2 Chronicles 29:25-26

29:25 King Hezekiah ¹  stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals and stringed instruments, just as David, Gad the king’s prophet, ²  and Nathan the prophet had ordered. (The Lord had actually given these orders through his prophets.) 29:26 The Levites had ³  David’s musical instruments and the priests had trumpets.

2 Chronicles 29:1

Hezekiah Consecrates the Temple

29:1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. ⁴  His mother was Abijah, ⁵  the daughter of Zechariah.

2 Chronicles 16:1

16:1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah. ⁶ 

2 Chronicles 16:1

16:1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah. ⁷ 

2 Chronicles 23:5

23:5 Another third of you will be stationed at the royal palace and still another third at the Foundation Gate. All the others ⁸  will stand in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple.

2 Chronicles 25:1-7

Amaziah’s Reign

25:1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. ⁹  His mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. 25:2 He did what the Lord approved, ¹⁰  but not with wholehearted devotion. ¹¹ 

25:3 When he had secured control of the kingdom, ¹²  he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. ¹³  25:4 However, he did not execute their sons. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, ¹⁴  “Fathers must not be executed for what their sons do, ¹⁵  and sons must not be executed for what their fathers do. ¹⁶  A man must be executed only for his own sin.” ¹⁷ 

25:5 Amaziah assembled the people of Judah ¹⁸  and assigned them by families to the commanders of units of a thousand and the commanders of units of a hundred for all Judah and Benjamin. He counted those twenty years old and up and discovered there were 300,000 young men of fighting age ¹⁹  equipped with spears and shields. ²⁰  25:6 He hired 100,000 Israelite warriors for a hundred talents ²¹  of silver.

25:7 But a prophet ²²  visited him and said: “O king, the Israelite troops must not go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel or any of the Ephraimites. ²³ 

Psalms 77:1

Psalm 77 ²⁴ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.

77:1 I will cry out to God ²⁵  and call for help!

I will cry out to God and he will pay attention ²⁶  to me.

Psalms 78:1

Psalm 78 ²⁷ 

A well-written song ²⁸  by Asaph.

78:1 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction!

Listen to the words I speak! ²⁹ 

Psalms 79:1

Psalm 79 ³⁰ 

A psalm of Asaph.

79:1 O God, foreigners ³¹  have invaded your chosen land; ³² 

they have polluted your holy temple

and turned Jerusalem ³³  into a heap of ruins.

[29:25]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (King Hezekiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ² tn Or “seer.”

[29:26]  ³ tn Heb “stood with” (i.e., stood holding).

[29:1]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[29:1]  ⁵ tn The parallel passage in 2 Kgs 18:2 has “Abi.”

[16:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”

[16:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”

[23:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “all the people.”

[25:1]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.”

[25:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a complete heart.”

[25:3]  ¹² tn Heb “when the kingdom was secure upon him.”

[25:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “he killed his servants, the ones who had struck down the king, his father.”

[25:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which the Lord commanded, saying.”

[25:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “on account of sons.”

[25:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “on account of fathers.”

[25:4]  ¹⁷ sn This law is recorded in Deut 24:16.

[25:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy here for the people of Judah.

[25:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “young men going out to war.”

[25:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “holding a spear and a shield.”

[25:6]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).

[25:7]  ²² tn Heb “man of God.”

[25:7]  ²³ tn Heb “Israel, all the sons of Ephraim.”

[77:1]  ²⁴ sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.

[77:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.

[77:1]  ²⁶ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).

[78:1]  ²⁷ sn Psalm 78. The author of this lengthy didactic psalm rehearses Israel’s history. He praises God for his power, goodness and patience, but also reminds his audience that sin angers God and prompts his judgment. In the conclusion to the psalm the author elevates Jerusalem as God’s chosen city and David as his chosen king.

[78:1]  ²⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 74.

[78:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.”

[79:1]  ³⁰ sn Psalm 79. The author laments how the invading nations have destroyed the temple and city of Jerusalem. He asks God to forgive his people and to pour out his vengeance on those who have mistreated them.

[79:1]  ³¹ tn Or “nations.”

[79:1]  ³² tn Heb “have come into your inheritance.”

[79:1]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.