Bible (American Standard)/2 Kings

The Second Book of the Kings
==Chapter 1==
 And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of
Ahab. 
 And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his
upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent
messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the
god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this sickness. 
 But the angel of Jehovah said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go
up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto
them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to
inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 
 Now therefore
thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not come down from the bed
whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah
departed.
 And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto
them, Why is it that ye are returned? 
 And they said unto
him, There came up a man to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn
again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith
Jehovah, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou
sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore
thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up,
but shalt surely die. 
 And he said unto them, What manner
of man was he that came up to meet you, and told you these
words? 
 And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt
with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is
Elijah the Tishbite.
 Then [the king] sent unto him a captain of fifty with
his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he was sitting on
the top of the hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, the
king hath said, Come down. 
 And Elijah answered and said
to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come
down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came
down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 
 And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty and his
fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus
hath the king said, Come down quickly. 
 And Elijah
answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come
down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire
of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
 And again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his
fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell
on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him,
O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these
fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. 
 Behold,
there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two former
captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be
precious in thy sight. 
 And the angel of Jehovah said unto
Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose,
and went down with him unto the king. 
 And he said unto
him, Thus saith Jehovah, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers
to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there
is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt
not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt
surely die.
 So he died according to the word of Jehovah which
Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram began to reign in his stead in
the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah;
because he had no son. 
 Now the rest of the acts of
Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel?
==Chapter 2==
 And it came to pass, when Jehovah would take up Elijah
by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from
Gilgal. 
 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray
thee; for Jehovah hath sent me as far as Beth-el. And Elisha
said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not
leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. 
 And the sons of
the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said
unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master
from thy head to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your
peace. 
 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I
pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As
Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.
So they came to Jericho. 
 And the sons of the prophets that
were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest
thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head
to-day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee; for
Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah
liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they
two went on. 
 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets
went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood
by the Jordan. 
 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it
together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and
thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 
 And it
came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto
Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken from
thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy
spirit be upon me. 
 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard
thing: [nevertheless], if thou see me when I am taken from thee,
it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 
 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that,
behold, [there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire,
which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a
whirlwind into heaven. 
 And Elisha saw it, and he cried,
My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen
thereof!
And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes,
and rent them in two pieces. 
 He took up also the mantle
of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the
bank of the Jordan. 
 And he took the mantle of Elijah that
fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Jehovah,
the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they
were divided hither and thither; and Elisha went over.
 And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho
over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth
rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves
to the ground before him. 
 And they said unto him, Behold
now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go,
we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of Jehovah
hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some
valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. 
 And when they
urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent
therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him
not. 
 And they came back to him, while he tarried at
Jericho; and he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, we
pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord
seeth: but the water is bad, and the land miscarrieth. 
 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And
they brought it to him. 
 And he went forth unto the spring
of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus saith
Jehovah, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from
thence any more death or miscarrying. 
 So the waters were
healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha which he
spake.
 And he went up from thence unto Beth-el; and as he was
going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the
city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou baldhead;
go up, thou baldhead. 
 And he looked behind him and saw
them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came
forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads
of them. 
 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and
from thence he returned to Samaria.
==Chapter 3==
 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel
in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
and reigned twelve years. 
 And he did that which was evil
in the sight of Jehovah, but not like his father, and like his
mother; for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had
made. 
 Nevertheless, he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed
not therefrom.
 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master; and he
rendered unto the king of Israel the wool of a hundred thousand
lambs, and of a hundred thousand rams. 
 But it came to
pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against
the king of Israel. 
 And king Jehoram went out of Samaria
at that time, and mustered all Israel. 
 And he went and
sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab
hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to
battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people
as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 
 And he said, Which
way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness
of Edom. 
 So the king of Israel went, and the king of
Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven
days' journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the
beasts that followed them. 
 And the king of Israel said,
Alas! for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to
deliver them into the hand of Moab. 
 But Jehoshaphat said,
Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah, that we may inquire of
Jehovah by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants
answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured
water on the hands of Elijah. 
 And Jehoshaphat said, The
word of Jehovah is with him. So the king of Israel and
Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I
to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to
the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto
him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to
deliver them into the hand of Moab. 
 And Elisha said, As
Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it
not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah,
I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. 
 But now bring
me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played,
that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. 
 And he said, Thus
saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of trenches. 
 For
thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see
rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and ye shall
drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts. 
 And this
is but a light thing in the sight of Jehovah: he will also
deliver the Moabites into your hand. 
 And ye shall smite
every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell
every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every
good piece of land with stones. 
 And it came to pass in
the morning, about the time of offering the oblation, that,
behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was
filled with water.
 Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings were
come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves
together, all that were able to put on armor, and upward, and
stood on the border. 
 And they rose up early in the
morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw
the water over against them as red as blood: 
 and they
said, This is blood; the kings are surely destroyed, and they
have smitten each man his fellow: now therefore, Moab, to the
spoil. 
 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the
Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled
before them; and they went forward into the land smiting the
Moabites. 
 And they beat down the cities; and on every
good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it;
and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the
good trees, until in Kir-hareseth [only] they left the stones
thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too
sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew
sword, to break through unto the king of Edom; but they could
not. 
 Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned
in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the
wall. And there was great wrath against Israel: and they
departed from him, and returned to their own land.
==Chapter 4==
 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the
sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband
is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear Jehovah: and
the creditor is come to take unto him my two children to be
bondmen. 
 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for
thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy
handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil.
 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy
neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 
 And thou
shalt go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and
pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that
which is full. 
 So she went from him, and shut the door
upon her and upon her sons; they brought [the vessels] to her,
and she poured out. 
 And it came to pass, when the vessels
were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel.
And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil
stayed. 
 Then she came and told the man of God. And he
said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy
sons of the rest.
 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem,
where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread.
And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither
to eat bread. 
 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I
perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passeth by us
continually. 
 Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber
on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table,
and a seat, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh
to us, that he shall turn in thither. 
 And it fell on a
day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber and
lay there. 
 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this
Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast
been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for
thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain
of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi
answered, Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old. 
 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in
the door. 
 And he said, At this season, when the time
cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my
lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid.
 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that
season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said unto her.
 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he
went out to his father to the reapers. 
 And he said unto
his father, My head, my head. And he said to his servant, Carry
him to his mother. 
 And when he had taken him, and brought
him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of
God, and shut [the door] upon him, and went out. 
 And she
called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of
the servants, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of
God, and come again. 
 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go
to him to-day? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said,
It shall be well. 
