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Aramaic Peshitta Bible Repository

Lamsa OT - 2Chronicles

"1 ¶ AND Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and exalted him exceedingly above all the kings of the earth. 2 Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to all the princes, the chiefs of the fathers. 3 So Solomon and all the people who were with him went to a great banquet that was at the town of Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of the LORD, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. 4 But David had brought up the ark of the LORD from Koriath-kaproney to the place which David had prepared for it; for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 Moreover the bronze altar that Bezaliel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was placed before the tabernacle of the LORD; and Solomon and the whole congregation of Israel went to it. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it. 7 That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a vision and said to him, Ask what I shall give you. 8 And Solomon said to the LORD, Thou hast shown great mercy to David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. 9 Now, O LORD my God, let thy promise to David my father be established; for thou hast made me king over this people, like the dust of the earth in multitude. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this thy people that is so great? 11 And the LORD said to Solomon, Because this was in your mind, and you have not asked riches, honor, nor the life of your enemies, neither have you asked for long life; but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king; 12 Also the things for which you have not asked will I grant to you. And I will give you wisdom and knowledge, wealth, riches, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before you, neither shall there any after you have the like."

"13 ¶ Then Solomon came from his journey to the great banquet that was at the town of Gibeon, east of Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over all Israel. 14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and some of them with the king in Jerusalem. 15 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and he made cedar as the sand that is by the sea for abundance. 16 And the king’s merchants purchased horses for Solomon from Egypt and from the city of the Apelites for a price. 17 And they went up and bought a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so through the king’s merchants they brought horses for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram."

"2:1 ¶ AND Solomon commanded to build a temple for the name of the LORD and a house for his kingdom. 2 And Solomon appointed seventy thousand men to bear burdens and eighty thousand stone cutters in the mountain and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. 3 And Solomon sent to Hiram king of Tyre, saying, As you showed great kindness to David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house to dwell in, 4 Behold, I am building a house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him and to burn before him sweet incense and to light a lamp continually and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths and on the new moons and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. 5 And the house which I am about to build is very great, for our God is greater than all kings. 6 But who is able to build him a house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a house or burn sweet incense before him? 7 Now therefore, send me a man skilled to work in gold and in silver and in brass and in iron and in purple and in fine linen and in crimson and in blue, and who has the skill to engrave with the skilled men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. 8 Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum timber out of Lebanon; for I know that your servants know how to cut cedar timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with your servants 9 And shall bring me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build will be very great and wonderful. 10 And I will provide carpenters who are skilled in woodwork, and will give provisions to your servants, twenty thousand measures of wheat and twenty thousand measures of barley and twenty thousand baths of wine and twenty thousand baths of oil."

"11 ¶ Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in writing which he sent to Solomon, saying, Because the LORD has loved his people, he has made you king over them. 12 Hiram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who created heaven and earth, who has given to David a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, who has set his mind to build a house for the LORD and a house for his kingdom. 13 And now I have sent to you a skilful man, endued with understanding, even Hiram, 14 Who is the son of a widow of the house of Dan, and his father was a skilful man; he knows how to work in gold and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stones, in timber, in purple, in blue, in fine linen, in crimson and other red materials, also how to make any manner of keys for the doors, and to devise every kind of craft which shall be assigned to him from the LORD, with your craftsmen and with the craftsmen of our lord David your father. 15 Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine which my lord has promised to his servants, let him send them; 16 And we will cut cedar trees out of Lebanon, as many as you wish; and we will bring them to you in floats by sea to Joppa; and you shall carry them up to Jerusalem. 17 Then Solomon gathered together all the proselytes who were in the land of Israel, after the numbering of them which David his father had done; and there were found a hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred. 18 And King Solomon set seventy thousand of them to be bearers of burdens and eighty thousand to be stonecutters in the mountain and three thousand and six hundred overseers to make the people work."

