Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 132
A song for those journeying to worship.
1 Eternal One, don’t let the suffering of our father David be forgotten—
for his sake, remember!
2 Remember the pledge he made, how he poured out his heart to the Eternal,
the promise he made to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 He said, “I will not go inside my house
or lie down in my bed;
4 I will not even rest my eyes—
I will not take comfort in sleep—
5 Until I find a dwelling place for You, the Eternal,
a holy residence dedicated to the Mighty One of Jacob.”
7 Let us journey to His dwelling place;
let us worship at His footstool.
8 Eternal One, arise and go to Your new home—
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let every priest join the march wearing righteousness,
and let songs of joy erupt from the hearts and mouths of Your godly ones.
10 For the well-being of Your anointed servant,
do not turn Your back on David.
11 The Eternal made His own promise, sworn in truth to David,
an oath which He cannot, will not break:
“I will continue your dynasty, David;
one of your descendants will sit on your throne.
12 If your children obey My covenant
and follow the statutes which I shall teach them,
And if they remain faithful, their children will also
sit upon your throne—forever.”
13 For the Eternal selected Zion;
He desired it as His holy place of residence.
14 “This is My sanctuary, My resting place, forever and ever;
I will remain here, for this is what I have desired.
15 I will bless Zion with an endless supply of all she needs;
I will satisfy the bellies of her hungry with bread.
16 I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and songs of joy will erupt from the hearts and mouths of her godly people.
17 “From there I will make the strength of David’s kingdom grow
and prepare a lamp for My anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with a garment of shame;
but as for David’s son, his crown will shine brightly like the sun.”
23 The king ordered an assembly of all of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s elders. 2 He then went to the Eternal’s temple with all the citizens of Jerusalem and the men of Judah, as well as the priests and prophets and people of all statuses, and he read to them everything in the covenant book that was discovered in the Eternal’s house.
3 While standing next to the sacred pillar, the king proclaimed a covenant before the Eternal One. He promised to follow the Eternal, to obey His commands and laws and testaments with all his being. He promised to honor every word of the covenant book that had been discovered in the temple. Everyone who was present entered into the covenant with the king.
4 The king gave a command to the high priest, Hilkiah, and to the priests of the second order, as well as the doormen. He told them to remove from the Eternal’s house all the vessels that were crafted to honor Baal, Asherah, and all the other gods of the skies. He set them on fire in the fields of Kidron outside of Jerusalem, and then he transported the ashes to Bethel.
5 He got rid of the corrupted priests who worshiped false gods and whom the old kings of Judah had instructed to burn incense in the high places in Judah’s cities and in the land all around Jerusalem, and those who honored Baal and the sun and moon and stars and all the gods of the skies by burning incense.
6 The king removed the sacred pole from the Eternal’s temple, and he set it on fire at the Kidron brook just outside Jerusalem. He crushed it until it was nothing more than a pile of dust, and then he tossed the dust onto ordinary graves, further contaminating it by contact with dead bodies. 7 He destroyed the houses of cult prostitutes next to the house of the Eternal, where women were weaving hangings for the sacred pole. 8 He assembled in Jerusalem all of Judah’s priests and destroyed the high places from Geba to Beersheba where they had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates located on the left side of the city gates near the gate of Joshua, who was governor of Jerusalem.
9 The corrupted priests of the high places did not approach the Eternal’s altar in Jerusalem, but they filled their bellies with unleavened bread in the company of their families, since they would not travel to Jerusalem to perform their religious duties.
10 The king destroyed Topheth as well. Topheth is in the valley of Hinnom’s son. He did this so that no man could offer his children as a burnt sacrifice to Molech.
11 Close to the entrance to the Eternal’s house, near the official Nathan-melech’s chamber in the area around the temple, were horses that Judah’s kings had dedicated to the sun. The king removed the horses and set fire to the chariots of the sun as well.
12 The king also tore down the roof altars, Ahaz’s upper room which was crafted by Judah’s kings, and the altars crafted by Manasseh for the two courts in the Eternal’s house. He crushed them into piles of dust, and then he tossed the dust into the Kidron brook. 13 The king also destroyed the high places south of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon (Israel’s king) constructed east of Jerusalem to honor Ashtoreth, the corrupt Sidonian goddess; Chemosh, the corrupt Moabite god; and Milcom, the corrupt Ammonite god. 14 He shattered the sacred pillars and chopped down the sacred poles. In their place, he desecrated their sites by contact with corpses.
31 If someone comes from heaven above, he ranks above it all and speaks of heavenly things. If someone comes from earth, he speaks of earthly things. The One from the heavens is superior; He is over all. 32 He reveals the mysteries seen and realities heard of the heavens above, but no one below is listening. 33 Those who are listening and accept His witness to these truths have gone on record. They acknowledge the fact that God is true! 34 The One sent from God speaks with the very words of God and abounds with the very Spirit and essence of God. 35 The Father loves the Son and withholds nothing from Him. 36 Those who believe in the Son will bask in eternal life, but those who disobey the Son will never experience life. They will know only God’s lingering wrath.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.