 Then she saddled an ass, and said to
her servant, Drive, and go forward; slacken me not the riding,
except I bid thee. 
 So she went, and came unto the man of
God to mount Carmel.
And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off,
that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the
Shunammite: 
 run, I pray thee, now to meet her, and say
unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is
it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. 
 And
when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of
his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man
of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her;
and Jehovah hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. 
 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do
not deceive me? 
 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy
loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way: if thou
meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him
not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. 
 And the mother of the child said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed
her. 
 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff
upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor
hearing. Wherefore he returned to meet him, and told him,
saying, The child is not awaked.
 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the
child was dead, and laid upon his bed. 
 He went in
therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto
Jehovah. 
 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put
his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his
hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the
flesh of the child waxed warm. 
 Then he returned, and
walked in the house once to and fro; and went up, and stretched
himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the
child opened his eyes. 
 And he called Gehazi, and said,
Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in
unto him, he said, Take up thy son. 
 Then she went in, and
fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took
up her son, and went out.
 And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a
dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting
before him; and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot,
and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. 
 And one
went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine,
and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and
shred them into the pot of pottage; for they knew them not.
 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to
pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out,
and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot. And they
could not eat thereof. 
 But he said, Then bring meal. And
he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people,
that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
 And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought
the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of
barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, Give
unto the people, that they may eat. 
 And his servant said,
What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give
the people, that they may eat; for thus saith Jehovah, They
shall eat, and shall leave thereof. 
 So he set it before
them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word
of Jehovah.
==Chapter 5==
 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria,
was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him
Jehovah had given victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man
of valor, [but he was] a leper. 
 And the Syrians had gone
out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of
Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 
 And she said unto her mistress, Would that my lord were with the
prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his
leprosy. 
 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus
and thus said the maiden that is of the land of Israel. 
 And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter
unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten
talents of silver, and six thousand [pieces] of gold, and ten
changes of raiment. 
 And he brought the letter to the king
of Israel, saying, And now when this letter is come unto thee,
behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest
recover him of his leprosy. 
 And it came to pass, when the
king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes,
and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man
doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? but consider,
I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that
the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the
king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come
now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and
stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 
 And Elisha sent
a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven
times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be
clean. 
 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said,
Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and
call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the
place, and recover the leper. 
 Are not Abanah and Pharpar,
the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?
may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away
in a rage. 
 And his servants came near, and spake unto
him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some
great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather
then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 
 Then
went he down, and dipped [himself] seven times in the Jordan,
according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came
again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his
company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, Behold
now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in
Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a present of thy
servant. 
 But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I
stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he
refused. 
 And Naaman said, If not, yet, I pray thee, let
there be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth; for
thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor
sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Jehovah. 
 In this
thing Jehovah pardon thy servant: when my master goeth into the
house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and
I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the
house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thy servant in this thing.
 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from
him a little way.
 But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said,
Behold, my master hath spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not
receiving at his hands that which he brought: as Jehovah liveth,
I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. 
 So Gehazi
followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw one running after
him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all
well? 
 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me,
saying, Behold, even now there are come to me from the
hill-country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the
prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two
changes of raiment. 
 And Naaman said, Be pleased to take
two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver
in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two
of his servants; and they bare them before him. 
 And when
he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and bestowed
them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed.
 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha
said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy
servant went no whither. 
 And he said unto him, Went not
my heart [with thee], when the man turned from his chariot to
meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive
garments, and oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and
men-servants and maid-servants? 
 The leprosy therefore of
Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And
he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.
==Chapter 6==
 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold
now, the place where we dwell before thee is too strait for us.
 Let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and take thence
every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may
dwell. And he answered, Go ye. 
 And one said, Be pleased, I
pray thee, to go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan,
they cut down wood. 
 But as one was felling a beam, the
axe-head fell into the water; and he cried, and said, Alas, my
master! for it was borrowed. 
 And the man of God said,
Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a
stick, and cast it in thither, and made the iron to swim. 
 And he said, Take it up to thee. So he put out his hand, and
took it.
 Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and
he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a
place shall be my camp. 
 And the man of God sent unto the
king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place;
for thither the Syrians are coming down. 
 And the king of
Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and
warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice.
 And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for
this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will
ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? 
 And
one of his servants said, Nay, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the
prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words
that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. 
 And he said, Go and
see where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told
him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
 Therefore, sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a
great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city
about. 
 And when the servant of the man of God was risen
early, and gone forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots
was round about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas,
my master! how shall we do? 
 And he answered, Fear not;
for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.
 And Elisha prayed, and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open
his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the
young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of
horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 
 And when
they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah, and said,
Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote
them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 
 And
Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the
city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek.
And he led them to Samaria.
 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria,
that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these men, that they
may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw; and,
behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 
 And the king
of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I
smite them? shall I smite them? 
 And he answered, Thou
shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast
taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and
water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their
master. 
 And he prepared great provision for them; and
when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went
to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the
land of Israel.
 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of
Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold,
they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore
[pieces] of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung
for five [pieces] of silver. 
 And as the king of Israel
was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him,
saying, Help, my lord, O king. 
 And he said, If Jehovah do
not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the
threshing-floor, or out of the winepress? 
 And the king
said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman
said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we
will eat my son to-morrow. 
 So we boiled my son, and did
eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that
we may eat him; and she hath hid her son. 
 And it came to
pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent
his clothes (now he was passing by upon the wall); and the
people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his
flesh. 
 Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if
the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this
day.
 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders
were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man from before
him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders,
See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my
head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold
the door fast against him: is not the sound of his master's feet
behind him? 
 And while he was yet talking with them,
behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold,
this evil is of Jehovah; why should I wait for Jehovah any
longer?
==Chapter 7==
 And Elisha said, Hear ye the word of Jehovah: thus
saith Jehovah, To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine
flour be [sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a
shekel, in the gate of Samaria. 
 Then the captain on whose
hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold,
if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, might this thing be?
And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but
shalt not eat thereof.
 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the
gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we
die? 
 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the
famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit
still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall
unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall
live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. 
 And they rose
up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians; and when
they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians,
behold, there was no man there. 
 For the Lord had made the
host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of
horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to
another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings
of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon
us. 
 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and
left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the
camp as it was, and fled for their life. 
 And when these
lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into
one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and
gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and they came back, and
entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and
hid it.
 Then they said one to another, We do not well; this day
is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry
till the morning light, punishment will overtake us; now
therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household. 
 So they came and called unto the porter of the city; and they
told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and,
behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the
horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.
