^8 (A)She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand ^(B)for burial.

¹² For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable ^(A)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it^[a] for the day of my burial.

Encouragement to Give Generously

8 We want you to know, brothers,^[a] about the grace of God that has been ^(A)given among the churches of Macedonia, ² for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and ^(B)their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For they gave ^(C)according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,

³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other ^(A)who had been crucified with him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out ^(B)blood and water. ^35 (C)He who saw it has borne witness—^(D)his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—^(E)that you also may believe. ^36 (F)For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ^(G)“Not one of his bones ^(H)will be broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, ^(I)“They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Jesus Is Buried

^38 (J)After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly ^(K)for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. ^39 (L)Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus^[a] by night, came ^(M)bringing a mixture of ^(N)myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds^[b] in weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and ^(O)bound it in ^(P)linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a ^(Q)garden, and ^(R)in the garden a new tomb ^(S)in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² So because of the Jewish ^(T)day of Preparation, ^(U)since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

⁵³ Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and ^(A)laid him in a tomb cut in stone, ^(B)where no one had ever yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was the day of ^(C)Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.^{[a] 55 (D)}The women ^(E)who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(F)prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested ^(G)according to the commandment.

The Resurrection

24 ^(H)But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, ^(I)taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found ^(J)the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus Is Buried

^42 (A)And when evening had come, since it was ^(B)the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, ^(C)a respected member of the council, who ^(D)was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.^[a] And summoning ^(E)the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. ⁴⁵ And when he learned from ^(F)the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. ⁴⁶ And Joseph^[b] bought ^(G)a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and ^(H)laid him in a tomb ^(I)that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled ^(J)a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ^47 (K)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

The Resurrection

16 ^(L)(M)When the Sabbath was past, ^(N)Mary Magdalene, ^(O)Mary the mother of James, and ^(P)Salome ^(Q)bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.

¹⁹ And when the king heard the words of the Law, ^(A)he tore his clothes. ²⁰ And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, ²¹ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is ^(B)the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Huldah Prophesies Disaster

²² So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent^[a] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. ²³ And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. ²⁵ Because they have forsaken me and ^(C)have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore ^(D)my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. ²⁶ But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, ²⁷ because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁸ Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.

^29 (E)Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. ³¹ And the king ^(F)stood in his place ^(G)and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³² Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ And Josiah took away ^(H)all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.

²⁰ Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, ^(A)and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. ²¹ And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.