Chronological

18 In the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah, king of Israel, reigned Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah. (In the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah, the king of Israel, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, the king of Judah, began to reign.)

² He was of five and twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem nine and twenty years; the name of his mother was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah^[a].

³ And he did that, that was good before the Lord, by all things that David, his father, had done.

⁴ And he destroyed [the] high places, and all-brake [the] images, and cut down [the maumet] woods, and he brake the brazen serpent, whom Moses had made; for unto that time the sons of Israel burnt incense to it; and he called the name of it Nehushtan. (And he destroyed the hill shrines, and broke up all the images, or all the idols, and cut down the idol groves, or the sacred poles, and broke apart the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for unto that time the sons of Israel had burned incense to it; and they called it Nehushtan.)

⁵ And he hoped in the Lord God of Israel; therefore after him none was like him of all the kings of Judah, but neither also in the kings that were before him. (And he hoped in the Lord God of Israel; and after him there was no one like him out of all the kings of Judah, but also not any of the kings who were before him were like him.)

⁶ And he cleaved to the Lord, and went not away from his steps, and he did the commandments of the Lord, which the Lord commanded to Moses;

⁷ wherefore and the Lord was with him, and he governed wisely himself in all things, to which he went forth. Also he rebelled against the king of Assyrians, and therefore he served not to him; (wherefore the Lord was with him, and he wisely governed himself in all the things, to which he went forth. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and he served him not;)

⁸ and he smote [the] Philistines till to Gaza, and all the terms of them, from the tower of the keepers unto a city made strong.

29 And Hezekiah began to reign, when he was of five and twenty years, and he reigned in Jerusalem nine and twenty years (And Hezekiah began to reign, when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years); the name of his mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

² And Hezekiah did that, that was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, by all things that David, his father, had done. (And Hezekiah did what was pleasing before the Lord, by all the things that his forefather David had done.)

³ In that year, and in the first month of his realm, he opened the gates of the house of the Lord, and restored, or repaired, those gates;

⁴ and he brought (in) the priests, and deacons (and the Levites), and he gathered them together into the east street,

⁵ and said to them, Sons of Levi, hear ye me, and be ye hallowed; cleanse ye the house of the Lord God of your fathers; and do ye away all uncleanness from the saintuary. (and said to them, Sons of Levi/Levites, listen ye to me, and be ye consecrated, or purified, now; and cleanse ye the House of the Lord God of your fathers; and do ye away all uncleanness from the sanctuary.)

⁶ Our fathers have sinned, and done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and forsook him; they turned away their faces from the tabernacle of the Lord our God, and gave their back (and they turned their backs on him).

⁷ They closed the doors that were in the porch (They closed the doors of the vestibule), and quenched the lanterns; and they burnt not incense, and they offered not burnt sacrifices in the saintuary of (the) God of Israel.

⁸ Therefore the strong vengeance of the Lord was raised upon Judah and Jerusalem; and he gave them into stirring/into moving, or unstableness, and into perishing, and into hissing, either scorning, as ye see with your eyes.

⁹ Lo! our fathers have fallen down by swords; our sons, and our daughters, and our wives be led (away as) prisoners for this great trespass.

¹⁰ Now therefore it pleaseth me, that we make a bond of peace with the Lord God of Israel, and that he turn from us the strong vengeance of his wrath. (And so now it pleaseth me, that we make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he turn away the strong vengeance of his anger from us.)

¹¹ My sons, do not ye herein be reckless; the Lord hath chosen you, that ye stand before him, and serve him, that ye praise him, and burn incense to him.

¹² Therefore the deacons rose up (And so the Levites rose up), Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah, of the sons of Kohath; and of the sons of Merari, Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehalelel; and of the sons of Gershon, Joah, the son of Zimmah, and Eden, the son of Joah;

¹³ and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri, and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah, and Mattaniah;

¹⁴ also of the sons of Heman, Jehiel, and Shimei; but also of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah, and Uzziel. (and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel, and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah, and Uzziel.)

¹⁵ And they gathered together their brethren, and they were hallowed (And they gathered their kinsmen together, and they were consecrated, or were purified); and (then) they entered by the commandment of the king, and by [the] commandment of the Lord, for to cleanse the house of the Lord.