 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's
household within. 
 And the king arose in the night, and
said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians
have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore are
they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field,
saying, When they come out of the city, we shall take them
alive, and get into the city. 
 And one of his servants
answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the
horses that remain, which are left in the city (behold, they are
as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; behold, they
are as all the multitude of Israel that are consumed); and let
us send and see. 
 They took therefore two chariots with
horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying,
Go and see. 
 And they went after them unto the Jordan:
and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the
Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers
returned, and told the king.
 And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the
Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was [sold] for a shekel, and
two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of
Jehovah. 
 And the king appointed the captain on whose hand
he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trod
upon him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said,
who spake when the king came down to him. 
 And it came to
pass, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two
measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for
a shekel, shall be to-morrow about this time in the gate of
Samaria; 
 and that captain answered the man of God, and
said, Now, behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven,
might such a thing be? and he said, Behold, thou shalt see it
with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof: 
 it came to
pass even so unto him; for the people trod upon him in the gate,
and he died.
==Chapter 8==
 Now Elisha had spoken unto the woman, whose son he had
restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household,
and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for Jehovah hath
called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven
years. 
 And the woman arose, and did according to the word
of the man of God; and she went with her household, and
sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 
 And
it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned
out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry
unto the king for her house and for her land. 
 Now the king
was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying,
Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath
done. 
 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how
he had restored to life him that was dead, that, behold, the
woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for
her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king,
this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to
life. 
 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So
the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore
all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day
that she left the land, even until now.
 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of
Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is
come hither. 
 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present
in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah
by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness? 
 So
Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of
every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and
stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath
sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?
 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou shalt
surely recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall
surely die. 
 And he settled his countenance stedfastly
[upon him], until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered,
Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of
Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young
men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their
little ones, and rip up their women with child. 
 And
Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who is but a dog, that he
should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath
showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. 
 Then he
departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him,
What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou
wouldest surely recover. 
 And it came to pass on the
morrow, that he took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and
spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in
his stead.
 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of
Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of
Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. 
 Thirty and two
years old was he 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 Judah, for
David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give unto him a
lamp for his children alway.
 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of
Judah, and made a king over themselves. 
 Then Joram passed
over to Zair, 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; and the people fled to their tents.
 So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this
day. Then did Libnah revolt at the same time. 
 And the
rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his
stead.
 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of
Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to
reign. 
 Two and twenty 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 king of Israel. 
 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that
which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did the house of
Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. 
 And
he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of
Syria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. 
 And king Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds
which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against
Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of
Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because
he was sick.
==Chapter 9==
 And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the
prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this
vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. 
 And when
thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat
the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among
his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber. 
 Then take
the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith
Jehovah, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the
door, and flee, and tarry not. 
 So the young man, even the
young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 
 And when he
came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he
said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto
which of us all? And he said, To thee, O captain. 
 And he
arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his
head, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel,
I have anointed thee king over the people of Jehovah, even over
Israel. 
 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master,
that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the
blood of all the servants of Jehovah, at the hand of Jezebel.
 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut
off from Ahab every man-child, and him that is shut up and him
that is left at large in Israel. 
 And I will make the house
of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like
the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 
 And the dogs shall
eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none
to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
 Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and
one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow
to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man and what his
talk was. 
 And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he
said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith Jehovah,
I have anointed thee king over Israel. 
 Then they hasted,
and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top
of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, Jehu is king.
 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi
conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth-gilead,
he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; 
 but
king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds
which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king
of Syria.) And Jehu said, If this be your mind, then let none
escape and go forth out of the city, to go to tell it in
Jezreel. 
 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel;
for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to
see Joram.
 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel,
and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a
company. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them,
and let him say, Is it peace? 
 So there went one on
horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it
peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee
behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to
them, but he cometh not back. 
 Then he sent out a second
on horseback, who came to them, and said, Thus saith the king,
Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace?
turn thee behind me. 
 And the watchman told, saying, He
came even unto them, and cometh not back: and the driving is
like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth
furiously.
 And Joram said, Make ready. And they made ready his
chariot. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went
out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and
found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. 
 And it
came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace,
Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of
thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? 
 And
Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is
treachery, O Ahaziah. 
 And Jehu drew his bow with his full
strength, and smote Joram between his arms; and the arrow went
out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. 
 Then
said [Jehu] to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the
portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how
that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father,
Jehovah laid this burden upon him: 
 Surely I have seen
yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith
Jehovah; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith Jehovah.
Now therefore take and cast him into the plat [of ground],
according to the word of Jehovah.
 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled
by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and
said, Smite him also in the chariot: [and they smote him] at the
ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and
died there. 
 And his servants carried him in a chariot to
Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in
the city of David.
 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab
began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. 
 And when Jehu was come
to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and
attired her head, and looked out at the window. 
 And as
Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, thou Zimri,
thy master's murderer? 
 And he lifted up his face to the
window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out
to him two or three eunuchs. 
 And he said, Throw her down.
So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on
the wall, and on the horses: and he trod her under foot. 
 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink; and he said, See
now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's
daughter. 
 And they went to bury her; but they found no
more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her
hands. 
 Wherefore they came back, and told him. And he
said, This is the word of Jehovah, which he spake by his servant
Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall the
dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel; 
 and the body of Jezebel
shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of
Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
==Chapter 10==
 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote
letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, even
the elders, and unto them that brought up [the sons of] Ahab,
saying, 
 And now as soon as this letter cometh to you,
seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you
chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor; 
 look ye out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set
him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, the
two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? 
 And he that was over the household, and he that was over the
city, the elders also, and they that brought up [the children],
sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that
thou shalt bid us; we will not make any man king: do thou that
which is good in thine eyes. 
 Then he wrote a letter the
second time to them, saying, If ye be on my side, and if ye will
hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your
master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to-morrow this time.
Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great
men of the city, who brought them up. 
 And it came to
pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's
sons, and slew them, even seventy persons, and put their heads
in baskets, and sent them unto him to Jezreel. 
 And there
came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the
heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps
at the entrance of the gate until the morning. 
 And it
came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and
said to all the people, Ye are righteous: behold, I conspired
against my master, and slew him; but who smote all these?
 Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of
the word of Jehovah, which Jehovah spake concerning the house of
Ahab: for Jehovah hath done that which he spake by his servant
Elijah. 
 So Jehu smote all that remained of the house of
Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his familiar
friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.
 And he arose and departed, and went to Samaria. And
as he was at the shearing-house of the shepherds in the way,
 Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and
said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of
Ahaziah: and we go down to salute the children of the king and
the children of the queen. 
