Aramaic Peshitta Bible Repository
Lamsa OT - 2Kings
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1 ¶ THEN Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 And Ahaziah fell down from the balcony of his upper chamber in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover from this injury. 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus says the LORD: You shall not come down from the bed on which you are lying, but you shall surely die. And Elijah departed. 5 And when the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, Why have you turned back? 6 And they said to him, A man came up to meet us and said to us, Go, turn again to the man who sent you and say to him, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore thus says the LORD: You shall not come down from the bed on which you are lying, but you shall surely die. 7 And he said to them, What manner of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these words? 8 And they answered him, He was a hairy man and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said to them, It is Elijah the Tishbite.""
9 ¶ Then he sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him; and he was sitting on top of a mountain. And he said to him, O prophet of God, the king says, Come down. 10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I am a prophet of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. And there came down fire from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he spoke to him, saying, O prophet of God, thus says the king, Come down quickly. 12 And Elijah answered and said to him, If I am a prophet of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 13 And he sent again to him the third time a captain of fifty with his fifty. And the captain of fifty went up and fell on his knees before Elijah and besought him and said to him, O prophet of God, let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours who are standing before you be precious in your sight. 14 For behold, there came fire down from heaven and consumed the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties; therefore let now my life be precious in your sight. 15 And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, Go down with him; be not afraid of him. And he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 And he said to him, Thus says the LORD: Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire for his word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed on which you are lying, but you shall surely die. 17 So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Joram, his brother, reigned in his stead in the second year of Joram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because he had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah and all which he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.""
2:1 ¶ AND it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha had departed from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, Wait for me here, for the LORD has sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said, As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they went down to Beth-el. 3 And the sons of the prophets who were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you? And he said, Yes, I also know it: hold your peace. 4 And Elijah said to Elisha, Wait for me here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho. And he said. As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they came to Jericho. 5 And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you? And he answered, Yes, I also know it; hold your peace. 6 And Elijah said to Elisha, Wait for me here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. And they two went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to watch from afar; and they two stood by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and struck the waters of the Jordan, and they were divided half hither and half thither, so that they two crossed on dry ground.""
9 ¶ And when they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken away from you. And Elisha said, Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. 10 And he said, You have asked too much; nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so to you; but if not, it shall not be so. 11 And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and separated the two; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, saying, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more; and he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.""
13 ¶ Then he took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan; 14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the waters and said, O LORD, the God of my lord Elijah! And when he also had struck the waters of the Jordan, they parted half hither and half thither; and Elisha went over. 15 And when the sons of the prophets who came to watch at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 16 And they said to him, Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; let them go and seek your master, lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon one of the mountains or into one of the valleys. And he said, You shall not send. 17 And when they urged him till he was embarrassed, he said, Send. So they sent therefore fifty men; and they sought him for three days, but found him not. 18 And when they came back to him (while he tarried at Jericho), he said to them, Did I not say to you, Do not go?""
19 ¶ And the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, the situation of the city is pleasant, as our lord sees; but the water is bad and the ground is barren. 20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse and put salt in it. And they brought it to him. 21 And he went forth to the spring of water and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus says the LORD: I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22 So the waters were healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke. 23 And he went up from thence to Beth-el; and as he was going up along the way, there came forth little boys out of the city and mocked him, saying, Go up, you bald head, go up, you bald head. 24 And he turned back and saw them and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she-bears out of the forest, and tore forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.""
3:1 ¶ NOW Joram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father and like his mother; for he put away the statue of Baal which his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not turn aside from them. 4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and he used to bring up to the king of Israel a hundred thousand fat lambs and a hundred thousand rams, with their wool. 5 But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.""
6 ¶ And King Joram went out of Samaria at the same time and numbered all Israel. 7 Then he went on and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me; come with me, let us go to war against Moab. And Jehoshaphat said, I will go up as you go, my people as your people and my horses as your horses. 8 And he said to him, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, By the way of the wilderness of Edom. 9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and traveled seven days’ journey; and there was no water for the army and for the people who were with them. 10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! truly for this the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! 11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah. 12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. 13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Truly for this the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you nor see you. 15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, the hand of the LORD came upon him. 16 And he said, Thus says the LORD: Let this valley be made full of cisterns. 17 For thus says the LORD: You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain; yet this valley shall be filled with water, that you may drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts. 18 And this is but a small thing in the sight of the LORD; he will deliver the Moabites also into your hands. 19 And you shall destroy every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and pollute all the springs of water and mar every good piece of land with stones.""
20 ¶ And it came to pass in the morning, when the sacrifice was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the land was covered with water. 21 And when all the Moabites saw that the kings were come up to fight against them, they called out all that were able to gird themselves with the sword and stood on the border. 22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood; 23 And they said. This is blood; the kings are surely slain, and they have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. 24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; but they continued attacking them, and they devastated Moab. 25 And they destroyed the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone and filled it; and they polluted every spring of water and felled all the good trees, till the stones in the walls of the capital city were left demolished; and the slingers surrounded it and destroyed it. 26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but he could not. 27 Then he took his eldest son who was to reign in his stead and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel; and kings departed from Moab and returned to their own country.""
4:1 ¶ NOW a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant did fear the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two sons to be his bondmen. 2 And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a pot of oil. 3 Then he said to her, Go, borrow for yourself vessels from the houses of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 4 And then go in, and shut the door upon you and upon your sons, and pour out into all these vessels; and the vessel which is full bring up to me. 5 So she went from him, and entered her house and shut the door upon herself and upon her sons who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. 6 And when the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring me more vessels. But her son said to her, There are no more vessels. And the oil stopped. 7 Then she came and told the prophet of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live, you and your sons, on what is left over.""
8 ¶ And it came to pass on the morrow, Elisha went and came to Shiloh, where was a wealthy woman; and she constrained him to eat food. So that whenever he passed by, he turned in there to eat food. 9 And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that the prophet of God is a holy man who passes by us continually. 10 Let us make for him a little upper room, and let us set for him there a bed and a table and a chair and a candlestick, so that when he comes to us, he shall turn in there. 11 And it happened on a certain day, he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay there. 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shilomite woman. And when he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to her, Behold, you have shown us all this respect; what is to be done for you? Is there anything to be spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army? And she answered, I dwell among my own people quite well. 14 Then he said, What shall I do for her? And Gehazi said to him, Verily she has no son and her husband is old. 15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. 16 And he said to her, About this season, you will be with child, and shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, O prophet of God, do not lie to your handmaid. 17 And the woman conceived and bore a son; at the season that Elisha had said to her, she was with child.""
