Translation in British English (The Second Book of the Chronicles)
1:1 Solomon, David’s son, found his reign fortified, the LORD his God by his side, elevating him to great heights.
1:2 Solomon addressed all Israel: the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, the judges, and every leader in all Israel, the patriarchs.
1:3 Together with the entire assembly, Solomon journeyed to the elevated site at Gibeon; for there stood the tent of meeting God, erected by Moses, the LORD’s servant, in the wilderness.
1:4 However, the Ark of God had been relocated by David from Kirjathjearim to the prepared site in Jerusalem, where he had set up a tent for it.
1:5 Furthermore, the bronze altar crafted by Bezaleel, Uri’s son, Hur’s grandson, was positioned before the LORD’s tent. Solomon and the assembly sought guidance there.
1:6 Solomon ascended to the bronze altar before the LORD, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered upon it a thousand burnt offerings.
1:7 That night, God appeared to Solomon, asking, “What shall I grant you?”
1:8 Solomon replied to God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and now have made me king in his place.
1:9 LORD God, let your promise to David my father be fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people numerous as the dust of the earth.
1:10 Grant me wisdom and knowledge to lead this people, for who can govern this vast people of yours?”
1:11 God said to Solomon, “Since this request was in your heart, and you have not asked for wealth, riches, or honor, nor for the demise of your foes, nor for long life, but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king,
1:12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you wealth, riches, and honor unlike any king before you, nor will any after you have the like.”
1:13 Then Solomon left the high place at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem, and reigned over Israel.
1:14 He amassed chariots and horsemen: 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
1:15 Solomon made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees in the lowlands.
1:16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue, the royal merchants purchasing them from Kue at a fixed price.
1:17 A chariot imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty. Through their agents, they supplied all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
2:1 Solomon resolved to construct a temple for the LORD’s name and a royal palace for himself.
2:2 He conscripted seventy thousand men to carry loads, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.
2:3 Solomon sent a message to Huram, king of Tyre, “As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build a residence, so deal with me.
2:4 I am about to build a temple for the name of the LORD my God, to consecrate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for the regular arrangement of the showbread, and for burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths, new moons, and the appointed festivals of the LORD our God. This is a perpetual ordinance for Israel.
2:5 The temple I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
2:6 But who is capable of building him a temple, since the heavens and even the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a temple, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?
2:7 “Send me therefore a craftsman skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, and who knows how to engrave, to work with the skilled craftsmen I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.
2:8 Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting the timber of Lebanon. Indeed, my servants will work with yours
2:9 to prepare abundant timber for me, because the temple I am to build must be large and magnificent.
2:10 I will provide for your servants, the woodcutters who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.”
2:11 Huram, king of Tyre, replied in writing to Solomon, “Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you their king.”
2:12 Huram also said, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who made the heavens and earth, who has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
2:13 “I have sent a skilled craftsman, endowed with understanding, Huram-abi, my master craftsman,
2:14 the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father a man of Tyre. He is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and with purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen. He is also able to engrave and to execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled craftsmen and the skilled craftsmen of my lord David your father.
2:15 Now then, let my lord send to his servants the wheat and barley, the oil and wine he has promised;
2:16 and we will cut timber from Lebanon as much as you need and bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa, so you can take it up to Jerusalem.”
2:17 Solomon numbered all the aliens in the land of Israel, following the census his father David had taken; they were found to be 153,600.
2:18 He assigned 70,000 of them as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 overseers to keep the people working.
3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
3:2 He began building on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.
3:3 These are the foundation measurements Solomon used for building the house of God: the length, in cubits of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the width twenty cubits.
3:4 The vestibule in front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, corresponding to the width of the temple, and its height was one hundred and twenty cubits. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.
3:5 The larger room he paneled with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold, and decorated with palm trees and chains.
3:6 He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was gold from Parvaim.
3:7 He overlaid the temple—the beams, thresholds, walls, and doors—with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.
3:8 He made the Most Holy Place; its length, corresponding to the width of the temple, was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold.
3:9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
3:10 In the Most Holy Place, he made two cherubim of woodwork and overlaid them with gold.
3:11 The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: one wing of one cherub was five cubits, touching the temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub.
3:12 Likewise, one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching the other temple wall, and its other wing, five cubits, was attached to the wing of the first cherub.
3:13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing inward.
3:14 He made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and worked cherubim into it.
3:15 In front of the temple, he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each.
3:16 He made interwoven chains in the inner sanctuary and placed them on the tops of the pillars; he made one hundred pomegranates and placed them on the chains.
3:17 He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz.
4:1 He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.
4:2 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits high, and thirty cubits in circumference.
4:3 Below the rim, figures of oxen encircled it, ten to a cubit. The oxen were cast in two rows, cast when it was cast.
4:4 It stood on twelve oxen: three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and all their hindquarters were inward.
4:5 Its thickness was a handbreadth, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like the blossom of a lily. It held three thousand baths.
4:6 He also made ten basins and placed five on the right side and five on the left to wash in them. They used them for the burnt offerings. The Sea was for the priests to wash in.
4:7 He made ten golden lampstands according to their design and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left.
4:8 He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. He made one hundred golden bowls.
4:9 He made the courtyard of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid these doors with bronze.
4:10 He placed the Sea on the right side of the temple, towards the southeast.
4:11 Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work he was commissioned to do for King Solomon in the house of God:
4:12 the two pillars; the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars; the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals on top of the pillars;
4:13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals on top of the pillars;
4:14 the stands and the basins on the stands;
4:15 one Sea and the twelve oxen under it.
4:16 The pots, the shovels, the meat hooks, and all their utensils, Huram-abi made them for King Solomon for the house of the LORD of polished bronze.
4:17 In the Jordan plain, the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.
4:18 Solomon made all these utensils in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.
4:19 Solomon made all the articles that were for the house of God: the golden altar; the tables for the bread of the Presence;
4:20 the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;
4:21 the flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold, of purest gold;
4:22 the snuffers, basins, dishes, and incense burners of pure gold. As for the entrance to the temple, the inner doors to the Most Holy Place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple, were gold.
5:1 Thus all the work Solomon undertook for the house of the LORD was completed. Solomon then brought in the things David his father had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and all the furnishings—and placed them in the treasuries of God’s house.
5:2 Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.
5:3 All the men of Israel assembled before the king at the festival in the seventh month.
5:4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark.
5:5 They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up.
5:6 King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
5:7 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
5:8 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, covering the ark and its carrying poles from above.
5:9 The poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not visible from outside. They are still there today.
5:10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
5:11 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions),
5:12 and all the Levitical singers—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, wearing fine linen robes—stood at the east side of the altar with cymbals, harps, and lyres; and with them were one hundred and twenty priests sounding trumpets—
5:13 it came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud,
5:14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.