 And he said, Take them alive.
And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the
shearing-house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of
them. 
 And when he was departed thence, he lighted on
Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he saluted
him, and said to him, Is thy heart right, as my heart is with
thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thy
hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into
the chariot. 
 And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal
for Jehovah. So they made him ride in his chariot. 
 And
when he came to Samaria, he smote all that remained unto Ahab in
Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the word of
Jehovah, which he spake to Elijah.
 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said
unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu will serve him
much. 
 Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of
Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests; let none be
wanting: for I have a great sacrifice [to do] to Baal; whosoever
shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in
subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of
Baal. 
 And Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for
Baal. And they proclaimed it. 
 And Jehu sent through all
Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was
not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of
Baal; and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another.
 And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring
forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought
them forth vestments. 
 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the
son of Rechab, into the house of Baal; and he said unto the
worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with
you none of the servants of Jehovah, but the worshippers of Baal
only. 
 And they went in to offer sacrifices and
burnt-offerings. Now Jehu had appointed him fourscore men
without, and said, If any of the men whom I bring into your
hands escape, [he that letteth him go], his life shall be for
the life of him.
 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of
offering the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to
the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And
they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and
the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of
Baal. 
 And they brought forth the pillars that were in
the house of Baal, and burned them. 
 And they brake down
the pillar of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made
it a draught-house, unto this day. 
 Thus Jehu destroyed
Baal out of Israel.
 Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
wherewith he made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after
them, [to wit], the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that
were in Dan. 
 And Jehovah said unto Jehu, Because thou
hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes,
[and] hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was
in my heart, thy sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the
throne of Israel. 
 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the
law of Jehovah, the God of Israel, with all his heart: he
departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel
to sin.
 In those days Jehovah began to cut off from Israel:
and Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel; 
 from
the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and
the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the
valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. 
 Now the
rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his
might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel? 
 And Jehu slept with his fathers; and
they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his
stead. 
 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in
Samaria was twenty and eight years.
==Chapter 11==
 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her
son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 
 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah,
took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the
king's sons that were slain, even him and his nurse, [and put
them] in the bedchamber; and they hid him from Athaliah, so that
he was not slain; 
 And he was with her hid in the house of
Jehovah six years. And Athaliah reigned over the land.
 And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the
captains over hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and
brought them to him into the house of Jehovah; and he made a
covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of
Jehovah, and showed them the king's son. 
 And he commanded
them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part
of you, that come in on the sabbath, shall be keepers of the
watch of the king's house; 
 And a third part shall be at
the gate Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so
shall ye keep the watch of the house, and be a barrier. 
 And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on the
sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the
king. 
 And ye shall compass the king round about, every
man with his weapons in his hand; and he that cometh within the
ranks, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he goeth
out, and when he cometh in.
 And the captains over hundreds 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, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
 And the priest delivered to the captains over hundreds
the spears and shields that had been king David's, which were in
the house of Jehovah. 
 And the guard stood, every man
with his weapons 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 he brought out the king's
son, and put the crown upon him, and [gave him] the testimony;
and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their
hands, and said, [Long] live the king.
 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard [and
of] the people, she came to the people into the house of
Jehovah: 
 and she looked, and, behold, the king stood by
the pillar, as the manner was, and the captains and the trumpets
by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew
trumpets. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason!
treason! 
 And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains
of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them,
Have her forth between the ranks; and him that followeth her
slay with the sword. For the priest said, Let her not be slain
in the house of Jehovah. 
 So they made way for her; and
she went by the way of the horses' entry to the king's house:
and there was she slain.
 And Jehoiada made a covenant between Jehovah and the
king and the people, that they should be Jehovah's people;
between the king also and the people. 
 And all the people
of the land went to the house of Baal, and brake it down; his
altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew
Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest
appointed officers over the house of Jehovah. 
 And he
took the captains over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard,
and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king
from the house of Jehovah, and came by the way of the gate of
the guard unto the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the
kings. 
 So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the
city was quiet. And Athaliah they had slain with the sword at
the king's house. 
 Jehoash was seven years old when he
began to reign.
==Chapter 12==
 In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign;
and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name
was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 
 And Jehoash did that which was
right in the eyes of Jehovah all his days wherein Jehoiada the
priest instructed him. 
 Howbeit the high places were not
taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the
high places.
 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the
hallowed things that is brought into the house of Jehovah, in
current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is
rated, and all the money that it cometh into any man's heart to
bring into the house of Jehovah, 
 let the priests take it
to them, every man from his acquaintance; and they shall repair
the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be
found. 
 But it was so, that in the three and twentieth
year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches
of the house. 
 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the
priest, and for the [other] priests, and said unto them, Why
repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore take no
[more] money from your acquaintance, but deliver it for the
breaches of the house. 
 And the priests consented that
they should take no [more] money from the people, neither repair
the breaches of the house.
 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole
in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side
as one cometh into the house of Jehovah: and the priests that
kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought
into the house of Jehovah. 
 And it was so, when they saw
that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe
and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted
the money that was found in the house of Jehovah. 
 And
they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of them
that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of
Jehovah: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the
builders, that wrought upon the house of Jehovah, 
 and to
the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and
hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of Jehovah, and
for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. 
 But there were not made for the house of Jehovah cups of silver,
snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of
silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah;
 for they gave that to them that did the work, and
repaired therewith the house of Jehovah. 
 Moreover, they
reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the
money to give to them that did the work; for they dealt
faithfully. 
 The money for the trespass-offerings, and
the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house
of Jehovah: it was the priests'.
 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against
Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to
Jerusalem. 
 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the
hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his
fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed
things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the
house of Jehovah, and of the king's house, and sent it to Hazael
king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he
did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Judah? 
 And his servants arose, and made a
conspiracy, and smote Joash at the house of Millo, [on the way]
that goeth down to Silla. 
 For Jozacar the son of
Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote
him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the
city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 13==
 In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of
Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign
over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] seventeen years. 
 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and
followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he
made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. 
 And the
anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he delivered
them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of
Benhadad the son of Hazael, continually. 
 And Jehoahaz
besought Jehovah, and Jehovah hearkened unto him; for he saw the
oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed them.
 (And Jehovah gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out
from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel
dwelt in their tents as beforetime. 
 Nevertheless, they
departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, wherewith
he made Israel to sin, but walked therein: and there remained
the Asherah also in Samaria.) 
 For he left not to Jehoahaz
of the people save fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten
thousand footmen; for the king of Syria destroyed them, and made
them like the dust in threshing. 
