Bible (American Standard)/2 Chronicles

The Second Book of the Chronicles
==Chapter 1==
 And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his
kingdom, and Jehovah his God was with him, and magnified him
exceedingly. 
 And Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the
captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to
every prince in all Israel, the heads of the fathers' [houses].
 So Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the
high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tent of meeting
of God, which Moses the servant of Jehovah had made in the
wilderness. 
 But the ark of God had David brought up from
Kiriath-jearim to [the place] that David had prepared for it;
for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. 
 Moreover,
the brazen altar, that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur,
had made, was there before the tabernacle of Jehovah: and
Solomon and the assembly sought unto it. 
 And Solomon went
up thither to the brazen altar before Jehovah, which was at the
tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt-offerings upon it.
 In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said
unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. 
 And Solomon said
unto God, Thou hast showed great lovingkindness unto David my
father, and hast made me king in his stead. 
 Now, O Jehovah
God, let thy promise unto David my father be established; for
thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth
in multitude. 
 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I
may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge
this thy people, that is so great? 
 And God said to
Solomon, Because this was in thy heart, and thou hast not asked
riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of them that hate thee,
neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and
knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over
whom I have made thee king: 
 wisdom and knowledge is
granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and
honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before
thee; neither shall there any after thee have the like. 
 So Solomon came from the high place that was at Gibeon, from
before the tent of meeting, unto Jerusalem; and he reigned over
Israel. 
 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and
he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand
horsemen, that he placed in the chariot cities, and with the
king at Jerusalem. 
 And the king made silver and gold to
be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the
sycomore-trees that are in the lowland, for abundance. 
 And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; the
king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.
 And they fetched up and brought out of Egypt a chariot
for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for a hundred
and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and the
kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.
==Chapter 2==
 Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the name of
Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom. 
 And Solomon counted
out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and
fourscore thousand men that were hewers in the mountains, and
three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. 
 And
Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst
deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build
him a house to dwell therein, [even so deal with me]. 
 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Jehovah my
God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of
sweet spices, and for the continual showbread, and for the
burnt-offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the
new moons, and on the set feasts of Jehovah our God. This is [an
ordinance] for ever to Israel. 
 And the house which I build
is great; for great is our God above all gods. 
 But who is
able to build him a house, seeing heaven and the heaven of
heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build
him a house, save only to burn incense before him? 
 Now
therefore send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver,
and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue,
and that knoweth how to grave [all manner of] gravings, [to be]
with the skilful men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem,
whom David my father did provide. 
 Send me also
cedar-trees, fir-trees, and algum-trees, out of Lebanon; for I
know that thy servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon: and,
behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, 
 even to
prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about
to build shall be great and wonderful. 
 And, behold, I
will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty
thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures
of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty
thousand baths of oil. 
 Then Huram the king of Tyre
answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because Jehovah
loveth his people, he hath made thee king over them. 
 Huram said moreover, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, that
made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise
son, endued with discretion and understanding, that should build
a house for Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom. 
 And now
I have sent a skilful man, endued with understanding, of Huram
my father's, 
 the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan;
and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and
in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in
purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to
grave any manner of graving, and to devise any device; that
there may be [a place] appointed unto him with thy skilful men,
and with the skilful men of my lord David thy father. 
 Now
therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which
my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: 
 and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need;
and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou
shalt carry it up to Jerusalem. 
 And Solomon numbered all
the sojourners that were in the land of Israel, after the
numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they
were found a hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and
six hundred. 
 And he set threescore and ten thousand of
them to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in
the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to
set the people at work.
==Chapter 3==
 Then Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at
Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where [Jehovah] appeared unto David
his father, which he made ready in the place that David had
appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 
 And he began to build in the second [day] of the second month,
in the fourth year of his reign. 
 Now these are the
foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of
God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore
cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. 
 And the porch that
was before [the house], the length of it, according to the
breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a
hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
 And the greater house he ceiled with fir-wood, which he
overlaid with fine gold, and wrought thereon palm-trees and
chains. 
 And he garnished the house with precious stones
for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. 
 He overlaid
also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls
thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim
on the walls. 
 And he made the most holy house: the length
thereof, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty
cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits; and he overlaid
it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. 
 And
the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he
overlaid the upper chambers with gold. 
 And in the most
holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid
them with gold. 
 And the wings of the cherubim were twenty
cubits long: the wing of the one [cherub] was five cubits,
reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was
[likewise] five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other
cherub. 
 And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits,
reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five
cubits [also], joining to the wing of the other cherub. 
 The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty
cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were
toward the house. 
 And he made the veil of blue, and
purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim
thereon. 
 Also he made before the house two pillars of
thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top
of each of them was five cubits. 
 And he made chains in
the oracle, and put [them] on the tops of the pillars; and he
made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. 
 And he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right
hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on
the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
==Chapter 4==
 Moreover, he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the
length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten
cubits the height thereof. 
 Also he made the molten sea of
ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and the height
thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed
it round about. 
 And under it was the likeness of oxen,
which did compass it round about, for ten cubits, compassing the
sea round about. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was
cast. 
 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the
north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking
toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea
was set upon them above, and all their hinder parts were inward.
 And it was a handbreadth thick; and the brim thereof was
wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it
received and held three thousand baths. 
 He made also ten
lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to
wash in them; such things as belonged to the burnt-offering they
washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
 And he made the ten candlesticks of gold according to the
ordinance concerning them; and he set them in the temple, five
on the right hand, and five on the left. 
 He made also ten
tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side,
and five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of gold.
 Furthermore, he made the court of the priests, and the
great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of
them with brass. 
 And he set the sea on the right side [of
the house] eastward, toward the south. 
 And Huram made the
pots, and the shovels, and the basins. So Huram made an end of
doing the work that he wrought for king Solomon in the house of
God: 
 the two pillars, and the bowls, and the two capitals
which were on the top of the pillars, and the two networks to
cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the
pillars, 
 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two
networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover
the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars. 
 He made also the bases, and the lavers made he upon the bases;
 one sea, and the twelve oxen under it. 
 The pots
also, and the shovels, and the flesh-hooks, and all the vessels
thereof, did Huram his father make for king Solomon for the
house of Jehovah of bright brass. 
 In the plain of the
Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between
Succoth and Zeredah. 
 Thus Solomon made all these vessels
in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be
found out. 
 And Solomon made all the vessels that were in
the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon
was the showbread; 
 and the candlesticks with their lamps,
to burn according to the ordinance before the oracle, of pure
gold; 
 and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of
gold, and that perfect gold; 
 and the snuffers, and the
basins, and the spoons, and the firepans, of pure gold: and as
for the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most
holy place, and the doors of the house, [to wit], of the temple,
were of gold.
==Chapter 5==
 Thus all the work that Solomon wrought for the house of
Jehovah was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that
David his father had dedicated, even the silver, and the gold,
and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house
of God. 
 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and
all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers'
[houses] of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up
the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David,
which is Zion. 
 nd all the men of Israel assembled
themselves unto the king at the feast, which was [in] the
seventh month. 
 And all the elders of Israel came: and the
Levites took up the ark; 
 and they brought up the ark, and
the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the
Tent; these did the priests the Levites bring up. 
 And king
Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled
unto him, were before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that
could not be counted nor numbered for multitude. 
 And the
priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto its
place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place,
even under the wings of the cherubim. 
 For the cherubim
spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the
cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above. 
 And
the staves were so long that the ends of the staves were seen
from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without:
and there it is unto this day. 
 There was nothing in the
ark save the two tables which Moses put [there] at Horeb, when
Jehovah made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they
came out of Egypt. 
 And it came to pass, when the priests
were come out of the holy place, (for all the priests that were
present had sanctified themselves, and did not keep their
courses; 
 also the Levites who were the singers, all of
them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their
brethren, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and psalteries and
harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a
hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets;) 
 it
came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to
make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Jehovah; and
when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals
and instruments of music, and praised Jehovah, [saying], For he
is good; for his lovingkindness [endureth] for ever; that then
the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of Jehovah,
 so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason
of the cloud: for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of God.
==Chapter 6==
 Then spake Solomon, Jehovah hath said that he would
dwell in the thick darkness. 
 But I have built thee a house
of habitation, and a place for thee to dwell in for ever. 
 And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of
Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood. 
 And he said,
Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who spake with his mouth
unto David my father, and hath with his hands fulfilled it,
saying, 
 Since the day that I brought forth my people out
of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of
Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither
chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel: 
 but I
have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have
chosen David to be over my people Israel. 
 Now it was in
the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of
Jehovah, the God of Israel. 
 But Jehovah said unto David my
father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my
name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart: 
 nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that
shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for
my name. 
 And Jehovah hath performed his word that he
spake; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit
on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and have built the
house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel. 
 And
there have I set the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah,
which he made with the children of Israel. 
 And he stood
before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of all the assembly
of Israel, and spread forth his hands 
 (for Solomon had
made a brazen scaffold, five cubits long, and five cubits broad,
and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court;
and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all
the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward
heaven;) 
 and he said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, there
is no God like thee, in heaven, or on earth; who keepest
covenant and lovingkindness with thy servants, that walk before
thee with all their heart; 
 who hast kept with thy servant
David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou
spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as
it is this day. 
