Psalm 79; 2 Kings 22

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Psalm 79

How Long, O Lord?

A Psalm of yAsaph.

O God, zthe nations have come into your ainheritance;

they have defiled your bholy temple;

they have claid Jerusalem in ruins.

They have given dthe bodies of your servants

to the birds of the heavens for food,

the flesh of your efaithful to fthe beasts of the earth.

They have poured out their blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there was gno one to bury them.

We have become ha taunt to our neighbors,

hmocked and derided by those around us.

iHow long, O Lord? Will you be angry jforever?

Will your kjealousy lburn like fire?

mPour out your anger on the nations

that ndo not know you,

and on the kingdoms

that odo not call upon your name!

For they have devoured Jacob

and laid waste his habitation.

pDo not remember against us qour former iniquities;1

let your compassion come speedily to meet us,

for we are rbrought very low.

sHelp us, O God of our salvation,

for the glory of your name;

deliver us, and tatone for our sins,

for your uname’s sake!

10  vWhy should the nations say,

Where is their God?

Let wthe avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants

be known among the nations before our eyes!

11  Let xthe groans of the prisoners come before you;

according to your great power, preserve those ydoomed to die!

12  Return zsevenfold into the alap of our neighbors

the btaunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!

13  But we your people, the csheep of your pasture,

will dgive thanks to you forever;

from generation to generation we will recount your praise.


2 Kings 22

Josiah Reigns in Judah

aJosiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of bBozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, cand he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to dHilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money ethat has been brought into the house of the Lord, which fthe keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. gAnd let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. But hno accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, I have found ithe Book of the Law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord. 10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, jhe tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and kAhikam the son of Shaphan, and lAchbor the son of lMicaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 13 Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is mthe wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.

14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of nTikvah, son of nHarhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in othe Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 pBecause they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore mmy wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 qbecause your heart was penitent, and you rhumbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become sa desolation and ta curse, and you uhave torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and vyou shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place. And they brought back word to the king.