Eliphaz Speaks: Job's Wickedness Is Great

22 Then (A)Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

(B)“Can a man be profitable to God?
    Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right,
    or is it gain to him if you (C)make your ways blameless?
Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you
    and (D)enters into judgment with you?
Is not your evil abundant?
    There is no end to your iniquities.
For you have (E)exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
    (F)and stripped the naked of their clothing.
You have given no water to the weary to drink,
    and you have (G)withheld bread from the hungry.
(H)The man with power possessed the land,
    and (I)the favored man lived in it.
You have (J)sent widows away empty,
    and (K)the arms of (L)the fatherless were crushed.
10 Therefore (M)snares are all around you,
    and sudden terror overwhelms you,
11 or (N)darkness, so that you cannot see,
    and a (O)flood of (P)water covers you.

12 “Is not God high in the heavens?
    See (Q)the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 But you say, (R)‘What does God know?
    Can he judge through (S)the deep darkness?
14 (T)Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,
    and he walks on the vault of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
    that wicked men have trod?
16 They were snatched away (U)before their time;
    their foundation was washed away.[a]
17 They said to God, (V)‘Depart from us,’
    and (W)‘What can the Almighty do to us?’[b]
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
    but (X)the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 (Y)The righteous see it and are glad;
    the innocent one (Z)mocks at them,
20 saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
    and what they left (AA)the fire has consumed.’

21 (AB)“Agree with God, and (AC)be at peace;
    thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive instruction from (AD)his mouth,
    and (AE)lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you (AF)return to the Almighty you will be (AG)built up;
    if you (AH)remove injustice far from your tents,
24 if you lay gold in (AI)the dust,
    and gold of (AJ)Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold
    and your precious silver.
26 For then you (AK)will delight yourself in the Almighty
    and (AL)lift up your face to God.
27 You will (AM)make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will (AN)pay your vows.
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
    and (AO)light will shine on your ways.
29 For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’;[c]
    but he saves (AP)the lowly.
30 He (AQ)delivers even the one who is not innocent,
    who will be delivered through (AR)the cleanness of your hands.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 22:16 Or their foundation was poured out as a stream (or river)
  2. Job 22:17 Hebrew them
  3. Job 22:29 Or you say, ‘It is exaltation’

Deliver Me from My Enemies

To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. A (B)Miktam[a] of David, (C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

59 (D)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
    (E)protect me from those who (F)rise up against me;
deliver me from (G)those who work evil,
    and save me from (H)bloodthirsty men.

For behold, they (I)lie in wait for my life;
    fierce men (J)stir up strife against me.
(K)For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
    for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
(L)Awake, come to meet me, and see!
    You, (M)Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

Each evening they (N)come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
There they are, (O)bellowing with their mouths
    with (P)swords in their lips—
    for (Q)“Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”

But you, O Lord, (R)laugh at them;
    you hold all the nations in derision.
O my Strength, I will watch for you,
    for you, O God, are (S)my fortress.
10 (T)My God in his steadfast love[c] (U)will meet me;
    God will let me (V)look in triumph on my enemies.

11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totter[d] by your power and (W)bring them down,
    O Lord, our (X)shield!
12 For (Y)the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13     (Z)consume them in wrath;
    consume them till they are no more,
that they may (AA)know that God rules over Jacob
    to (AB)the ends of the earth. Selah

14 (AC)Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
15 They (AD)wander about for food
    and growl if they do not get their fill.

16 But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me (AE)a fortress
    and (AF)a refuge in (AG)the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, (AH)are my fortress,
    (AI)the God who shows me steadfast love.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 59:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 59:7 Hebrew lacks they think
  3. Psalm 59:10 Or The God who shows me steadfast love
  4. Psalm 59:11 Or wander

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

29 (A)Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah[a] the daughter of (B)Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he (C)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now (D)consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth[b] from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and (E)have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. They also (F)shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. Therefore (G)the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them (H)an object of horror, of astonishment, (I)and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For behold, (J)our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 Now (K)it is in my heart (L)to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, (M)for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

12 Then the Levites arose, (N)Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of (O)the Kohathites; and of the sons of (P)Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the (Q)Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and of the sons of (R)Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of (S)Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of (T)Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of (U)Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers and (V)consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, (W)by the words of the Lord, (X)to cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it and carried it out to (Y)the brook Kidron. 17 They began to consecrate (Z)on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils (AA)that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats (AB)for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood (AC)and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. 23 Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, (AD)and they laid their hands on them, 24 and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, (AE)to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

25 (AF)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, (AG)according to the commandment of David and of Gad (AH)the king's seer and of (AI)Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with (AJ)the instruments of David, (AK)and the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, (AL)the song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the offering was finished, (AM)the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, (AN)“You have now consecrated yourselves to[c] the Lord. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were (AO)of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, (AP)their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—(AQ)for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. 35 Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was (AR)the fat of the peace offerings, and there were (AS)the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. 36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 29:1 Spelled Abi in 2 Kings 18:2
  2. 2 Chronicles 29:5 Hebrew impurity
  3. 2 Chronicles 29:31 Hebrew filled your hand for

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