 Now therefore, O Jehovah, the God of
Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou
hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my
sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy children take
heed to their way, to walk in my law as thou hast walked before
me. 
 Now therefore, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, let thy
word be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David.
 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth?
behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee;
how much less this house which I have builded! 
 Yet have
thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his
supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and to
the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee; 
 that
thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even
toward the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put
thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant
shall pray toward this place. 
 And hearken thou to the
supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when
they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou from thy
dwelling-place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest forgive.
 If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid
upon him to cause him to swear, and he come [and] swear before
thine altar in this house; 
 then hear thou from heaven,
and do, and judge thy servants, requiting the wicked, to bring
his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, to give
him according to his righteousness. 
 And if thy people
Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have
sinned against thee, and shall turn again and confess thy name,
and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; 
 then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people
Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to
them and to their fathers. 
 When the heavens are shut up,
and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if
they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from
their sin, when thou dost afflict them: 
 then hear thou in
heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people
Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should
walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy
people for an inheritance. 
 If there be in the land
famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew,
locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land
of their cities; whatsoever plague or whatsoever sickness there
be; 
 what prayer and supplication soever be made by any
man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man his
own plague and his own sorrow, and shall spread forth his hands
toward this house: 
 then hear thou from heaven thy
dwelling-place and forgive, and render unto every man according
to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou
only, knowest the hearts of the children of men;) 
 that
they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in
the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. 
 Moreover,
concerning the foreigner, that is not of thy people Israel, when
he shall come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and
thy mighty hand, and thine outstretched arm; when they shall
come and pray toward this house: 
 then hear thou from
heaven, even from thy dwelling-place, and do according to all
that the foreigner calleth to thee for; that all the peoples of
the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people
Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have
built is called by thy name. 
 If thy people go out to
battle against their enemies, by whatsoever way thou shalt send
them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast
chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; 
 then hear thou from heaven their prayer and their supplication,
and maintain their cause. 
 If they sin against thee (for
there is no man that sinneth not), and thou be angry with them,
and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away
captive unto a land far off or near; 
 yet if they shall
bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive,
and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of
their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done
perversely, and have dealt wickedly; 
 if they return unto
thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of
their captivity, whither they have carried them captive, and
pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers,
and the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which
I have built for thy name: 
 then hear thou from heaven,
even from thy dwelling-place, their prayer and their
supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people
who have sinned against thee. 
 Now, O my God, let, I
beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent,
unto the prayer that is made in this place. 
 Now therefore
arise, O Jehovah God, into thy resting-place, thou, and the ark
of thy strength: let thy priests, O Jehovah God, be clothed with
salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. 
 O
Jehovah God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember
[thy] lovingkindnesses to David thy servant.
==Chapter 7==
 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire
came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering and the
sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house. 
 And
the priests could not enter into the house of Jehovah, because
the glory of Jehovah filled Jehovah's house. 
 And all the
children of Israel looked on, when the fire came down, and the
glory of Jehovah was upon the house; and they bowed themselves
with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and
worshipped, and gave thanks unto Jehovah, [saying], For he is
good; for his lovingkindness [endureth] for ever. 
 Then the
king and all the people offered sacrifice before Jehovah. 
 And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand
oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and
all the people dedicated the house of God. 
 And the priests
stood, according to their offices; the Levites also with
instruments of music of Jehovah, which David the king had made
to give thanks unto Jehovah, (for his lovingkindness [endureth]
for ever,) when David praised by their ministry: and the priests
sounded trumpets before them; and all Israel stood. 
 Moreover, Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was
before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the
burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the
brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the
burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat. 
 So
Solomon held the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel
with him, a very great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath
unto the brook of Egypt. 
 And on the eighth day they held a
solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven
days, and the feast seven days. 
 And on the three and
twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away unto
their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that
Jehovah had showed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his
people. 
 Thus Solomon finished the house of Jehovah, and
the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make
in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he prosperously
effected. 
 And Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night, and
said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this
place to myself for a house of sacrifice. 
 If I shut up
the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust
to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
 if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land. 
 Now mine eyes shall
be open, and mine ears attent, unto the prayer that is made in
this place. 
 For now have I chosen and hallowed this
house, that my name may be there for ever; and mine eyes and my
heart shall be there perpetually. 
 And as for thee, if
thou wilt walk before me as David thy father walked, and do
according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my
statutes and mine ordinances; 
 then I will establish the
throne of thy kingdom, according as I covenanted with David thy
father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in
Israel. 
 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and
my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and
serve other gods, and worship them; 
 then will I pluck
them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and
this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out
of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all
peoples. 
 And this house, which is so high, every one that
passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall say, Why hath
Jehovah done thus unto this land, and to this house? 
 And
they shall answer, Because they forsook Jehovah, the God of
their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt,
and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served
them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.
==Chapter 8==
 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein
Solomon had built the house of Jehovah, and his own house, 
 that the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built
them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. 
 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it.
 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the
store-cities, which he built in Hamath. 
 Also he built
Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fortified
cities, with walls, gates, and bars; 
 and Baalath, and all
the store-cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his
chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon
desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon,
and in all the land of his dominion. 
 As for all the people
that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the
Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, that were not of
Israel; 
 of their children that were left after them in the
land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, of them did
Solomon raise a levy [of bondservants] unto this day. 
 But
of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his
work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and
rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen. 
 And these
were the chief officers of king Solomon, even two hundred and
fifty, that bare rule over the people. 
 And Solomon
brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto
the house that he had built for her; for he said, My wife shall
not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the
places are holy, whereunto the ark of Jehovah hath come. 
 Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto Jehovah on the altar
of Jehovah, which he had built before the porch, 
 even as
the duty of every day required, offering according to the
commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and
on the set feasts, three times in the year, [even] in the feast
of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast
of tabernacles. 
 And he appointed, according to the
ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests to
their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise, and
to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day
required; the doorkeepers also by their courses at every gate:
for so had David the man of God commanded. 
 And they
departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests
and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.
 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of
the foundation of the house of Jehovah, and until it was
finished. [So] the house of Jehovah was completed. 
 Then
went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, on the seashore in
the land of Edom. 
 And Huram sent him by the hands of his
servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and
they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched
from thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought
them to king Solomon.
==Chapter 9==
 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of
Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at
Jerusalem, with a very great train, and camels that bare spices,
and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was
come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her
heart. 
 And Solomon told her all her questions; and there
was not anything hid from Solomon which he told her not. 
 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and
the house that he had built, 
 and the food of his table,
and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his
ministers, and their apparel, his cupbearers also, and their
apparel, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of
Jehovah; there was no more spirit in her. 
 And she said to
the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of
thine acts, and of thy wisdom. 
 Howbeit I believed not
their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it; and,
behold, the half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me:
thou exceedest the fame that I heard. 
 Happy are thy men,
and happy are these thy servants, that stand continually before
thee, and hear thy wisdom. 
 Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who
delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king for
Jehovah thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them
for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do justice
and righteousness. 
 And she gave the king a hundred and
twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and
precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen
of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 
 And the servants also of
Huram, and the servants of Solomon, that brought gold from
Ophir, brought algum-trees and precious stones. 
 And the
king made of the algum-trees terraces for the house of Jehovah,
and for the king's house, and harps and psalteries for the
singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of
Judah. 
 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all
her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides that which she had
brought unto the king. So she turned, and went to her own land,
she and her servants. 
 Now the weight of gold that came to
Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six
talents of gold, 
 besides that which the traders and
merchants brought: and all the kings of Arabia and the governors
of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 
 And
king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six
hundred [shekels] of beaten gold went to one buckler. 
 And
[he made] three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred
[shekels] of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in
the house of the forest of Lebanon. 
 Moreover, the king
made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
 nd there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool
of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on either
side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the
stays. 
 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and
on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in
any kingdom. 
 And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were
of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of
Lebanon were of pure gold: silver was nothing accounted of in
the days of Solomon. 
 For the king had ships that went to
Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years came
the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and
apes, and peacocks. 
 So king Solomon exceeded all the
kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 
 And all the
kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his
wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 
 And they brought
every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold,
and raiment, armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year
by year. 
 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses
and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he bestowed in
the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. 
 And
he ruled over all the kings from the River even unto the land of
the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 
 And the king
made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to
be as the sycomore-trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.
 And they brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt, and out
of all lands. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first
and last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the
prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the
visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty
years. 
 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was
buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son
reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 10==
 And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel were come
to Shechem to make him king. 
 And it came to pass, when
Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was in Egypt,
whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon,) that
Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. 
 And they sent and called
him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came, and they spake to
Rehoboam, saying, 
 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now
therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his
heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve
thee. 
 And he said unto them, Come again unto me after
three days. And the people departed. 
 And king Rehoboam
took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his
father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to
return answer to this people? 
 And they spake unto him,
saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and
speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for
ever. 
 But he forsook the counsel of the old men which
they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that
were grown up with him, that stood before him. 
 And he
said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer
to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke
that thy father did put upon us lighter? 
 And the young
men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus
shalt thou say unto the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy
father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us;
thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger is thicker than
my father's loins. 
 And now whereas my father did lade
you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father
chastised you with whips, but I [will chastise you] with
scorpions. 
