2 Chron. 34:8–33

34:8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, he continued his policy of purifying the land and the temple. He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city official, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary to repair the temple of the Lord his God. 9They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the silver that had been brought to God’s temple. The Levites who guarded the door had collected it from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim and from all who were left in Israel, as well as from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the residents of Jerusalem. 10They handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple. They in turn paid the temple workers to restore and repair it. 11They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair. 12The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians, 13supervised the laborers and all the foremen on their various jobs. Some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and guards.

14When they took out the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple, Hilkiah the priest found the law scroll the Lord had given to Moses. 15Hilkiah informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan. 16Shaphan brought the scroll to the king and reported, “Your servants are doing everything assigned to them. 17They melted down the silver in the Lord’s temple and handed it over to the supervisors and the construction foremen.” 18Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king. 19When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. 20The king ordered Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, 21“Go, ask the Lord for me and for those who remain in Israel and Judah about the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s great fury has been ignited against us because our ancestors did not obey the word of the Lord by living according to all that is written in this scroll.”

22So Hilkiah and the others sent by the king went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the supervisor of the wardrobe. (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh district.) They stated their business, 23and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me: 24“This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, all the curses that are recorded in the scroll which they read before the king of Judah. 25This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’” 26Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard: 27‘You displayed a sensitive spirit and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words concerning this place and its residents. You humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes, and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord. 28‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place and its residents.’”’” Then they reported back to the king.

29The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the Levites. All the people were there, from the oldest to the youngest. He read aloud all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple. 31The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, by carrying out the terms of this covenant recorded on this scroll. 32He made all who were in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. The residents of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. 33Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

Ps. 109

109:1 For the music director, a psalm of David.

O God whom I praise, do not ignore me.

2For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;

they lie to me.

3They surround me and say hateful things;

they attack me for no reason.

4They repay my love with accusations,

but I continue to pray.

5They repay me evil for good

and hate for love.

6 Appoint an evil man to testify against him.

May an accuser stand at his right side.

7When he is judged, he will be found guilty.

Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.

8May his days be few.

May another take his job.

9May his children be fatherless,

and his wife a widow.

10May his children roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home.

11May the creditor seize all he owns.

May strangers loot his property.

12May no one show him kindness.

May no one have compassion on his fatherless children.

13May his descendants be cut off.

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives.

14May his ancestors’ sins be remembered by the Lord.

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten.

15May the Lord be constantly aware of them

and cut off the memory of his children from the earth.

16For he never bothered to show kindness;

he harassed the oppressed and needy

and killed the disheartened.

17He loved to curse others, so those curses have come upon him.

He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings.

18He made cursing a way of life,

so curses poured into his stomach like water

and seeped into his bones like oil.

19May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on,

or a belt one wears continually.

20May the Lord repay my accusers in this way,

those who say evil things about me.

21O Sovereign Lord,

intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation.

Because your loyal love is good, deliver me.

22For I am oppressed and needy,

and my heart beats violently within me.

23I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day;

I am shaken off like a locust.

24I am so starved my knees shake;

I have turned into skin and bones.

25I am disdained by them.

When they see me, they shake their heads.

26Help me, O Lord my God.

Because you are faithful to me, deliver me.

27Then they will realize this is your work

and that you, Lord, have accomplished it.

28They curse, but you will bless.

When they attack, they will be humiliated,

but your servant will rejoice.

29My accusers will be covered with shame

and draped in humiliation as if it were a robe.

30I will thank the Lord profusely.

In the middle of a crowd I will praise him,

31because he stands at the right hand of the needy

to deliver him from those who threaten his life.

Luke 18:1–14

18:1 Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart. 2He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. 3There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, 5yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’” 6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! 7Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long to help them? 8I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

9Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ 13The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’ 14I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”