6:1 Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said he would dwell in thick darkness.
6:2 But I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
6:3 The king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood.
6:4 He said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David, saying,
6:5 ‘Since the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house that my name might be there, nor did I choose anyone to be ruler over my people Israel;
6:6 but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’
6:7 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
6:8 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.
6:9 Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you, he shall build the house for my name.’
6:10 The LORD has fulfilled his promise that he made; for I have risen in the place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and I have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
6:11 There I have set the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the children of Israel.”
6:12 He stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.
6:13 For Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the court; and he stood on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven,
6:14 and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart,
6:15 who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.
6:16 Now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.’
6:17 Now, O LORD, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David be confirmed.
6:18 “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!
6:19 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you,
6:20 that your eyes may be open day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.
6:21 And listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen from your dwelling place, from heaven; and when you hear, forgive.
6:22 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to swear an oath and comes and swears before your altar in this house,
6:23 then hear from heaven and act and judge your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
6:24 “If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house,
6:25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land that you gave to them and to their fathers.
6:26 “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them,
6:27 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and send rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
6:28 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,
6:29 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own sorrow and stretching out his hands toward this house,
6:30 then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind,
6:31 that they may fear you and walk in your ways all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.
6:32 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for the sake of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when he comes and prays toward this house,
6:33 hear from heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.
6:34 “If your people go out to battle against their enemies by the way that you shall send them, and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,
6:35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.
6:36 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near,
6:37 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’
6:38 if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name,
6:39 then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you.
6:40 “Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.
6:41 “And now arise, O LORD God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness.
6:42 O LORD God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one! Remember your steadfast love for David your servant.”
7:1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
7:2 And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house.
7:3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
7:4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the LORD.
7:5 King Solomon offered as a sacrifice twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.
7:6 The priests stood at their posts; the Levites also, with the instruments of music to the LORD that King David had made for giving thanks to the LORD—for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry; opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.
7:7 Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD, for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.
7:8 At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt.
7:9 On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days.
7:10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that the LORD had shown to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.
7:11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the LORD and in his own house he successfully accomplished.
7:12 Then the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.
7:13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,
7:14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
7:15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.
7:16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
7:17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules,
7:18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’
7:19 But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them,
7:20 then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
7:21 And at this house, which is exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’
7:22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them; therefore he has brought all this evil upon them.'”
8:1 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own house,
8:2 Solomon rebuilt the cities that Huram had given to him, and settled the children of Israel in them.
8:3 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and prevailed over it.
8:4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath.
8:5 He also built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars,
8:6 and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
8:7 All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel,
8:8 from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel had not consumed, Solomon made to pay tribute until this day.
8:9 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were men of war, and his chief captains, and commanders of his chariots and horsemen.
8:10 These were the chief officers of King Solomon, two hundred and fifty, who exercised authority over the people.
8:11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the LORD has come are holy.”
8:12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD that he had built before the vestibule,
8:13 as the duty of each day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths.
8:14 And according to the order of David his father, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their duties of praise and ministry before the priests as the duty of each day required, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for so David the man of God had commanded.
8:15 And they did not turn aside from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasures.
8:16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared for the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.
8:17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Eloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of Edom.
8:18 And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships and servants who knew the sea, and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir and obtained from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.
9:1 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, arriving with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was on her mind.
9:2 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her.
9:3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,
9:4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attendance of his servants and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.
9:5 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom,
9:6 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.
9:7 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!
9:8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”
9:9 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
9:10 Moreover, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones.
9:11 And the king made of the algum wood steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, lyres and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.
9:12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.
9:13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,
9:14 besides that which the traders and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.
9:15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of beaten gold went into each shield.
9:16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
9:17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
9:18 The throne had six steps leading up to it, accompanied by a golden footrest, securely attached to the throne itself, and armrests on either side of the seat, with a pair of lions standing beside each armrest.
9:19 On either side of the six steps, twelve lions stood poised, unmatched in any realm for their craftsmanship.
9:20 King Solomon’s goblets were all fashioned from gold, as were all the utensils from the Forest House of Lebanon; silver was deemed of no worth in Solomon’s era.
9:21 The monarch’s fleet set sail for Tarshish, manned by Huram’s men, returning triennially laden with gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.
9:22 In wealth and wisdom, King Solomon surpassed all earthly monarchs.
9:23 Sovereigns from across the globe sought an audience with Solomon, drawn by the divine wisdom bestowed upon him.
9:24 They came bearing gifts: silver and gold items, clothing, armour, spices, horses, and mules, an annual tribute.
9:25 Solomon possessed four thousand stalls for his chariots and horses, and twelve thousand cavalrymen, stationed in chariot cities or with the king in Jerusalem.
9:26 His dominion extended over all kings from the River to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt.
9:27 He made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamores of the Shephelah.
9:28 Horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and all lands.
9:29 The comprehensive account of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, is recorded in the annals of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.
9:30 Solomon ruled over all Israel in Jerusalem for forty years.
9:31 Solomon was laid to rest with his ancestors, buried in the City of David. Rehoboam his son succeeded him.
10:1 Rehoboam travelled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered there to crown him.
10:2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had fled to Egypt from King Solomon, heard of this, he returned from Egypt.
10:3 They summoned him, and Jeroboam and all Israel addressed Rehoboam, saying,
10:4 “Your father imposed a heavy yoke on us. Lighten the harsh labour and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
10:5 He responded, “Return to me in three days.” So the people departed.
10:6 King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime, asking, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”
10:7 They replied, “If you are kind to these people and please them, and give them a favourable response, they will always be your servants.”
10:8 But he rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men he had grown up with, who stood before him.
10:9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
10:10 The young men he had grown up with said to him, “Tell the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
10:11 My father laid a heavy yoke on you; I will make it even heavier. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'”
10:12 Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had ordered, saying, “Come back to me on the third day.”
10:13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders,
10:14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”
10:15 The king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, to fulfil the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
10:16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now look after your own house, David!” So all Israel went to their tents,
10:17 but as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
10:18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labour, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem.
10:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
11:1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the house of Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand select troops—to fight against Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.
11:2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God:
11:3 “Speak to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,
11:4 ‘Thus says the LORD: You must not go up and fight against your brothers. Return every man to his home, for this event is from me.'” So they listened to the words of the LORD and turned back from going against Jeroboam.
11:5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and fortified cities for defense in Judah.
11:6 He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
11:7 Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam,
11:8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
11:9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
11:10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, as fortified cities.
11:11 He strengthened the fortresses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, oil, and wine.
11:12 In every city, he put shields and spears, making them very strong. Thus he held Judah and Benjamin.