 So Jeroboam and all the people came to
Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me
again the third day. 
 And the king answered them roughly;
and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, 
 and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My
father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father
chastised you with whips, but I [will chastise you] with
scorpions. 
 So the king hearkened not unto the people;
for it was brought about of God, that Jehovah might establish
his word, which he spake by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the
son of Nebat. 
 And when all Israel saw that the king
hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying,
What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in
the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: now see to
thine own house, David. So all Israel departed unto their tents.
 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the
cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 
 Then king
Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the men subject to taskwork;
and the children of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And
king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee
to Jerusalem. 
 So Israel rebelled against the house of
David unto this day.
==Chapter 11==
 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled
the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore
thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against
Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam. 
 But the
word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 
 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to
all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, 
 Thus saith
Jehovah, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren:
return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they
hearkened unto the words of Jehovah, and returned from going
against Jeroboam. 
 And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and
built cities for defence in Judah. 
 He built Beth-lehem,
and Etam, and Tekoa, 
 And Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam,
 and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, 
 and Adoraim, and
Lachish, and Azekah, 
 and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron,
which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities. 
 And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and
stores of victuals, and oil and wine. 
 And in every city
[he put] shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. And
Judah and Benjamin belonged to him. 
 And the priests and
the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all
their border. 
 For the Levites left their suburbs and
their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam
and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the
priest's office unto Jehovah; 
 and he appointed him
priests for the high places, and for the he-goats, and for the
calves which he had made. 
 And after them, out of all the
tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek Jehovah, the
God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto Jehovah, the
God of their fathers. 
 So they strengthened the kingdom
of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three
years; for they walked three years in the way of David and
Solomon. 
 And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the
daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, [and of] Abihail the
daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; 
 and she bare him
sons: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham. 
 And after her he
took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bare him Abijah,
and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 
 And Rehoboam loved
Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his
concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore
concubines, and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore
daughters.) 
 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of
Maacah to be chief, [even] the prince among his brethren; for
[he was minded] to make him king. 
 And he dealt wisely,
and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah
and Benjamin, unto every fortified city: and he gave them
victuals in abundance. And he sought [for them] many wives.
==Chapter 12==
 And it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was
established, and he was strong, that he forsook the law of
Jehovah, and all Israel with him. 
 And it came to pass in
the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came
up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against
Jehovah, 
 with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore
thousand horsemen. And the people were without number that came
with him out of Egypt: the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the
Ethiopians. 
 And he took the fortified cities which
pertained to Judah, and came unto Jerusalem. 
 Now Shemaiah
the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that
were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said
unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, Ye have forsaken me, therefore
have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. 
 Then the
princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they
said, Jehovah is righteous. 
 And when Jehovah saw that
they humbled themselves, the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah,
saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them;
but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not
be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 
 Nevertheless, they shall be his servants, that they may know my
service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and
took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the
treasures of the king's house: he took all away: he took away
also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 
 And
king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and
committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, that
kept the door of the king's house. 
 And it was so, that,
as oft as the king entered into the house of Jehovah, the guard
came and bare them, and brought them back into the
guard-chamber. 
 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of
Jehovah turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether:
and moreover in Judah there were good things [found]. 
 So
king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned:
for Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which
Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his
name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.
 And he did that which was evil, because he set not his
heart to seek Jehovah. 
 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first
and last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the
prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies?
And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in
the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 13==
 In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah
to reign over Judah. 
 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem:
and his mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of
Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 
 And Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war,
even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the
battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen
men, who were mighty men of valor. 
 And Abijah stood up
upon mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim,
and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel: 
 Ought ye
not to know that Jehovah, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom
over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a
covenant of salt? 
 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the
servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled
against his lord. 
 And there were gathered unto him
worthless men, base fellows, that strengthened themselves
against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and
tender-hearted, and could not withstand them. 
 And now ye
think to withstand the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the
sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and there are with
you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods. 
 Have ye not driven out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of
Aaron, and the Levites, and made you priests after the manner of
the peoples of [other] lands? so that whosoever cometh to
consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same
may be a priest of [them that are] no gods. 
 But as for
us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and [we
have] priests ministering unto Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and
the Levites in their work: 
 and they burn unto Jehovah
every morning and every evening burnt-offerings and sweet
incense: the showbread also [set they] in order upon the pure
table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to
burn every evening: for we keep the charge of Jehovah our God;
but ye have forsaken him. 
 And, behold, God is with us at
our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an
alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against
Jehovah, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
 But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind
them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind
them. 
 And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was
before and behind them; and they cried unto Jehovah, and the
priests sounded with the trumpets. 
 Then the men of Judah
gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass,
that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
 And the children of Israel fled before Judah; and God
delivered them into their hand. 
 And Abijah and his
people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down
slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. 
 Thus
the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the
children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon Jehovah,
the God of their fathers. 
 And Abijah pursued after
Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns
thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephron with
the towns thereof. 
 Neither did Jeroboam recover strength
again in the days of Abijah: and Jehovah smote him, and he died.
 But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen
wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.
 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and
his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.
==Chapter 14==
 So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him
in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In
his days the land was quiet ten years. 
 And Asa did that
which was good and right in the eyes of Jehovah his God: 
 for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and
brake down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, 
 and
commanded Judah to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and
to do the law and the commandment. 
 Also he took away out
of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images:
and the kingdom was quiet before him. 
 And he built
fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no
war in those years, because Jehovah had given him rest. 
 For he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make
about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is yet
before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God; we have
sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they
built and prospered. 
 And Asa had an army that bare
bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and
out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred
and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valor.
 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with
an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and
he came unto Mareshah. 
 Then Asa went out to meet him,
and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at
Mareshah. 
 And Asa cried unto Jehovah his God, and said,
Jehovah, there is none besides thee to help, between the mighty
and him that hath no strength: help us, O Jehovah our God; for
we rely on thee, and in thy name are we come against this
multitude. O Jehovah, thou art our God; let not man prevail
against thee. 
 So Jehovah smote the Ethiopians before
Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. 
 And Asa
and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and
there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover
themselves; for they were destroyed before Jehovah, and before
his host; and they carried away very much booty. 
 And
they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of
Jehovah came upon them: and they despoiled all the cities; for
there was much spoil in them. 
 They smote also the tents
of cattle, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and
returned to Jerusalem.
==Chapter 15==
 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of
Oded: 
 and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him,
Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah is with
you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found
of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 
 Now
for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a
teaching priest, and without law: 
 But when in their
distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought
him, he was found of them. 
 And in those times there was
no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; but
great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands.
 And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation,
and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity.
 But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for
your work shall be rewarded. 
 And when Asa heard these
words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage,
and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and
Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the
hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of Jehovah,
that was before the porch of Jehovah. 
 And he gathered all
Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of
Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him
out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that Jehovah his God
was with him. 
 So they gathered themselves together at
Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign
of Asa. 
 And they sacrificed unto Jehovah in that day, of
the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven
thousand sheep. 
 And they entered into the covenant to
seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and
with all their soul; 
 and that whosoever would not seek
Jehovah, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether
small or great, whether man or woman. 
 And they sware
unto Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with
trumpets, and with cornets. 
 And all Judah rejoiced at
the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought
him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and
Jehovah gave them rest round about. 
 And also Maacah, the
mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she
had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down
her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook
Kidron. 
 But the high places were not taken away out of
Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
 And he brought into the house of God the things that his
father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver,
and gold, and vessels. 
 And there was no more war unto
the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
==Chapter 16==
 In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa,
Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah,
that he might not suffer any one to go out or come in to Asa
king of Judah. 
 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out
of the treasures of the house of Jehovah and of the king's
house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at
Damascus, saying, 
 [There is] a league between me and
thee, as [there was] between my father and thy father: behold, I
have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha
king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 
 And Ben-hadad
hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies
against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and
Abel-maim, and all the store-cities of Naphtali. 
 And it
came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off
building Ramah, and let his work cease. 
 Then Asa the king
took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and
the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and he built
therewith Geba and Mizpah. 
 And at that time Hanani the
seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou
hast relied on the king of Syria, and hast not relied on Jehovah
thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out
of thy hand. 
 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge
host, with chariots and horsemen exceeding many? yet, because
thou didst rely on Jehovah, he delivered them into thy hand.
 For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the
whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose
heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly;
for from henceforth thou shalt have wars. 
 Then Asa was
wroth with the seer, and put him in the prison-house; for he was
in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some
of the people at the same time. 
 And, behold, the acts of
Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the
kings of Judah and Israel. 
 And in the thirty and ninth
year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was
exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to Jehovah,
but to the physicians. 
 And Asa slept with his fathers,
and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. 
 And
they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had hewn out for
himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was
filled with sweet odors and divers kinds [of spices] prepared by
the perfumers' art: and they made a very great burning for him.
==Chapter 17==
 And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and
strengthened himself against Israel. 
 And he placed forces
in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the
land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his
father had taken. 
 And Jehovah was with Jehoshaphat,
because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and
sought not unto the Baalim, 
 but sought to the God of his
father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings
of Israel. 
 Therefore, Jehovah established the kingdom in
his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat tribute; and he
had riches and honor in abundance. 
 And his heart was
lifted up in the ways of Jehovah: and furthermore he took away
the high places and the Asherim out of Judah. 