"3:1 ¶ THEN Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on mount Moriah, in the place which David his father had prepared in the threshing floor which he had bought from Aran the Jebusite. 2 And he began to build the temple in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 3 Now these are the measurements which Solomon measured for the building of the house of the LORD: The length of the house by the measure of the sanctuary was sixty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits. 4 And he made a porch in the front thereof; the length of it was the same as the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and its height twenty cubits; and he overlaid it within with pure gold. 5 And the greater house be ceiled with cypress wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and he carved on it the likeness of palm trees and flowers. 6 And he adorned the house with precious stones for beauty; and he overlaid all of it with fine gold. 7 He overlaid also the house, from the front of the porch and its walls and its door posts, with fine gold, and he carved on it the likeness of palm trees and flowers. 8 And he made the sanctuary of the holy of holies; its length was the same as the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. 9 And he also overlaid the altar with fine gold."

"10 ¶ In the most holy house he made two cherubim of solid material, and overlaid them with gold. 11 And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long; one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. 12 And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim were spread forth twenty cubits; they stood on their feet and their faces were inward. 14 And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson and fine linen, and wrought cherubim on it, and placed the ark in it. 15 Also he made in front of the great house two pillars, eighteen cubits long, and the capitals that were on the top of each of them were five cubits high. 16 And he made chains, fifty cubits long, and put them on the tops of the pillars; and made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. 17 And he set up the two pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; and he called the name of that which he set on the right hand, Jachin, and the name of that on the left, Boaz."

"4:1 ¶ MOREOVER he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits its length and twenty cubits its breadth and ten cubits its height. 2 land he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in shape, and five cubits its height and thirty cubits its circumference. 3 And it stood upon twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing south, three facing west, and three facing east; and the sea was set above them, and their hinder parts were inward. 4 And the thickness of it was a handbreadth, and its brim was round like the brim of a cup, very beautiful. 5 And he made also ten poles, and put five on the right hand and five on the left, to carry with them the altar of burnt offering. 6 And he made ten lavers of brass, and put five on the right hand and five on the left, so that the priests might wash their hands and their feet in them. 7 And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their specifications, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand and five on the left. 8 He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of fine gold. 9 Furthermore he made a large court for the priests and for the Levites, and overlaid the doors and the bars with brass. 10 And he set the sea on the right side of the north end, over against the south."

"11 ¶ And Hiram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins. And Hiram finished the work that he was to make for King Solomon for the house of God; 12 To wit, the two pillars and the knobs and the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two knobs of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; 13 And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two knobs of the capitals which were upon the pillars. 14 He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases; 15 One sea, and twelve oxen under it. 16 The pots also and the shovels and the fleshhooks and all their instruments did Hiram make for King Solomon, for the house of the LORD, of bright brass. 17 In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah. 18 Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance; for the weight of these vessels of brass that Solomon made could not be found out. 19 And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set; 20 Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold; 21 And the flowers and the lamps and the tongs made he of gold, and that perfect gold; 22 And the snuffers and the basins and the spoons and the censers, of pure gold; and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold."

"5:1 ¶ THUS all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished; and Solomon brought in all the things which David his father had dedicated; and the silver and the gold and all the vessels he put in the treasures of the house of the LORD. 2 Then Solomon assembled at Jerusalem all the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers of the children of Israel, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David, which is Zion. 3 Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at Jerusalem in the feast of tabernacles, which is in the seventh month. 4 And all the elders of Israel came; and the priests took up the ark. 5 And they brought up the ark of the LORD and the tabernacle of the congregation and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. 6 And King Solomon and all the people of Israel that were assembled to him before the ark sacrificed sheep and oxen which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude. 7 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and put it in its place, into the most holy place under the wings of the cherubim: 8 For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the poles thereof above. 9 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from underneath the ark within the house, but they were not seen from the outside. And there they remain to this day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses had put there, which he brought from mount Sinai. This is the same covenant which the LORD made with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt."

"11 ¶ And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present there entered into the holy place; 12 Also the Levites, who were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeruthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets): 13 That the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endures for ever; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD, 14 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the house of the LORD was filled with the brightness of his glory."