18 ¶ Now when the child had grown, he went out on a certain day to his father who was with the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, Oh, my head, my head! And his father said to a servant, Take him up and carry him to his mother. 20 And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon and then died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the prophet of God, and shut the door upon him and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband and said, Send me one of the servants and one of the asses, that I may go hastily to the prophet of God. 23 And he said to her, Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. But the Shilomite gave orders; 24 And they saddled an ass for her, and she said to the servant, Drive fast; do not stop to dismount me unless I tell you. 25 So she went to the prophet of God at mount Carmel. And when the prophet of God saw her afar off, he said to Gehazi his disciple, Behold, there is the Shilomite: 26 Run now to meet her, and say to her, Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. 27 And when she came to the prophet of God to the mountain, she caught hold of his feet; but Gehazi came near to remove her. And the prophet of God said to him, Let her alone; for her soul is in bitter anguish; and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me. 28 Then she said, Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say to you, Do not ask a son for me? 29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet any man, do not salute him; and if any man salutes you, do not answer him; and lay my staff upon the face of the child. 30 And the mother of the child said, As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. And he arose and followed her. 31 And Gehazi went on before them and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet Elisha, and told him, saying, The child is not awake. 32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead and lying upon his bed. 33 He went in therefore and shut the door upon the two of them, and prayed unto the LORD. 34 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 became warm. 35 Then he returned, and walked to and fro in the house; and went up and stretched himself upon him; and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 And Elisha called Gehazi and said to him, Call this Shilomite. So he called her. And when she was come to him, he said to her, Take up your son. 37 Then she went in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground and took up her son and went Out.""
38 ¶ And Elisha returned to Gilgal; and there was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his disciple, Set on the great pot, and cook pottage for the sons of the prophets. 39 And one of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine in the field and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and put them into the pot of pottage; for he did not know what they were. 40 So he poured out for the men to eat. And as they were eating of the pottage, they cried out and said, O prophet of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat of it. 41 But he said, Take meal and 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. 42 And there came a certain man from the city of giants, and brought the prophet of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and new wheat rubbed from the ears in a cloth. And he said, Give to the people, that they may eat. 43 And his servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? And Elisha said to him again, Give them to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD, They shall eat and shall leave some. 44 So he set it before them, and they did eat and left some, according to the word of the LORD.""
5:1 ¶ NOW Naaman, general of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance to Aram; and Naaman was a valiant man, but he was a leper. 2 And the Arameans had gone out raiding, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 And she said to her mistress, Blessed would be my lord if he would go to the prophet who is in Samaria! for he would immediately cure him of his leprosy. 4 And they went in and told her lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid who is from the land of Israel. 5 And the king of Aram said to him, Come, go, I will send a letter to 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 garments. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, and this was written in it: In the hour when this letter reaches you, behold, I have sent to you Naaman my servant that you may heal him of his leprosy. 7 And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends me a man to heal him of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, and see how he is seeking to pick a quarrel with me. 8 land when Elisha the prophet of God had heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.""
9 ¶ So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you and you shall be clean. 11 But Naaman was angry, and went away and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God and wave his hand over the place, and I will recover from the leprosy. 12 Are not Amnan and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? I will go and wash in them and be clean. So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him and said, Our lord, if the prophet had told you to do some great tiling, you would have done it; but behold, he has told you to do a small thing. Go and wash, and be clean. And he listened to them and did so. 14 And he went down and washed seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the prophet of God; and his flesh came again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.""
15 ¶ And he returned to the prophet of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him, and said to him, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; now therefore, take this blessing from your servant. 16 But Elisha said, As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And be urged him to take it; but he refused. 17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then be given to your servant two mules’ burden of earth? For your servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offerings nor sacrifices to any other god but to the LORD. 18 In this matter may the LORD forgive your servant, when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there; I am the king’s aide and I worship also in the house of Rimmon; and when I worship in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter. 19 And he said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.""
20 ¶ Then Gehazi the disciple of Elisha the prophet of God, said, Behold, my lord has spared Naaman the Aramean, in not accepting from him that which he brought; but, as the LORD lives, I will run after him, and take something from him. 21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he alighted from his chariot to meet him and said to him, Is all well? 22 And he said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying, There have just now come to me from mount Ephraim two men of the sons of the prophets; give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments. 23 And Naaman said, I am willing; take two talents. And he urged him and bound two talents of silver in two pieces of cloth, with two changes of garments, and he gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him. 24 And when they came to a secret place, he took them from their hand and put them in the house; and he sent the men away and they departed. 25 But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, Where have you been, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant went nowhere. 26 And he said to him, My heart told me when the man alighted from his chariot to meet you. Is it a time to gain money and to gain garments and oliveyards and vineyards and sheep and oxen and menservants and maidservants? 27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your descendants for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.""
6:1 ¶ AND the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, this place wherein we dwell with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan and cut from there every man a beam, and let us make a place for us to dwell there. And he said, Go. 3 And one of them answered and said, If you please, go with your servants. And he answered, I will go. 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one of them was felling a beam, the axehead fell into the water; and he cried and said, I beseech you, my lord! it was borrowed by your servant. 6 And the prophet of God said to him, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. And he cut off a stick and thrust it in there; and it stuck in the hole of the axehead. 7 And he said, Take it up to you. And he put out his hand and took it.""
8 ¶ Then the king of Aram warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall we lie in wait. 9 And the prophet of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you do not pass this place; for the Arameans are lying in wait. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place of which the prophet of God told him and warned him about it, not once nor twice. 11 Therefore the heart of the king of Aram was sore troubled because of this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel? 12 And one of his servants answered, and said, None of us, my lord 0 king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the thing that you plan in your bedchamber.""
13 ¶ And he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 14 Therefore he sent there horsemen and chariots and a great army; and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 And when the servant of the prophet of God arose early and went out, behold, an army surrounded the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! what shall we do? 16 And he said to him, Fear not; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 17 And Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, O LORD, open his eyes that he may see. And the LORD 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. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, Smite this people with dimness of vision. And he smote them with dimness according to the word of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. But he led them to Samaria. 20 And when they were come into Samaria, Elisha said, O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 And the king of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, My father, shall I slay them? Shall I slay them? 22 And he answered, You shall not slay them; would you slay those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master. 23 So he prepared for them a great banquet; and when they had eaten and drunk, they went to their master. So the raiders of Aram came no more across the border of Israel.""