 Now the rest of the acts
of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him
in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.
 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah
began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in
Samaria, [and reigned] sixteen years. 
 And he did that
which was evil in the sight of Jehovah; he departed not from all
the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel
to sin; but he walked therein. 
 Now the rest of the acts
of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought
against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 
 And Joash
slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and
Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he
died: and Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept
over him, and said, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel
and the horsemen thereof! 
 And Elisha said unto him, Take
bow and arrows; and he took unto him bow and arrows. 
 And
he said to the king of Israel, Put thy hand upon the bow; and he
put his hand [upon it]. And Elisha laid his hands upon the
king's hands. 
 And he said, Open the window eastward; and
he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot; and he shot. And he said,
Jehovah's arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over
Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have
consumed them. 
 And he said, Take the arrows; and he took
them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the
ground; and he smote thrice, and stayed. 
 And the man of
God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten
five or six times: then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst
consumed it, whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
 And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands
of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that,
behold, they spied a band; and they cast the man into the
sepulchre of Elisha: and as soon as the man touched the bones of
Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
 And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the
days of Jehoahaz. 
 But Jehovah was gracious unto them,
and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because
of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not
destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.
 And Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son
reigned in his stead. 
 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz
took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the
cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father
by war. Three times did Joash smite him, and recovered the
cities of Israel.
==Chapter 14==
 In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of
Israel began Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah to reign.
 He 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 Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 
 And he did that
which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, yet not like David his
father: he did according to all that Joash his father had done.
 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: the people
still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. 
 And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was established in
his hand, that he slew his servants who had slain the king his
father: 
 but the children of the murderers he put not to
death; according to that which is written in the book of the law
of Moses, as Jehovah commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be
put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death
for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin. 
 He slew of Edom in the Valley of Salt ten thousand, and took
Sela by war, and called the name of it Joktheel, unto this day.
 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of
Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look
one another in the face. 
 And Jehoash the 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
hast indeed smitten Edom, and thy heart hath lifted thee up:
glory thereof, and abide at home; for why shouldest thou meddle
to [thy] hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah
with thee?
 But Amaziah would not hear. So Jehoash 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 Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah
king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at
Beth-shemesh, and came 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 Jehovah, and in
the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and
returned to Samaria.
 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and
his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel? 
 And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was
buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son
reigned in his stead.
 And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived
after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel
fifteen years. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah? 
 And 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 he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the
city of David. 
 And all the people of Judah took Azariah,
who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his
father Amaziah. 
 He built Elath, and restored it to
Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.
 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash
king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to
reign in Samaria, [and reigned] forty and one years. 
 And
he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed
not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he
made Israel to sin. 
 He restored the border of Israel
from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of the Arabah,
according to the word of Jehovah, the God of Israel, which he
spake by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who
was of Gath-hepher. 
 For Jehovah saw the affliction of
Israel, that it was very bitter; for there was none shut up nor
left at large, neither was there any helper for Israel. 
 And Jehovah said not that he would blot out the name of Israel
from under heaven; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the
son of Joash.
 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he
did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered
Damascus, and Hamath, [which had belonged] to Judah, for Israel,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Israel? 
 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even
with the kings of Israel; and Zechariah his son reigned in his
stead.
==Chapter 15==
 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of
Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.
 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign; and he
reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name
was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 
 And he did that which was
right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father
Amaziah had done. 
 Howbeit the high places were not taken
away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high
places. 
 And Jehovah smote the king, so that he was a
leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house.
And Jotham the king's son was over the household, judging the
people of the land. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah,
and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah? 
 And Azariah slept with
his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of
David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah
did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria
six months. 
 And he did that which was evil in the sight
of Jehovah, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the
sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to
sin. 
 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against
him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned
in his stead. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah,
behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel. 
 This was the word of Jehovah which he
spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons to the fourth generation shall
sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass.
 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine
and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned the
space of a month in Samaria. 
 And Menahem the son of Gadi
went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the
son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his
stead. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his
conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 
 Then Menahem
smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the borders
thereof, from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore
he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he
ripped up.
 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of
Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, [and
reigned] ten years in Samaria. 
 And he did that which was
evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not all his days from
the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel
to sin. 
 There came against the land Pul the king of
Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that
his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the
mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to
give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back,
and stayed not there in the land. 
 Now the rest of the
acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 
 And
Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in
his stead.
 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah
Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in
Samaria, [and reigned] two years. 
 And he did that which
was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from the sins
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
 And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired
against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castle of the
king's house, with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men
of the Gileadites: and he slew him, and reigned in his stead.
 Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he
did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Israel.
 In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah
Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria,
[and reigned] twenty years. 
 And he did that which was
evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from the sins of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came
Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and
Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead,
and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them
captive to Assyria. 
 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a
conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and
slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of
Jotham the son of Uzziah. 
 Now the rest of the acts of
Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king
of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign.
 Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign;
and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name
was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 
 And he did that which
was right in the eyes of Jehovah; he did according to all that
his father Uzziah had done. 
 Howbeit the high places were
not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burned incense
in the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of
Jehovah. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all
that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles
of the kings of Judah? 
 In those days Jehovah began to
send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of
Remaliah. 
 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was
buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and
Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 16==
 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah
Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. 
 Twenty years old was Ahaz 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 his God, like David his father. 
 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made
his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations
of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children
of Israel. 
 And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the
high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah
king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged
Ahaz, but could not overcome him. 
 At that time Rezin king
of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from
Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there, unto this
day.
 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of
Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save
me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of
the king of Israel, who rise up against me. 
 And Ahaz took
the silver and gold that was found in the house of Jehovah, and
in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present
to the king of Assyria. 
 And the king of Assyria hearkened
unto him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and
took it, and carried [the people of] it captive to Kir, and slew
Rezin.
 And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet
Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at
Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of
the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the
workmanship thereof. 
 And Urijah the priest built an
altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus,
so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz
from Damascus. 
 And when the king was come from Damascus,
the king saw the altar: and the king drew near unto the altar,
and offered thereon. 
 And he burnt his burnt-offering and
his meal-offering, and poured his drink-offering, and sprinkled
the blood of his peace-offerings, upon the altar. 
 And
the brazen altar, which was before Jehovah, he brought from the
forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house of
Jehovah, and put it on the north side of his altar. 
 And
king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great
altar burn the morning burnt-offering, and the evening
meal-offering, and the king's burnt-offering, and his
meal-offering, with the burnt-offering of all the people of the
land, and their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings; and
sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt-offering, and all
the blood of the sacrifice: but the brazen altar shall be for me
to inquire by. 
