This made the king of Syria upset.<n id="1" /> So he summoned his advisers<n id="2" /> and said to them, &#8220;One of us must be helping the king of Israel.&#8221;<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">Jehoash said to the priests, &#8220;I place at your disposal<n id="1" /> all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax,<n id="2" /> the silver received from those who have made vows,<n id="3" /> and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple.<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">All these men were warriors who were ready to march.<n id="1" /> They came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel by acclamation;<n id="2" /> all the rest of the Israelites also were in agreement that David should become king.<n id="3" />

As the ark of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s covenant entered the City of David, Michal, Saul&#8217;s daughter, looked out the window. When she saw King David jumping and celebrating, she despised him.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;And you, Solomon my son, obey<n id="1" /> the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit,<n id="2" /> for the <sc>Lordsc> examines all minds and understands every motive of one&#8217;s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him,<n id="3" /> but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently.

When they return to you with all their heart and being<n id="1" /> in the land where they are held prisoner and direct their prayers toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor,<n id="2" />

On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon<n id="1" /> sent the people home. They left<n id="2" /> happy and contented<n id="3" /> because of the good the <sc>Lordsc> had done for David, Solomon, and his people Israel.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">After Solomon finished building the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple and the royal palace, and accomplished all his plans for the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple and his royal palace,<n id="1" />

Hezekiah said, &#8220;Now you have consecrated yourselves<n id="1" /> to the <sc>Lordsc>. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings<n id="2" /> to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple.&#8221; So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so<n id="3" /> brought burnt sacrifices.p>

Hezekiah expressed his appreciation to all the Levites,<n id="1" /> who demonstrated great skill in serving the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="2" /> They feasted for the seven days of the festival,<n id="3" /> and were making peace offerings and giving thanks to the <sc>Lordsc> God of their ancestors.p>

They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the <sc>Lordsc> had given them joy and had changed the opinion<n id="1" /> of the king of Assyria<n id="2" /> toward them, so that he assisted<n id="3" /> them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.p>

I got up during the night, along with a few men who were with me. But I did not tell anyone what my God was putting on my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no animals with me, except for the one<n id="1" /> I was riding.

I considered these things carefully<n id="1" /> and then registered a complaint with the wealthy<n id="2" /> and the officials. I said to them, &#8220;Each one of you is seizing the collateral<n id="3" /> from your own countrymen!&#8221;<n id="4" /> Because of them I called for<n id="5" /> a great public assembly.

My God placed it on my heart to gather the leaders,<n id="1" /> the officials, and the ordinary people so they could be enrolled on the basis of genealogy. I found the genealogical records<n id="2" /> of those who had formerly returned. Here is what I found written in that record:<n id="3" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">On the seventh day, as King Ahasuerus was feeling the effects of the wine,<n id="1" /> he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who attended him,<n id="2" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now Haman went forth that day pleased and very much encouraged.<n id="1" /> But when Haman saw Mordecai at the king&#8217;s gate, and he did not rise nor tremble in his presence,<n id="2" /> Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

<p class="bodytext">So Haman came in, and the king said to him, &#8220;What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?&#8221; Haman thought to himself,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Who is it that the king would want to honor more than me?&#8221;

So the <sc>Lordsc> said to Satan, &#8220;Have you considered<n id="1" /> my servant Job? There<n id="2" /> is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away<n id="3" /> from evil.&#8221;p>

Then the <sc>Lordsc> said to Satan, &#8220;Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly<n id="1" /> to his integrity,<n id="2" /> so that<n id="3" /> you stirred me up to destroy him<n id="4" /> without reason.&#8221;<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="psasuper">For the music director; according to the tune of &#8220;Lilies;&#8221;<n id="2" /> by the Korahites, a well-written poem,<n id="3" /> a love song.p> <p class="poetry">My heart is stirred by a beautiful song.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">I say, &#8220;I have composed this special song<n id="5" /> for the king;p> <p class="poetry">my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.&#8221;<n id="6" />p>