2 Chronicles 30:1-12

New King James Version

Hezekiah Keeps the Passover

30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. ²For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second ^(A)month. ³For they could not keep it ^(B)at ^[a]the regular time, ^(C)because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. ⁴And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. ⁵So they ^[b]resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner.

⁶Then the ^(D)runners went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the king: “Children of Israel, ^(E)return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of ^(F)the kings of ^(G)Assyria. ⁷And do not be ^(H)like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He ^(I)gave them up to ^(J)desolation, as you see. ⁸Now do not be ^(K)stiff-necked,^[c] as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, ^(L)that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. ⁹For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with ^(M)compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is ^(N)gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you ^(O)return to Him.”

¹⁰So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but ^(P)they laughed at them and mocked them. ¹¹Nevertheless ^(Q)some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹²Also ^(R)the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, ^(S)at the word of the Lord.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 30:3 The first month, Lev. 23:5; lit. that time
2 Chronicles 30:5 established a decree to
2 Chronicles 30:8 Rebellious

Psalm 120

New King James Version

Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes

A Song of Ascents.

120 In ^(A)my distress I cried to the Lord,
And He heard me.
²Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
And from a deceitful tongue.

³What shall be given to you,
Or what shall be done to you,
You false tongue?
⁴Sharp arrows of the ^[a]warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!

⁵Woe is me, that I dwell in ^(B)Meshech,
^(C)That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
⁶My soul has dwelt too long
With one who hates peace.
⁷I am for peace;
But when I speak, they are for war.

Footnotes

Psalm 120:4 mighty one

2 Chronicles 30:13-22

New King James Version

¹³Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of ^(A)Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴They arose and took away the ^(B)altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook ^(C)Kidron. ¹⁵Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites ^[a]were ^(D)ashamed, and ^[b]sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. ¹⁶They stood in their ^(E)place ^[c]according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷For there were many in the assembly who had not ^[d]sanctified themselves; ^(F)therefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord. ¹⁸For a multitude of the people, ^(G)many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, ^(H)yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone ¹⁹who ^(I)prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” ²⁰And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^(J)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments. ²²And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites ^(K)who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and ^(L)making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 30:15 humbled themselves
2 Chronicles 30:15 set themselves apart
2 Chronicles 30:16 Or in their proper order
2 Chronicles 30:17 consecrated

Psalm 113

New King James Version

The Majesty and Condescension of God

113 Praise^[a] the Lord!

^(A)Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord!
²^(B)Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore!
³^(C)From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised.

⁴The Lord is ^(D)high above all nations,
^(E)His glory above the heavens.
⁵^(F)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
⁶^(G)Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

⁷^(H)He raises the poor out of the dust,
And lifts the ^(I)needy out of the ash heap,
⁸That He may ^(J)seat him with princes—
With the princes of His people.
⁹^(K)He grants the ^[b]barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 113:1 Heb. Hallelujah
Psalm 113:9 childless

Psalm 114

New King James Version

The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel^(A)

114 When ^(B)Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob ^(C)from a people ^[a]of strange language,
²^(D)Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.

³^(E)The sea saw it and fled;
^(F)Jordan turned back.
⁴^(G)The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
⁵^(H)What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
⁶O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?

⁷Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸^(I)Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.

Footnotes

Psalm 114:1 who spoke unintelligibly

Psalm 115

New King James Version

The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God

115 Not ^(A)unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
²Why should the ^[a]Gentiles say,
^(B)“So where is their God?”

³^(C)But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
⁴^(D)Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
⁵They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
⁶They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
⁷They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
⁸^(E)Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.

⁹^(F)O Israel, trust in the Lord;
^(G)He is their help and their shield.
¹⁰O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
¹¹You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.

¹²The Lord ^[b]has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
¹³^(H)He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.

¹⁴May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
¹⁵May you be ^(I)blessed by the Lord,
^(J)Who made heaven and earth.

¹⁶The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
¹⁷^(K)The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
¹⁸^(L)But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 115:2 nations
Psalm 115:12 has remembered us

Psalm 116

New King James Version

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death

116 I ^(A)love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
²Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

³^(B)The ^[a]pains of death surrounded me,
And the ^[b]pangs of Sheol ^[c]laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
⁴Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”

⁵^(C)Gracious is the Lord, and ^(D)righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
⁶The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
⁷Return to your ^(E)rest, O my soul,
For ^(F)the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸^(G)For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
⁹I will walk before the Lord
^(H)In the land of the living.
¹⁰^(I)I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
¹¹^(J)I said in my haste,
^(K)“All men are liars.”

¹²What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
¹³I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
¹⁴^(L)I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.

¹⁵^(M)Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.

¹⁶O Lord, truly ^(N)I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, ^(O)the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
¹⁷I will offer to You ^(P)the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.

¹⁸I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
¹⁹In the ^(Q)courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

^[d]Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 116:3 Lit. cords
Psalm 116:3 distresses
Psalm 116:3 Lit. found me
Psalm 116:19 Heb. Hallelujah

Psalm 117

New King James Version

Let All Peoples Praise the Lord

117 Praise ^(A)the Lord, all you Gentiles!
^[a]Laud Him, all you peoples!
²For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
And ^(B)the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 117:1 Praise

2 Chronicles 30:23-31:1

New King James Version

²³Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast ^(A)another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness. ²⁴For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(B)gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests ^(C)sanctified^[a] themselves. ²⁵The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners ^(D)who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. ²⁶So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of ^(E)Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷Then the priests, the Levites, arose and ^(F)blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to ^(G)His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

The Reforms of Hezekiah^(H)

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and ^(I)broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the ^[b]high places and the altars—from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned to their own cities, every man to his possession.

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 30:24 consecrated
2 Chronicles 31:1 Places for pagan worship

2 Kings 18:4-6

New King James Version

⁴^(A)He removed the ^[a]high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the ^[b]wooden image and broke in pieces the ^(B)bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it ^[c]Nehushtan. ⁵He ^(C)trusted in the Lord God of Israel, ^(D)so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. ⁶For he ^(E)held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

2 Kings 18:4 Places for pagan worship
2 Kings 18:4 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess
2 Kings 18:4 Lit. Bronze Thing, also similar to Heb. nahash, serpent

2 Chronicles 31:2-21

New King James Version

²And Hezekiah appointed ^(A)the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites ^(B)for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the ^[a]camp of the Lord. ³The king also appointed a ^[b]portion of his ^(C)possessions^[c] for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the ^(D)Law of the Lord.

⁴Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute ^(E)support^[d] for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to ^(F)the Law of the Lord.

⁵As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance ^(G)the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the ^(H)tithe of everything. ⁶And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the ^(I)tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the Lord their God they laid in heaps.

⁷In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. ⁸And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel. ⁹Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰And Azariah the chief priest, from the ^(J)house of Zadok, answered him and said, ^(K)“Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great ^(L)abundance.”

¹¹Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ^(M)rooms^[e] in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. ¹²Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; ^(N)Cononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next. ¹³Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ^(O)ruler of the house of God. ¹⁴Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the ^(P)freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things. ¹⁵And under him were ^(Q)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in ^(R)the cities of the priests, to distribute ^(S)allotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small.

¹⁶Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the Lord his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division, ¹⁷and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites ^(T)from twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions, ¹⁸and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company of them—for in their faithfulness they ^[f]sanctified themselves in holiness.

¹⁹Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in ^(U)the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were ^(V)designated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites.

²⁰Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he ^(W)did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. ²¹And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he ^(X)prospered.

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