¹⁶ Also [the] priests entered into the temple of the Lord, for to hallow it, and they bare out all the uncleanness, that they found therein in(to) the porch, either large place, of the house of the Lord; which uncleanness the deacons took, and they bare it out to the strand of Kidron withoutforth. (And the priests entered into the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the unclean things, that they found there, into the courtyard of the House of the Lord; and then the Levites took away these unclean things, and they carried them to the Kidron Stream/to the Kidron Gorge.)

¹⁷ Soothly they began to cleanse in the first day of the first month, and in the eighth day of the same month they entered into the porch of the house of the Lord, and they cleansed the temple eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the same month they [ful]filled that, that they had begun. (And they began to cleanse it on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the same month they reached the vestibule of the House of the Lord, and then they cleansed the Temple for eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the same month, they finished what they had begun.)

¹⁸ And they entered to Hezekiah, the king, and said to him, We have hallowed, or cleansed, all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt sacrifice thereof, and the vessels thereof, also and the board of setting forth with all his vessels, (And they came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, We have cleansed all the House of the Lord, and also the table for the loaves of proposition, or the loaves of setting forth, with all its vessels,)

¹⁹ and all the purtenance of the temple, that king Ahaz had defouled in his realm (that King Ahaz had defiled during his reign), after that he brake the law; and lo! all things be set forth before the altar of the Lord.

²⁰ And Hezekiah, the king, rose up in the morrowtide, and he gathered together all the princes of the city, and he went up into the house of the Lord; (And King Hezekiah rose up in the morning, and he gathered together all the leaders of the city, and he went to the House of the Lord;)

²¹ and they offered together seven bulls, and seven rams, seven lambs, and seven bucks of goats, for [the] sin, for the realm, for the saintuary, and for Judah (and they offered seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven goat bucks as a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah). And he said to [the] priests, the sons of Aaron, that they should offer sacrifices on the altar of the Lord.

²² Therefore they killed (the) bulls, and the priests took the blood, and poured it upon the altar; also they killed (the) rams, and they poured the blood of those upon the altar; and they (also) offered (the) lambs, and they poured the blood upon the altar.

²³ And they brought [the] bucks of goats for (the) sin (offering) before the king and all the multitude, and they setted their hands on those (and they put their hands on them);

²⁴ and the priests offered them, and they sprinkled the blood of them before the altar, for the cleansing of all Israel. For the king commanded, that burnt sacrifice should be made for all Israel, and for (the) sin thereof. (and the priests offered them, and they sprinkled their blood on the altar, for the cleansing of all Israel. For the king commanded, that the burnt sacrifice, and the sin offering, should be made for all Israel.)

²⁵ Also he ordained deacons in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps (And he ordained Levites in the House of the Lord, with cymbals, and lutes, and harps), by the ordinance of David the king, and of Gad, the prophet, and of Nathan, the prophet; for it was the commandment of the Lord by the hand of his prophets.

²⁶ And the deacons stood, and held the organs of David; and priests held [the] trumps. (And the Levites stood ready with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.)

²⁷ And Hezekiah commanded, that they should offer burnt sacrifices upon the altar; and when burnt sacrifices were offered, they began to sing praisings to the Lord, and to sound with trumps, and with diverse organs, which David, king of Israel, had made ready to sound with. (And Hezekiah commanded, that they should offer burnt sacrifices upon the altar; and when the burnt sacrifices were offered, they began to sing praises to the Lord, and to sound with the trumpets, and the other instruments, which David, the king of Israel, had made to sound with.)

²⁸ Forsooth when all the company worshipped/And when all the company worshipped the Lord, [the] singers and they that held trumps were in their office, till the burnt sacrifice was filled (the singers sang, and those who had the trumpets blew them, until the burnt sacrifice was finished).

²⁹ And when the offering was ended, the king was bowed down, and all that were with him (the king bowed down, and all who were with him), and they worshipped God.

³⁰ And Hezekiah and the princes commanded to the deacons, that they should praise the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph, the prophet; which praised him with great gladness, and kneeled, and worshipped. (And Hezekiah and his leaders commanded to the Levites, that they should praise the Lord with the words of David, and with those of the prophet Asaph; and so they praised him with great gladness, and kneeled, and worshipped.)

³¹ Soothly Hezekiah added also these things, (and said,) Ye have filled your hands with blessings to the Lord; nigh ye, and offer sacrifices and praisings in the house of the Lord. Therefore all the multitude offered with devout soul sacrifices, and praisings, and burnt sacrifices. (And Hezekiah added these things, and said, Ye have consecrated yourselves to the Lord; now come ye, and offer sacrifices and praises in the House of the Lord. And so with devout soul, all the multitude offered sacrifices, and praises, and burnt sacrifices.)

