2 Chronicles 31, Additional Reading Psalm 94

Friday, October 31, 2025
 

Idols Are Destroyed

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the [a]Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until [b]they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.

2 And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.

Reforms Continued

3 He also appointed the king’s portion of his property for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the appointed festivals, as it is written in the Law of the Lord. 4 Also he told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, so that they might devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. 5 As soon as the [c]order spread, the sons of Israel abundantly provided the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. 6 The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of [d]sacred gifts which were consecrated to the Lord their God, and placed them in heaps. 7 In the third month they began to [e]make the heaps, and they finished them by the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel. 9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10 Azariah, the chief priest of the house of Zadok, said to [f]him, “Since the contributions started coming into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”

11 Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. 12 They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers [g]under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God. 14 Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of the [h]voluntary offerings for God, to distribute the contributions for the Lord and the most holy things. 15 [i]Under his authority were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, to distribute their portions faithfully to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small, 16 without regard to their genealogical enrollment, to the males from [j]thirty years old and upward—everyone who entered the house of the Lord for his daily obligations—for their work in their duties according to their divisions; 17 as well as the priests who were enrolled genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, by their duties and their divisions. 18 The genealogical enrollment included [k]all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves [l]faithfully in holiness. 19 Also for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city, there were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone genealogically enrolled among the Levites.

20 Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. 21 Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in the Law and in the commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 31:1 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  2. 2 Chronicles 31:1 Lit to completion
  3. 2 Chronicles 31:5 Lit word
  4. 2 Chronicles 31:6 Lit consecrated things
  5. 2 Chronicles 31:7 Lit lay
  6. 2 Chronicles 31:10 Lit him, and he said
  7. 2 Chronicles 31:13 Lit from the hand of
  8. 2 Chronicles 31:14 Or freewill offerings
  9. 2 Chronicles 31:15 Lit On his hand
  10. 2 Chronicles 31:16 Heb three
  11. 2 Chronicles 31:18 Lit with all
  12. 2 Chronicles 31:18 Lit in their faithfulness
 
 

The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.

94 Lord, God of [a]vengeance,
God of [b]vengeance, [c]shine forth!
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth,
Pay back retribution to the proud.
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked—
How long shall the wicked triumph?
4 They pour out words, they speak arrogantly;
All who do injustice boast.
5 They crush Your people, Lord,
And afflict Your inheritance.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 They have said, “[d]The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob perceive.”

8 Pay attention, you stupid ones among the people;
And when will you understand, foolish ones?
9 He who planted the ear, [e]does He not hear?
Or He who formed the eye, [f]does He not see?
10 He who [g]disciplines the nations, will He not rebuke,
He who teaches mankind knowledge?
11 The Lord knows human thoughts,
[h]That they are mere breath.

12 Blessed is the man whom You discipline, [i]Lord,
And whom You teach from Your Law,
13 So that You may grant him relief from the days of adversity,
Until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He abandon His inheritance.
15 For [j]judgment [k]will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart [l]will follow it.
16 Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me against those who do injustice?

17 If the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your faithfulness, Lord, will support me.
19 When my anxious thoughts [m]multiply within me,
Your comfort delights my soul.
20 Can a [n]throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which devises [o]mischief by decree?
21 They band themselves together against the [p]life of the righteous
And condemn [q]the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my refuge,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought back their injustice upon them,
And He will [r]destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will [s]destroy them.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 94:1 Or avenging acts
  2. Psalm 94:1 Or avenging acts
  3. Psalm 94:1 Or has shone forth
  4. Psalm 94:7 Heb Yah
  5. Psalm 94:9 Or can
  6. Psalm 94:9 Or can
  7. Psalm 94:10 Or instructs
  8. Psalm 94:11 Or For
  9. Psalm 94:12 Heb Yah
  10. Psalm 94:15 I.e., administration of justice
  11. Psalm 94:15 Lit will return to righteousness
  12. Psalm 94:15 Lit will be after it
  13. Psalm 94:19 Or are many
  14. Psalm 94:20 Or tribunal
  15. Psalm 94:20 Or trouble, misfortune
  16. Psalm 94:21 Or soul
  17. Psalm 94:21 Lit innocent blood
  18. Psalm 94:23 Or silence
  19. Psalm 94:23 Or silence

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