 Also in the
third year of his reign he sent his princes, even Ben-hail, and
Obadiah, and Zechariah, and Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in
the cities of Judah; 
 and with them the Levites, even
Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and
Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and
Tob-adonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram,
the priests. 
 And they taught in Judah, having the book of
the law of Jehovah with them; and they went about throughout all
the cities of Judah, and taught among the people. 
 And
the fear of Jehovah fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that
were round about Judah, so that they made no war against
Jehoshaphat. 
 And some of the Philistines brought
Jehoshaphat presents, and silver for tribute; the Arabians also
brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and
seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats. 
 And
Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah
castles and cities of store. 
 And he had many works in
the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in
Jerusalem. 
 And this was the numbering of them according
to their fathers' houses: Of Judah, the captains of thousands:
Adnah the captain, and with him mighty men of valor three
hundred thousand; 
 and next to him Jehohanan the captain,
and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand; 
 and
next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered
himself unto Jehovah; and with him two hundred thousand mighty
men of valor. 
 And of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of
valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and
shield; 
 and next to him Jehozabad and with him a hundred
and fourscore thousand ready prepared for war. 
 These
were they that waited on the king, besides those whom the king
put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
==Chapter 18==
 Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and
he joined affinity with Ahab. 
 And after certain years he
went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for
him in abundance, and for the people that were with him, and
moved him to go up [with him] to Ramoth-gilead. 
 And Ahab
king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go
with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art,
and my people as thy people; and [we will be] with thee in the
war. 
 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel,
Inquire first, I pray thee, for the word of Jehovah. 
 Then
the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred
men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle,
or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver
it into the hand of the king. 
 But Jehoshaphat said, Is
there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides, that we may inquire
of him? 
 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat,
There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah: but I
hate him; for he never prophesieth good concerning me, but
always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And
Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 
 Then the king
of Israel called an officer, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the
son of Imla. 
 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the
king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes,
and they were sitting in an open place at the entrance of the
gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before
them. 
 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns
of iron, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, With these shalt thou
push the Syrians, until they be consumed. 
 And all the
prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and
prosper; for Jehovah will deliver it into the hand of the king.
 And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to
him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets [declare] good to
the king with one mouth: let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be
like one of theirs, and speak thou good. 
 And Micaiah
said, As Jehovah liveth, what my God saith, that will I speak.
 And when he was come to the king, the king said unto
him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I
forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper; and they shall be
delivered into your hand. 
 And the king said to him, How
many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing
but the truth in the name of Jehovah? 
 And he said, I saw
all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no
shepherd: and Jehovah said, These have no master; let them
return every man to his house in peace. 
 And the king of
Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would
not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? 
 And [Micaiah]
said, Therefore, hear ye the word of Jehovah: I saw Jehovah
sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on
his right hand and on his left. 
 And Jehovah said, Who
shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at
Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and
another saying after that manner. 
 And there came forth a
spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him.
And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? 
 And he said, I
will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all
his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt
prevail also: go forth, and do so. 
 Now therefore,
behold, Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these
thy prophets; and Jehovah hath spoken evil concerning thee.
 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote
Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of
Jehovah from me to speak unto thee? 
 And Micaiah said,
Behold, thou shalt see on that day, when thou shalt go into an
inner chamber to hide thyself. 
 And the king of Israel
said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor
of the city, and to Joash the king's son; 
 and say, Thus
saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with
bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return
in peace. 
 And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in
peace, Jehovah hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, ye
peoples, all of you. 
 So the king of Israel and
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 
 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise
myself, and go into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So
the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into the
battle. 
 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains
of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great,
save only with the king of Israel. 
 And it came to pass,
when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they
said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore, they turned about to
fight against him: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Jehovah helped
him; and God moved them [to depart] from him. 
 And it
came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was
not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
 And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote
the king of Israel between the joints of the armor: wherefore he
said to the driver of the chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me
out of the host; for I am sore wounded. 
 And the battle
increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up
in his chariot against the Syrians until the even; and about the
time of the going down of the sun he died.
==Chapter 19==
 And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his
house in peace to Jerusalem. 
 And Jehu the son of Hanani
the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat,
Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah?
for this thing wrath is upon thee from before Jehovah. 
 Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee, in that thou
hast put away the Asheroth out of the land, and hast set thy
heart to seek God. 
 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem:
and he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the
hill-country of Ephraim, and brought them back unto Jehovah, the
God of their fathers. 
 And he set judges in the land
throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,
 and said to the judges, Consider what ye do: for ye judge
not for man, but for Jehovah; and [he is] with you in the
judgment. 
 Now therefore let the fear of Jehovah be upon
you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with Jehovah
our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes. 
 Moreover, in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites and the
priests, and of the heads of the fathers' [houses] of Israel,
for the judgment of Jehovah, and for controversies. And they
returned to Jerusalem. 
 And he charged them, saying, Thus
shall ye do in the fear of Jehovah, faithfully, and with a
perfect heart. 
 And whensoever any controversy shall come
to you from your brethren that dwell in their cities, between
blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and
ordinances, ye shall warn them, that they be not guilty towards
Jehovah, and so wrath come upon you and upon your brethren: this
do, and ye shall not be guilty. 
 And, behold, Amariah the
chief priest is over you in all matters of Jehovah; and Zebadiah
the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all the
king's matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you.
Deal courageously, and Jehovah be with the good.
==Chapter 20==
 And it came to pass after this, that the children of
Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the
Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 
 Then there
came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great
multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria; and,
behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En-gedi). 
 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah;
and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 
 And Judah
gathered themselves together, to seek [help] of Jehovah: even
out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah. 
 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in
the house of Jehovah, before the new court; 
 and he said,
O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven?
and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and
in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to
withstand thee. 
 Didst not thou, O our God, drive out the
inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it
to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 
 And they
dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy
name, saying, 
 If evil come upon us, the sword, judgment,
or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and
before thee, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee
in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save. 
 And now,
behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou
wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land
of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them
not; 
 behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out
of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 
 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might
against this great company that cometh against us; neither know
we what to do: but out eyes are upon thee. 
 And all Judah
stood before Jehovah, with their little ones, their wives, and
their children. 
 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah,
the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the
Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of Jehovah in the
midst of the assembly; 
 and he said, Hearken ye, all
Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king
Jehoshaphat: Thus saith Jehovah unto you, Fear not ye, neither
be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is
not yours, but God's. 
 To-morrow go ye down against them:
behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find
them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
 Ye shall not need to fight in this [battle]: set
yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of Jehovah
with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed:
to-morrow go out against them: for Jehovah is with you. 
 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and
all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before
Jehovah, worshipping Jehovah. 
 And the Levites, of the
children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites,
stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with an exceeding
loud voice. 
 And they rose early in the morning, and went
forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth,
Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants
of Jerusalem: believe in Jehovah your God, so shall ye be
established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 
 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them
that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise in holy array, as
they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto
Jehovah; for his lovingkindness [endureth] for ever. 
 And
when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait
against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were
come against Judah; and they were smitten. 
 For the
children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of
mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had
made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to
destroy another. 
 And when Judah came to the watch-tower
of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold,
they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none
that escaped. 
 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came
to take the spoil of them, 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 taking the spoil, it was so much.
 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the
valley of Beracah; for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore the
name of that place was called The valley of Beracah unto this
day. 
 Then they returned, every man of Judah and
Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again
to Jerusalem with joy; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over
their enemies. 
 And they came to Jerusalem with
psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah.
 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the
countries, when they heard that Jehovah fought against the
enemies of Israel. 
 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was
quiet; for his God gave him rest round about. 
 And
Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old
when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in
Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of
Shilhi. 
 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and
turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes
of Jehovah. 
 Howbeit the high places were not taken away;
neither as yet had the people set their hearts unto the God of
their fathers. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat,
first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu
the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of
Israel. 
 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah
join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel; the same did very
wickedly: 
 and he joined himself with him to make ships
to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied
against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself
with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath destroyed thy works. And the ships
were broken, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
==Chapter 21==
 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried
with his fathers in the city of David: and Jehoram his son
reigned in his stead. 
 And he had brethren, the sons of
Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah,
and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of
Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 
 And their father gave them
great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things,
with fortified cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to
Jehoram, because he was the first-born. 
 Now when Jehoram
was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had
strengthened himself, he slew all his brethren with the sword,
and divers also of the princes of Israel. 
 Jehoram was
thirty and two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned
eight years in Jerusalem. 
 And he walked in the way of the
kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for he had the
daughter of Ahab to wife: and he did that which was evil in the
sight of Jehovah. 
 Howbeit Jehovah would not destroy the
house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with
David, and as he promised to give a lamp to him and to his
children alway. 
 In his days Edom revolted from under the
hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. 
 Then
Jehoram passed over with his captains, and all his chariots with
him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites that
compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots. 
 So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day:
then did Libnah revolt at the same time from under his hand,
because he had forsaken Jehovah, the God of his fathers. 
 Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and made
the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot, and led Judah
astray. 