24 ¶ land it came to pass after this, that Bar-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. 25 And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. 26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman to him, saying, Help me, my lord, O king. 27 And he said to her, Let the LORD help you; whence shall I help you? Out of the threshing floor or out of the wine press? 28 And the king said to her, What troubles you? And she said to him, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. 29 So we cooked my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, Give your son, that we may eat him; but she had hidden her son. 30 And when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes as he walked upon the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he was wearing sackcloth within upon his flesh. 31 Then he said, May God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall remain on him this day. 32 But Elisha was sitting in his house and the elders were sitting with him; and the king sent a messenger; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and push him outside, because the sound of his master’s feet is behind him. 33 And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came to him; and he said, Behold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I pray to the LORD any longer?""
7:1 ¶ THEN Elisha said, Hear the word of the LORD; thus says the LORD: Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria. 2 Then the king’s aide answered and said, If the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be? And Elisha said to him, Behold, you will see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.""
3 ¶ Now there were four leprous men sitting at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, Why do we sit here until we die? 4 If we say, We will enter into the city, the famine is severe in the city, and we shall die there; and if we still sit here, we die also. Now therefore come and let us go to the camp of Aram; if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they put us to death, we shall but die. 5 So they rose up early in the twilight to go to the camp of Aram; and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp, behold, there was no man there; 6 For the LORD had made the army of Aram hear the noise of horses and the noise of chariots and the noise of a great army; and they said to one another, Lo, the king of Israel has hired against us the king of the Egyptians and the king of the Hittites to come upon us. 7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, their horses, and their asses, even their camp as it was, and they fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank and took from there silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid it; then they came again and entered into another tent and carried booty from there also and went and hid it. 9 Then they said one to another, We are not doing right; this day is a day of good tidings, and how long shall we remain silent? If we wait until the morning light, some mischief will come upon us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household. 10 So they came and called to the doorkeepers of the city; and they told them, saying, We went to the camp of Aram, and behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied and asses tied and tents as they were. 11 And the doorkeepers called out and told it to the king’s household within.""
12 ¶ And the king arose in the night and said to his servants, I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall capture them alive and then get into the city. 13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some horsemen take five of the horses that remain; if they are captured, let them be considered a loss like all the army of Israel that has perished; therefore let us send and see. 14 So two couples of horsemen mounted, and the king sent them after the army of Aram, saying, Go and see. 15 And they went after them as far as the Jordan; and, lo, all the road was full of garments and vessels which the Arameans had left behind in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king. 16 And the people went out and plundered the camp of Aram. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. 17 And the king placed his aide in charge of the gate; and the people trod upon him at the gate and he died, as the prophet of God had said when he came down as a messenger to him. 18 And it came to pass as the prophet of God had foretold to the king, saying, A measure of fine flour for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel shall be sold tomorrow at this time in the gate of Samaria. 19 But that mighty man had answered the prophet of God and said, If the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be? And the prophet had said, Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it. 20 And so it happened to him; for the people trod upon him in the gate and he died.""
8:1 ¶ THEN Elisha said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, Arise and go, you and your household, and sojourn wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine; and it shall come upon the land for seven years. 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the prophet of God; and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went forth to cry to the king for her house and for her field. 4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the prophet of God, saying, Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done. 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored a dead body to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life cried to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life. 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer and said to him, Restore all that was hers and all the produce of her field from the day that she left the land even until now.""
7 ¶ And Elisha came to Damascus; and Bar-hadad the king of Aram was sick; and it was told him, saying, The prophet of God has come here. 8 And the king said to Hazael, Take a present with you and go to meet the prophet of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 9 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 to him, Your son Bar-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 10 And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, You shall surely recover; but the LORD has shown me that he shall surely die. 11 Then the prophet of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, Why does my lord weep? And Elisha said to him, Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, their young men you will slay with the sword, and you will dash their children against the ground and rip up their women with child. 13 And Hazael said, But what, is your servant a dog, that he should do this terrible thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD has shown me that you shall be king over Aram. 14 So Hazael departed from Elisha and came to his master; and his master said to him, What did Elisha say to you? And he answered, Thus he said to me: You shall surely recover. 15 And on the morrow, Hazael took a thick cloth and dipped it in water and spread it on the king’s face, so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his stead.""
16 ¶ And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel. Joram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for the sister of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 19 Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised to him that he would give an heir to his children all the days. 20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and set up a king over themselves. 21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him; and he rose by night to smite the Edomites who had surrounded him and his commanders with chariots; but the people fled to their tents. 22 So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah even to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 And the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 24 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.""
25 ¶ In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Joram king of Judah began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old 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. 27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. 28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael the king of Aram at Ramath-gilead; and the Arameans wounded Joram. 29 And Joram the son of Ahab went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramath, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Ahaziah the son of Joram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.""
9:1 ¶ THEN Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, Gird up your loins and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramath-gilead; 2 And when you get there, look for Jehu the son of Jimshi, and go in and make him arise up from among his brethren, and bring him into an inner chamber; 3 Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head, and say to him, Thus says the LORD, I have anointed you king over my people Israel. Then open the door and flee, and do not tarry. 4 So the young prophet went to Ramath-gilead. 5 And when he came in, behold, the commanders of the army were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to you, O commander. And Jehu said, To which of us? And he said to him, To you, O commander. 6 And he arose and went into an inner chamber; and he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. 7 And you shall smite the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. 8 For I will destroy the whole house of Ahab, and I will cut off from Ahab every male and every one in authority in Israel; 9 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; 10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the inheritance of Naboth in Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door and fled.""
11 ¶ Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord; and they said to him, Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you? And he said to them, You know the man, and his folly. 12 And they said to him, You are lying; tell us now. And he said to them, Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, Thus says the LORD: I have anointed you king over Israel. 13 Then they hastened and took every man his garment and put it under him on the top of the stairs and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. 14 So Jehu the son of Jimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was holding Ramath-gilead, he and all Israel with him because of Hazael king of Aram. 15 But King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Hazael king of Aram.) And Jehu said, If it please you, let no one go forth nor escape out of the city to tell it in Jezreel.""