11:13 The priests and the Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him.
11:14 The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests of the LORD.
11:15 Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places, for the goat and calf idols he had made.
11:16 Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
11:17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.
11:18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, daughter of Jerimoth son of David, and Abihail daughter of Eliab son of Jesse.
11:19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
11:20 After her, he married Maacah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
11:21 Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In total, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons, and sixty daughters.
11:22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as the chief prince among his brothers, intending to make him king.
11:23 He acted wisely, distributing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he provided them with ample provisions. He sought many wives for them.
12:1 Once Rehoboam had consolidated his reign and strengthened himself, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD.
12:2 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem
12:3 with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and innumerable troops from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians.
12:4 He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
12:5 Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, ‘You have abandoned me, so I now abandon you to Shishak.'”
12:6 The officials of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is just.”
12:7 When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.
12:8 However, they will become his subjects, so they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of the countries.”
12:9 Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made.
12:10 King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and entrusted them to the commanders of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the royal palace.
12:11 Whenever the king went to the LORD’s temple, the guards carried the shields, and afterwards they returned them to the guardroom.
12:12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, conditions in Judah improved.
12:13 King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his Name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.
12:14 He did evil because he did not set his heart on seeking the LORD.
12:15 The events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in the chronicles of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer. There were continuous wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
12:16 Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah succeeded him as king.
13:1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to rule over Judah.
13:2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
13:3 Abijah engaged in battle with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand chosen men, while Jeroboam arrayed against him eight hundred thousand chosen men, mighty warriors of valor.
13:4 Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hills of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel!
13:5 Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel granted sovereignty over Israel to David and his descendants forever, by a covenant of salt?
13:6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master.
13:7 And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the LORD in the hands of David’s descendants, armed with a vast multitude and with golden calves that Jeroboam made as your gods.
13:8 You have expelled the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have appointed your own priests like the peoples of other lands. Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.
13:9 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not abandoned Him. The priests serving the LORD are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties.
13:10 They offer burnt offerings to the LORD every morning and every evening, and sweet incense; the bread is set in order on the pure table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps is arranged to burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have abandoned Him.
13:11 Behold, God Himself is with us as our leader, and His priests with trumpets will sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”
13:12 Jeroboam ambushed them from behind while his troops were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.
13:13 When Judah turned and saw the battle was in front of and behind them, they cried out to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets.
13:14 The men of Judah raised a battle cry, and when they shouted, God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
13:15 The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.
13:16 Abijah and his people inflicted a great slaughter on them; five hundred thousand chosen men of Israel fell slain.
13:17 Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the people of Judah prevailed because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.
13:18 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured cities from him: Bethel with its surrounding villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.
13:19 Jeroboam did not regain power during Abijah’s lifetime, and the LORD struck him down, and he died.
13:20 But Abijah grew strong. He married fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
13:21 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, his ways, and his sayings are documented in the narrative of the prophet Iddo.
14:1 Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him, and under his reign, the land was at peace for ten years.
14:2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:
14:3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles.
14:4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey the law and the commandment.
14:5 He removed the high places and the incense altars from every city in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him.
14:6 He built up the fortified cities in Judah, since the land was at peace and he was not at war during those years, for the LORD had given him rest.
14:7 “Let us build these cities,” he said to Judah, “and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him, and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
14:8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, who carried shields and drew bows, all of whom were valiant warriors.
14:9 Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he reached Mareshah.
14:10 Then Asa went out to meet him, and they lined up for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
14:11 Asa called to the LORD his God, “LORD, it is nothing for you to help, whether with many or with those who have no power. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.”
14:12 The LORD struck down the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
14:13 Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians were so crushed that they could not recover; they were shattered before the LORD and his forces, and they carried off a great amount of plunder.
14:14 They destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all these cities, for there was much plunder in them.
14:15 They also struck down the tents of livestock and carried off droves of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
15:1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded.
15:2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
15:3 For a long time, Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach, and without the law.
15:4 But in their distress, they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them.
15:5 In those times, there was no peace for anyone going out or coming in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.
15:6 Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.
15:7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work will be rewarded.”
15:8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD’s temple.
15:9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
15:10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
15:11 At that time, they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back.
15:12 They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.
15:13 Anyone who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.
15:14 They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting, and with trumpets and horns.
15:15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
15:16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
15:17 Although the high places were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life.
15:18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
15:19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
16:1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
16:2 Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the temple of the LORD and the royal palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, saying,
16:3 “Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.”
16:4 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.
16:5 When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work.
16:6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber Baasha had been using to build Ramah. With them, he built up Geba and Mizpah.
16:7 At that time, Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.
16:8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand.
16:9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”
16:10 Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. Asa also oppressed some of the people at the same time.
16:11 The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
16:12 In his thirty-ninth year as ruler, Asa was afflicted in his feet until his condition worsened greatly; yet in his affliction, he did not seek the LORD, but turned to the physicians.
16:13 Asa rested with his ancestors, passing away in the forty-first year of his reign.
16:14 They interred him in his own tombs, which he had fashioned for himself in the city of David, placing him in a bed replete with sweet scents and assorted spices crafted by the apothecaries’ skill: a grand pyre was kindled in his honour.
17:1 Jehoshaphat, his son, ascended the throne in his place, fortifying himself against Israel.
17:2 He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and established military posts in the land of Judah and the cities of Ephraim, which Asa, his father, had seized.
17:3 The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the early ways of his forefather David, not turning to Baalim;
17:4 Instead, he sought the guidance of the LORD, the God of his father, and adhered to His commandments, unlike the practices of Israel.
17:5 Thus, the LORD established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, who amassed wealth and honour in abundance.
17:6 His heart took pride in the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
17:7 In the third year of his reign, he dispatched his officials, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.
17:8 Alongside them, he sent Levites – Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah; and with them, the priests Elishama and Jehoram.
17:9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the book of the law of the LORD; they travelled through all the cities of Judah, instructing the people.
17:10 The fear of the LORD settled upon all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so they did not wage war against Jehoshaphat.
17:11 Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and tribute silver; the Arabians also brought him flocks: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats.
17:12 Jehoshaphat grew increasingly powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah.
17:13 He had many projects in the cities of Judah, and warriors, mighty men of valour, in Jerusalem.
17:14 These are their numbers according to their ancestral houses: For Judah, commanders of thousands; Adnah the commander, with three hundred thousand mighty men of valour.
17:15 Next to him was Jehohanan the commander, with two hundred and eighty thousand.
17:16 Next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who volunteered for the LORD, with two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.
17:17 From Benjamin; Eliada, a mighty man of valour, with two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield.
17:18 Next to him was Jehozabad, with one hundred and eighty thousand ready for war.
