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2 KINGS 23

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Josiah’s Reforms
  23:1 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.
    
4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.
    
15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Josiah Restores the Passover
21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.
    
24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord 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 Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” Josiah’s Death in Battle
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 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place. Jehoahaz’s Reign and Captivity
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.



PSALM 140

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Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
140:1
Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
2
who plan evil things in their heart
and stir up wars continually.
3
They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4
Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to trip up my feet.
5
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net;
beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6
I say to the Lord, You are my God;
give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
7
O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8
Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9
As for the head of those who surround me,
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10
Let burning coals fall upon them!
Let them be cast into fire,
into miry pits, no more to rise!
11
Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12
I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
13
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall dwell in your presence.



PSALM 141

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Give Ear to My Voice
A Psalm of David.
141:1
O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4
Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!

5
Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6
When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7
As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

8
But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
9
Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
10
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.



PROVERBS 4

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A Father’s Wise Instruction
4:1
Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction,
and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
2
for I give you good precepts;
do not forsake my teaching.
3
When I was a son with my father,
tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
4
he taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments, and live.
5
Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
6
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
7
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight.
8
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
9
She will place on your head a graceful garland;
she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

10
Hear, my son, and accept my words,
that the years of your life may be many.
11
I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
12
When you walk, your step will not be hampered,
and if you run, you will not stumble.
13
Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
guard her, for she is your life.
14
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of the evil.
15
Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.
16
For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
17
For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
19
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble.

20
My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21
Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
23
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
24
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
25
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
26
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
27
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.

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