 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to
all that king Ahaz commanded.
 And king Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and
removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from off
the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement
of stone. 
 And the covered way for the sabbath that they
had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he
unto the house of Jehovah, because of the king of Assyria.
 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in
his stead.
==Chapter 17==
 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea
the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, [and reigned]
nine years. 
 And he did that which was evil in the sight
of Jehovah, yet not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and
Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. 
 And
the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent
messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the
king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king
of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. 
 Then the
king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to
Samaria, and besieged it three years. 
 In the ninth year
of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel
away unto Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor,
the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
 And it was so, because the children of Israel had
sinned against Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the
land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and
had feared other gods, 
 and walked in the statutes of the
nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of
Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made. 
 And
the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right
against Jehovah their God: and they built them high places in
all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the
fortified city; 
 and they set them up pillars and Asherim
upon every high hill, and under every green tree; 
 and
there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the
nations whom Jehovah carried away before them; and they wrought
wicked things to provoke Jehovah to anger; 
 and they
served idols, whereof Jehovah had said unto them, Ye shall not
do this thing. 
 Yet Jehovah testified unto Israel, and
unto Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, Turn ye
from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes,
according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and
which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 
 Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck,
like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah
their God. 
 And they rejected his statutes, and his
covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies
which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and
became vain, and [went] after the nations that were round about
them, concerning whom Jehovah had charged them that they should
not do like them. 
 And they forsook all the commandments
of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two
calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of
heaven, and served Baal. 
 And they caused their sons and
their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination
and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil
in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. 
 Therefore, Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them
out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah
only.
 Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their
God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
 And Jehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, and
afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers,
until he had cast them out of his sight. 
 For he rent
Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son
of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following Jehovah,
and made them sin a great sin. 
 And the children of
Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they
departed not from them; 
 until Jehovah removed Israel out
of his sight, as he spake by all his servants the prophets. So
Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto
this day.
 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and
from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and
placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of
Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities
thereof. 
 And so it was, at the beginning of their
dwelling there, that they feared not Jehovah: therefore Jehovah
sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 
 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations
which thou hast carried away, and placed in the cities of
Samaria, know not the law of the god of the land: therefore he
hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because
they know not the law of the god of the land.
 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry
thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let
them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the
god of the land. 
 So one of the priests whom they had
carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught
them how they should fear Jehovah. 
 Howbeit every nation
made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high
places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their
cities wherein they dwelt. 
 And the men of Babylon made
Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of
Hamath made Ashima, 
 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and
Tartak; and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to
Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 
 So
they feared Jehovah, and made unto them from among themselves
priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the
houses of the high places. 
 They feared Jehovah, and
served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from
among whom they had been carried away.
 Unto this day they do after the former manner: they
fear not Jehovah, neither do they after their statutes, or after
their ordinances, or after the law or after the commandment
which Jehovah commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named
Israel; 
 with whom Jehovah had made a covenant, and
charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow
yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
 but Jehovah, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
with great power and with an outstretched arm, him shall ye
fear, and unto him shall ye bow yourselves, and to him shall ye
sacrifice: 
 and the statutes and the ordinances, and the
law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall
observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods:
 and the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not
forget; neither shall ye fear other gods: 
 but Jehovah
your God shall ye fear; and he will deliver you out of the hand
of all your enemies. 
 Howbeit they did not hearken, but
they did after their former manner. 
 So these nations
feared Jehovah, and served their graven images; their children
likewise, and their children's children, as did their fathers,
so do they unto this day.
==Chapter 18==
 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of
Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah
began to reign. 
 Twenty and five years old was he when he
began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in
Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Abi 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 removed the high places, and brake the pillars, and cut down
the Asherah: and he brake in pieces the brazen serpent that
Moses had made; for unto those days the children of Israel did
burn incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan. 
 He
trusted in Jehovah, the God of Israel; so that after him was
none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor [among them]
that were before him. 
 For he clave to Jehovah; he
departed not from following him, but kept his commandments,
which Jehovah commanded Moses. 
 And Jehovah was with him;
whithersoever he went forth he prospered: and he rebelled
against the king of Assyria, and served him not. 
 He smote
the Philistines unto Gaza and the borders thereof, from the
tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king
Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king
of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against
Samaria, and besieged it. 
 And at the end of three years
they took it: in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth
year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 
 And
the king of Assyria carried Israel away unto Assyria, and put
them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the
cities of the Medes, 
 because they obeyed not the voice
of Jehovah their God, but transgressed his covenant, even all
that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded, and would not hear
it, nor do it.
 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did
Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fortified
cities of Judah, and took them. 
 And Hezekiah king of
Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have
offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I
bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of
Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of
gold. 
 And Hezekiah gave [him] all the silver that was
found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the
king's house. 
 At that time did Hezekiah cut off [the
gold from] the doors of the temple of Jehovah, and [from] the
pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it
to the king of Assyria. 
 And the king of Assyria sent
Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah
with a great army unto Jerusalem. And they went up and came to
Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by
the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the
fuller's field. 
 And when they had called to the king,
there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over
the household, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph
the recorder.
 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah,
Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence
is this wherein thou trustest? 
 Thou sayest (but they are
but vain words), [There is] counsel and strength for the war.
Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me?
 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this
bruised reed, even upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go
into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto
all that trust on him. 
 But if ye say unto me, We trust
in Jehovah our God; is not that he, whose high places and whose
altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and to
Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my master
the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses,
if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 
 How
then canst thou turn away the face of one captain of the least
of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots
and for horsemen? 
 Am I now come up without Jehovah
against this place to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up
against this land, and destroy it.
 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah,
and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in
the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not with us
in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the
wall. 
 But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent
me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? [hath he]
not [sent me] to the men that sit on the wall, to eat their own
dung, and to drink their own water with you? 
 Then
Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews'
language, and spake, saying, Hear ye the word of the great king,
the king of Assyria. 
 Thus saith the king, Let not
Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out
of his hand: 
 neither let Hezekiah make you trust in
Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us, and this city
shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 
 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria,
Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every
one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye
every one the waters of his own cistern; 
 Until I come
and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain
and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of
olive-trees and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and
hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying,
Jehovah will deliver us. 
 Hath any of the gods of the
nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of
Assyria? 
 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad?
where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? have they
delivered Samaria out of my hand? 
 Who are they among all
the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out
of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
 But the people held their peace, and answered him not
a word; for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the
household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the
recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the
words of Rabshakeh.
==Chapter 19==
 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that
he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and
went into the house of Jehovah. 