"6:1 ¶ THEN Solomon said, O LORD, thou hast declared that thou wouldst dwell in the thick darkness. 2 But I have built a house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever. 3 Then the king turned his face and blessed the whole congregation of Israel; and all the congregation of Israel stood. 4 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with his own mouth to David my father, and with his word has fulfilled that which he had promised, saying, 5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; 6 But I have chosen Jerusalem that my name might be there; and I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel. 7 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well in that it was in your heart; 9 Nevertheless you shall not build the house for my name, but your son who shall come forth out of your loins, he shall build the house for my name. 10 The LORD therefore has performed his word that he has spoken; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and I have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 11 And I have prepared a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt."

"12 ¶ And Solomon stood up before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven; 13 For Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and two cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and he went up and stood upon it, and knelt down upon his knees in the presence of all the people of Israel and spread forth his hands in prayer toward heaven, 14 And prayed and said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no one like thee; thou art the LORD who dwellest in heaven above, and thy will is carried out upon the earth below; who keepest covenant and showest mercy to thy servants who walk before thee uprightly with all their hearts; 15 Thou who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and thou didst speak with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy will, as it is this day. 16 Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father the promise which thou hast made to him, saying, There shall not fail you a son in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; if only your children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as you have walked before me. 17 Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy words be confirmed which thou hast spoken to thy servant David. 18 For in truth the LORD has made his dwelling place with his people Israel on the earth. Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! 19 Have regard therefore to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplications, O LORD my God, to hearken to the prayer and the supplication which thy servant prayeth before thee this day; 20 That this house may remain in thy presence, that thou mayest hearken to the prayer of whosoever may come to pray before thee in this house day and night, the place of which thou hast said that thou wouldst put thy habitation there. 21 Hearken therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall pray before thee in this place; hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. 22 If a man should offend his neighbor, and it is decreed upon him that he should take an oath, and he should come and swear before thy altar in this house; 23 Then hear thou his prayer, even from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by bringing his guilt upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by rewarding him according to his righteousness. 24 And if thy people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against thee, and shall return to thee and confess thy great name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; 25 Then hear thou from the heavens and forgive the sins of thy people Israel and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. 26 And when the heaven is shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray before thee in this place, and confess thy great name and turn from their sins when thou dost afflict them; 27 Then hear thou from heaven their prayer, and forgive the sins of thy servants and of thy people Israel when thou hast taught them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain of blessing upon the land which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 28 If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blasting or mildew or locusts or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever trouble or whatsoever sickness there be; 29 Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall declare his own grief, and shall come and spread forth his hands in this house; 30 Then hear thou from heaven their prayer and forgive their sins, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men), 31 That they may revere thee, to walk before thee in thy ways so long as they live in the land which thou gavest to their fathers. 32 Moreover concerning the stranger who is not of thy people Israel, but comes from a far country for thy great name’s sake and thy mighty hand and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray before thee on that day in this house; 33 Then hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven, and do according to all that the stranger prays before thee, so that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name and worship before thee, as do thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. 34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to thee towards this land which thou hast given to their fathers, or towards this city which thou hast chosen for thyself, or towards the house which I have built for thy name; 35 Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and plead their cause. 36 If they sin against thee (for there is no man who does not sin), and thou be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, and they carry them away captives to a land far off or near; 37 Yet if they pray before thee, and repent in the land to which they were carried captive, saying, We have sinned, we have provoked thee to anger and have dealt wickedly; 38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land which thou gavest to their fathers and toward the city which thou hast chosen for thyself and toward the house which I have built for thy name; 39 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee. 40 Now, O my God, let thy eyes be open and let thy ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 41 Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength; let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy righteous men rejoice in thy goodness. 42 O LORD God, turn not away the face of thy anointed one; remember the mercies of David thy servant."

