¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. ²And he did what was right in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ³Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ, saying: ⁴“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. ⁵And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ; let them give it to those who are in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ doing the work, to repair the damages of the house— ⁶to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. ⁷However there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully.” ⁸Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. ⁹So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ.” ¹⁰Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. ¹¹Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. ¹²Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, ¹³“Go, inquire of the Lᴏʀᴅ for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lᴏʀᴅ that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” ¹⁴So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke with her. ¹⁵Then she said to them, “Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, ¹⁶“Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read— ¹⁷because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ “ ‘ ¹⁸But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lᴏʀᴅ, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— ¹⁹because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lᴏʀᴅ when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ²⁰Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.” ‘ “ So they brought back word to the king.

¹Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ²For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” ⁶Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, ⁷again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” ⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. ¹¹Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. ¹²For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. ¹⁴Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

¹The word of the Lᴏʀᴅ that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. ²Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers? ³Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation. ⁴What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten. ⁵Awake, you drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you drinkers of wine, Because of the new wine, For it has been cut off from your mouth. ⁶For a nation has come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he has the fangs of a fierce lion. ⁷He has laid waste My vine, And ruined My fig tree; He has stripped it bare and thrown it away; Its branches are made white. ⁸Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the husband of her youth. ⁹The grain offering and the drink offering Have been cut off from the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ; The priests mourn, who minister to the Lᴏʀᴅ. ¹⁰The field is wasted, The land mourns; For the grain is ruined, The new wine is dried up, The oil fails. ¹¹Be ashamed, you farmers, Wail, you vinedressers, For the wheat and the barley; Because the harvest of the field has perished. ¹²The vine has dried up, And the fig tree has withered; The pomegranate tree, The palm tree also, And the apple tree— All the trees of the field are withered; Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men. ¹³Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; Wail, you who minister before the altar; Come, lie all night in sackcloth, You who minister to my God; For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God. ¹⁴Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ your God, And cry out to the Lᴏʀᴅ. ¹⁵Alas for the day! For the day of the Lᴏʀᴅ is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. ¹⁶Is not the food cut off before our eyes, Joy and gladness from the house of our God? ¹⁷The seed shrivels under the clods, Storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken down, For the grain has withered. ¹⁸How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, Because they have no pasture; Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. ¹⁹O Lᴏʀᴅ, to You I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, And a flame has burned all the trees of the field. ²⁰The beasts of the field also cry out to You, For the water brooks are dried up, And fire has devoured the open pastures.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Deliver me, O Lᴏʀᴅ, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, ²Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war. ³They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah ⁴Keep me, O Lᴏʀᴅ, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men, Who have purposed to make my steps stumble. ⁵The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me. Selah ⁶I said to the Lᴏʀᴅ: “You are my God; Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lᴏʀᴅ. ⁷O God the Lᴏʀᴅ, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle. ⁸Do not grant, O Lᴏʀᴅ, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, Lest they be exalted. Selah ⁹“As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them; ¹⁰Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire, Into deep pits, that they rise not up again. ¹¹Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” ¹²I know that the Lᴏʀᴅ will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor. ¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

¹A Psalm of David. Lᴏʀᴅ, I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. ²Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. ³Set a guard, O Lᴏʀᴅ, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. ⁴Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies. ⁵Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. ⁶Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff, And they hear my words, for they are sweet. ⁷Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave, As when one plows and breaks up the earth. ⁸But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lᴏʀᴅ; In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute. ⁹Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, And from the traps of the workers of iniquity. ¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets, While I escape safely.