12 Then the apostles returned to
Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk[c] from the
city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room
where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew;
Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the
Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together
constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and
with his brothers.
15 In
those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a
hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters,[d] the
Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through
David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He
was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
18 (With
the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell
headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone
in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language
Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For,”
said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:
“‘May
his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’[e]
21 Therefore
it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time
the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s
baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must
become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23 So
they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and
Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s
heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take
over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then
they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven
apostles.
In
my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to
teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving
instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After
his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs
that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke
about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was
eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait
for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For
John baptized with[a] water, but
in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy
Spirit.”
6 Then
they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to
restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He
said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set
by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After
he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from
their sight.
10 They
were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men
dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they
said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has
been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen
him go into heaven.”
When all this had ended, the
Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred
stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the
altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they
had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to
their own property.
2 Hezekiah
assigned the priests and Levites to divisions—each of them according to their
duties as priests or Levites—to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings,
to minister, to give thanks and to sing praises at the gates of the Lord’s dwelling. 3 The
king contributed from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt
offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at
the appointed festivals as written in the Law of the Lord. 4 He ordered the people living in
Jerusalem to give the portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote
themselves to the Law of the Lord.
5 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave
the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, olive oil and honey and all that the
fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. 6 The
people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe
of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in
heaps. 7 They began doing this in the third month and finished
in the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and his officials came
and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord
and blessed his people Israel.
9 Hezekiah
asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; 10 and Azariah
the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered, “Since the people began
to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because
the Lord has blessed his people,
and this great amount is left over.”
11 Hezekiah
gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord, and this was done. 12 Then they
faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Konaniah,
a Levite, was the overseer in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei
was next in rank. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth,
Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah were assistants of Konaniah and
Shimei his brother. All these served by appointment of King Hezekiah and
Azariah the official in charge of the temple of God.
14 Kore
son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill
offerings given to God, distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts. 15 Eden,
Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah assisted him faithfully in
the towns of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to
their divisions, old and young alike.
16 In
addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names
were in the genealogical records—all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of
their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 17 And
they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical
records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to
their responsibilities and their divisions. 18 They included
all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole
community listed in these genealogical records. For they were faithful in
consecrating themselves.
19 As
for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farmlands around
their towns or in any other towns, men were designated by name to distribute
portions to every male among them and to all who were recorded in the
genealogies of the Levites.
20 This
is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and
faithful before the Lord his God. 21 In
everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to
the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so
he prospered.