16 ¶ So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram the son of Ahab who was sick in Jezreel. 17 And the watchman was standing on the tower of Jezreel, and he saw the chariot of Jehu as it was coming, and the watchman said, I see chariots. And Joram said, Take a chariot and send it to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace? 18 So there went a horseman to meet him and said to him, Thus says the king: Is it peace? And Jehu said. What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he did not return. 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said. Thus says the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me. 20 And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he did not return; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Jimshi; for he drives furiously. 21 And Joram said, Make ready. And they made ready chariots. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went to meet Jehu and they met him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And Jehu answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? 23 Then Joram turned back and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah! 24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Joram in his back, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sank down in his chariot. 25 Then Jehu said to Bar-dekar his mighty man, Take him up, and cast him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for I remember how when you and I were driving together after Ahab his father, and the LORD said this thing against him; 26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, says the LORD; and I will requite you in this field, says the LORD. Now therefore take him up and cast him into the field, according to the word of the LORD. So they cast him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. 27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him, and said, Slay him also, and they slew him in his chariot at the ascent of the mound, which is by Nebleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. 28 And his servants took him and carried him (in a chariot) to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. 29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.""
30 ¶ And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyelids with kohl, and adorned her head, and looked out a window. 31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of his master? 32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? And there looked out at him two or three eunuchs. 33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and the horses entered and trod her under foot. 34 Then he went in to eat and drink, and he said, See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter. 35 And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her than her skull and her feet and the palms of her hands. 36 And when they returned, they told him, and he said, This is the word of the LORD which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the field of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37 And the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse upon the face of the field of Jezreel; and there will be none to bury her, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.""
10:1 ¶ AND Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And they were brought up by the nobles of the city. And Jehu wrote a letter and sent it to Samaria, to the princes of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those who brought up Ahab’s children, saying, 2 Now as soon as this letter reaches you, seeing your master’s sons are with you and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons; 3 Whichever seems to you good and best of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne and fight for your master’s house. 4 But when they heard the letter, they were exceedingly afraid and said, Behold, two kings could not stand before Jehu; how then shall we stand before him? 5 So the overseer of the royal household, the governor of the city, the elders, and those who brought up the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants and will do all that you shall bid us; we will not make any man king over us; do whatever is good in your eyes. 6 Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, If you are mine, and if you will hearken to my voice, then take the heads of your master’s sons and bring them to me to Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king’s sons were seventy persons, and the nobles of the city brought them up. 7 And as soon as the letter reached them, they took the king’s sons and slew them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 8 And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning. 9 And in the morning, he went out and said to all the people, You are righteous; I conspired against my master and slew him; but who slew all these? 10 Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, of all which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the LORD has done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah. 11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his kinsfolks and his priests, until he left him none remaining. 12 And he arose and departed and came to Samaria. And on the way he destroyed the houses of idols. 13 Then Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah and said to them, Who are you? And they answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah; and we have come down to salute the sons of the king and the sons of the queen. 14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive and slew them and threw them into the pit of Beth-akar, forty-two persons; and he left none of them.""
15 ¶ And when he was departed from there, he found Jonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he blessed him, and said to him, Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart? And Jonadab answered, It is, it is. And he said to him, Give me your hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up with him into the chariot. 16 And he said to him, Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD. So he made him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained to the house of Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the saying of the LORD which he spoke to Elijah. 18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. 19 Now therefore invite to come to me all the prophets of Baal, all his priests, and all who serve him; let none be missing; for I have a great sacrifice to make to Baal; whoever is missing, he shall not live. But Jehu did it deceitfully, with the intent to destroy the worshippers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, Invite all the assembly to come to Baal. And they invited them. 21 And Jehu sent through all Israel; and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22 And he said to him who was over the vestry, Bring out vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments. 23 Then Jehu and Jonadab, the son of Rechab, went into the house of Baal and said to the worshippers of Baal, Search, and see that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only. 24 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu had posted three hundred and eighty men outside by the door, and said, If any of the men whom I have delivered into your hands escape, his life shall be for the life of him. 25 And as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offerings, Jehu said to the guards and to the mighty men, Go in and slay them; let none of them come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guards and the mighty men cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. 26 And they brought forth the statue of Baal out of the house of Baal and burned it with fire. 27 And they broke down the image of Baal and demolished the house of Baal and made it a public toilet-room to this day. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.""
29 ¶ But as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu did not depart from them, especially the worship of the golden calves that were in Beth-el and in Dan. 30 And the LORD said to Jehu, Because you have done well in my sight, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons even to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. 31 But Jehu did not try to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; and he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. 32 In those days the LORD began to bring distress in Israel; and Hazael smote them in all the territory of Israel, 33 From the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead and of Gad and of Reuben and of Manasseh, from Adoer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Mathnin. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did and all his might, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 35 And Jehu slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead. 36 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.""
11:1 ¶ AND when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons who were slain; and she hid him and his nurse in her bedchamber; thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. 3 And he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah reigned over the land.""
4 ¶ And in the seventh year Jehoiada the priest sent and brought the captains of hundreds and the guards and the runners, and had them come to him into the house of the LORD and stationed them there, and made a covenant with them and took an oath of them and showed them the king’s son. 5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you who enter in on the sabbath shall keep guard of the king’s house; 6 And a third part shall be at the gate of Kersa; and a third part at the gate of the house of the guards; so shall you keep the watch of the house, that it be in perfect order. 7 And two parts of all you that go off duty on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD together with the king’s house; 8 And you shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever comes within range, let him be slain; and you be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in. 9 And the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded them; and they took every man his then who were to be on duty on the sabbath, with those who were to be off duty on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 And the priest gave to the captains of hundreds King David’s spears and shields, which were in the house of the LORD. 11 And the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple and they surrounded the altar and the king’s house. 12 And they brought forth the king’s son and put the royal crown upon his head, and they anointed him and made him king; and they clapped their hands and said, Long live the king!""
13 ¶ And when Athaliah heard the noise of the uproar of the people as they rejoiced, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD. 14 And when she looked, behold, the king stood by the pillar, as was the custom of the kings, and the princes and the trumpeters were standing before the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing, and blowing with trumpets; and Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, Treason! Treason! 15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds and the officers of the army, and said to them, Take her forth outside the ranks; and whosoever follows her shall be slain with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD. 16 So they made room for her; and she went by the way of the horses’ entrance to the king’s house; and there she was slain.""
17 ¶ And Jehoiada the priest made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people. 18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal and demolished his altars and broke his images in pieces and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altar. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. 19 And he took the captains of the hundreds and the guards and the runners and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet; and they slew Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house. 21 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.""
12:1 ¶ IN the seventh year of Jehu Joash began to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zobah of Beersheba. 2 And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 But the temples of idols were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.""
