Psalm 52; 2 Chronicles 29

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Psalm 52

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of David, when cDoeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, David has come to the house of Ahimelech.

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?

The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

Your dtongue plots destruction,

like ea sharp razor, you fworker of deceit.

You love evil more than good,

and glying more than speaking what is right. Selah

You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and htear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from ithe land of the living. Selah

The righteous shall jsee and fear,

and shall klaugh at him, saying,

See the man who would not make

God his refuge,

but ltrusted in the abundance of his riches

and sought refuge in his own destruction!2

But I am like ma green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever.

I will thank you forever,

because you have done it.

I will wait for your name, nfor it is good,

in the presence of the ogodly.


2 Chronicles 29

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

jHezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah1 the daughter of kZechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he lopened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east and said to them, Hear me, Levites! Now mconsecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth2 from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and nhave turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. They also oshut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. Therefore pthe wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them qan object of horror, of astonishment, rand of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For behold, sour fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 Now tit is in my heart uto make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, vfor the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.

12 Then the Levites arose, wMahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of xthe Kohathites; and of the sons of xMerari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the xGershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and of the sons of yElizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of zAsaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of aHeman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of bJeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers and cconsecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, dby the words of the Lord, eto cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it and carried it out to fthe brook Kidron. 17 They began to consecrate gon the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils hthat King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats ifor a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood jand threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. 23 Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, kand they laid their hands on them, 24 and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, lto make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

25 mAnd he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, naccording to the commandment of David and of Gad othe king’s seer and of pNathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with qthe instruments of David, rand the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, sthe song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the offering was finished, tthe king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, uYou have now consecrated yourselves to3 the Lord. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord. And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were vof a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, wtheir brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finishedxfor the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. 35 Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was ythe fat of the peace offerings, and there were zthe drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. 36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.