"7:1 ¶ NOW when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the wood; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. 2 And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’S house. 3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down and the glory of the LORD filled the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement and worshipped, and said to each other. Praise the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. 4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep; so the king and all the people dedicated the house of the LORD. 6 And the priests waited on their offices; the Levites also with instruments of music praised the LORD, and this is what they said in their praises. in the songs of David, Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever; and the priests sounded with curved and straight trumpets, and all the people of Israel stood. 7 Moreover Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was too small to hold the burnt offerings and the meal offerings and the fat. 8 Also at that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from Hamath to the river of Egypt the people were assembled before the LORD our God. 9 Seven days were given for the feast and seven days for the dedication of the house; the extent of both occasions was fourteen days. 10 And on the fifteenth day of the month of Tishrin the king dismissed the people; and the people blessed the king and departed to their towns, glad and merry in heart, and giving thanks and praises for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David his servant and to Solomon his son and to Israel his people. 11 And it came to pass that King Solomon finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house; and all that Solomon had reasoned in his mind to make in the house of the LORD and in the king’s house he successfully accomplished."

"12 ¶ And the LORD appeared to Solomon that night and said to him, I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14 If my .people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land. 15 And even now my eyes shall be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen this house for myself, that my glory may be in it for ever, and that my good works and my will shall be done in the midst of it perpetually. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, with innocence of heart and uprightness, to do everything that I have commanded you and to observe my commandments and my statutes; 18 Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom for ever, as I have covenanted with David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a son in my presence to sit on the throne of Israel. 19 But if you turn away from my ways, both you and your children, and shall not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, and shall go and serve the idols of the nations and worship them; 20 Then I will scatter you out of this land which I have given you; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, I will uproot out of my sight, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all nations. 21 And this house shall be in ruins, and every one passing by shall stand and shake his head in amazement, and say, Why has the LORD done thus to this great city and to this house? 22 And they will say, Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and they went and revered the gods of the Gentiles and served them and worshipped them; therefore the LORD has brought all this evil upon them."

"8:1 ¶ AND it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD and the royal palace, 2 That Solomon rebuilt the cities which Hiram had given to him, and caused the children of Israel to dwell in them. 3 And Solomon went to Hamath and besieged it, and destroyed it. 4 And he built Tadmor, which had been laid waste like the wilderness, and all the store-cities; 5 Also he built Beth-hauran the upper and Beth-hauran the lower; 6 And built all the store-cities that Solomon had and all the chariot cities and the cities for the horsemen and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and throughout all the land of his dominion. 7 As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 But of their descendants, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel could not destroy, these Solomon made servants for himself, and workers and tributaries to this day. 9 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no servants in his kingdom, for they were men of war and the commanders of his chariots and his horsemen. 10 And these were the governors and overseers of King Solomon, even two hundred and fifty, who exercised authority over the people, who did the work. 11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David to the house which he had built for her; for he said, No wife shall dwell with me in the house of David king of Israel, because the place in which the ark of the LORD has come is holy."

"12 ¶ Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD, and peace offerings upon the altar of the LORD which he had built before the porch, 13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of the fasting, and in the feast of tabernacles. 14 And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required; and the porters also by their courses, to guard the doors every day; for so had David the king of Israel, whom the LORD had made king, commanded. 15 And he did not depart from all that King David had commanded him concerning the priests and the Levites and concerning all the service of the house. 16 Thus all the work of Solomon was set in order from the day the foundations of the house of the LORD were laid until all its work was finished. 17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber, the town which is opposite Eloth, at the seaside in the land of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent his servants by ships, skilful mariners, who knew how to pilot ships in the sea, and they went with the servants of Solomon to the city of Ophir, and took from there four hundred talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon."

"9:1 ¶ AND when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to test Solomon with enigmas. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance and precious stones; and when she was come to King Solomon, she told him all that was in her heart. 2 And King Solomon told her every secret that was in her heart; and there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not tell her. 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon and the house that he had built 4 And the food of his table and the seating of his servants and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel, his cupbearers also and their apparel, and the sacrifices that he offered in the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit left in her to see more. 5 And she said to King Solomon, It was a true report which I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom; 6 Howbeit I did not believe their words until I came and my eyes had seen it; and, behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; for you exceed the report which I heard. 7 Happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom. 8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has chosen you and set you on the throne of the kingdom of Israel; because the LORD loved Israel, he has made you king over them for ever, to do judgment and justice. 9 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones; there were no such spices in the world as those which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 And the servants also of Hiram and the servants of King Solomon brought gold from Ophir. 11 And they also brought algum wood for stools for the house of the LORD and for the house of King Solomon, and harps for singers, and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah. 12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she asked, besides that which he had already given, and he told her all that was in her heart. So she turned and went away to her own land, she and her servants."