4 ¶ And Joash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things which is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money which every man gives for the salvation of his soul, the money which every man thinks in his heart to bring into the house of the LORD, 5 Let the priests receive it, every man from him who has decided to give; and let them spend it for the repairing of the house, wherever a breach to be repaired shall be found in it. 6 But it was so, that even in the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. 7 Then King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, Why have you not repaired the breaches of the house? Now therefore you shall not receive money from those who give it to you, but deliver it for the repair of the house. 8 So the priests agreed not to receive any more money from the people, nor to repair the breaches of the house. 9 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 comes into the house of the LORD; and the priests who kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. 10 And when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they counted and bound in bags the money that was found in the house of the LORD. 11 And they gave the money tied in bags to those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the carpenters and to the builders who worked upon the house of the LORD. 12 And to the masons and the stonecutters, and to buy timber and hewed stones for the repair of the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was spent to repair the house. 13 But there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, braziers for incense, trumpets or any vessels of gold or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD; 14 But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired with it the house of the LORD. 15 Moreover they did not ask an accounting from the men to whom they delivered the money to give it to the workmen; for they dealt faithfully in paying out the repair money. 16 The money from the trespass offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it was the priests’.""
17 ¶ Then Hazael king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18 And Joash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Joram 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 the LORD and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Aram; and he went away from Jerusalem. 19 And the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 20 And the servants of Joash arose and made a conspiracy and slew Joash in the house of Millo, as he was going down to Silla. 21 It was Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabar the son of Shomer, his servants, who smote him so that he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.""
13:1 ¶ IN the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD and followed in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not turn aside from them. 3 And the anger of the LORD kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Aram and into the hand of Bar-hadad the son of Hazael, all their days. 4 And Jehoahaz prayed before the LORD, and the LORD hearkened to him; for he saw the suffering of Israel, because the king of Aram oppressed them. 5 (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of Aram; and the children of Israel dwelt securely in their tents as beforetime. 6 Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but walked in them; and also the idol worship remained in Samaria.) 7 There was not left much of an army to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Aram had destroyed them and had made them like the dust under his feet. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did and his might, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria; and Jehoash his son reigned in his stead.""
10 ¶ fin the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria and he reigned thirteen years. 11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; but he walked therein. 12 And the rest of the acts of Jehoash and all that he did and his might and how he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 13 And Jehoash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam his son sat upon his throne; and Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. 14 Now Elisha was fallen ill of the sickness of which he was to die. And Jehoash the king of Israel came down to him and wept in his presence and said, O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! 15 And Elisha said to him, Take a bow and arrows. And he took a bow and arrows. 16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it; and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. 17 And he said, Open the window to the east. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance and the arrow of the deliverance from Aram; for you shall smite the Arameans in Aphek till you have consumed them. 18 And he said to him, Take an arrow. And he took it. And he said, Strike upon the ground. And he struck three times and stopped. 19 And the prophet of God was angry with him and said, You should have struck five or six times; then you would have smitten the Arameans till you would have consumed them; whereas now you shall smite Aram but three times.""
20 ¶ And Elisha died and they buried him. And bands of the Moabites invaded the land that very year. 21 And it came to pass as they were burying a man, behold, a band of raiders was seen; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up on his feet. 22 But Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 And the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and returned to them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither did he cast them from his presence as yet. 24 So Hazael king of Aram died; and Bar-hadad his son reigned in his stead. 25 Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Bar-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken from Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Jehoash defeat him, and restored the cities to Israel.""
14:1 ¶ IN the second year of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father; he did according to all things that Joash his father did. 4 But the temples of idols he did not remove, and the people still were sacrificing and burning incense on the altars on the high places. 5 And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, he slew his servants who had slain King Joash his father. 6 But the children of the murderers he did not kill, according to that which is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, wherein the LORD 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 be put to death for his own sin. 7 He slew of Edom in the valley of Salt twenty thousand, and destroyed Selah by war, and called the name of it Nakthael, which is its name to this day.""
8 ¶ Then Amaziah king of Judah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come let us look one another in the face. 9 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 your daughter to my son to wife; and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trod down the thistle. 10 You have indeed smitten Edom, and your heart has lifted you up; glory in this, and tarry at your house; for why should you stir up trouble, so that you should fall, even you, and Judah with you? 11 But Amaziah would not listen to him. So Jehoash king of Israel and Amaziah king of Judah went up and they faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent. 13 And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah at Beth-shemesh, and he entered Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. 14 And he took all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.""
15 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash and all that he did and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead. 17 And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. 18 And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 19 Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and slew him there. 20 And they brought him on horses; and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. 21 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 22 He built Elath and restored it to Judah, and after that the king slept with his fathers.""
23 ¶ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn aside from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, and he walked in them. 25 He restored the frontier of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spoke by his servant Jonah, the son of Matai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. 26 For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for there was no one in power, and there was no one to help Israel. 27 And the LORD did not say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz. 28 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 to Israel, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.""
15:1 ¶ IN the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Uzziah the son of Amaziah king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jechoaniah of Jerusalem. 3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; 4 But the temple of idols he did not remove; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he dwelt in a house in seclusion. And Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land. 6 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 7 So Uzziah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.""
8 ¶ In the thirty-eighth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. 9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father hath done; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. 10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and smote him before the people and killed him, and reigned in his stead. 11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 12 Thus was fulfilled the word of the LORD which he spoke to Jehu, saying, Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. And so it came to pass. 13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. 14 For 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. 15 Now the rest of the acts of Shallum and the conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah and all who were in it and the territory thereof from Tirzah; because they did not open the gate to him, therefore he smote it; and he ripped up all the women in it that were with child. 17 In the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel and he reigned ten years in Samaria. 18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn aside all his days from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. 19 And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver to help him and to confirm the kingdom in his hand. 20 And Menahem levied taxes upon Israel, even on all wealthy men of the land, 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. 21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead. 23 In the fiftieth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. 24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. 25 But Pekah the son of Romaliah, his mighty man, conspired against him and slew him in Samaria in the palace of the king’s house; he took with him Argob and Lani and fifty men of the Gileadites, and he killed him and reigned in his stead. 26 And 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. 27 In the fifty-second year of Uzziah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Romaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. 28 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. 29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel, Mehola, and all Beth-maachah, and Niah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali, and carried the people captive to Assyria. 30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Romaliah, and smote him and slew him and reigned in his stead in the second year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 31 And 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.""