³² And this was the number of burnt sacrifices, which the multitude offered; seventy bulls, and an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs.

³³ Also they hallowed to the Lord six hundred oxen, and three thousand sheep.

³⁴ And the priests were few, and they might not suffice for to draw, or flay off, the skins of [the] burnt sacrifices; wherefore and the deacons their brethren helped them, till the work was [ful]filled, and the priests were hallowed; for the deacons be hallowed by lighter custom than the priests. (And the priests were too few, to be able to draw away, or to flay off, all the skins of the burnt sacrifices; and so their kinsmen the Levites helped them, until the work was finished, and the other priests had consecrated themselves; for more of the Levites had kept themselves purified than had the priests.)

³⁵ Therefore there were full many burnt sacrifices, and inner fatness of peaceable sacrifices, and the moist sacrifices of burnt sacrifices, and thereby the worship of the house of the Lord was (ful)filled. (And so there were a great many burnt sacrifices, as well as the inner fatness of the peace offerings, and the wine sacrifices for all the burnt sacrifices, and by this the service of the House of the Lord was restored.)

³⁶ And Hezekiah was glad, and all the people, for the service of the Lord was fulfilled; for it pleased (them all), that this was done suddenly. (And Hezekiah and all the people were glad, that the service of the House of the Lord had begun again, or was restored; and it pleased them all, that it had all been done so quickly.)

30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and to Judah, and he wrote epistles to Ephraim and to Manasseh, that they should come into the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and make pask to the Lord God of Israel. (And Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and to Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and to Manasseh, that they should come to the House of the Lord in Jerusalem, and keep the Passover of the Lord God of Israel.)

² Therefore when counsel was taken of the king, and of [the] princes, and of all the company of Jerusalem, they deemed, or purposed, to make pask in the second month. (And so when the king, and the leaders, and all the company of Jerusalem, had taken counsel together, they decided to keep the Passover in the second month.)

³ For they deemed not to be able to do this in his time, that is, the first month (For they deemed that they could not do it at that time, that is, in the first month); for the priests which might suffice thereto were not yet hallowed, and the people was not yet gathered into Jerusalem.

⁴ And the word pleased the king, and all the multitude. (And this decision pleased the king, and all the multitude.)

⁵ And they deemed to send messengers into all Israel, from Beersheba unto Dan, that they should come, and make (the) pask to the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem; for (so) many men had not done it, as it is before-written in the law (for so many had not kept it before, as it was described in the Law).

⁶ And couriers went forth with epistles, by [the] commandment of the king and of his princes, into all Israel and Judah, and preached by that, that the king had commanded, (and said,) Sons of Israel, turn ye again to the Lord God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel; and he shall turn again to the remnant of men, that escaped the hands of the king(s) of Assyrians. (And couriers went forth with the letters, by the command of the king and of his leaders, into all Israel and Judah, and preached what the king had commanded, and said, Israelites, return ye to the Lord God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; and he shall return to the remnant of people, who escaped from the hands, or from the power, of the kings of Assyria.)

⁷ Do not ye be made as your fathers and your brethren, which went away from the Lord God of their fathers; and he gave them into perishing, as ye see. (Do not ye be made like your fathers and your kinsmen, who went away from the Lord God of their fathers; and he gave them into perishing, as ye see.)

⁸ Do not ye make hard your nolls, as your fathers did (Do not ye be stiff-necked, or stubborn, like your fathers); give ye your hands to the Lord in promising that ye shall serve him faithfully, and come ye to his saintuary, which he hath hallowed (into) without end; serve ye the Lord God of your fathers, and the wrath of his strong vengeance shall turn away from you.

⁹ For if ye turn again to the Lord, your brethren and your sons shall have mercy before their lords that led them prisoners; and they shall turn again into this land (For if ye return to the Lord, your kinsmen and your children shall have mercy before their lords who led them away as prisoners; and they shall return to this land). For the Lord our God is pious, either benign, and merciful; and he will not turn away his face from you, if ye turn again to him.

¹⁰ Therefore the couriers went swiftly from city into city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh unto Zebulun, while they scorned and bemocked them (but the people of those territories scorned and mocked them).

