Zeus, and Paul, ²Hermes, because he was ³the chief speaker. ¹³And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was ¹just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and ^awas wanting to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴But when ^athe apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^btore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also ^amen of the same nature as you, ^bproclaiming the gospel to you that you should turn from these ¹^,^cvain things to a ^dliving God, ^ewho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ¹⁶“¹In the generations gone by He ^apermitted all the ²nations to ^bgo their own ways; ¹⁷and yet ^aHe did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and ^bgave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.” ¹⁸And saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹But ^aJews came from ^bAntioch and ^cIconium, and after winning over the crowds and ^dstoning Paul, they were dragging him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. ²⁰But while ^athe disciples stood around him, he rose up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to ^bDerbe. ²¹And after they had ^aproclaimed the gospel to that city and had ^bmade many disciples, they returned to ^cLystra and to ^dIconium and to ^eAntioch, ²²strengthening the souls of ^athe disciples, encouraging them to continue in ^bthe faith, and saying, “^cThrough many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God.” ²³And when ^athey had appointed ^belders for them in every church, having ^cprayed with fasting, they ^dcommended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

The Return to Antioch

²⁴And when they passed through ^aPisidia, they came into ^bPamphylia. ²⁵And when they had spoken the word in ^aPerga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶And from there they sailed to ^aAntioch, from ^bwhere they had been ^ccommitted to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. ²⁷And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to ^areport all things that God had done with them and ¹how He had opened a ^bdoor of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸And they spent not a little time with ^athe disciples.

The Jerusalem Council

15^aSome men came down from Judea and began teaching ^bthe brothers, “Unless you are ^ccircumcised according to ^dthe custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²And when Paul and Barnabas had not a little dissension and ^adebate with them, ^bthe brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^capostles and elders concerning this issue. ³Therefore, being ^asent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^bPhoenicia and Samaria, ^crecounting in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all ^dthe brothers. ⁴When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and ^athe apostles and the elders, and they ^breported all that God had done with them. ⁵But some of ^athe sect of the ^bPharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ^ccircumcise them and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶^aBoth the apostles and the elders came together to ¹look into this ²matter. ⁷And after there had been much ^adebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that ¹in the early days ^bGod made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^cthe gospel and believe. ⁸“And God, ^awho knows the heart, testified to them ^bgiving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; ⁹and ^aHe made no distinction between us and them, ^bcleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰“Now therefore why do you ^aput God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^bneither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹“But we believe that we are saved through ^athe grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹²And all the multitude kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were ^arelating what ^bsigns and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James Issues a Judgment

¹³Now after they had stopped speaking, ^aJames answered, saying, “Brothers, listen to me. ¹⁴“^aSimeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. ¹⁵“And with this the words of ^athe Prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶‘^aAfter these things ^bI will return,And I will rebuild the ^cfallen ¹booth of David,And I will rebuild its ruins,And I will restore it,¹⁷^aSo that the rest of ¹mankind may seek the Lord,And all the Gentiles ²^,^bwho are called by My name,’¹⁸^aSays the ¹Lord, who ²^,^bmakes these things known from long ago.

¹⁹“Therefore ^aI judge that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, ²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from ^athings contaminated by idols and from ^bsexual immorality and from ^cwhat is strangled and from blood. ²¹“For from ancient generations, ^aMoses has those who preach him in every city, since ¹he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it seemed good to ^athe apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them—Judas called Barsabbas, and ^bSilas, leading men among ^cthe brothers—to send to ^dAntioch with Paul and Barnabas, ²³and they ¹sent this letter by them, “^aThe apostles and the brothers who are elders, to ^bthe brothers in ^cAntioch and ^dSyria and ^eCilicia who are from the Gentiles, ^fgreetings. ²⁴“Since we have heard that ^asome of us, to whom we gave no instruction, have gone out and ^bdisturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, ²⁵^ait seemed good to us, having ¹come to one accord, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶men who have ¹^,^arisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷“Therefore we have sent ^aJudas and ^bSilas, and they themselves will report the same things by word of mouth. ²⁸“For ^ait seemed good to ^bthe Holy Spirit and to ^cus to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: ²⁹that you abstain from ^athings sacrificed to idols and from ^bblood and from ^cthings strangled and from ^dsexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So when they were sent away, ^athey went down to Antioch; and having gathered the ¹congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its ¹encouragement. ³²^aAnd both Judas and ^bSilas, also being ^cprophets themselves, ¹encouraged and strengthened ^dthe brothers with a lengthy message. ³³And after they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers ^ain peace to those who had ^bsent them. ³⁴¹[But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] ³⁵But ^aPaul and Barnabas spent a long time in Antioch, teaching and ¹^,^bpreaching with many others also, ^cthe word of the Lord.