17:19 These served the king, in addition to those the king had stationed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
18:1 Now, Jehoshaphat possessed wealth and honour in abundance and allied himself by marriage with Ahab.
18:2 After some years, he went down to Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and oxen for him and the people with him, and persuaded him to join him in attacking Ramoth-Gilead.
18:3 Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-Gilead?” He replied, “I am as you are, my people as your people; we will join you in the battle.”
18:4 Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please seek the counsel of the LORD today.”
18:5 Consequently, the king of Israel gathered four hundred prophets and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth-Gilead, or shall I refrain?” They replied, “Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.”
18:6 However, Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?”
18:7 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is one more man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I despise him because he never prophesies anything good about me, only bad. He is Micaiah, the son of Imlah.” Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
18:8 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah, the son of Imlah, quickly.”
18:9 King Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were sitting each on his throne, dressed in their royal attire, in an open area at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
18:10 Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made horns of iron for himself and declared, “Thus says the LORD, ‘With these, you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.'”
18:11 All the prophets prophesied similarly, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph, for the LORD will give it into the king’s hand.”
18:12 The messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously positive toward the king. Let your word be like one of theirs, and speak favourably.”
18:13 Micaiah responded, “As the LORD lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.”
18:14 When he arrived before the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” He answered, “Go up and triumph; they shall be given into your hands.”
18:15 But the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”
18:16 Then Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.'”
18:17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
18:18 Micaiah continued, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left.
18:19 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one spoke in this manner, and another in that manner.
18:20 Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ The LORD asked, ‘How?’
18:21 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall entice him, and you shall also prevail. Go out and do so.’
18:22 Now, therefore, behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”
18:23 Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, approached, struck Micaiah on the cheek, and asked, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak to you?”
18:24 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go into an inner room to hide.”
18:25 Then the king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son,
18:26 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and feed him with the bread of affliction and water of affliction until I return in peace.'”
18:27 Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken through me.” And he added, “Listen, all you people.”
18:28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-Gilead.
18:29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you wear your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle.
18:30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.”
18:31 When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “Surely it is the king of Israel,” and they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; God diverted them from him.
18:32 As soon as the captains of the chariots realized that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
18:33 But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the sections of his armour. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
18:34 The battle intensified that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. At sunset, he died.
19:1 Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.
19:2 Jehu, the son of Hanani the seer, went out to meet him and said to king Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, wrath is upon you from before the LORD.
19:3 Nevertheless, good things are found in you, in that you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have set your heart to seek God.”
19:4 Jehoshaphat resided in Jerusalem. He went out again among the people, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and led them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
19:5 He appointed judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,
19:6 and said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.
19:7 Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, nor partiality, nor taking of bribes.”
19:8 Moreover, in Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests, and heads of Israeli families, for the LORD’s judgment and for disputes. They returned to Jerusalem,
19:9 and he charged them, “This is how you are to act: in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.
19:10 Whenever a dispute comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, you are to warn them so that they will not be guilty before the LORD, and wrath will not come upon you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not be guilty.
19:11 And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah, the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also the Levites will be officials before you. Act with courage, and the LORD be with the good.”
20:1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, with some of the Meunites, came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.
20:2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the sea; and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En Gedi).
20:3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
20:4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek Him.
20:5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new courtyard,
20:6 and said, “O LORD, God of our ancestors, are You not the God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand You.
20:7 Did You not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?
20:8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for Your name, saying,
20:9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple) and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save.’
20:10 And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came from the land of Egypt, so they turned away from them and did not destroy them—
20:11 here they are, repaying us by coming to drive us out of Your possession, which You have given us to inherit.
20:12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
20:13 All Judah stood before the LORD with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
20:14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.
20:15 He said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid or dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
20:16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley, before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
20:17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”
20:18 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
20:19 Then the Levites from the children of the Kohathites and the children of the Korhites stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20:20 They rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe His prophets, and you will succeed.”
20:21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise Him in holy attire, as they went before the army and said, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His steadfast love endures forever.”
20:22 And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.
20:23 For the Ammonites and Moabites rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly killing and destroying them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
20:24 When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped.
20:25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. And they were three days in gathering the spoil, it was so much.
20:26 On the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore, the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day.
20:27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.
20:28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.
20:29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
20:30 Thus the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.
20:31 Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.
20:32 He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not depart from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD.
20:33 However, the high places were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.
20:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the records of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are included in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
20:35 Afterward, Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly.
20:36 He joined him in making ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
20:37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has broken your works.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.
21:1 Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his place.
21:2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
21:3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and valuable treasures, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the eldest.
21:4 When Jehoram had established himself over his father’s kingdom, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel.
21:5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
21:6 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the LORD.
21:7 Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant He had made with David, and as He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.
21:8 In his days, the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah and set up their own king.
21:9 Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots. He rose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and the commanders of the chariots.
21:10 So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. At the same time, Libnah revolted from under his hand, because he had forsaken the LORD, the God of his fathers.
21:11 Moreover, he made high places in the hills of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness and made Judah go astray.
21:12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
21:13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom, like the whoredom of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, your father’s house, who were better than yourself,
21:14 behold, the LORD will strike your people with a great plague, your children, your wives, and all your possessions.
21:15 And you will suffer a severe illness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the illness, day by day.'”
21:16 The LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who were near the Ethiopians.
21:17 They came up into Judah, broke into it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king’s house, along with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
21:18 After all this, the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
21:19 In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of his disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honour, like the fires made for his fathers.
21:20 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He departed with no one’s regret, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
22:1 The inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, since the band of men that came with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.
22:2 Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.
22:3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his adviser in doing wickedly.
22:4 Therefore, he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab; for after the death of his father, they were his advisers, to his destruction.
22:5 He also followed their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. The Syrians wounded Joram,
22:6 and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
22:7 But it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he arrived, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.
22:8 And it happened that, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, who served Ahaziah, and he killed them.
22:9 He then searched for Ahaziah, and they caught him hiding in Samaria. They brought him to Jehu, and after they had killed him, they buried him, “Because,” they said, “he is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.
22:10 When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy all the royal heirs of the house of Judah.
22:11 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was the sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah, so that she did not kill him.
22:12 And he remained concealed within the temple of the Lord for six years, whilst Athaliah governed the land.
23:1 In the seventh year, Jehoiada mustered his courage, securing an alliance with the centurions – Azariah, son of Jeroham, Ishmael, son of Jehohanan, Azariah, son of Obed, Maaseiah, son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat, son of Zichri.
23:2 They roamed throughout Judah, summoning the Levites from every corner of Judah and the leading families of Israel to join them in Jerusalem.
23:3 There, the entire assembly forged a pact with the monarch within God’s temple, pronouncing, “The prince shall ascend the throne, as the Lord has declared concerning David’s lineage.”
