Monday, August 28, 2023

2 Kings 21:19-26

¹⁹Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother's name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. ²⁰He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹He walked in all the ways of his father; he worshiped the idols his father had worshiped, and bowed down to them. ²²He forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.

²³Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated the king in his palace. ²⁴Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.

²⁵As for the other events of Amon's reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²⁶He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza. And Josiah his son succeeded him as king.

2 Kings 22:1-7

¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. ²He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

³In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said: ⁴"Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. ⁵Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD-- ⁶the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. ⁷But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully."

 

 

Psalm 55

¹For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A [maskil] of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; ²hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught ³at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. ⁴My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. ⁵Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. ⁶I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest-- ⁷I would flee far away and stay in the desert; [Selah] ⁸I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm." ⁹Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city. ¹⁰Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. ¹¹Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. ¹²If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. ¹³But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, ¹⁴with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. ¹⁵Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them. ¹⁶But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. ¹⁷Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. ¹⁸He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. ¹⁹God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them-- [Selah] men who never change their ways and have no fear of God. ²⁰My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. ²¹His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. ²²Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. ²³But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.

 

 

Matthew 26:1–16

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ²"As you know, the Passover is two days away--and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."

³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. ⁵"But not during the Feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."

⁶While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, ⁷a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

⁸When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. ⁹"This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

¹⁰Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. ¹²When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

¹⁴Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief priests ¹⁵and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. ¹⁶From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.