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

³⁶Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in ^aevery city in which we proclaimed ^bthe word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷And Barnabas wanted to take ^aJohn, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had ^adeserted them ¹in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹And there was such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took ^aMark with him and sailed away to ^bCyprus. ⁴⁰But Paul chose ^aSilas and left, being ^bcommitted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹And he was traveling through ^aSyria and ^bCilicia, strengthening the churches.

Sing of the Lovingkindness of Yahweh Forever

A ¹Maskil of ²Ethan ³the Ezrahite.

I will ^asing of the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh forever;From generation to generation I will ^bmake known Your ^cfaithfulness with my mouth.²For I have said, “^aLovingkindness will be built up forever;In the heavens You will establish Your ^bfaithfulness.”³“I have cut a covenant with ^aMy chosen;I have ^bsworn to David My ¹servant,⁴I will establish your ^aseed foreverAnd build up your ^bthrone from generation to generation.” ¹ Selah.⁵The ^aheavens will praise Your wonders, O Yahweh;Your faithfulness also ^bin the assembly of the ^choly ones.⁶For ^awho in the sky is comparable to Yahweh?Who among the ¹^,^bsons of the mighty is like Yahweh,⁷A God ^agreatly dreaded in the council of the ^bholy ones,And ¹^,^cfearsome above all those who are around Him?⁸O Yahweh God of hosts, ^awho is like You, O mighty Yah?Your faithfulness also surrounds You.⁹You rule the swelling of the sea;When its waves rise, You ^astill them.¹⁰You Yourself crushed ¹^,^aRahab like one who is slain;You ^bscattered Your enemies with Your strong arm.¹¹The ^aheavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;The ^bworld and its fullness, You have founded them.¹²The ^anorth and the south, You have created them;^bTabor and ^cHermon ^dsing with joy at Your name.¹³You have a mighty arm;Your hand is strong, Your ^aright hand is exalted.¹⁴^aRighteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;^bLovingkindness and ¹truth go before You.¹⁵How blessed are the people who know the ^aloud shout of joy!O Yahweh, they walk in the ^blight of Your face.¹⁶In ^aYour name they rejoice all the day,And by Your righteousness they are exalted.¹⁷For You are the beauty of ^atheir strength,And by Your favor ¹our ^bhorn is exalted.¹⁸For our ^ashield belongs to Yahweh,¹And our king to the ^bHoly One of Israel.¹⁹Formerly You spoke in vision to Your ¹holy ²ones,And said, “I have bestowed help to a ^amighty one;I have exalted one ^bchosen from the people.²⁰“I have ^afound David My ¹servant;With My holy ^boil I have anointed him,²¹With whom ^aMy hand will be established;My arm also will ^bstrengthen him.²²“The enemy will not ¹deceive him,Nor the ²^,^ason of unrighteousness afflict him.²³“But I shall ^acrush his adversaries before him,And strike those who hate him.²⁴“My ^afaithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,And in My name his ^bhorn will be exalted.²⁵“I shall also set his hand ^aon the seaAnd his right hand on the rivers.²⁶“He will call to Me, ‘You are ^amy Father,My God, and the ^brock of my salvation.’²⁷“I also shall make him My ^afirstborn,The ^bhighest of the kings of the earth.²⁸“My ^alovingkindness I will keep for him forever,And My ^bcovenant shall be confirmed to him.²⁹“So I will set up his ^aseed to endure foreverAnd his ^bthrone ^cas the days of heaven.