 And there came a writing to him from Elijah the
prophet, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy
father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat
thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 
 but
hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot, like
as the house of Ahab did, and also hast slain thy brethren of
thy father's house, who were better than thyself: 
 behold, Jehovah will smite with a great plague thy people, and
thy children, and thy wives, and all thy substance; 
 and
thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until
thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness, day by day.
 And Jehovah stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the
Philistines, and of the Arabians that are beside the Ethiopians:
 and they came up against Judah, and brake into it, and
carried away all the substance that was found in the king's
house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never
a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 
 And after all this Jehovah smote him in his bowels with an
incurable disease. 
 And it came to pass, in process of
time, at the end of two years, that his bowels fell out by
reason of his sickness, and he died of sore diseases. And his
people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign,
and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years: and he departed without
being desired; and they buried him in the city of David, but not
in the sepulchres of the kings.
==Chapter 22==
 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his
youngest son king in his stead; for the band of men that came
with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So
Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. 
 Forty
and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he
reigned one year in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was
Athaliah the daughter of Omri. 
 He also walked in the ways
of the house of Ahab; for his mother was his counsellor to do
wickedly. 
 And he did that which was evil in the sight of
Jehovah, as did the house of Ahab; for they were his counsellors
after the death of his father, to his destruction. 
 He
walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son
of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at
Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. 
 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 Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see
Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. 
 Now the destruction of Ahaziah was of God, in that he went unto
Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against
Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Jehovah had anointed to cut off the
house of Ahab. 
 And it came to pass, when Jehu was
executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, that he found the
princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah,
ministering to Ahaziah, and slew them. 
 And he sought
Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria), and
they brought him to Jehu, and slew him; and they buried him, for
they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought Jehovah with
all his heart. And the house of Ahaziah had no power to hold the
kingdom. 
 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw
that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed
royal of the house of Judah. 
 But Jehoshabeath, the
daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole
him away from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him
and his nurse in the bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter
of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was
the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew
him not. 
 And he was with them hid in the house of God
six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
==Chapter 23==
 And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself,
and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham,
and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed,
and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of
Zichri, into covenant with him. 
 And they went about in
Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah,
and the heads of fathers' [houses] of Israel, and they came to
Jerusalem. 
 And all the assembly made a covenant with the
king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the
king's son shall reign, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the
sons of David. 
 This is the thing that ye shall do: a
third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests
and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds; 
 and a third part shall be at the king's house; and a third part
at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in
the courts of the house of Jehovah. 
 But let none come
into the house of Jehovah, save the priests, and they that
minister of the Levites; they shall come in, for they are holy:
but all the people shall keep the charge of Jehovah. 
 And
the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with
his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house,
let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and
when he goeth out. 
 So the Levites and all Judah did
according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they
took every man his men, those that were to come in on the
sabbath; with those that were to go out on the sabbath; for
Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. 
 And
Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds the
spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's,
which were in the house of God. 
 And he set all the
people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right
side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the
altar and the house, by the king round about. 
 Then they
brought out the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and
[gave him] the testimony, and made him king: and Jehoiada and
his sons anointed him; and they said, [Long] live the king.
 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running
and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of
Jehovah: 
 and she looked, and, behold, the king stood by
his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpets by
the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew
trumpets; the singers also [played] on instruments of music, and
led the singing of praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and
said, Treason! treason! 
 And Jehoiada the priest brought
out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and
said unto them, Have her forth between the ranks; and whoso
followeth her, let him be slain with the sword: for the priest
said, Slay her not in the house of Jehovah. 
 So they made
way for her; and she went to the entrance of the horse gate to
the king's house: and they slew her there. 
 And Jehoiada
made a covenant between himself, and all the people, and the
king, that they should be Jehovah's people. 
 And all the
people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake
his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest
of Baal before the altars. 
 And Jehoiada appointed the
officers of the house of Jehovah under the hand of the priests
the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of Jehovah,
to offer the burnt-offerings of Jehovah, as it is written in the
law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the
order of David. 
 And he set the porters at the gates of
the house of Jehovah, that none that was unclean in anything
should enter in. 
 And he took the captains of hundreds,
and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the
people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of
Jehovah: and they came through the upper gate unto the king's
house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. 
 So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet.
And Athaliah they had slain with the sword.
==Chapter 24==
 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; and
he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was
Zibiah, of Beer-sheba. 
 And Joash did that which was right
in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
 And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons
and daughters. 
 And it came to pass after this, that Joash
was minded to restore the house of Jehovah. 
 And he
gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them,
Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money
to repair the house of your God from year to year; and see that
ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.
 And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto
him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out
of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of
Jehovah, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent of the
testimony? 
 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman,
had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated
things of the house of Jehovah did they bestow upon the Baalim.
 So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it
without at the gate of the house of Jehovah. 
 And they
made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for
Jehovah the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel
in the wilderness. 
 And all the princes and all the
people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until
they had made an end. 
 And it was so, that, at what time
the chest was brought unto the king's officers by the hand of
the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the
king's scribe and the chief priest's officer came and emptied
the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus
they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. 
 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the
service of the house of Jehovah; and they hired masons and
carpenters to restore the house of Jehovah, and also such as
wrought iron and brass to repair the house of Jehovah. 
 So the workmen wrought, and the work of repairing went forward
in their hands, and they set up the house of God in its state,
and strengthened it. 
 And when they had made an end, they
brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada,
whereof were made vessels for the house of Jehovah, even vessels
wherewith to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of
gold and silver. And they offered burnt-offerings in the house
of Jehovah continually all the days of Jehoiada. 
 But
Jehoiada waxed old and was full of days, and he died; a hundred
and thirty years old was he when he died. 
 And they
buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had
done good in Israel, and toward God and his house. 
 Now
after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made
obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.
 And they forsook the house of Jehovah, the God of their
fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came
upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness. 
 Yet
he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto Jehovah; and
they testified against them: but they would not give ear.
 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of
Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said
unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of
Jehovah, so that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken
Jehovah, he hath also forsaken you. 
 And they conspired
against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of
the king in the court of the house of Jehovah. 
 Thus
Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his
father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he
said, Jehovah look upon it, and require it. 
 And it came
to pass at the end of the year, that the army of the Syrians
came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and
destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people,
and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.
 For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of
men; and Jehovah delivered a very great host into their hand,
because they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers. So
they executed judgment upon Joash. 
 And when they were
departed for him (for they left him very sick), his own servants
conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the
priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died; and they buried
him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the
sepulchres of the kings. 
 And these are they that
conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess,
and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. 
 Now
concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens [laid]
upon him, and the rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they
are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. And
Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 25==
 Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to
reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and
his mother's name was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem. 
 And he did
that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, but not with a
perfect heart. 
 Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was
established unto him, that he slew his servants that had killed
the king his father. 
 But he put not their children to
death, but did according to that which is written in the law in
the book of Moses, as Jehovah commanded, saying, The fathers
shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die
for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin. 
 Moreover, Amaziah gathered Judah together, and ordered them
according to their fathers' houses, under captains of thousands
and captains of hundreds, even all Judah and Benjamin: and he
numbered them from twenty years old and upward, and found them
three hundred thousand chosen men, able to go forth to war, that
could handle spear and shield. 
 He hired also a hundred
thousand mighty men of valor out of Israel for a hundred talents
of silver. 
 But there came a man of God to him, saying, O
king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for Jehovah is
not with Israel, [to wit], with all the children of Ephraim.
 But if thou wilt go, do [valiantly], be strong for the
battle: God will cast thee down before the enemy; for God hath
power to help, and to cast down. 
 And Amaziah said to the
man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I
have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered,
Jehovah is able to give thee much more than this. 
 Then
Amaziah separated them, [to wit], the army that was come to him
out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was
greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in fierce
anger. 
 And Amaziah took courage, and led forth his
people, and went to the Valley of Salt, and smote of the
children of Seir ten thousand. 
 And [other] ten thousand
did the children of Judah carry away alive, and brought them
unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the
rock, so that they all were broken in pieces. 
 But the
men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, that they should not go
with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria
even unto Beth-horon, and smote of them three thousand, and took
much spoil. 
 Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was
come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the
gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods,
and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto
them. 
 Wherefore the anger of Jehovah was kindled against
Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, who said unto him, Why
hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which have not
delivered their own people out of thy hand? 
 And it came
to pass, as he talked with him, that [the king] said unto him,
Have we made thee of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest
thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that
God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done
this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel. 
 Then
Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of
Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us
look one another in the face. 
 And Joash king of Israel
sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in
Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy
daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast
that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. 
 Thou
sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten Edom; and thy heart lifteth thee
up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to
[thy] hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with
thee? 
 But Amaziah would not hear; for it was of God,
that he might deliver them into the hand [of their enemies],
because they had sought after the gods of Edom. 
 So Joash
king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked
one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to
Judah. 
 And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and
they fled every man to his tent. 
 And Joash king of
Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of
Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and
brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto
the corner gate, four hundred cubits. 
 And [he took] all
the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the
house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king's
house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria. 
 And
Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of
Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. 
 Now
the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are
they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?
 Now from the time that Amaziah did turn away from
following Jehovah they made a conspiracy against him in
Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent after him to
Lachish, and slew him there. 
 And they brought him upon
horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.
==Chapter 26==
 And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was
sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father
Amaziah. 
 He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after
that the king slept with his fathers. 
 Sixteen years old
was Uzziah when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty and two
years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jechiliah, of
Jerusalem. 