23:4 “Here is the plan,” they announced, “on the Sabbath, a third of you, priests and Levites alike, shall guard the thresholds;
23:5 another third shall be stationed at the royal palace; and the remaining third at the Foundation Gate, with all other citizens assembling in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple.
23:6 Only the priests and those Levites on duty may enter the Lord’s temple, for they are sanctified. All others shall maintain the Lord’s vigil.”
23:7 The Levites are to encircle the king, weapons in hand; anyone else entering the temple must be put to death. Stay close to the king, whether he enters or exits.”
23:8 Thus, the Levites and all of Judah executed everything Jehoiada the priest had ordered, each man leading his men, those coming in and those going out on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions.
23:9 Moreover, Jehoiada the priest handed out spears, large shields, and shields that had belonged to King David and were stored in God’s temple to the commanders.
23:10 He positioned everyone, each armed with a weapon, from the south side of the temple to the north side, near the altar and the temple, encircling the king.
23:11 They then brought forth the king’s son, placed the crown upon him, and presented him with the decree, proclaiming him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and exclaimed, “Long live the king!”
23:12 When Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she joined them at the Lord’s temple,
23:13 only to see the king standing by his column at the entrance, with the leaders and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and musicians with their instruments leading the praises. Athaliah tore her robes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!”
23:14 Jehoiada the priest instructed the commanders in charge of the troops, “Take her outside the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be killed in the Lord’s temple.”
23:15 So they seized her, and when she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate on the palace grounds, they put her to death there.
23:16 Jehoiada then established a covenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people.
23:17 All the people proceeded to the temple of Baal and demolished it. They smashed his altars and images to pieces and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars.
23:18 Jehoiada delegated the oversight of the Lord’s temple to the priests and Levites, whom David had assigned to the Lord’s temple to offer burnt offerings as prescribed in the law of Moses, with joy and singing, according to David’s instructions.
23:19 He also stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the Lord’s temple so that no one who was in any way unclean might enter.
23:20 He then took the commanders, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the royal throne.
23:21 The entire populace rejoiced, and the city was at peace, following Athaliah’s execution by the sword.
24:1 Joash was seven years old when he began his reign, ruling for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba.
24:2 Throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
24:3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.
24:4 Afterward, Joash resolved to restore the Lord’s temple.
24:5 He assembled the priests and Levites, instructing them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect funds from all Israel to repair your God’s temple annually. Ensure you expedite this matter.” However, the Levites did not act promptly.
24:6 The king summoned Jehoiada, the chief priest, and asked, “Why haven’t you demanded the Levites bring in the tax from Judah and Jerusalem as prescribed by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the assembly of Israel for the Tent of Testimony?”
24:7 The sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into God’s temple and even used all the consecrated objects of the Lord’s temple for Baals.
24:8 At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the Lord’s temple.
24:9 A proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, the servant of God, had imposed on Israel in the wilderness.
24:10 All the officials and the people rejoiced, bringing their contributions and dropping them into the chest until it was full.
24:11 Whenever the chest was brought to the royal officials by the Levites and they saw there was a large amount of money, the king’s secretary and the high priest’s officer would come, empty the chest, and then return it to its place. This was done regularly, and they collected a great amount of money.
24:12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those doing the work of the Lord’s temple service. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.
24:13 The workmen carried out their tasks, and the restoration work progressed under their hands. They restored God’s temple to its original condition and strengthened it.
24:14 When they had finished, they brought the remainder of the money to the king and Jehoiada, which was used to make utensils for the Lord’s temple: utensils for service and offering, spoons, and articles of gold and silver. Burnt offerings were presented in the Lord’s temple continually all through Jehoiada’s life.
24:15 Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died at the age of 130.
24:16 He was buried in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel for God and His temple.
24:17 After Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and the king listened to their advice.
24:18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served Asherah poles and idols. Wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of this guilt of theirs.
24:19 Yet God sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord; these testified against them, but they would not listen.
24:20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “God says, ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has forsaken you.'”
24:21 But they conspired against him, and at the king’s command, they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.
24:22 King Joash did not remember the kindness Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him but killed his son, who said as he died, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”
24:23 At the turn of the year, the army of Aram came against Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, sending all their spoil to the king of Damascus.
24:24 Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered a very large army into their hands, because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Thus, they executed judgment on Joash.
24:25 When they withdrew, leaving him severely wounded, his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
24:26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad, son of Shimeath, an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith, a Moabite woman.
24:27 Regarding his sons, the many oracles against him, and the restoration of God’s temple, they are written in the commentary on the book of the kings. And his son Amaziah succeeded him as king.
25:1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
25:2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.
25:3 Once the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, he executed the servants who had murdered his father the king.
25:4 However, he did not put their children to death, but acted according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for their own sin.”
25:5 Amaziah called Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered those twenty years old or older and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war and handle spear and shield.
25:6 He also hired a hundred thousand mighty warriors from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.
25:7 But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the Ephraimites.
25:8 Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”
25:9 Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for the Israelite troops?” The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”
25:10 So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. Their anger against Judah was greatly aroused, and they returned home in a rage.
25:11 Amaziah then took courage and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir.
25:12 The army of Judah captured another ten thousand alive, took them to the top of a cliff, and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.
25:13 Meanwhile, the troops Amaziah had sent back and not allowed to take part in the war raided towns in Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon, killing three thousand people and taking a great deal of plunder.
25:14 After Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir, set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them, and burned sacrifices to them.
25:15 The Lord’s anger burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why have you consulted this people’s gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?”
25:16 While he was still speaking, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped but said, “I know that God has decided to destroy you because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”
25:17 After taking counsel, Amaziah king of Judah sent this challenge to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, “Come, let us face each other in battle.”
25:18 But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah, “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot.
25:19 You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. Stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah with you?”
25:20 But Amaziah would not listen, for it was God’s will to deliver them into the hands of their enemies because they sought the gods of Edom.
25:21 So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah.
25:22 Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home.
25:23 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about four hundred cubits long.
25:24 He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God with Obed-Edom, together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.
25:25 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel.
25:26 The rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?
25:27 From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there.
25:28 They brought him back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the city of Judah.
26:1 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
26:2 He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after the king rested with his ancestors.
26:3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
26:4 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done.
26:5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.
26:6 He went to war against the Philistines, breaking down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines.
26:7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.
26:8 The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt because he had become very powerful.
26:9 Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them.
26:10 He also built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, for he had a lot of livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
26:11 Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials.
26:12 The total number of family leaders over the warriors was 2,600.
26:13 Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies.
26:14 Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows, and sling stones for the entire army.
26:15 In Jerusalem, he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.
26:16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
26:17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in.
