The Daily Audio Bible
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30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, to hold the passover to Jehovah the God of Israel.
2 And the king took counsel, and his princes, and the whole congregation in Jerusalem, to hold the passover in the second month.
3 For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not hallowed themselves in sufficient number, neither had the people been gathered together to Jerusalem.
4 And the thing pleased the king and the whole congregation.
5 So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to hold the passover to Jehovah the God of Israel, at Jerusalem; because they had not held it for a long time as it was written.
6 And the couriers went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, return to Jehovah the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.
7 And be not like your fathers and like your brethren, who transgressed against Jehovah the God of their fathers, so that he gave them up to desolation, as ye see.
8 Now, harden not your necks, as your fathers; yield yourselves to Jehovah, and come to his sanctuary, which he has sanctified for ever; and serve Jehovah your God, that the fierceness of his anger may turn away from you.
9 For if ye return to Jehovah, your brethren and your children shall find compassion with those that have carried them captive, so that they shall come again unto this land; for Jehovah your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return to him.
10 And the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.
11 Nevertheless certain of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
12 The hand of God was also upon Judah to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of Jehovah.
13 And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to hold the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation.
14 And they rose up and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem; and they took away all the incense-altars, and cast them into the torrent Kidron.
15 And they slaughtered the passover on the fourteenth of the second month; and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and hallowed themselves; and they brought the burnt-offerings into the house of Jehovah.
16 And they stood in their place after their custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood [receiving it] from the hand of the Levites.
17 For there were many in the congregation that were not hallowed; therefore the Levites had the charge of the slaughtering of the passover-lambs for every one not clean, to hallow them unto Jehovah.
18 For a multitude of the people, many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, and they ate the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them saying, Jehovah, who is good, forgive every one
19 that has directed his heart to seek God, Jehovah the God of his fathers, although not according to the purification of the sanctuary.
20 And Jehovah hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
21 And the children of Israel, that were present at Jerusalem, held the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised Jehovah day by day, with the instruments of praise to Jehovah.
22 And Hezekiah spoke consolingly to all the Levites that had understanding in the good knowledge of Jehovah; and they ate the feast-offerings the seven days, sacrificing peace-offerings, and extolling Jehovah the God of their fathers.
23 And the whole congregation took counsel to observe other seven days; and they observed the seven days with gladness.
24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the congregation as heave-offering: a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests hallowed themselves.
25 And the whole congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.
26 And there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had not been the like in Jerusalem.
27 And the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, to the heavens.
31 And when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the columns, and hewed down the Asherahs, and demolished the high places and the altars in all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. And all the children of Israel returned every man to his possession, into their cities.
2 And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests, and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, as well the priests as the Levites, for burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the courts of Jehovah.
3 And [he ordered] that the king's portion [should be taken] from his substance for the burnt-offerings: for the morning and evening burnt-offerings, for the burnt-offerings of the sabbaths, and of the new moons, and of the set feasts, as it is written in the law of Jehovah.
4 And he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of Jehovah.
5 And as soon as the commandment was published, the children of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of corn, new wine and oil and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of all [things].
6 And the children of Israel and of Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to Jehovah their God, and laid them by heaps.
7 In the third month they began to lay the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.
8 And Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, and they blessed Jehovah, and his people Israel.
9 And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.
10 And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok spoke to him and said, Since they began to bring the heave-offerings into the house of Jehovah, we have eaten and been satisfied and have left plenty; for Jehovah has blessed his people; and what is left is this great store.
11 And Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of Jehovah; and they prepared [them],
12 and brought in the heave-offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully; and over these Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was second.
13 And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Jismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the command of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.
14 And Kore the son of Jimnah the Levite, the doorkeeper toward the east, was over the voluntary-offerings of God, to distribute the heave-offerings of Jehovah, and the most holy things.
15 And under him were Eden and Miniamin and Jeshua and Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in [their] set trust, to make distributions to their brethren by [their] divisions, to the great as to the small,
16 besides those from three years old and upward who as males were entered in the genealogical register,—all that came into the house of Jehovah, as the duty of every day required, for their service in their charges, according to their divisions,
17 —both to the priests enregistered according to their fathers' houses, and to the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges, by their divisions;
18 and to all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, the whole congregation of those entered in the register; for in their trust they hallowed themselves to be holy.
19 And for the sons of Aaron the priests who were in the country, in the suburbs of their cities, there were, in every several city, men expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all the Levites that were entered in the register.
20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout Judah, and wrought what was good and right and true before Jehovah his God.
21 And in every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart and prospered.
15 But *we* ought, we that are strong, to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let each one of us please his neighbour with a view to what is good, to edification.
3 For the Christ also did not please himself; but according as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproach thee have fallen upon me.
4 For as many things as have been written before have been written for our instruction, that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
5 Now the God of endurance and of encouragement give to you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus;
6 that ye may with one accord, with one mouth, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, according as the Christ also has received you to [the] glory of God.
8 For I say that Jesus Christ became a minister of [the] circumcision for [the] truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers;
9 and that the nations should glorify God for mercy; according as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among [the] nations, and will sing to thy name.
10 And again he says, Rejoice, nations, with his people.
11 And again, Praise the Lord, all [ye] nations, and let all the peoples laud him.
12 And again, Esaias says, There shall be the root of Jesse, and one that arises, to rule over [the] nations: in him shall [the] nations hope.
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that ye should abound in hope by [the] power of [the] Holy Spirit.
14 But I am persuaded, my brethren, I myself also, concerning you, that yourselves also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
15 But I have written to you the more boldly, [brethren,] in part, as putting you in mind, because of the grace given to me by God,
16 for me to be minister of Christ Jesus to the nations, carrying on as a sacrificial service the [message of] glad tidings of God, in order that the offering up of the nations might be acceptable, sanctified by [the] Holy Spirit.
17 I have therefore [whereof to] boast in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God.
18 For I will not dare to speak anything of the things which Christ has not wrought by me, for [the] obedience of [the] nations, by word and deed,
19 in [the] power of signs and wonders, in [the] power of [the] Spirit of God; so that I, from Jerusalem, and in a circuit round to Illyricum, have fully preached the glad tidings of the Christ;
20 and so aiming to announce the glad tidings, not where Christ has been named, that I might not build upon another's foundation;
21 but according as it is written, To whom there was nothing told concerning him, they shall see; and they that have not heard shall understand.
22 Wherefore also I have been often hindered from coming to you.
[A Psalm] of David.
25 Unto thee, Jehovah, do I lift up my soul.
2 My God, I confide in thee; let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
3 Yea, none that wait on thee shall be ashamed: they shall be ashamed that deal treacherously without cause.
4 Make me to know thy ways, O Jehovah; teach me thy paths.
5 Make me to walk in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
6 Remember, Jehovah, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they are from everlasting.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to thy loving-kindness remember thou me, for thy goodness' sake, Jehovah.
8 Good and upright is Jehovah; therefore will he instruct sinners in the way:
9 The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way.
10 All the paths of Jehovah are loving-kindness and truth for such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 For thy name's sake, O Jehovah, thou wilt indeed pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
12 What man is he that feareth Jehovah? him will he instruct in the way [that] he should choose.
13 His soul shall dwell in prosperity, and his seed shall inherit the earth.
14 The secret of Jehovah is with them that fear him, that he may make known his covenant to them.
15 Mine eyes are ever toward Jehovah; for he will bring my feet out of the net.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, [and] thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
14 Bad! bad! saith the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies; but the lips of knowledge are a precious Jewel.
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