2 Chronicles 19

English Standard Version

Jehoshaphat's Reforms

19 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ²But ^(A)Jehu the son of ^(B)Hanani ^(C)the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you ^(D)help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, ^(E)wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. ³Nevertheless, ^(F)some good is found in you, for ^(G)you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have ^(H)set your heart to seek God.”

⁴Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to ^(I)the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. ⁵He appointed ^(J)judges in the land in all ^(K)the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, ^(L)for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. ⁷Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for ^(M)there is no injustice with the Lord our God, ^(N)or partiality or taking bribes.”

⁸Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat ^(O)appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, ^(P)to give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. ⁹And he charged them: ^(Q)“Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, ^(R)and with your whole heart: ¹⁰^(S)whenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and ^(T)wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. ¹¹And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you ^(U)in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers. ^(V)Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”^[a]

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 19:11 Hebrew the good

Isaiah 49

English Standard Version

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen to me, ^(A)O coastlands,
    and give attention, you peoples ^(B)from afar.
^(C)The Lord called me from the womb,
    from the body of my mother he named my name.
²^(D)He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
    ^(E)in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
    in his quiver he hid me away.
³And he said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, ^(F)in whom I will be glorified.”^[a]
⁴^(G)But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
    and my recompense with my God.”

⁵^(H)And now the Lord says,
    he ^(I)who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
    and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for ^(J)I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
    and my God has become my strength—
⁶he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
    to raise up the tribes of Jacob
    and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
^(K)I will make you ^(L)as a light for the nations,
    that ^(M)my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

⁷Thus says the Lord,
    ^(N)the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
^(O)to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
    the servant of rulers:
^(P)“Kings shall see and arise;
    princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

The Restoration of Israel

⁸Thus says the Lord:
^(Q)“In a ^(R)time of favor I have answered you;
    in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you ^(S)and give you
    as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
    ^(T)to apportion the desolate heritages,
⁹^(U)saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
    to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
^(V)They shall feed along the ways;
    on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
¹⁰^(W)they shall not hunger or thirst,
    neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them ^(X)will lead them,
    and by springs of water will guide them.
¹¹^(Y)And I will make all my mountains a road,
    and my highways shall be raised up.
¹²^(Z)Behold, these shall come from afar,
    and behold, ^(AA)these from the north and from the west,^[b]
    and these from the land of Syene.”^[c]

¹³^(AB)Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord ^(AC)has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.

¹⁴But Zion said, ^(AD)“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵^(AE)“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
    yet I will not forget you.
¹⁶Behold, ^(AF)I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.
¹⁷Your builders make haste;^[d]
    ^(AG)your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
¹⁸^(AH)Lift up your eyes around and see;
    they all gather, they come to you.
^(AI)As I live, declares the Lord,
    ^(AJ)you shall put them all on as an ornament;
    you shall bind them on as a bride does.

¹⁹“Surely your waste and your desolate places
    and your devastated land—
^(AK)surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
    and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
²⁰^(AL)The children of your bereavement
    will yet say in your ears:
^(AM)‘The place is too narrow for me;
    make room for me to dwell in.’
²¹Then you will say in your heart:
    ‘Who has borne me these?
^(AN)I was bereaved and barren,
    exiled and put away,
    but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
    from where have these come?’”

²²Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
    ^(AO)and raise my signal to the peoples;
^(AP)and they shall bring your sons in their arms,^[e]
    and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
²³^(AQ)Kings shall be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.
^(AR)With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
    and ^(AS)lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
    ^(AT)those who wait for me ^(AU)shall not be put to shame.”

²⁴Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
    or the captives of a tyrant^[f] be rescued?
²⁵For thus says the Lord:
^(AV)“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
    and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
    and I will save your children.
²⁶^(AW)I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
    and they shall be drunk ^(AX)with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
    that ^(AY)I am the Lord your Savior,
    and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 49:3 Or I will display my beauty
Isaiah 49:12 Hebrew from the sea
Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Sinim
Isaiah 49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste
Isaiah 49:22 Hebrew in their bosom
Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text of a righteous man