26:18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
26:19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
26:20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
26:21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
26:22 The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
26:23 Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in a burial field that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
27:1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerushah daughter of Zadok.
27:2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him, he did not enter the temple of the Lord. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices.
27:3 Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel.
27:4 He built towns in the Judean hills and forts and towers in the wooded areas.
27:5 Jotham fought against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The Ammonites brought the same amount to him also in the second and third years.
27:6 Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.
27:7 The other events in Jotham’s reign, including all his wars and his ways, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
27:8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years.
27:9 Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.
28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. Unlike David his ancestor, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
28:2 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and also made idols for worshiping the Baals.
28:3 He burned incense in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his children in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
28:4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops, and under every spreading tree.
28:5 Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners, bringing them to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who inflicted great slaughter on him.
28:6 In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah—because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
28:7 Zichri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king.
28:8 The Israelites took captive from their fellow Israelites who were from Judah two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.
28:9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven.
28:10 And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God?
28:11 Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord’s fierce anger rests on you.”
28:12 Then some of the leaders in Ephraim—Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—confronted those who were arriving from the war.
28:13 “You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.”
28:14 So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly.
28:15 The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria.
28:16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help.
28:17 The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,
28:18 while the Philistines had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages.
28:19 The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the Lord.
28:20 Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help.
28:21 Ahaz took some of the items from the temple of the Lord, from the royal palace, and from the princes and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.
28:22 In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord.
28:23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.
28:24 Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem.
28:25 In every town in Judah he built high places to burn incense to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.
28:26 The rest of his acts and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
28:27 Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city, in Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.
29:1 Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.
29:2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.
29:3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them.
29:4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side,
29:5 and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.
29:6 Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him.
29:7 They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel.
29:8 Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread, astonishment, and ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes.
29:9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.
29:10 Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.
29:11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.”
29:12 Then the Levites got up: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites; from the Merarites, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehalelel; from the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
29:13 from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
29:14 from the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
29:15 They gathered their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the temple of the Lord, as the king had ordered, following the word of the Lord.
29:16 The priests went into the inner part of the temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness they found in the temple of the Lord into the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley.
29:17 They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the Lord. For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the Lord itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.
29:18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering, with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles.
29:19 We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed during his reign when he was unfaithful. They are now before the altar of the Lord.”
29:20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord.
29:21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord.
29:22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Next, they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar. Then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar.
29:23 The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.
29:24 The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, for the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
29:25 He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, lyres, and harps, in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; for this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets.
29:26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
29:27 Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, the song to the Lord began also, accompanied by the trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel.
29:28 The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the musicians played and the trumpets sounded. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.
29:29 When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped.
29:30 Then King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with joy and bowed down and worshiped.
29:31 Then Hezekiah said, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.
29:32 The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs—all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord.
29:33 The consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats.
29:34 The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their relatives the Levites helped them until the task was finished and other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites were more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests were.
29:35 There were also many burnt offerings, with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished.
29:36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.
30:1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel.
30:2 The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month.
30:3 They had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not gathered in Jerusalem.
30:4 And the plan found favour in the eyes of the monarch and the entire assembly.
30:5 Thus, they resolved to issue a decree and proclaim throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, inviting them to observe the Passover in honour of the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem. For it had not been celebrated in this manner according to the scriptures for a considerable time.
30:6 Hence, couriers were dispatched with letters from the monarch and his nobles throughout all Israel and Judah, echoing the sovereign’s mandate: “O children of Israel, return unto the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may return to the remnants of you who have escaped the clutches of the Assyrian kings.
30:7 Do not emulate your ancestors and your kin who sinned against the LORD, the God of their ancestors, leading to their desolation, as you witness.
30:8 Now, do not harden your hearts as your ancestors did. Instead, submit yourselves to the LORD and enter His sanctuary, which He has consecrated indefinitely: and worship the LORD your God, so the intensity of His anger might be diverted from you.
30:9 If you return to the LORD, your kin and offspring will find mercy before their captors and will be allowed to return to this land. For the LORD your God is kind and merciful, and He will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”
30:10 So the couriers went from city to city through the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but they were met with derision and mockery.
30:11 Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and journeyed to Jerusalem.
30:12 Also in Judah, the hand of God ensured unity in following the command of the sovereign and the officials, in accordance with the word of the LORD.
30:13 A considerable assembly gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a truly grand congregation.
30:14 They stood up and removed all the altars in Jerusalem, and all the incense altars were taken away and cast into the Kidron Valley.
30:15 Then they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were embarrassed, so they sanctified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.
30:16 They stood at their stations according to custom, as prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood received from the hands of the Levites.
30:17 For many in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, and the Levites were responsible for slaughtering the Passover lambs for everyone who was unclean, to consecrate them to the LORD.
30:18 For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what is written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone
30:19 who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even if not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”
30:20 And the LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.
30:21 The Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day with loud instruments.
30:22 And Hezekiah commended all the Levites who showed excellent understanding in the service of the LORD. So they ate the festival meals for seven days, offering peace offerings and confessing to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
30:23 Then the entire assembly agreed to celebrate the festival for another seven days, and they joyfully did so for another seven days.
30:24 King Hezekiah of Judah provided a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials gave a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. Many priests consecrated themselves.
30:25 The entire assembly of Judah, together with the priests, the Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the foreigners who came from the land of Israel, and those residing in Judah, rejoiced.
30:26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.
30:27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.
31:1 When all this had been completed, all Israel present went out to the cities of Judah and smashed the sacred stones, cut down the Asherah poles, and demolished the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.
31:2 And Hezekiah assigned the priests and Levites to their duties, each man according to his service, whether as priest or Levite, for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to minister, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the LORD’s dwelling.
31:3 He also designated a portion of his possessions for burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the set feasts, as written in the law of the LORD.
31:4 Moreover, he commanded the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and Levites, so they could devote themselves to the law of the LORD.
31:5 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously provided the firstfruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and all the produce of the fields; and they brought in a great amount, a tithe of everything.
31:6 The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their cattle and sheep and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the LORD their God, and they piled them in heaps.
31:7 They began to form the heaps in the third month and finished them in the seventh month.
31:8 When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the LORD and His people Israel.
31:9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps,
31:10 and Azariah the chief priest from the house of Zadok said to him, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the LORD has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”
31:11 Hezekiah ordered that storerooms be prepared in the temple of the LORD, and they did so.
31:12 They faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes, and dedicated gifts. Conaniah the Levite was in charge, and his brother Shimei was second in command.
31:13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei, by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah, the ruler of the house of God.
31:14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the gatekeeper at the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings to God, distributing the contributions made to the LORD and the most sacred gifts.
