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3 Now it happened (A)in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of Yahweh saying, 4 “(B)Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may [a]count the money brought into the house of Yahweh which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. 5 (C)And let them give it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh, and let them give it to those who do the work, who are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the [b]damages of the house, 6 to the craftsmen and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house. 7 Only (D)no accounting shall be made with them for the money given into their hands, for they deal faithfully.”
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “(E)I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. 9 Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and responded to the king with a word and said, “Your servants have poured out the money that was found in the house and have given it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh.” 10 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
11 Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the book of the law, (F)he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, (G)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, [c](H)Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and the people and all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found, for (I)great is the wrath of Yahweh which is set aflame against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
Huldah Says Yahweh Is Bringing Evil
14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of [d](J)Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the (K)Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to me, 16 thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I (L)am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. 17 (M)Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath is set aflame against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ 18 But to (N)the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, 19 (O)because your heart was soft and (P)you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become (Q)an object of horror, and a (R)curse, and you have (S)torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh. 20 “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and (T)you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king.
Josiah Reads the Book of the Covenant
23 (U)Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And the king went up to the house of Yahweh and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and (V)he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant (W)which was found in the house of Yahweh. 3 (X)Then the king stood by the pillar and cut a covenant before Yahweh, (Y)to walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to establish the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people [e]entered into the covenant.
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and (Z)the priests of the second order and the [f]doorkeepers, (AA)to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, for [g]Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and (AB)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the (AC)host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and (AD)ground it to dust, and (AE)threw its dust on the graves of the [h]common people. 7 He also tore down the houses of the (AF)male cult prostitutes which were in the house of Yahweh, where (AG)the women were weaving [i]hangings for the Asherah. 8 Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from (AH)Geba to Beersheba; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. 9 Nevertheless (AI)the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 (AJ)He also defiled [j]Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, (AK)that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for (AL)Molech. 11 And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the (AM)sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 (AN)Also, the altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and (AO)the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, the king tore down; and he [k]crushed them there and (AP)threw their dust into the brook Kidron. 13 And the high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of (AQ)the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for (AR)Ashtoreth the detestable idol of the Sidonians, and for (AS)Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. 14 (AT)And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and (AU)filled their places with human bones.
15 Furthermore, (AV)the altar that was at Bethel and the (AW)high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he [l](AX)demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. 16 Then Josiah turned, and he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it (AY)according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. 17 Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “(AZ)It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they [m]left his bones undisturbed (BA)with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19 And also all the houses of the high places which were (BB)in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking [n]Yahweh to anger, Josiah removed; and he did to them [o]just as he had done in Bethel. 20 And all the priests of the high places who were there (BC)he [p]slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Celebrates the Passover
21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, “(BD)Celebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God (BE)as it is written in this book of the covenant.” 22 (BF)For such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to Yahweh in Jerusalem.
24 Moreover, (BG)the mediums and the spiritists and the (BH)teraphim and (BI)the idols and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah purged in order (BJ)that he might [q]establish the words of the law which were written (BK)in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. 25 And before him there was no king (BL)like him who turned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.
26 However, Yahweh did not turn from His great burning anger, His anger which burned against Judah, (BM)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him to anger. 27 And Yahweh said, “I will remove Judah also from My presence, (BN)as I have removed Israel. And (BO)I will reject Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the [r]house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”
Jehoahaz Reigns Over Judah
28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 (BP)In his days (BQ)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he put him to death at (BR)Megiddo. 30 (BS)And his servants drove [s]his body in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. (BT)Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.
Paul’s Defense Before the Jews
37 As Paul was about to be brought into (A)the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Then you are not (B)the Egyptian who some [a]time ago raised a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out (C)into the wilderness?” 39 But Paul said, “(D)I am a Jew of Tarsus in (E)Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on (F)the stairs, (G)motioned to the people with his hand; and when there [b]was a great hush, he spoke to them in the (H)Hebrew language, saying,
22 “(I)Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the (J)Hebrew language, they became even quieter; and he *said,
3 “(K)I am (L)a Jew, born in (M)Tarsus of (N)Cilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of (O)Gamaliel according to the (P)strictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as (Q)you all are today, 4 (R)I persecuted this (S)Way to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons, 5 as also (T)the high priest and all (U)the Council of the elders [c]can testify. From them I also (V)received letters to (W)the brothers, and started off for (X)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem [d]as prisoners to be punished.
6 “(Y)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, 7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am (Z)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me (AA)beheld the light, to be sure, but (AB)did not [e]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘(AC)What should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do.’ 11 But since I (AD)could not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 “Now a certain (AE)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and (AF)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing near, said to me, ‘(AG)Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And [f](AH)at that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘(AI)The God of our fathers has (AJ)appointed you to know His will and to (AK)see the (AL)Righteous One and to hear a [g]voice from His mouth. 15 For you will be (AM)a witness for Him to all men of (AN)what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? (AO)Rise up and be baptized, and (AP)wash away your sins, (AQ)calling on His name.’
BOOK 1
The Way of the Righteous and Wicked
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the (C)way of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of [a]Yahweh,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 And he will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
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