 And he did that which was right in the eyes of
Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
 And he set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah,
who had understanding in the vision of God: and as long as he
sought Jehovah, God made him to prosper. 
 And he went
forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the
wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod;
and he built cities in [the country of] Ashdod, and among the
Philistines. 
 And God helped him against the Philistines,
and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Meunim.
 And the Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah: and his name
spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt; for he waxed
exceeding strong. 
 Moreover, Uzziah built towers in
Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the
turning [of the wall], and fortified them. 
 And he built
towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he
had much cattle; in the lowland also, and in the plain: [and he
had] husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in the
fruitful fields; for he loved husbandry. 
 Moreover, Uzziah
had an army of fighting men, that went out to war by bands,
according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the
scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one
of the king's captains. 
 The whole number of the heads of
fathers' [houses], even the mighty men of valor, was two
thousand and six hundred. 
 And under their hand was an
army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five
hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king
against the enemy. 
 And Uzziah prepared for them, even
for all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of
mail, and bows, and stones for slinging. 
 And he made in
Jerusalem engines, invented by skilful men, to be on the towers
and upon the battlements, wherewith to shoot arrows and great
stones. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously
helped, till he was strong. 
 But when he was strong, his
heart was lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed
against Jehovah his God; for he went into the temple of Jehovah
to burn incense upon the altar of incense. 
 And Azariah
the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of
Jehovah, that were valiant men: 
 and they withstood
Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It pertaineth not unto thee,
Uzziah, to burn incense unto Jehovah, but to the priests the
sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of
the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for
thine honor from Jehovah God. 
 Then Uzziah was wroth; and
he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was
wroth with the priests, the leprosy brake forth in his forehead
before the priests in the house of Jehovah, beside the altar of
incense. 
 And Azariah the chief priest, and all the
priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his
forehead, and they thrust him out quickly from thence; yea,
himself hasted also to go out, because Jehovah had smitten him.
 And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his
death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper; for he was
cut off from the house of Jehovah: and Jotham his son was over
the king's house, judging the people of the land. 
 Now
the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the
prophet, the son of Amoz, write. 
 So Uzziah slept with
his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the field
of burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a
leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 27==
 Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to
reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his
mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. 
 And he
did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to
all that his father Uzziah had done: howbeit he entered not into
the temple of Jehovah. And the people did yet corruptly. 
 He built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and on the wall
of Ophel he built much. 
 Moreover, he built cities in the
hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and
towers. 
 He fought also with the king of the children of
Ammon, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon
gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten
thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much
did the children of Ammon render unto him, in the second year
also, and in the third. 
 So Jotham became mighty, because
he ordered his ways before Jehovah his God. 
 Now the rest
of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold,
they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
 He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign,
and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. 
 And Jotham slept
with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and
Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 28==
 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign; and
he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he did not that which
was right in the eyes of Jehovah, like David his father; 
 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also
molten images for the Baalim. 
 Moreover, he burnt incense
in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in
the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom
Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel. 
 And he
sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the
hills, and under every green tree. 
 Wherefore Jehovah his
God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they
smote him, and carried away of his a great multitude of
captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also
delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him
with a great slaughter. 
 For Pekah the son of Remaliah
slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all of
them valiant men; because they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of
their fathers. 
 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew
Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the ruler of the house, and
Elkanah that was next to the king. 
 And the children of
Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred
thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much
spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. 
 But a
prophet of Jehovah was there, whose name was Oded: and he went
out to meet the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them,
Behold, because Jehovah, the God of your fathers, was wroth with
Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain
them in a rage which hath reached up to heaven. 
 And now
ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for
bondmen and bondwomen unto you: [but] are there not even with
you trespasses of your own against Jehovah your God? 
 Now
hear me therefore, and send back the captives, that ye have
taken captive of your brethren; for the fierce wrath of Jehovah
is upon you. 
 Then certain of the heads of the children
of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of
Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the
son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,
 and said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives
hither: for ye purpose that which will bring upon us a trespass
against Jehovah, to add unto our sins and to our trespass; for
our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.
 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before
the princes and all the assembly. 
 And the men that have
been mentioned by name rose up, and took the captives, and with
the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed
them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and
anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses,
and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto their
brethren: then they returned to Samaria. 
 At that time
did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him.
 For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and
carried away captives. 
 The Philistines also had invaded
the cities of the lowland, and of the South of Judah, and had
taken Beth-shemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Soco with the
towns thereof, and Timnah with the towns thereof, Gimzo also and
the towns thereof: and they dwelt there. 
 For Jehovah
brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he had
dealt wantonly in Judah, and trespassed sore against Jehovah.
 And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and
distressed him, but strengthened him not. 
 For Ahaz took
away a portion out of the house of Jehovah, and out of the house
of the king and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of
Assyria: but it helped him not. 
 And in the time of his
distress did he trespass yet more against Jehovah, this same
king Ahaz. 
 For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus,
which smote him; and he said, Because the gods of the kings of
Syria helped them, [therefore] will I sacrifice to them, that
they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all
Israel. 
 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the
house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God,
and shut up the doors of the house of Jehovah; and he made him
altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 
 And in every city
of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods,
and provoked to anger Jehovah, the God of his fathers. 
 Now the rest of his acts, and all his ways, first and last,
behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and
Israel. 
 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried
him in the city, even in Jerusalem; for they brought him not
into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son
reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 29==
 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty
years old; and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem:
and his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
 And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah,
according to all that David his father had done. 
 He in
the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the
doors of the house of Jehovah, and repaired them. 
 And he
brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them
together into the broad place on the east, 
 and said unto
them, Hear me, ye Levites; now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify
the house of Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and carry forth
the filthiness out of the holy place. 
 For our fathers
have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of
Jehovah our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away
their faces from the habitation of Jehovah, and turned their
backs. 
 Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and
put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered
burnt-offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. 
 Wherefore the wrath of Jehovah was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and
he hath delivered them to be tossed to and fro, to be an
astonishment, and a hissing, as ye see with your eyes. 
 For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and
our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 
 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah, the God
of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 
 My sons, be not now negligent; for Jehovah hath chosen you to
stand before him, to minister unto him, and that ye should be
his ministers, and burn incense. 
 Then the Levites arose,
Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the
sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son
of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the
Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah;
 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of
the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 
 and of the
sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun,
Shemaiah and Uzziel. 
 And they gathered their brethren,
and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the
commandment of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the
house of Jehovah. 
 And the priests went in unto the inner
part of the house of Jehovah, to cleanse it, and brought out all
the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah into
the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it, to
carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron. 
 Now they began
on the first [day] of the first month to sanctify, and on the
eighth day of the month came they to the porch of Jehovah; and
they sanctified the house of Jehovah in eight days: and on the
sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. 
 Then
they went in to Hezekiah the king within [the palace], and said,
We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of
burnt-offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the table of
showbread, with all the vessels thereof. 
 Moreover, all
the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he
trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they
are before the altar of Jehovah. 
 Then Hezekiah the king
arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up
to the house of Jehovah. 
 And they brought seven
bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats,
for a sin-offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for
Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer
them on the altar of Jehovah. 
 So they killed the
bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it
on the altar: and they killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood
upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and sprinkled the
blood upon the altar. 
 And they brought near the he-goats
for the sin-offering before the king and the assembly; and they
laid their hands upon them: 
 and the priests killed them,
and they made a sin-offering with their blood upon the altar, to
make atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded [that] the
burnt-offering and the sin-offering [should be made] for all
Israel. 
 And he set the Levites in the house of Jehovah
with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the
commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the
prophet; for the commandment was of Jehovah by his prophets.
 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and
the priests with the trumpets. 
 And Hezekiah commanded to
offer the burnt-offering upon the altar. And when the
burnt-offering began, the song of Jehovah began also, and the
trumpets, together with the instruments of David king of Israel.
 And all the assembly worshipped, and the singers sang,
and the trumpeters sounded; all this [continued] until the
burnt-offering was finished. 
 And when they had made an
end of offering, the king and all that were present with him
bowed themselves and worshipped. 
 Moreover, Hezekiah the
king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises unto
Jehovah with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they
sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and
worshipped. 
 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have
consecrated yourselves unto Jehovah; come near and bring
sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of Jehovah. And
the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and as
many as were of a willing heart [brought] burnt-offerings.
 And the number of the burnt-offerings which the assembly
brought was threescore and ten bullocks, a hundred rams, and two
hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and
three thousand sheep. 
 But the priests were too few, so
that they could not flay all the burnt-offerings: wherefore
their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was
ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves; for the
Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than
the priests. 
 And also the burnt-offerings were in
abundance, with the fat of the peace-offerings, and with the
drink-offerings for every burnt-offering. So the service of the
house of Jehovah was set in order. 
 And Hezekiah
rejoiced, and all the people, because of that which God had
prepared for the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
==Chapter 30==
 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote
letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to
the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto
Jehovah, the God of Israel. 
 For the king had taken
counsel, and his princes, and all the assembly in Jerusalem, to
keep the passover in the second month. 
 For they could not
keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified
themselves in sufficient number, neither had the people gathered
themselves together to Jerusalem. 
 And the thing was right
in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly. 