31:15 Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the towns of the priests, were entrusted to distribute the allocations to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike.
31:16 In addition, they distributed to those males three years old and upwards who were listed in the genealogies, all who would enter the temple of the LORD to perform the daily duties according to their responsibilities and their divisions.
31:17 This included the genealogy of the priests by their ancestral houses and the Levites twenty years old and upwards by their duties and divisions.
31:18 The genealogy also included all their little ones, wives, sons, and daughters, the whole assembly, for in their faithfulness they consecrated themselves in holiness.
31:19 Also included were the sons of Aaron, the priests, who lived on the farm lands around their towns or in any town, men designated by name to distribute portions to all the male priests and to all who were listed in the Levite genealogies.
31:20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God.
31:21 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.
32:1 After these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.
32:2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem,
32:3 he consulted with his officials and military advisers about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they supported him.
32:4 A large force was assembled to block all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?”
32:5 He then worked hard rebuilding all the broken sections of the wall, erecting towers on it, building another wall outside it, reinforcing the Millo in the City of David, and making large numbers of weapons and shields.
32:6 He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, encouraging them with these words: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.
32:7 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
32:8 Afterwards, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,
32:9 “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?
32:10 Is not Hezekiah misleading you, handing you over to die by famine and by thirst, claiming, ‘The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria’?
32:11 Has not the same Hezekiah removed His high places and His altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall worship before one altar and on it burn incense’?
32:12 Do you not know what I and my ancestors have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands from my hand?
32:13 Who among all the gods of those nations that my ancestors utterly destroyed could deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand?
32:14 Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this way, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my ancestors. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!”
32:15 His servants spoke further against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah.
32:16 Sennacherib also wrote letters insulting the LORD, the God of Israel, and speaking against Him, saying, “Just as the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand.”
32:17 They shouted this with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might capture the city.
32:18 They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of human hands.
32:19 But Hezekiah the king and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven.
32:20 Then the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. When he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.
32:21 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side.
32:22 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on, he was highly regarded by all the nations.
32:23 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.
32:24 But Hezekiah’s heart was proud, and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.
32:25 However, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the LORD’s wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.
32:26 Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuables,
32:27 as well as storehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks.
32:28 He also made towns and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great wealth.
32:29 Furthermore, He endowed him with cities, and a wealth of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had lavished upon him considerable wealth.
32:30 Hezekiah, moreover, blocked the upper source of the waters of Gihon, directing them straight down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah flourished in all his endeavours.
32:31 Nevertheless, concerning the matter of the envoys from the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the miraculous event that had occurred in the land, God withdrew from him to test him, that He might know everything that was in his heart.
32:32 The remainder of the deeds of Hezekiah, along with his acts of kindness, are recorded in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the chronicles of the kings of Judah and Israel.
32:33 And Hezekiah passed away, joining his ancestors, and they laid him to rest in the most distinguished of the tombs of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honoured him at his passing. And Manasseh, his son, succeeded him as king.
33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he ascended to the throne, and he ruled for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
33:2 Yet, he engaged in evil in the sight of the LORD, emulating the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had expelled before the children of Israel.
33:3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had demolished, and erected altars for the Baals, and made Asherah poles, and bowed before all the host of heaven and served them.
33:4 He also constructed altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had stated, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.”
33:5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
33:6 He made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used enchantments and witchcraft, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did a great deal of evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
33:7 Moreover, he placed a carved image, the idol he had fashioned, in the house of God, about which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
33:8 Nor will I any longer remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your ancestors; if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances given by Moses.”
33:9 Thus, Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do worse than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
33:10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.
33:11 Therefore, the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.
33:12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favour of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors.
33:13 He prayed to Him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.
33:14 After this, he built an outer wall for the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance at the Fish Gate, and it encircled Ophel; and he raised it to a very great height. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
33:15 He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, along with all the altars he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he cast them outside the city.
33:16 He restored the altar of the LORD and offered on it sacrifices of peace and thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.
33:17 Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
33:18 The rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, indeed, they are written in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
33:19 His supplication, how God acquiesced to him, all his wrongdoings, his transgression, and the locales where he erected high places, established groves, and sculpted idols before his humility: indeed, they are chronicled in the annals of the seers.
33:20 Thus, Manasseh joined his ancestors in rest, and they interred him within his own dwelling: and Amon, his son, ascended to the throne in his place.
33:21 Amon was two and twenty when he commenced his reign, governing for two years in Jerusalem.
33:22 Yet, he pursued evil in the LORD’s view, as Manasseh his father had: for Amon worshipped all the carved idols Manasseh his father had crafted, and venerated them;
33:23 And did not humble himself before the LORD as Manasseh his father had; instead, Amon’s transgressions multiplied.
33:24 His servants conspired against him, and assassinated him in his own abode.
33:25 But the land’s populace executed all those who had plotted against King Amon; and the people then crowned Josiah, his son, as king in his stead.
34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he took the throne, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
34:2 He acted rightly in the LORD’s sight, walking in the footsteps of David his ancestor, swaying neither right nor left.
34:3 In the eighth year of his reign, while still youthful, he began to seek the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year, he commenced purging Judah and Jerusalem of high places, groves, carved, and molten images.
34:4 In his presence, they demolished the altars of Baalim; he cut down the images that stood aloft above them; the groves, carved images, and molten images he shattered, reduced to dust, and scattered over the graves of those who had offered to them.
34:5 He burned the priests’ bones upon their altars, purifying Judah and Jerusalem.
34:6 And thus he did in the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks all around.
34:7 He demolished the altars and groves, pulverized the graven images into dust, and chopped down all the idols throughout Israel’s land, then returned to Jerusalem.
34:8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, having purified the land and the temple, he dispatched Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city governor, and Joah son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the temple of the LORD his God.
34:9 Upon arriving, they handed over to Hilkiah the high priest the money that had been brought into God’s temple, which the Levites who kept the doors had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
34:10 They entrusted it to the workmen appointed over the LORD’s house, and these in turn paid it to the workmen who were working in the LORD’s house, to repair and restore the structure:
34:11 They gave it to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and to roof the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to decay.
34:12 The men worked diligently: the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of Kohath, to supervise; along with other Levites, all of whom were skilled in playing musical instruments.
34:13 They also supervised the burden bearers and were overseers of all the workers engaged in various tasks: and among the Levites were scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.
34:14 While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the LORD’s house, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given through Moses.
34:15 Hilkiah responded to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” Hilkiah handed the book over to Shaphan.
34:16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, reporting furthermore, “Your servants are doing everything entrusted to them.
34:17 They have collected the money found in the LORD’s house and have handed it over to the overseers and the workmen.”
