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3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these orders:[a] 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him melt down[b] the silver that has been brought by the people to the Lord’s temple and has been collected by the guards at the door. 5 Have them hand it over to the construction foremen[c] assigned to the Lord’s temple. They in turn should pay the temple workers to repair it,[d] 6 including craftsmen, builders, and masons, and should buy wood and chiseled stone for the repair work.[e] 7 Do not audit the foremen who disburse the silver, for they are honest.”[f]
8 Hilkiah the high priest informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the scroll of the law in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it. 9 Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported,[g] “Your servants melted down the silver in the temple[h] and handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king. 11 When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes. 12 The king ordered Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, 13 “Go, seek an oracle from[i] the Lord for me and the people—for all Judah. Find out about the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s great fury has been ignited against us, because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this scroll by doing all that it instructs us to do.”[j]
14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shullam son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the supervisor of the wardrobe.[k] (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh[l] district.) They stated their business,[m] 15 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me: 16 “This is what the Lord has said: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, all the things in the scroll that the king of Judah has read. 17 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices[n] to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made.[o] My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’” 18 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said concerning the words you have heard: 19 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit[p] and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people.[q] You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord. 20 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace.[r] You will not have to witness[s] all the disaster I will bring on this place.’”’” Then they reported back to the king.
The King Institutes Religious Reform
23 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.[t] 2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud[u] all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed[v] the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow[w] the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being,[x] by carrying out the terms[y] of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant.[z]
4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests,[aa] and the guards[ab] to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of[ac] Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky.[ad] The king[ae] burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces[af] of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 He eliminated[ag] the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices[ah] on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices[ai] to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.) 6 He removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it.[aj] He smashed it to dust and then threw the dust in the public graveyard.[ak] 7 He tore down the quarters[al] of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord’s temple, where women were weaving shrines[am] for Asherah.
8 He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined[an] the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba.[ao] He tore down the high place of the goat idols[ap] situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate. 9 (Now the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened cakes among their fellow priests.)[aq] 10 The king[ar] ruined Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that no one could pass his son or his daughter through the fire to Molech.[as] 11 He removed from the entrance to the Lord’s temple the statues of horses[at] that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.)[au] He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god.[av] 12 The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz’s upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He crushed them[aw] and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley. 13 The king ruined the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Destruction,[ax] that King Solomon of Israel had built for the detestable Sidonian goddess Astarte, the detestable Moabite god Chemosh, and the horrible Ammonite god Milcom. 14 He smashed the sacred pillars to bits, cut down the Asherah poles, and filled those shrines[ay] with human bones.
15 He also tore down the altar in Bethel at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin.[az] He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust, including the Asherah pole.[ba] 16 When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought;[bb] he burned them on the altar and defiled it, just as in the Lord’s message that was announced by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. Then the king turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this.[bc] 17 He asked, “What is this grave marker I see?” The men from the city replied, “It’s the grave of the prophet[bd] who came from Judah and foretold these very things you have done to the altar of Bethel.” 18 The king[be] said, “Leave it alone! No one must touch his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, as well as the bones of the Israelite prophet buried beside him.[bf]
19 Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the Lord.[bg] He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel.[bh] 20 He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
21 The king ordered all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God, as prescribed in this scroll of the covenant.” 22 He issued this edict because[bi] a Passover like this had not been observed since the days of the judges who led Israel; it was neglected for the entire period of the kings of Israel and Judah.[bj] 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, such a Passover of the Lord was observed in Jerusalem.
24 Josiah also got rid of[bk] the ritual pits used to conjure up spirits,[bl] the magicians, personal idols, disgusting images,[bm] and all the detestable idols that had appeared in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. In this way he carried out the terms of the law[bn] recorded on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s temple. 25 No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses.[bo]
26 Yet the Lord’s great anger against Judah did not subside; he was still infuriated by all the things Manasseh had done.[bp] 27 The Lord announced, “I will also spurn Judah,[bq] just as I spurned Israel. I will reject this city that I chose—both Jerusalem and the temple, about which I said, ‘I will live there.’[br]
28 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign and all his accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[bs] 29 During Josiah’s reign[bt] Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt marched toward[bu] the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to fight him, but Necho[bv] killed him at Megiddo when he saw him. 30 His servants transported his dead body[bw] from Megiddo in a chariot and brought it to Jerusalem, where they buried him in his tomb. The people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz, poured olive oil on his head,[bx] and made him king in his father’s place.
37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks,[a] he said[b] to the commanding officer,[c] “May I say[d] something to you?” The officer[e] replied,[f] “Do you know Greek?[g] 38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion[h] and led the 4,000 men of the ‘Assassins’[i] into the wilderness[j] some time ago?”[k] 39 Paul answered,[l] “I am a Jew[m] from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city.[n] Please[o] allow me to speak to the people.” 40 When the commanding officer[p] had given him permission,[q] Paul stood[r] on the steps and gestured[s] to the people with his hand. When they had become silent,[t] he addressed[u] them in Aramaic,[v]
Paul’s Defense
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense[w] that I now[x] make to you.” 2 (When they heard[y] that he was addressing[z] them in Aramaic,[aa] they became even[ab] quieter.)[ac] Then[ad] Paul said, 3 “I am a Jew,[ae] born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up[af] in this city, educated with strictness[ag] under[ah] Gamaliel[ai] according to the law of our ancestors,[aj] and was[ak] zealous[al] for God just as all of you are today. 4 I[am] persecuted this Way[an] even to the point of death,[ao] tying up[ap] both men and women and putting[aq] them in prison, 5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders[ar] can testify about me. From them[as] I also received[at] letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way[au] to make arrests there and bring[av] the prisoners[aw] to Jerusalem[ax] to be punished. 6 As[ay] I was en route and near Damascus,[az] about noon a very bright[ba] light from heaven[bb] suddenly flashed[bc] around me. 7 Then I[bd] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand[be] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 So I asked,[bf] ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up[bg] and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything[bh] that you have been designated[bi] to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of[bj] the brilliance[bk] of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of[bl] those who were with me. 12 A man named Ananias,[bm] a devout man according to the law,[bn] well spoken of by all the Jews who live there,[bo] 13 came[bp] to me and stood beside me[bq] and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’[br] And at that very moment[bs] I looked up and saw him.[bt] 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors[bu] has already chosen[bv] you to know his will, to see[bw] the Righteous One,[bx] and to hear a command[by] from his mouth, 15 because you will be his witness[bz] to all people[ca] of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for?[cb] Get up,[cc] be baptized, and have your sins washed away,[cd] calling on his name.’[ce]
Book 1 (Psalms 1-41)
Psalm 1[a]
1 How blessed[b] is the one[c] who does not follow[d] the advice[e] of the wicked,[f]
or stand in the pathway[g] with sinners,
or sit in the assembly[h] of scoffers.[i]
2 Instead[j] he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands;[k]
he meditates on[l] his commands[m] day and night.
3 He is like[n] a tree planted by flowing streams;[o]
it[p] yields[q] its fruit at the proper time,[r]
and its leaves never fall off.[s]
He succeeds in everything he attempts.[t]
4 Not so with the wicked!
Instead[u] they are like wind-driven chaff.[v]
5 For this reason[w] the wicked cannot withstand[x] judgment,[y]
nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly.[z]
6 Certainly[aa] the Lord guards the way of the godly,[ab]
but the way of the wicked ends in destruction.[ac]
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