32 ¶ In the second year of Pekah the son of Romaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah, began to reign. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. 34 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done. 35 But the temple of idols he did not remove; the people sacrificed and burned incense still on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD. 36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 37 In those days the LORD began to provoke against Judah Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Romaliah. 38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.""
16:1 ¶ IN the eighteenth year of Pekah the son of Romaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and he did not do that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, and thus was unlike David his father. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and also made his son to pass through the fire, according to the custom of the Gentiles whom the LORD had destroyed from before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.""
5 ¶ Then Rezin king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Romaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war against it; but they could not fight against it. 6 At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, and drove Judah from Elath; and the Arameans came to Elath and dwell there to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the hands of the king of Aram and from the hands of the king of Israel, who are risen up against me. 8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. 9 And the king of Assyria listened to him; so the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it and carried its people captive to Kir, and he slew Rezin.""
10 ¶ And when King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, he saw an altar that was in 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. 11 So Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus; and Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came from Damascus. 12 And when the king was come from Damascus, King Ahaz saw the altar; and the king drew near to the altar and went up to it, 13 And burned his burnt offerings and his meal offerings, and poured his drink offerings and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar. 14 And the altar of brass, which was before the LORD, he removed from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar. 15 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 offerings of all the people of the land and their meal offerings and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offerings and all the blood of the sacrifices; and the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire of the LORD. 16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded him.""
17 ¶ And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases and removed the lavers from off them; and took down the sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it upon a pavement of stones. 18 And the shelter for the sabbath which they had built in the house of the LORD and in the entrance of the outer gate, he turned round the house of the LORD because of the fear of the king of Assyria. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 20 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.""
17:1 ¶ IN the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years. 2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant and brought him tribute. 4 And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and did not bring up tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had been doing year by year; therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria came up against the whole land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, the cities of Media.""
7 ¶ For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt and had worshipped other gods, 8 And walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had destroyed from before the children of Israel, 9 And the children of Israel had spoken words that were not right against the LORD their God, both they and their kings; and they built them temples of idols in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city. 10 And they set up for themselves statues and idols on every high hill and under every green tree; 11 And there they burned incense on all the high places, as did the nations whom the LORD destroyed from before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: 12 For they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, You shall not do this thing. 13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah by all his servants the prophets and by all the seers, saying, Repent from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and according to that which I sent to them by my servants the prophets. 14 But they would not hearken, but were stubborn more than were their fathers who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 And they rejected my covenants, and my statutes which I commanded to their fathers and the testimonies which I testified against them; and they followed vanity and gained nothing, and they followed the nations concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and they sacrificed to the idols and worshipped all the stars and served Baal. 17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire and used divinations and sorcery, and they purposed to do all manner of evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. 19 Also the children of Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel who had done that which is evil in the sight of the LORD and provoked him to anger all the days. 20 And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and despised them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. 21 For the house of Israel had seceded from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king over themselves; and Jeroboam caused Israel to go astray from following the LORD, and made them sin great sins. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them 23 Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had declared by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their land to Assyria, where they are to this day.""
24 ¶ And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon and from Cuth and from Ava and from Hamath and from Sepharvim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. 25 And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not reverence the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions against them, which slew some of them. 26 Therefore they told the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have carried captive and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the religion of the god of the land; therefore he has sent lions against them, and, behold, they slay them because they do not know the religion of the god of the land. 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Take there one of the priests whom you have carried away from there; and let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the religion of the god of the land. 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should worship the LORD. 29 Nevertheless every nation served gods of their own, and put them in the houses of idols which had been made in Samaria, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. 30 And the men of Babylon served Succoth-benoth and the men of Cuth served Nergal and the men of Hamath served Ashima, 31 And the Avites served Jibzah and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Ardammeleck and Amalek, the gods of Sepharvim. 32 So they worshipped the LORD, and made for themselves of their own people priests of the high places, who served for them in the houses of idols on the high places. 33 They worshipped the LORD and served their own gods after the manner of the nations. So the children of Israel were carried away out of their land 34 To this day, because they forsook the LORD and did according to the manner of the nations; they do not revere the LORD, neither do they according to the covenant or according to the ordinance or according to the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; 35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, You shall not revere other gods nor worship them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; 36 But you must serve the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, him shall you serve and him shall you worship and to him shall you sacrifice. 37 And the covenants and the ordinances and the laws and the commandments which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do for evermore; and you shall not revere other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget; neither shall you worship the gods of the Gentiles. 39 But the LORD your God you shall worship; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. 40 However they did not hearken, but they did according to their former customs. 41 So these nations also who dwelt in Samaria worshipped the LORD and served their graven images, also their children and their children’s children; as did their fathers, so do they to this day.""
18:1 ¶ NOW in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Ahi, the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the images and cut down the idols and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for the children of Israel had gone astray after it, and until those days they did burn incense to it; and they called it Nehushtan. 5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the LORD and turned not aside from following him, but kept his commandments, according to all that the LORD commanded Moses. 7 And the LORD was with him; and wherever he went forth he conquered; and he rebelled against the king of Assyria and served him not. 8 He smote the Philistines as far as Gaza and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.""
9 ¶ In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10 And at the end of three years he took it, even in the sixth year of Hezekiah; that is, in the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 And the king of Assyria carried away Israel to Assyria and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, the cities of Media, 12 Because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded them, and would not hearken nor do them. 13 Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them. 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from attacking me; and whatever tribute you lay on me I will bear. And the king of Assyria imposed upon Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.""
17 ¶ Then the king of Assyria sent Tartan and the Rab-shakeh and Rab-sisak from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great army to Jerusalem. And they came up against Jerusalem, and when they were come up they stood by the ascent of the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the palace’s field. 18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was the steward of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. 19 Then the Rab-shakeh said to them, Speak now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What confidence is this in which you trust? 20 You have said that you are a good speaker and that you have counsel and strength for war. Now on whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me? 21 Now, behold, you have trusted upon the staff of the broken reed, even on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it; so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, We trust in the LORD our God; is it not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has removed, and has said to Judah and Jerusalem, You shall worship before a single altar in Jerusalem? 23 Now therefore, make an alliance with my lord the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you have riders to set upon them. 24 How then will you refuse the request of one of the least nobles of my master’s servants and put your trust in the Egyptian to give you chariots and horsemen? 25 And now perhaps you think that I have come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it. 26 Then said Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah to Rab-shakeh, Speak to your servants in the Aramaic; for we understand it; and do not speak to us in the Jews’ language in the presence of the people who are on the wall. 27 But the Rab-shakeh said to them, It was not to you and to your master that my master has sent me to speak these words, but to the men who are sitting on the wall, that they may not eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you. 28 Then the Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spoke, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria; 29 Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he shall not be able to deliver you out of my hands; 30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 31 Do not hearken to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat every one of you of his own vine and of his own fig tree and drink every one the waters of his own cistern, 32 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of many kinds of fruit trees, a land of grain and vineyards, a land of olive trees and of fatness and of honey, that you may live and not die; and do not listen to Hezekiah, and let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. 33 Has any of the gods of the nations been able to deliver his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvim, Dena, and Ivah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hands? 35 Who are there among all the gods of these nations that have delivered their country out of my hands, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hands? 36 But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king had commanded, saying, Do not answer him. 37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, the steward of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rab-shakeh.""