"13 ¶ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 Besides the taxes from the cities and the traffic which the merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought silver and gold to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made two hundred shields of fine gold; six hundred shekels of fine gold went into each shield. 16 And he made three hundred shields of fine gold; three hundred shekels of fine gold went to the handle of each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 And there were six steps to the throne, and the rim of the throne encircled from behind it, with armrests on each side of the seat, and two lions standing behind the armrests. 19 And twelve lions stood there, on the one side and on the other side upon the six steps. There was not the like ever made in any kingdom. 20 And all the vessels of the service of King Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the king’s treasuries were of pure gold; silver was not accounted as anything in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came loaded with silver and gold, elephants, apes, and peacocks. 22 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear the wisdom that the LORD had put into his heart. 24 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments, myrrh and spices, horses and mules, a fixed amount year by year. 25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he placed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 26 And Solomon ruled over all the kings from the river Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 27 And King Solomon made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as the sand that is by the sea in abundance. 28 And they brought to Solomon horses from Egypt and from all lands. 29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem forty years over all Israel. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead."

"10:1 ¶ AND Rehoboam went to Shechem; for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king. 2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam and all Israel heard it, 3 They came and said to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, 4 Your father made our yoke grievous; now therefore lighten somewhat the harsh rule of your father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve you. 5 And he said to them, Go away and come again to me after three days. And the people departed. 6 And King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men who had served Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, What counsel do you give me to return an answer to this people? 7 And they spoke to him, saying, If you will answer kindly to this people, and please them and speak good words to them, they will be your servants for ever. 8 But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who were brought up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, What advice do you give me that we may return answer to this people who have spoken to me, saying, Lighten the yoke which your father did put upon us, and we will serve you? 10 And the young men who were brought up with him in the streets spoke to him, saying, Thus shall you say to the people who have spoken to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it somewhat lighter for us; thus shall you say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father’s thumb. 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

"12 ¶ So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had bade them, saying, Come again to me on the third day. 13 And the king answered them with harsh words; and King Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, 14 And spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the decree had been made by God, that the LORD might perform the word of Ahijah the prophet the Shilonite concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 And when all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying. We have no portion in David, nor an inheritance in the son of Jesse; return every man to his house, O Israel; and now, David, see to your own house. So Israel went to their houses. 17 But as for the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But King Rehoboam hastily got up into his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day."

"11:1 ¶ AND when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled of the house of Judah and Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who drew sword, and who were warriors, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, 3 Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to the house of Benjamin and to all Israel and to the rest of the people, saying, 4 Thus says the LORD: YOU shall not go up, nor fight; return every man to his house, for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the word of the LORD, and returned, to go every man to his house. 5 And Jeroboam built Shechem on the mountain of the tribe of the house of Ephraim, and dwelt in it; and went out from there and built Penuel. 6 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David; 7 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their LORD, and they shall kill me and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 8 Therefore the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said to the people, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem, why should you go up to Jerusalem and come down? Then he said, These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other he put in Dan. 10 And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the calf, even to Dan. And this thing became a sin to all the house of Jeroboam, to be uprooted and destroyed from the earth. 11 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick; and Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise and disguise yourself, and be as a simple woman, that you may not be known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and go to Shiloh; behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me that I should be king over this people. 12 Go to him; he shall tell you what shall become of this child."

