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Psalm 34

1  I will bless the Lord at all times; ♦︎
   his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2  My soul shall glory in the Lord; ♦︎
   let the humble hear and be glad.
3  O magnify the Lord with me; ♦︎
   let us exalt his name together.
4  I sought the Lord and he answered me ♦︎
   and delivered me from all my fears.
5  Look upon him and be radiant ♦︎
   and your faces shall not be ashamed.
6  This poor soul cried, and the Lord heard me ♦︎
   and saved me from all my troubles.
7  The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him ♦︎
   and delivers them.
8  O taste and see that the Lord is gracious; ♦︎
   blessed is the one who trusts in him.
19  Many are the troubles of the righteous; ♦︎
   from them all will the Lord deliver them.
20  He keeps all their bones, ♦︎
   so that not one of them is broken.
21  But evil shall slay the wicked ♦︎
   and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22  The Lord ransoms the life of his servants ♦︎
   and will condemn none who seek refuge in him.

Envoys from Babylon

12 At that time King Merodach-baladan son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³Hezekiah welcomed them;^* he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armoury, all that was found in his storehouses; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. ¹⁴Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, ‘What did these men say? From where did they come to you?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have come from a far country, from Babylon.’ ¹⁵He said, ‘What have they seen in your house?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.’

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷Days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord. ¹⁸Some of your own sons who are born to you shall be taken away; they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁹Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.’ For he thought, ‘Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?’

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7This ‘King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him’; ²and to him Abraham apportioned ‘one-tenth of everything’. His name, in the first place, means ‘king of righteousness’; next he is also king of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace’. ³Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest for ever.

4 See how great he is! Even^* Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils. ⁵And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes^* from the people, that is, from their kindred,^* though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes^* from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises. ⁷It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. ⁹One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.