¹¹ Nevertheless some men of Asher, and of Manasseh, and of Zebulun, assented to the counsel, and came into Jerusalem.

¹² Forsooth the hand of the Lord was made in Judah, that he gave to them one heart, and that they did the word of the Lord, by the commandment of the king and of the princes. (But the hand of the Lord was made in Judah, so that he gave them one heart, and that they did the word of the Lord, by the command of the king and his leaders.)

¹³ And many peoples were gathered into Jerusalem, for to make the solemnity of therf loaves in the second month. (And many people gathered in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month.)

¹⁴ And they rose, and destroyed the altars, that were in Jerusalem; and they destroying all things in which incense was burnt to idols, casted forth into the strand of Kidron. (And they rose up, and destroyed the altars, that were in Jerusalem; and to destroy all the things in which incense was burned to idols, they threw them forth into the Kidron Stream/into the Kidron Gorge.)

¹⁵ And they offered pask in the fourteenth day of the second month; also the priests and the deacons were hallowed at the last, and (then they) offered burnt sacrifices in the house of the Lord. (And they offered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month; and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, for they were not ritually clean, and so at last they consecrated themselves, and then they offered the burnt sacrifices in the House of the Lord.)

¹⁶ And they stood in their order, by the ordinance and law of Moses, the man of God. Soothly the priests took of the hands of deacons the blood to be shed out (And the priests took the blood to be shed out from the hands of the Levites),

¹⁷ for much (of the) company was not hallowed; and therefore the deacons offered pask for them, that might not be hallowed to the Lord. (for many of the people were not yet purified, and so the Levites sacrificed, or killed, the Passover lambs for those who had not yet been consecrated to the Lord.)

¹⁸ Also a great part of the people of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, and of Issachar, and of Zebulun, that was not hallowed, ate (the) pask not by that that is written. And Hezekiah prayed for them, and said, The good Lord shall do mercy to all men, (And a great part of the people of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, and of Issachar, and of Zebulun, who were not purified, ate the Passover not by what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, and said, The good Lord shall do mercy to all,)

¹⁹ which seek in all their heart the Lord God of their fathers (who seek in all their hearts the Lord God of their fathers); and it shall not be areckoned to them into sin, that they be not hallowed by (the) offering of gifts.

²⁰ And the Lord heard him, and was pleased to the people. (And the Lord heard him, and healed the people/and forgave the people.)

²¹ And the sons of Israel, that were found in Jerusalem, made the solemnity of therf loaves seven days in great gladness, and they praised the Lord by each day; and the deacons and [the] priests praised the Lord by organs, which accorded to their office. (And the Israelites, who were found in Jerusalem, kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great gladness, and they praised the Lord each day; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord with mighty instruments.)

²² And Hezekiah spake to the heart of all the deacons, that had good understanding of the Lord; and they ate by (the) seven days of the solemnity, offering sacrifices of peaceable things, and praising the Lord God of their fathers. (And Hezekiah spoke to the hearts of all the Levites, who had a good understanding of the Lord; and they ate throughout the seven days of the Feast, offering the peace offerings, and praising the Lord God of their fathers.)

²³ And it pleased all the multitude to hallow also other seven days; which thing also they did with great joy. (And it pleased all the multitude to also dedicate another seven days; and so they did that with great joy.)

²⁴ Forsooth Hezekiah, king of Judah, gave to the multitude a thousand bulls, and seven thousand of sheep; and the princes gave to the people a thousand bulls, and ten thousand sheep (and the leaders gave the people a thousand bulls, and ten thousand sheep). Therefore a full great multitude of priests was hallowed^[a];

²⁵ and all the company of Judah was filled with gladness, as well of priests and deacons, as of all the multitude that came from Israel, and of [the] converts of the land of Israel, and of [the] dwellers in Judah. (and all the congregation of Judah was filled with gladness, that is, the priests and the Levites, and all the multitude who came from Israel, and the converts in the land of Israel, and the inhabitants of Judah.)

²⁶ And great solemnity was made in Jerusalem (And there was great joy in Jerusalem), what manner was not in that city from the days of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.

²⁷ And [the] priests and deacons rose up, and blessed the people; and the voice of them was heard, and their prayer came into the holy dwelling place of heaven. (And the priests and the Levites rose up, and blessed the people; and their voices were heard, and their prayers came unto the holy dwelling place of heaven.)