 So they
established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel,
from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the
passover unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem: for they
had not kept it in great numbers in such sort as it is written.
 So the posts went with the letters from the king and his
princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the
commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn
again unto Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that
he may return to the remnant that are escaped of you out of the
hand of the kings of Assyria. 
 And be not ye like your
fathers, and like your brethren, who trespassed against Jehovah,
the God of their fathers, so that he gave them up to desolation,
as ye see. 
 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers
were; but yield yourselves unto Jehovah, and enter into his
sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever, and serve Jehovah
your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 
 For if ye turn again unto Jehovah, your brethren and your
children shall find compassion before them that led them
captive, and shall come again into this land: for Jehovah your
God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face
from you, if ye return unto him. 
 So the posts passed
from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh,
even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked
them. 
 Nevertheless, certain men of Asher and Manasseh and
of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. 
 Also upon Judah came the hand of God to give them one heart, to
do the commandment of the king and of the princes by the word of
Jehovah. 
 And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to
keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very
great assembly. 
 And they arose and took away the altars
that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they
away, and cast them into the brook Kidron. 
 Then they
killed the passover on the fourteenth [day] of the second month:
and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified
themselves, and brought burnt-offerings into the house of
Jehovah. 
 And they stood in their place after their
order, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests
sprinkled the blood [which they received] of the hand of the
Levites. 
 For there were many in the assembly that had
not sanctified themselves: therefore the Levites had the charge
of killing the passovers for every one that was not clean, to
sanctify them unto Jehovah. 
 For a multitude of the
people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun,
had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover
otherwise than it is written. For Hezekiah had prayed for them,
saying, The good Jehovah pardon every one 
 that setteth
his heart to seek God, Jehovah, the God of his fathers, though
[he be] not [cleansed] according to the purification of the
sanctuary. 
 And Jehovah hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed
the people. 
 And the children of Israel that were present
at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with
great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised Jehovah
day by day, [singing] with loud instruments unto Jehovah.
 And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that
had good understanding [in the service] of Jehovah. So they did
eat throughout the feast for the seven days, offering sacrifices
of peace-offerings, and making confession to Jehovah, the God of
their fathers. 
 And the whole assembly took counsel to
keep other seven days; and they kept [other] seven days with
gladness. 
 For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the
assembly for offerings a thousand bullocks and seven thousand
sheep; and the princes gave to the assembly a thousand bullocks
and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified
themselves. 
 And all the assembly of Judah, with the
priests and the Levites, and all the assembly that came out of
Israel, and the sojourners that came out of the land of Israel,
and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. 
 So there was great
joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David
king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. 
 Then
the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their
voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy
habitation, even unto heaven.
==Chapter 31==
 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were
present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake in pieces the
pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, and brake down the high
places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim
also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all
the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession,
into their own cities. 
 And Hezekiah appointed the courses
of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man
according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for
burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to
give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of Jehovah.
 [He appointed] also the king's portion of his substance
for the burnt-offerings, [to wit], for the morning and evening
burnt-offerings, and the burnt-offerings for the sabbaths, and
for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in
the law of Jehovah. 
 Moreover, he commanded the people that
dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the
Levites, that they might give themselves to the law of Jehovah.
 And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children
of Israel gave in abundance the first-fruits of grain, new wine,
and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and
the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. 
 And
the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of
Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the
tithe of dedicated things which were consecrated unto Jehovah
their God, and laid them by heaps. 
 In the third month
they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them
in the seventh month. 
 And when Hezekiah and the princes
came and saw the heaps, they blessed Jehovah, and his people
Israel. 
 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the
Levites concerning the heaps. 
 And Azariah the chief
priest, of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, Since [the
people] began to bring the oblations into the house of Jehovah,
we have eaten and had enough, and have left plenty: for Jehovah
hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great
store. 
 Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in
the house of Jehovah; and they prepared them. 
 And they
brought in the oblations and the tithes and the dedicated things
faithfully: and over them Conaniah the Levite was ruler, and
Shimei his brother was second. 
 And Jehiel, and Azaziah,
and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel,
and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the
hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of
Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.
 And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter at the
east [gate], was over the freewill-offerings of God, to
distribute the oblations of Jehovah, and the most holy things.
 And under him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and
Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests,
in their office of trust, to give to their brethren by courses,
as well to the great as to the small: 
 besides them that
were reckoned by genealogy of males, from three years old and
upward, even every one that entered into the house of Jehovah,
as the duty of every day required, for their service in their
offices according to their courses; 
 and them that were
reckoned by genealogy of the priests by their fathers' houses,
and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their
offices by their courses; 
 and them that were reckoned by
genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons,
and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their
office of trust they sanctified themselves in holiness. 
 Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, that were in the fields
of the suburbs of their cities, in every city, there were men
that were mentioned by name, to give portions to all the males
among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogy
among the Levites. 
 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all
Judah; and he wrought that which was good and right and faithful
before Jehovah his God. 
 And in every work that he began
in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the
commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and
prospered.
==Chapter 32==
 After these things, and this faithfulness, Sennacherib
king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped
against the fortified cities, and thought to win them for
himself. 
 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come,
and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, 
 he
took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the
waters of the fountains which were without the city; and they
helped him. 
 So there was gathered much people together,
and they stopped all the fountains, and the brook that flowed
through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of
Assyria come, and find much water? 
 And he took courage,
and built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised [it]
up to the towers, and the other wall without, and strengthened
Millo [in] the city of David, and made weapons and shields in
abundance. 
 And he set captains of war over the people,
and gathered them together to him in the broad place at the gate
of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, 
 Be
strong and of good courage, be not afraid nor dismayed for the
king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him; for
there is a greater with us than with him: 
 with him is an
arm of flesh; but with us is Jehovah our God to help us, and to
fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the
words of Hezekiah king of Judah. 
 After this did
Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (now
he was before Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto
Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at
Jerusalem, saying, 
 Thus saith Sennacherib king of
Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide the siege in
Jerusalem? 
 Doth not Hezekiah persuade you, to give you
over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, Jehovah our God
will deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 
 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his
altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall
worship before one altar, and upon it shall ye burn incense?
 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the
peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands
in any wise able to deliver their land out of my hand? 
 Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my
fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of
my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my
hand? 
 Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor
persuade you after this manner, neither believe ye him; for no
god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out
of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less
shall your God deliver you out of my hand? 
 And his
servants spake yet more against Jehovah God, and against his
servant Hezekiah. 
 He wrote also letters, to rail on
Jehovah, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As
the gods of the nations of the lands, which have not delivered
their people out of my hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah
deliver his people out of my hand. 
 And they cried with a
loud voice in the Jews' language unto the people of Jerusalem
that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them;
that they might take the city. 
 And they spake of the God
of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which
are the work of men's hands. 
 And Hezekiah the king, and
Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, prayed because of this, and
cried to heaven. 
 And Jehovah sent an angel, who cut off
all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains, in
the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of
face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his
god, they that came forth from his own bowels slew him there
with the sword. 
 Thus Jehovah saved Hezekiah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king
of Assyria, and from the hand of all [others], and guided them
on every side. 
 And many brought gifts unto Jehovah to
Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah; so
that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from
thenceforth. 
 In those days Hezekiah was sick even unto
death: and he prayed unto Jehovah; and he spake unto him, and
gave him a sign. 
 But Hezekiah rendered not again
according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted
up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and
Jerusalem. 
 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for
the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, so that the wrath of Jehovah came not upon them in
the days of Hezekiah. 
 And Hezekiah had exceeding much
riches and honor: and he provided him treasuries for silver, and
for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for
shields, and for all manner of goodly vessels; 
 store-houses also for the increase of grain and new wine and
oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and flocks in folds.
 Moreover, he provided him cities, and possessions of
flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much
substance. 
 This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper
spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on
the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in
all his works. 
 Howbeit in [the business of] the
ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to
inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him,
to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his good
deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the
prophet the son of Amoz, in the book of the kings of Judah and
Israel. 
 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they
buried him in the ascent of the sepulchres of the sons of David:
and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at
his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 33==
 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. 
 And he
did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the
abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the
children of Israel. 
 For he built again the high places
which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up
altars for the Baalim, and made Asheroth, and worshipped all the
host of heaven, and served them. 
 And he built altars in
the house of Jehovah, whereof Jehovah said, In Jerusalem shall
my name be for ever. 
 And he built altars for all the host
of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah. 
 He
also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of
the son of Hinnom; and he practised augury, and used
enchantments, and practised sorcery, and dealt with them that
had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in
the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. 
 And he set
the graven image of the idol, which he had made, in the house of
God, of which God 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, will I put my name for ever: 
 neither
will I any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land
which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will
observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law
and the statutes and the ordinances [given] by Moses. 
 And
Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that
they did evil more than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed
before the children of Israel. 
 And Jehovah spake to
Manasseh, and to his people; but they gave no heed. 
 Wherefore Jehovah brought upon them the captains of the host of
the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, and bound him
with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. 
 And when he
was in distress, he besought Jehovah his God, and humbled
himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 
 And he
prayed unto him; and he was entreated of him, and heard his
supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his
kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah he was God. 
 Now
after this he built an outer wall to the city of David, on the
west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance at the
fish gate; and he compassed Ophel about [with it], and raised it
up to a very great height: and he put valiant captains in all
the fortified cities of Judah. 