 And he sent Eliakim, who
was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of
the priests, covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the
son of Amoz. 
 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah,
This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely;
for the children are come to the birth, and there is not
strength to bring forth. 
 It may be Jehovah thy God will
hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his
master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the
words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy
prayer for the remnant that is left. 
 So the servants of
king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 
 And Isaiah said unto them,
Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not
afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants
of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 
 Behold, I will
put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall return
to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in
his own land. 
 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king
of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he was
departed from Lachish. 
 And when he heard say of Tirhakah
king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee,
he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, 
 Thus
shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy
God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall
not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 
 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to
all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be
delivered? 
 Have the gods of the nations delivered them,
which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph,
and the children of Eden that were in Telassar? 
 Where is
the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the
city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?
 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the
messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house of
Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah. 
 And Hezekiah
prayed before Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel,
that sittest [above] the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou
alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven
and earth. 
 Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open
thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear the words of
Sennacherib, wherewith he hath sent him to defy the living God.
 Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid
waste the nations and their lands, 
 and have cast their
gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's
hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them.
 Now therefore, O Jehovah our God, save thou us, I
beseech thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the
earth may know that thou Jehovah art God alone.
 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying,
Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed
to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard [thee].
 This is the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning
him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed
thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at
thee. 
 Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and against
whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on
high? [even] against the Holy One of Israel. 
 By thy
messengers thou hast defied the Lord, and hast said, With the
multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the
mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut
down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof;
and I will enter into his farthest lodging-place, the forest of
his fruitful field. 
 I have digged and drunk strange
waters, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the
rivers of Egypt.
 Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and
formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that
it should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous
heaps. 
 Therefore, their inhabitants were of small power,
they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the
field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and
as grain blasted before it is grown up. 
 But I know thy
sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy
raging against me. 
 Because of thy raging against me, and
because thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore
will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I
will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
 And this shall be the sign unto thee: Ye shall eat
this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year
that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye,
and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah
shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. 
 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount
Zion they that shall escape: the zeal of Jehovah shall perform
this. 
 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah concerning the king
of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow
there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up
a mound against it. 
 By the way that he came, by the same
shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith
Jehovah. 
 For I will defend this city to save it, for
mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of
Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a
hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when men arose early in
the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 
 So
Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and
dwelt at Nineveh. 
 And it came to pass, as he was
worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech
and Sharezer smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the
land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 20==
 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah
the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus
saith Jehovah, Set thy house in order: for thou shalt die, and
not live. 
 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed
unto Jehovah, saying, 
 Remember now, O Jehovah, I beseech
thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect
heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And
Hezekiah wept sore. 
 And it came to pass, before Isaiah
was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of
Jehovah came to him, saying, 
 Turn back, and say to
Hezekiah the prince of my people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of
David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy
tears: behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go
up unto the house of Jehovah. 
 And I will add unto thy
days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of
the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for
mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 
 And
Isaiah said, Take a cake of figs. And they took and laid it on
the boil, and he recovered.
 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign
that Jehovah will heal me, and that I shall go up unto the house
of Jehovah the third day? 
 And Isaiah said, This shall be
the sign unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing
that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or
go back ten steps? 
 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light
thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the
shadow return backward ten steps. 
 And Isaiah the prophet
cried unto Jehovah; and he brought the shadow ten steps
backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.
 At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan,
king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for
he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 
 And Hezekiah
hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his
precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and
the precious oil, and the house of his armor, and all that was
found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in
all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. 
 Then
came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him,
What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And
Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from
Babylon. 
 And he said, What have they seen in thy house?
And Hezekiah answered, All that is in my house have they seen:
there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them.
 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of
Jehovah. 
 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thy
house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto
this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left,
saith Jehovah. 
 And of thy sons that shall issue from
thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they
shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 
 Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovah
which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, Is it not so, if peace
and truth shall be in my days? 
 Now the rest of the acts
of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and
the conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers; and Manasseh his
son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 21==
 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem: and his
mother's name was Hephzibah. 
 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 destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made
an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the
host of heaven, and served them. 
 And he built altars in
the house of Jehovah, whereof Jehovah said, In Jerusalem will I
put my name. 
 And he built altars for all the host of
heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah. 
 And he
made his son to pass through the fire, and practised augury, and
used enchantments, 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 Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which
Jehovah 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 cause
the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I
gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to
all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law
that my servant Moses commanded them. 
 But they hearkened
not: and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more
than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed before the children
of Israel.
 And Jehovah spake by his servants the prophets,
saying, 
 Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these
abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites
did, that were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with
his idols; 
 therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of
Israel, Behold, I bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that
whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. 
 And
I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the
plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man
wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 
 And
I will cast off the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver
them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a
prey and a spoil to all their enemies; 
 because they have
done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to
anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even
unto this day.
 Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till
he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin
wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in
the sight of Jehovah. 
 Now the rest of the acts of
Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah? 
 And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was
buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza:
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 his mother's
name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 
 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did
Manasseh his father. 
 And he walked in all the way that
his father walked in, and served the idols that his father
served, and worshipped them: 
 and he forsook Jehovah, the
God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of Jehovah.
 And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and put
the king 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.
 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
 And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of
Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
==Chapter 22==
 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and
he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem: and his mother's
name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 
 And
he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked
in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the
right hand or to the left.
 And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king
Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son
of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Jehovah, saying,
 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the
money which is brought into the house of Jehovah, which the
keepers of the threshold have gathered of the people: 
 and
let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen that have the
oversight of the house of Jehovah; and let them give it to the
workmen that are in the house of Jehovah, to repair the breaches
of the house, 
 unto the carpenters, and to the builders,
and to the masons, and for buying timber and hewn stone to
repair the house. 
 Howbeit there was no reckoning made
with them of the money that was delivered into their hand; for
they dealt faithfully.
 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the
scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of
Jehovah. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read
it. 
 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought
the king word again, and said, Thy servants have emptied out the
money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into
the hand of the workmen that have the oversight of the house of
Jehovah. 
 And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying,
Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it
before the king. 
 And it came to pass, when the king had
heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his
clothes. 
 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and
Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and
Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,
 Go ye, inquire of Jehovah for me, and for the people,
and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is
found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that is kindled against
us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of
this book, to do according unto all that which is written
concerning us.
 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and
Shaphan, and Asaiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife
of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the
wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and
they communed with her. 
 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
words of the book which the king of Judah hath read. 