34:18 Shaphan the scribe informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
34:19 Upon hearing the words of the Law, the king tore his clothes.
34:20 And the monarch charged Hilkiah, alongside Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Abdon, son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, a retainer of the royal household, stating,
34:21 “Seek the LORD’s counsel for me, and for the remnants within Israel and Judah, regarding the scripture of the discovered book: for immense is the fury of the LORD that has been unleashed upon us, because our ancestors failed to abide by the LORD’s decree, to follow everything inscribed in this tome.
34:22 Thus, Hilkiah and those appointed by the king journeyed to Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum son of Tikvath, son of Hasrah, custodian of the wardrobe; (she resided in Jerusalem within the academy:) and they relayed to her their message.
34:23 And she responded, “This is the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, relay to the man who dispatched you to me,
34:24 ‘Thus says the LORD, I am to bring calamity upon this place and its inhabitants, all the curses noted in the book read before the king of Judah:
34:25 For they have abandoned me and offered incense to other deities, aiming to provoke my ire with all their deeds; hence, my wrath shall be poured out on this place and will not be extinguished.’
34:26 Concerning the king of Judah who sent you to seek the LORD’s guidance, thus shall you inform him, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, regarding the words you have heard;
34:27 Because your heart was soft, and you humbled yourself before God upon hearing his pronouncements about this place and its residents, and you humbled yourself before me, tore your garments, and wept in my presence; I too have heeded you, declares the LORD.
34:28 Behold, I will gather you to your forebears, and you shall be laid to rest in peace in your tomb, and your eyes shall not witness all the disaster I am to bring upon this locale and its denizens.’ Hence, they returned to the king with this message.
34:29 Subsequently, the king convened all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
34:30 The king ascended to the LORD’s house, accompanied by all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the populace, both high and low; and he read aloud all the words of the book of the covenant discovered in the LORD’s temple.
34:31 The king stood at his station and pledged before the LORD to follow the LORD, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes with all his heart and soul, to execute the terms of the covenant recorded in this book.
34:32 He committed all present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to uphold it. The inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.
34:33 And Josiah removed all abominations from the territories belonging to the children of Israel, and required all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his lifetime, they did not stray from following the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
35:1 Furthermore, Josiah observed a passover to the LORD in Jerusalem; and they slaughtered the passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month.
35:2 He positioned the priests in their duties and encouraged them in the service of the LORD’s house,
35:3 And he instructed the Levites, who educated all Israel and were consecrated to the LORD, “Place the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, constructed; it shall not be a burden on your shoulders: now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel,
35:4 And ready yourselves by the ancestral houses according to your divisions, as prescribed by David, king of Israel, and by Solomon his son.
35:5 Position yourselves in the sanctuary according to the divisions of the familial heads of your brethren, the people, and the division of the Levite families.
35:6 Thus, prepare the passover, consecrate yourselves, and prepare your brethren to act according to the LORD’s directive through Moses.
35:7 Josiah provided for the assembly, from the flock, lambs, and kids, all for the passover offerings, to the total of thirty thousand, and three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s own possessions.
35:8 His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people, the priests, and the Levites: Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the guardians of the temple, gave to the priests for the passover offerings two thousand six hundred small livestock and three hundred cattle.
35:9 Conaniah, along with Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided the Levites for the passover offerings five thousand small livestock and five hundred cattle.
35:10 Therefore, the service was arranged, and the priests stood in their positions, and the Levites in their divisions, as per the king’s command.
35:11 And they slaughtered the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood received from them, and the Levites skinned the offerings.
35:12 They set aside the burnt offerings to distribute according to the subdivisions of the family groups among the people, to present to the LORD as written in the book of Moses. And they did likewise with the cattle.
35:13 They cooked the passover over fire as per the regulation; however, the other sacred offerings were boiled in pots, cauldrons, and pans, and quickly distributed to all the people.
35:14 Afterwards, they prepared for themselves and for the priests because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were occupied in presenting burnt offerings and the fat until night; hence, the Levites prepared for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.
35:15 The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places according to the directive of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers were at every gate, unable to leave their duty because their Levite brethren prepared for them.
35:16 Thus, the entire service of the LORD was organized for that day, to observe the passover and to present burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, as ordered by King Josiah.
35:17 And the Israelites present observed the passover at that time, and the festival of unleavened bread for seven days.
35:18 No passover like it had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor did any of the kings of Israel celebrate such a passover as Josiah did, with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
35:19 This passover was observed in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.
35:20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho, king of Egypt, came up to engage in battle at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to confront him.
35:21 But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What conflict exists between us, king of Judah? I come not against you today but against the realm with which I am at war; God has directed me to hasten. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.”
35:22 Yet Josiah did not turn away from him but disguised himself to engage him in battle, disregarding the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and entered the fray in the Valley of Megiddo.
35:23 And the archers struck King Josiah; and he said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am grievously wounded.”
35:24 His servants therefore took him from that chariot, placed him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem. There he died and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
35:25 Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, and all the singing men and women commemorate Josiah in their laments to this day; they established it as a tradition in Israel, and indeed, they are recorded in the laments.
35:26 The remainder of Josiah’s acts, his kindness, according to what is written in the law of the LORD,
35:27 And his deeds, from first to last, behold, they are inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
36:1 Subsequently, the populace of the land took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, and proclaimed him ruler in his father’s stead in Jerusalem.
36:2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
36:3 And the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and imposed a fine on the land of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
36:4 The king of Egypt then made Eliakim, his brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem, and altered his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz, his brother, and transported him to Egypt.
36:5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He acted wickedly in the eyes of the LORD his God.
36:6 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, advanced against him, bound him in bronze shackles, and led him to Babylon.
36:7 Nebuchadnezzar also took the vessels of the LORD’s house to Babylon, placing them in his temple there.
36:8 The rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, his detestable practices, and the findings against him, are chronicled in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin, his son, succeeded him.
36:9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the LORD.
36:10 At the turn of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him to Babylon, along with the precious vessels of the LORD’s house, and made Zedekiah, his brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
36:11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
36:12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD.
36:13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance by God. Yet he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.
36:14 Moreover, all the leaders of the priests and the people greatly transgressed, following all the abominations of the nations, and they defiled the LORD’s house which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
36:15 The LORD, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.
36:16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, and there was no remedy.
36:17 Therefore, he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor maiden, old man, nor those stooped with age. He handed them all over to him.
36:18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the LORD’s house, and the treasures of the king and his officials, all these he brought to Babylon.
36:19 They set fire to God’s house, broke down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels.
36:20 Those who escaped the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his descendants until the kingdom of Persia came to power,
36:21 to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had paid off its sabbaths. For as long as it lay desolate, it kept sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
36:22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, stating,
36:23 “Thus declares Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to his people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.'”
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