 And he took away the
foreign gods, and the idol out of the house of Jehovah, and all
the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of
Jehovah, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
 And he built up the altar of Jehovah, and offered
thereon sacrifices of peace-offerings and of thanksgiving, and
commanded Judah to serve Jehovah, the God of Israel. 
 Nevertheless, the people sacrificed still in the high places, but
only unto Jehovah their God. 
 Now the rest of the acts of
Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the
seers that spake to him in the name of Jehovah, the God of
Israel, behold, they are written among the acts of the kings of
Israel. 
 His prayer also, and how [God] was entreated of
him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places wherein he
built high places, and set up the Asherim and the graven images,
before he humbled himself: behold, they are written in the
history of Hozai. 
 So Manasseh slept with his fathers,
and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned
in his stead. 
 Amon was twenty and two years old when he
began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 
 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did
Manasseh his father; and Amon sacrificed unto all the graven
images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.
 And he humbled not himself before Jehovah, as Manasseh
his father had humbled himself; but this same Amon trespassed
more and more. 
 And his servants conspired against him,
and put him to death in his own house. 
 But the people of
the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and
the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
==Chapter 34==
 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and
he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. 
 And he did
that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in the
ways of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand
or to the left. 
 For in the eighth year of his reign,
while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David
his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and
Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the graven
images, and the molten images. 
 And they brake down the
altars of the Baalim in his presence; and the sun-images that
were on high above them he hewed down; and the Asherim, and the
graven images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and
made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves [of them] that
had sacrificed unto them. 
 And he burnt the bones of the
priests upon their altars, and purged Judah and Jerusalem.
 And [so did he] in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and
Simeon, even unto Naphtali, in their ruins round about. 
 And he brake down the altars, and beat the Asherim and the
graven images into powder, and hewed down all the sun-images
throughout all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.
 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had
purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of
Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son
of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of Jehovah his God.
 And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered
the money that was brought into the house of God, which the
Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had gathered of the hand
of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and
of all Judah and Benjamin, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
 And they delivered it into the hand of the workmen that
had the oversight of the house of Jehovah; and the workmen that
wrought in the house of Jehovah gave it to mend and repair the
house; 
 even to the carpenters and to the builders gave
they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to
make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had
destroyed. 
 And the men did the work faithfully: and the
overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the
sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the
Kohathites, to set it forward; and [others of] the Levites, all
that were skilful with instruments of music. 
 Also they
were over the bearers of burdens, and set forward all that did
the work in every manner of service: and of the Levites there
were scribes, and officers, and porters. 
 And when they
brought out the money that was brought into the house of
Jehovah, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah
[given] by Moses. 
 And Hilkiah answered and said to
Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the
house of Jehovah. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and moreover
brought back word to the king, saying, All that was committed to
thy servants, they are doing. 
 And they have emptied out
the money that was found in the house of Jehovah, and have
delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand
of the workmen. 
 And Shaphan the scribe told the king,
saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan
read therein before the king. 
 And it came to pass, when
the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his
clothes. 
 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the
son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the
scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 
 Go ye,
inquire of Jehovah for me, and for them that are left in Israel
and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found;
for great is the wrath of Jehovah that is poured out upon us,
because our fathers have not kept the word of Jehovah, to do
according unto all that is written in this book. 
 So
Hilkiah, and they whom the king [had commanded], went to Huldah
the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son
of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem
in the second quarter;) and they spake to her to that effect.
 And she said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of
Israel: Tell ye the man that sent you unto me, 
 Thus
saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and
upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are
written in the book which they have read before the king of
Judah. 
 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned
incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger
with all the works of their hands; therefore is my wrath poured
out upon this place, and it shall not be quenched. 
 But
unto the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus
shall ye say to him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: As
touching the words which thou hast heard, 
 because thy
heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when
thou heardest his words against this place, and against the
inhabitants thereof, and hast humbled thyself before me, and
hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard
thee, saith Jehovah. 
 Behold, I will gather thee to thy
fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace,
neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon
this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof. And they brought
back word to the king. 
 Then the king sent and gathered
together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 
 And the
king went up to the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the
Levites, and all the people, both great and small: and he read
in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was
found in the house of Jehovah. 
 And the king stood in his
place, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after
Jehovah, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and
his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to
perform the words of the covenant that were written in this
book. 
 And he caused all that were found in Jerusalem and
Benjamin to stand [to it]. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did
according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the
countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all
that were found in Israel to serve, even to serve Jehovah their
God. All his days they departed not from following Jehovah, the
God of their fathers.
==Chapter 35==
 And Josiah kept a passover unto Jehovah in Jerusalem:
and they killed the passover on the fourteenth [day] of the
first month. 
 And he set the priests in their offices, and
encouraged them to the service of the house of Jehovah. 
 And he said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, that were
holy unto Jehovah, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon
the son of David king of Israel did build; there shall no more
be a burden upon your shoulders: now serve Jehovah your God, and
his people Israel. 
 And prepare yourselves after your
fathers' houses by your courses, according to the writing of
David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon
his son. 
 And stand in the holy place according to the
divisions of the fathers' houses of your brethren the children
of the people, and [let there be for each] a portion of a
fathers' house of the Levites. 
 And kill the passover, and
sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, to do
according to the word of Jehovah by Moses. 
 And Josiah
gave to the children of the people, of the flock, lambs and
kids, all of them for the passover-offerings, unto all that were
present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand
bullocks: these were of the king's substance. 
 And his
princes gave for a freewill-offering unto the people, to the
priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel,
the rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the
passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred [small cattle],
and three hundred oxen. 
 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and
Nethanel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the
chiefs of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for the
passover-offerings five thousand [small cattle], and five
hundred oxen. 
 So the service was prepared, and the
priests stood in their place, and the Levites by their courses,
according to the king's commandment. 
 And they killed the
passover, and the priests sprinkled [the blood which they
received] of their hand, and the Levites flayed them. 
 And they removed the burnt-offerings, that they might give them
according to the divisions of the fathers' houses of the
children of the people, to offer unto Jehovah, as it is written
in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen. 
 And
they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance:
and the holy offerings boiled they in pots, and in caldrons, and
in pans, and carried them quickly to all the children of the
people. 
 And afterward they prepared for themselves, and
for the priests, because the priests the sons of Aaron [were
busied] in offering the burnt-offerings and the fat until night:
therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the
priests the sons of Aaron. 
 And the singers the sons of
Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of
David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and
the porters were at every gate: they needed not to depart from
their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.
 So all the service of Jehovah was prepared the same day,
to keep the passover, and to offer burnt-offerings upon the
altar of Jehovah, according to the commandment of king Josiah.
 And the children of Israel that were present kept the
passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven
days. 
 And there was no passover like to that kept in
Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did any of
the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the
priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were
present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
 In the
eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.
 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple,
Neco king of Egypt went up to fight against Carchemish by the
Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. 
 But he sent
ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou
king of Judah? [I come] not against thee this day, but against
the house wherewith I have war; and God hath commanded me to
make haste: forbear thee from [meddling with] God, who is with
me, that he destroy thee not. 
 Nevertheless, Josiah would
not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might
fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Neco from
the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
 And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said
to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded. 
 So
his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him in the
second chariot that he had, and brought him to Jerusalem; and he
died, and was buried in the sepulchres of his fathers. And all
Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 
 And Jeremiah
lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and singing women
spake of Josiah in their lamentations unto this day; and they
made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written
in the lamentations. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah,
and his good deeds, according to that which is written in the
law of Jehovah, 
 and his acts, first and last, behold,
they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
==Chapter 36==
 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of
Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.
 Joahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to
reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 
 And the
king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and fined the land a
hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 
 And the
king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and
Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Neco took
Joahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt. 
 Jehoiakim
was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he
reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was
evil in the sight of Jehovah his God. 
 Against him came up
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to
carry him to Babylon. 
 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the
vessels of the house of Jehovah to Babylon, and put them in his
temple at Babylon. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim,
and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in
him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel
and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 
 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign; and he
reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that
which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. 
 And at the
return of the year king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to
Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of Jehovah, and
made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. 
 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: 
 and he did
that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God; he humbled
not himself before Jeremiah the prophet [speaking] from the
mouth of Jehovah. 
 And he also rebelled against king
Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened
his neck, and hardened his heart against turning unto Jehovah,
the God of Israel. 
 Moreover, all the chiefs of the
priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the
abominations of the nations; and they polluted the house of
Jehovah which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. 
 And Jehovah,
the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising
up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people,
and on his dwelling-place: 
 but they mocked the
messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his
prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against his people,
till there was no remedy. 
 Therefore, he brought upon them
the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the
sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion
upon young man or virgin, old man or hoary-headed: he gave them
all into his hand. 
 And all the vessels of the house of
God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of Jehovah,
and the treasures of the king, and of his princes, all these he
brought to Babylon. 
 And they burnt the house of God, and
brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces
thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away
to Babylon; and they were servants to him and his sons until the
reign of the kingdom of Persia: 
 to fulfil the word of
Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its
sabbaths: [for] as long as it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to
fulfil threescore and ten years. 
 Now in the first year
of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth
of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing,
saying, 
 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the
kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me;
and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which
is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people,
Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up.