31 And when these things were done rightfully, all Israel went out, that was found in the cities of Judah; and they brake [the] simulacra, and cutted down (the) [maumet] woods, and wasted [the] high places, and destroyed [the] altars, not only of all Judah and Benjamin, but also of Ephraim and Manasseh, till that they had destroyed those altars/their idols utterly. And then all the sons of Israel turned again into their possessions and cities. (And when all these things were finished, all Israel went out, who were found in the cities of Judah; and they broke up the idols, and cut down the idol groves, or the sacred poles, and wasted the hill shrines, and destroyed the altars, not only of all Judah and Benjamin, but also of Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed those altars/their idols. And then all the Israelites returned to their possessions, or their own property, in their cities.)

² And Hezekiah ordained companies of priests and deacons by their partings, each man in his own office, that is, as well of priests as of deacons, to burnt sacrifices and peaceable sacrifices, that they should minister, and acknowledge, and sing in the gates of the castles of the Lord. (And Hezekiah ordained companies of the priests and the Levites, by their divisions, and each man according to his duty, that is, the priests as well as the Levites, for the offering of the burnt sacrifices and the peace offerings, to serve, or to give thanks, or to sing in the Temple of the Lord.)

³ And the part of the king’s sacrifice was, that of his own substance, or chattel, burnt sacrifice should be offered evermore in the morrowtide and in the eventide, also in sabbaths, and calends, and in other solemnities, as it is written in the law of Moses. (And the king’s portion of the sacrifice, out of his own substance, or chattel, provided the burnt sacrifice that was offered every morning and every evening, and also on the sabbaths, and the calends, and the other Feasts, as it is written in the Law of Moses.)

⁴ Also he commanded to the people of them that dwelled in Jerusalem, to give parts to the priests and deacons, that they might give attention to the law of the Lord. (And he commanded to the people who lived in Jerusalem, to give portions to the priests and the Levites, so that they would be able to devote their full attention to the Law of the Lord.)

⁵ And when this was known in the ears of the multitude, the sons of Israel offered full many first fruits of wheat, of wine, of oil, and of honey; and of all things which the earth bringeth forth, they offered tithes. (And when this was heard by the multitude, the Israelites offered a great many first fruits of wheat, of wine, of oil, and of honey; and they offered tithes of all the things which the earth brought forth.)

⁶ But also the sons of Israel and of Judah, that dwelled in the cities of Judah, offered tithes of oxen, and of sheep, and the tithes of holy things, which they avowed to their Lord God, and they brought all things, and made full many heaps. (And the Israelites and the people of Judah, who lived in the cities of Judah, offered their tithes of oxen, and of sheep, and of the holy things which they vowed to the Lord their God, and they brought all these things to the Temple, and made a large number of heaps.)

⁷ In the third month they began to lay the foundaments of the heaps, and in the seventh month they filled, or ended (or completed), those heaps.

⁸ And when Hezekiah and his princes had entered (And when Hezekiah and his officials came), they saw the heaps, and they blessed the Lord, and the people of Israel.

⁹ And Hezekiah asked the priests and deacons why the heaps lay so.

¹⁰ And Azariah, the first, or chief, priest of the generation of Zadok (And the High Priest Azariah, a descendant of Zadok), answered to him and said, Since the first fruits began to be offered in the house of the Lord, we have eaten of those fruits, and been fulfilled, and full many things be left; for the Lord hath blessed his people; and this plenty, which thou seest, is of the remnants.

¹¹ Therefore Hezekiah commanded, that they should make ready barns in the house of the Lord; and when they had done this thing, (And so Hezekiah commanded, that they should prepare storerooms in the House of the Lord; and when they had done this thing,)

¹² they brought in faithfully both the first fruits, and (the) tithes, and whatever things they had avowed. And Conaniah, the deacon, was [the] sovereign of those things (And Conaniah, the Levite, was the ruler, or the overseer, of those things); and Shimei, his brother was the second, next (to) him;

¹³ after whom Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were sovereigns under the hands, or powers, of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and of Azariah, the bishop of the house of the Lord (by the command of King Hezekiah, and of Azariah, the High Priest of the House of the Lord), to whom all things pertained.