19:1 ¶ AND when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, the steward of the household, and Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress and of rebuke and of anger; for the children have come to the birth, and there is no strength in the mother to bring forth. 4 It may be the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rab-shakeh, whom his master, the Assyrian king has sent to reproach the living God; and will rebuke him for the words which the LORD your God has heard; therefore beseech and pray for the remnant that is left. 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah the prophet. 6 And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall you say to your master: Thus says the LORD, Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the ambassadors of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.""
8 ¶ So the Rab-shakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And when he heard it said concerning Tarhak king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against you, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall you say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lances by destroying them utterly; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, such as Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and the inhabitants of Eden who were in Thelasar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of Sepharvim, and of Dena, and Ivah? 14 And Hezekiah received the letters from the hand of the messengers, and read them; and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD and spread them before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, O LORD God of Israel, who sits upon the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, over all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made the heaven and the earth. 16 O LORD, incline thine ear and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent messages to reproach the living God. 17 Of a truth, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, 18 And have burned their gods in fire; for they were no gods, but the works of men’s hands, wood and stone; therefore they have burned them. 19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hands, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou alone.""
20 ¶ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says the LORD God of Israel: That which you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: The virgin the daughter of Zion despises you and laughs you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you. 22 Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voices and lifted up your eyes on high? Even against the Holy One of Israel. 23 By your messengers you have reproached the LORD and have said, With the multitude of my chariots I will go up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof and the choice fir trees thereof; and I will enter into the extreme limits of the forest of Carmel. 24 I will dig and drink strange waters, and with the hoofs of my horses I will dry up all the great rivers. 25 Have you not heard long ago how I have done it, and of the days of old how I prepared it? And now I have brought it to pass, that you lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps; 26 Therefore their inhabitants became weak, they were defeated and confounded, and became like the grass of the field and like the green herb, like the grass on the housetops, and like tender grass blasted before it is grown up. 27 But I know your dwelling place and your coming in and your going out and your rage against me. 28 Because you have dared and raged against me, and your blasphemy has come to my ears, therefore I will put a hook in your nose and a bit in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came. 29 And this shall be a sign to you: you shall eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs of the same; and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards and. eat the fruits thereof. 30 And the remnant that is left of the house of Judah shall increase, they shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of the mount of Zion; the zeal of the LORD Of hosts shall do this. 32 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not enter this city nor shoot an arrow there nor come before it with shields nor lay an ambush against it. 33 But by the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not enter this city, says the LORD. 34 For I will abide in this city and save it for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.""
35 ¶ And it came to pass that night, the angel of the LORD went out and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when the survivors arose early in the morning, they looked, and behold, their comrades were all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. 37 And as he worshipped in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammeleck and Sharezer his sons slew him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Sarhaddom his son reigned in his stead.""
20:1 ¶ IN those days Hezekiah became sick to death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 Turn again and tell Hezekiah the ruler of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add to your days fifteen years; and I will deliver you and this city out of the hands of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city and deliver it for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake. 7 And Isaiah said. Let them take a cake of figs and lay it on the boil and he shall recover. 8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? 9 And Isaiah said, This is the sign that you shall have from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or backward ten degrees? 10 And Hezekiah answered, It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; not so, but let the shadow turn backward ten degrees. 11 And Isaiah the prophet cried to the LORD, and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.""
12 ¶ At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and presents to Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and was healed. 13 And Hezekiah rejoiced with them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious ointments, and all 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 did not show them. 14 Then came Isaiah the prophet to King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say to you? And from whence did they come to you? And Hezekiah said, They have come to me from a far country, even from Babylon. 15 And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, They have seen all the things that are in my house; I left nothing in my treasure house that I did not show them. 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. 17 Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and that which your fathers have laid up in treasure to this day shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left for you, says the LORD. 18 And of your sons that shall issue from you, whom you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which you have spoken. But would that peace and justice shall be in my day! 20 And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made a pool and a conduit and brought water into the city, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers; and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.""
21:1 ¶ MANASSEH was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations which the LORD destroyed from before the children of Israel. 3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made idols, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and worshipped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built an altar in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 And he caused his son to pass through the fire, and used divinations and practiced augury and appointed men with familiar spirits and wizards; he wrought much which was evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 7 And he set up the image and the idol that he had made in the house of the LORD, in the house of which the LORD 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; 8 Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave to their fathers, only if they will observe to do everything that I have commanded them and all the laws that my servant Moses commanded them. 9 But they did not hearken; and Manasseh seduced them, and they did more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.""
10 ¶ And the LORD spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, 11 Because Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah has done these abominations and has done more wickedly than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also sin with his idols; 12 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Judah and upon Jerusalem that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will smite Jerusalem and destroy it because of all the abominations which Manasseh had done in Judah. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and be trampled under the feet of all their enemies, 15 Because they have done that which was evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even to this day. 16 Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sins wherewith he made Judah sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. 17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and the sins that he sinned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of the treasury; and Amon his son reigned in his stead.""
19 ¶ Arnon was twenty-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 Haduz of Jotbath. 20 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 And he walked in all the ways that his father walked and served the idols that his father served and worshipped them; 22 And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD. 23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and slew him in his own house. 24 And the people of the land slew all those that had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 26 And they buried him in his sepulchre in the garden of the treasury; and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.""
22:1 ¶ JOSIAH was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Azariah of Boscath. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 Now in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Alaziah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying, 4 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may deliver the silver which has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have collected from the people; 5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house, 6 To the carpenters and to the builders and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house of the LORD. 7 However there was no accounting made with them of the money that was delivered into their hands, because they dealt faithfully. 8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book of the law to Shaphan the scribe and he read it. 9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, saying, Your servants have delivered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD. 10 And Shaphan the scribe spoke to the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.""