 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto
other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the
work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against
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 Jehovah, when thou
heardest what I spake against this place, and against the
inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a
curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also
have heard thee, saith Jehovah. 
 Therefore, 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
which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king
word again.
==Chapter 23==
 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the
elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. 
 And the king went up to
the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the
prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read
in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which
was found in the house of Jehovah. 
 And the king stood by
the pillar, 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 all [his] soul, to
confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this
book: and all the people stood to the covenant.
 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and
the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the
threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all the
vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for
all the host of heaven, and he burned them without Jerusalem in
the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto
Beth-el. 
 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the
kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places
in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem;
them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the
moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. 
 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Jehovah,
without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the
brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast the dust thereof
upon the graves of the common people. 
 And he brake down
the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of Jehovah,
where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 
 And he
brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled
the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba
to Beer-sheba; and he brake down the high places of the gates
that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of
the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the
city. 
 Nevertheless, the priests of the high places came
not up to the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they did eat
unleavened bread among their brethren. 
 And he defiled
Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that
no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the
fire to Molech. 
 And he took away the horses that the
kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the
house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the
chamberlain, which was in the precincts; and he burned the
chariots of the sun with fire. 
 And the altars that were
on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of
Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the
two courts of the house of Jehovah, did the king break down, and
beat [them] down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the
brook Kidron. 
 And the high places that were before
Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of
corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for
Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the
abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the
children of Ammon, did the king defile. 
 And he brake in
pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their
places with the bones of men.
 Moreover, the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high
place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin,
had made, even that altar and the high place he brake down; and
he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the
Asherah. 
 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the
sepulchres that were there in the mount; and he sent, and took
the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar,
and defiled it, according to the word of Jehovah which the man
of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. 
 Then he
said, What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city
told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from
Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against
the altar of Beth-el. 
 And he said, Let him be; let no
man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones
of the prophet that came out of Samaria. 
 And all the
houses also of the high places that were in the cities of
Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke [Jehovah]
to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the
acts that he had done in Beth-el. 
 And he slew all the
priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and
burned men's bones upon them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep
the passover unto Jehovah your God, as it is written in this
book of the covenant. 
 Surely there was not kept such a
passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in
all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;
 but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this
passover kept to Jehovah in Jerusalem.
 Moreover, them that had familiar spirits, and the
wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the
abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in
Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might confirm the words
of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the
priest found in the house of Jehovah. 
 And like unto him
was there no king before him, that turned to Jehovah with all
his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might,
according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there
any like him.
 Notwithstanding, Jehovah turned not from the
fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled
against Judah, because of all the provocations wherewith
Manasseh had provoked him. 
 And Jehovah said, I will
remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and
I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem,
and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.
 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he
did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Judah? 
 In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt
went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and
king Josiah went against him; and [Pharaoh-necoh] slew him at
Megiddo, when he had seen him. 
 And his servants carried
him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to
Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people
of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him,
and made him king in his father's stead.
 Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began
to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his
mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah,
according to all that his fathers had done. 
 And
Pharaoh-necoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath,
that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a
tribute of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.
 And Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in
the room of Josiah his father, and changed his name to
Jehoiakim: but he took Jehoahaz away; and he came to Egypt, and
died there. 
 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold
to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to
the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold
of the people of the land, of every one according to his
taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh-necoh.
 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began
to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his
mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah,
according to all that his fathers had done.
==Chapter 24==
 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up,
and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and
rebelled against him. 
 And Jehovah sent against him bands
of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the
Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them
against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Jehovah,
which he spake by his servants the prophets. 
 Surely at
the commandment of Jehovah came this upon Judah, to remove them
out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all
that he did, 
 and also for the innocent blood that he
shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Jehovah
would not pardon. 
 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim,
and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah? 
 So Jehoiakim slept with
his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 
 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land;
for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt unto
the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to
reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months: and his
mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of
Jerusalem. 
 And he did that which was evil in the sight of
Jehovah, according to all that his father had done.
 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 
 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came unto the city, while his
servants were besieging it; 
 and Jehoiachin the king of
Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and
his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of
Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. 
 And he
carried out thence all the treasures of the house of Jehovah,
and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the
vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the
temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had said. 
 And he carried
away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men
of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and
the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people
of the land. 
 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon;
and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers,
and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from
Jerusalem to Babylon. 
 And all the men of might, even
seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all
of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon
brought captive to Babylon. 
 And the king of Babylon made
Mattaniah, [Jehoiachin's] father's brother, king is his stead,
and changed his name to Zedekiah.
 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began
to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his
mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah,
according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 
 For through
the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah,
until he had cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah
rebelled against the king of Babylon.
==Chapter 25==
 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in
the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army,
against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts
against it round about. 
 So the city was besieged unto the
eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
 On the ninth day of the
[fourth] month the famine was sore in the city, so that there
was no bread for the people of the land. 
 Then a breach
was made in the city, and all the men of war [fled] by night by
the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the
king's garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round
about); and [the king] went by the way of the Arabah. 
 But
the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook
him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered
from him. 
 Then they took the king, and carried him up
unto the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon
him. 
 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes,
and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and
carried him to Babylon.
 Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the
month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a
servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. 
 And he
burnt the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all the
houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burnt he with fire.
 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were [with] the
captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round
about. 
 And the residue of the people that were left in
the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of
Babylon, and the residue of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the
captain of the guard carry away captive. 
 But the captain
of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers
and husbandmen.
 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of
Jehovah, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house
of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the
brass of them to Babylon. 
 And the pots, and the shovels,
and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass
wherewith they ministered, took they away. 
 And the
firepans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and
that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard
took away. 
 The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases,
which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah, the brass of
all these vessels was without weight. 
 The height of the
one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was upon
it; and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network
and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and
like unto these had the second pillar with network.
 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief
priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers
of the threshold: 
 and out of the city he took an officer
that was set over the men of war; and five men of them that saw
the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe, the
captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and
threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the
city. 
 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took
them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 
 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at
Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive
out of his land.
 And as for the people that were left in the land of
Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over
them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,
governor. 
 Now when all the captains of the forces, they
and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah
governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son
of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son
of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the
Maacathite, they and their men. 
 And Gedaliah sware to
them and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not because of
the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the
king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 
 But it
came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten
men with him, and smote Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews
and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah. 
 And all
the people, both small and great, and the captains of the
forces, arose, and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the
Chaldeans.
 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year
of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth
month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that
Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to
reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of
prison; 
 and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne
above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
 and changed his prison garments. And [Jehoiachin] did
eat bread before him continually all the days of his life:
 and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance
given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his
life.