¹⁴ But Kore, the son of Imnah, deacon, and porter of the east gate, was sovereign of those things that were offered by free will to the Lord, and of the first fruits, and of [the] things hallowed into the holy things of the number of holy things; (And Kore, the son of Imnah, the Levite, and the guard, or the doorkeeper, at the East Gate, was in charge of the things that were offered by free will to the Lord, and of the first fruits, and of the things dedicated for the holiest of holy things;)

¹⁵ and under his care, (or his charge,) were Eden, and Miniamin, Jeshua, and Shemaiah, and Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of (the) priests, that they should part faithfully to their brethren the parts, to the less and to the greater (who should faithfully distribute the portions to their kinsmen, to the greater and the lesser alike),

¹⁶ besides males from three years and above, these things to all that entered into the temple of the Lord, and whatever thing by each day was hired in the service and observances, by their partings. (yea, to males three years of age and older, these things were distributed to all who entered into the Temple of the Lord each day, for their part in the service and observances, by their divisions.)

¹⁷ To (the) priests by their families, and to deacons from twenty years and above (and to the Levites from twenty years of age and older), by their orders and companies,

¹⁸ and to all the multitude, that is, both to the wives, and the free children of them of ever either kind, meats, (or foods,) were given faithfully of these things that were hallowed. (and to all their multitude, that is, to their wives, and their sons and their daughters, for they were required to perform their sacred duties at any time.)

¹⁹ But also men of the sons of Aaron were ordained, by the fields and by suburbs of all the cities, which men should deal parts to all the male kind of priests, and deacons. (And men of the sons of Aaron were ordained, who were in the fields of the suburbs of all their cities, to distribute portions to all the priests, and the Levites.)

²⁰ Therefore Hezekiah did all these things, which we have said, in all Judah, and he wrought that, that was rightful and good and true before the Lord his God,

²¹ in all the religion of the service of the house of the Lord, by the law and by the ceremonies; and he would seek his Lord God in all his heart, and he did so, and had prosperity. (in all the work of the service of the House of the Lord, and by the Law and the commandments/and by the Law and the statutes; for he sought the Lord his God with all his heart, yea, he did so, and he prospered.)

48 The song of psalm, of the sons of Korah. The Lord is great, and worthy to be praised full much; in the city of our God, in the holy hill of him. (The song of the psalm, for the sons of Korah. The Lord is great, and worthy to be greatly praised; in the city of our God, on his holy hill.)

² It is founded in the full out joying of all earth; the hill of Zion, the sides of the north, the city of the great king. (Well-placed, it is the full out joy, or the rejoicing, of all the earth; Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.)

³ God shall be known in the houses thereof; when he shall take it. (And God is known as a refuge, or a stronghold, in its palaces.)

⁴ For lo! the kings of (the) earth were gathered together (against it); they came into one place.

⁵ They seeing, so wondered; they were troubled, they were moved (al)together, (But when they saw it, they wondered about it/they were full of wonder, or amazement; and they were troubled, and ran away,)

⁶ trembling took them. There sorrows, as of a woman travailing of child; (for panic, or trembling, took hold of them there. And sorrows, like when a woman laboureth with child;)

⁷ in a great spirit thou shalt all-break the ships of Tarshish. (or when a great east wind all-breaketh the ships from Tarshish.)

⁸ As we heard, so we saw, in the city of the Lord of virtues, in the city of our God; God hath founded that city [into] without end. (All that we had heard about, we saw with our own eyes, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; and God hath established that city forever.)

⁹ God, we have received thy mercy; in the midst of thy temple. (God, we think about thy love; in the midst of thy Temple.)

¹⁰ After thy name, God, so thy praising is spread abroad into the ends of earth; thy right hand is full of rightwiseness. (The praising of thy name, O God, is spread abroad unto the ends of the earth; thy right hand is full of righteousness.)

¹¹ The hill of Zion be glad, and the daughters of Judah be fully joyful; for thy dooms, Lord. (Let Mount Zion be glad, or rejoice, and let the daughters of Judah make full out joy; because of thy judgements, Lord.)

¹² Compass ye Zion, and embrace ye it; tell ye in the towers thereof. (March ye around Zion, ye people; and count ye up its towers.)

¹³ Set ye your hearts in the virtue of him; and part ye the houses of him, that ye tell out in another generation. (Put ye its strongholds, or its fortresses, in your hearts; and think ye about its palaces, so that ye can tell about it to the next generation.)

¹⁴ For this is God, our God, into without end, and into the world of world; he shall govern us into worlds. (For this God is our God, forever and ever; yea, he shall govern us forever.)