11 ¶ And when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam the son of Shaphan and Achbor the son of Micah and Shaphan the scribe and Ashaiah a servant of the king, saying, 13 Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for all the people and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book, to do according to all that which is written in it. 14 So Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Ashaiah went to Huldi the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Hadhas, the keeper of the weapons (now she dwelt in Jerusalem studying the Law), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will bring evil upon this country and upon its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read, 17 Because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods and have provoked me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place and I shall destroy you, says the LORD. 18 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him: Thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which you have heard: 19 Because your heart was sad and you trembled before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this country and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and have torn your clothes and wept before me; I also have heard you, says the LORD. 20 Behold, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered into your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this country. And they brought the king word again.""
23:1 ¶ AND the king sent and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. 2 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, 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 before them all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. 3 And the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people agreed to the covenant.""
4 ¶ Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the doors to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal and for the idols and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Beth-el. 5 And he slew the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places round about Jerusalem, and those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the planets and to all the host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the idol from the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ground it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he destroyed the houses of the Sodomites which were in the house of the LORD, and the houses of the women who wove hangings for the idols. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense in them, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and destroyed the shrine which was at the entrance of the gate of Salvation which was on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city. 9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread with their brethren. 10 And he destroyed the high places which the kings of Judah had made in Taphath, which is in the valley of Bar-hannom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Amlech. 11 And he slew the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan the king’s eunuch, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariot of the sun with fire. 12 And the altar that was on the top 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 the LORD, did the king beat down, and broke them down from thence and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 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 built for Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, and for Malcom, the idol of the children of Ammon, did King Josiah destroy. 14 And he broke in pieces the images and cut down the idols and filled their places with the bones of men. 15 Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el and the high places which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he demolished, and burned the high place and ground it to dust and burned the idols. 16 And as Josiah returned, he saw the sepulchres that were there on 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 the LORD which the prophet of God proclaimed, who predicted these things. 17 Then the king said, What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city said to him, It is the sepulchre of the prophet of God, who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Beth-el. 18 And he said, Let him alone; let no man touch his sepulchre, and let no man move his bones, so the bones of the prophet of God spared the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria from being burned. 19 And all the temples also of idols that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah removed, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el. 20 And he slew all the priests of the high places, who burned incense upon the altars and burned men’s bones upon them, and he returned to Jerusalem. 21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover to the LORD your God. as it is written in the book of this covenant. 22 Surely no such a passover had been kept from the days of the judges who judged Israel nor in all the days of the kings of Israel nor of the kings of Judah, 23 Like that in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, when this passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover the men with familiar spirits and the wizards and the images and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.""
25 ¶ And like unto him was there no king before him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all that which is written in the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. 26 Nevertheless the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 29 In his days Pharaoh the Lame, king of Egypt went up against Mabog which is by the river Euphrates; and King Josiah went to meet him, to fight against him; and Pharaoh said to him, I have not come against you, turn aside from me; but Josiah did not listen to him; so Pharaoh smote him at Megiddo, when he saw him there. 30 And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him there 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.""
31 ¶ Jehoahaz was twenty-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. 32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Manasseh had done. 33 And Pharaoh the Lame, king of Egypt put him in bands at Diblath in the land of Hamath, when Pharaoh took over Jerusalem; and levied on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and ten talents of gold. 34 And Pharaoh the Lame made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim, and he took Jehoahaz away, and brought him to Egypt and he died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money as he was commanded by Pharaoh; he exacted silver and gold from the people of the land, of every one according to his means, to give it to Pharaoh the Lame. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zebudah, the daughter of Peraiah of Ramtha. 37 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.""
24:1 ¶ IN his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the LORD stirred up against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of Edomites and bands of Moabites and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by his servants the prophets from the mouth of the LORD. 3 And there came a fierce wrath against Judah, to remove them out of his sight on account of the sins of Manasseh and all that he had done, 4 And also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 7 And the king of Egypt did not again come out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken all that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates.""
8 ¶ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Eliathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. 10 At that time Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants were besieging it. 12 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 eunuchs; and the king of Babylon took him with him in the eighth year of his reign. 13 And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. 14 And he carried away all Jerusalem and all the princes and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the guardsmen and all the guard; and he left none except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon and the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his eunuchs and the princes of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and guardsmen and the guard of a thousand and all the men who were trained for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. 17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah the king’s uncle king in his stead and changed his name to Zedekiah. 18 Zedekiah was twenty-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. 19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 So the anger of the LORD was against Judah and against Jerusalem, until he cast them out from his presence, and Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.""
25:1 ¶ AND in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army against Jerusalem, and pitched against it and built forts against it round about. 2 And the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 And in the eleventh year of King Zedekiah, on the ninth day of the fifth month, the famine was severe in the city and there was no bread for the people of the land. 4 And the city was breached, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which is by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were round about the city), and they went by the way of the plain. 5 And the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 6 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Diblath; and he pronounced judgment against him. 7 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of King Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters and carried him to Babylon.""
8 ¶ In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem; 9 And he burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem and all the houses of the princes he burned with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the commander of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 11 Now the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had gone over to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, carried away to Babylon. 12 But Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, left some of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. 13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD and the bases and the bronze sea that was in the house of the LORD the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and took all the brass and carried it to Babylon. 14 And the pots and the cauldrons and the large hanging pots and the snuffers and the spoons and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, they took away. 15 And the censers and the bowls, which were of gold and silver, and the cups, the commander of the guard took away. 16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the weight of the brass of all these vessels was beyond calculation. 17 The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital upon it was of brass; and the height of the capital was three cubits; and the carved ornaments and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass; and the second pillar was likewise with carved ornaments, all of brass. 18 And the commander of the guard took Sheriah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the door; 19 And out of the city he took an officer who was in charge of the men of war and five men of those who were in the king’s presence, who were found in the city, and the scribe and the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were still in the city; 20 And Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon at Diblath; 21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Diblath in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of their land.""
22 ¶ And as for the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler. 23 And when all the commanders of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah ruler, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and Johanan the son of Korah and Sheriah the son of Tanhumeth and Tobia and Jaazaniah the son of Maachat, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, Fear not the Chaldeans; dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you. 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Ishmael of the royal seed came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and also the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpeh. 26 And all the people of the land, both small and great, and all the commanders of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans. 27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Aol-merodach king of Babylon in the first year that he began to reign honored Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of the prison; 28 And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon; 29 And changed his prison garments; and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. 30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him by the king of Babylon, a portion for every day, all the days of his life."