"13 ¶ And the LORD said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask a thing of you concerning her son; for he is sick; thus and thus shall you say to her; for it shall be, when she comes in, that she will disguise herself. 14 And it came to pass, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said to her, Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why have you disguised yourself? For I am sent to tell you harsh words. 15 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus says the LORD God of Israel: I have exalted you from among the people and made you king over my people Israel, 16 And took the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you; and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and who walked in my statutes with all his heart to do that which was right in my presence; 17 But you have done evil above all kings who were before you; for you have gone and made for yourself idols of the nations, and images to blaspheme before me, and have cast my worship behind your back. 18 And Rehoboam took to him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David, to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, 19 Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah and Zaham. 20 And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom, which bore him Abijah and Attai and Ziza and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines (for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines; and begat twenty-eight sons, and sixty daughters). 22 And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the crown prince, to be ruler among his brethren; for he thought to make him king. 23 And he dealt wisely, and dispersed all of his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin unto every fortified city; and he gave them food in abundance. And he desired many wives."

"12:1 ¶ AND it came to pass when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. 2 And it came to pass that in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen; and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah that were gathered together at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus says the LORD: You have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. 6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. 7 And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. 9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took all; he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 10 Instead of which King Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard that kept the entrance of the king’s house. 11 And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber. 12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether; and also in Judah things went well."

"13 ¶ So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned; for Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. 14 And he did evil before the LORD, for he did not prepare his heart to worship the LORD and to seek him with all his heart. 15 Now these are the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, to do evil before the LORD God of Israel. And there were wars between Rehoboam the son of Solomon and Jeroboam the son of Nebat continually. 16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David; and Abijah his son reigned in his stead."

"13:1 ¶ IN the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat Abijah began to reign over the tribe of Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maachah the daughter of Uriel of Ramtha. 3 And Abijah mobilized an army of valiant men of war, four hundred thousand young men, who took upon themselves to go and fight against Jeroboam the son of Nebat. And Jeroboam also had mobilized an army, and he came to fight against him with eight hundred thousand young men, being mighty men of valour. 4 And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in the border of mount Ephraim, and said. Hear me, O Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and all Israel; 5 Perhaps you know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant pertaining to the kingship. 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord. 7 And he gathered to him certain wicked men, the children of iniquity, and he prevailed against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and not advanced in years and did not know what to say, and did not comfort the people concerning the heavy yoke which Solomon his father had laid upon them. 8 And even now what can you say? You went away and renounced the kingdom of the house of David and went and served dead gods. And I reign over a single tribe, but you over many tribes, and there are with you golden calves which Jeroboam the son of Nebat made for you. 9 And you have cast out the priests the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and have made priests for yourselves of the people of the land. And whosoever comes to offer an offering, you take from him a young bullock and seven rams, and he becomes a priest of them that are not gods. 10 But as for us, we have not forsaken the LORD our God, and the priests, who minister to the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites serve as they should; 11 They offer to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offering and sweet incense, and set the shewbread in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with its lamps, and a boy having charge of the lamps lights them every evening; thus we have charge of the ordinances of the LORD our God; 12 But you have forsaken him and have gone after dead gods, and you serve them and worship them; and have forsaken the LORD God of your fathers, therefore you shall not prosper in the world."

"13 ¶ But Jeroboam caused an ambush to come about behind them; so they were before Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind; and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. 15 And it came to pass when the men of the house of Judah shouted, the LORD defeated Jeroboam the son of Nebat and all Israel before Judah and Abijah. 16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah; 17 And Abijah slew them with a great slaughter; so there fell slain of Israel five hundred thousand young men. 18 Thus the children of Israel were defeated at that time. and the children of Judah prevailed, because they said, We rely upon the LORD God of our fathers. 19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam, and took some great cities from him, Beth-el with its pastures, Shelah with its pastures, and Ephron with its pastures. 20 Neither did Jereboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the LORD struck Jeroboam, and he died. 21 But Abijah became strong, and he married fourteen wives, and there were born to him twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah and his ways, behold, are written in the poems of the prophet Iddo."

"14:1 ¶ So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet for ten years. 2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the presence of the LORD his God; 3 For he demolished the altars of the strange gods and the shrines, and broke down the images and cut down the groves; 4 And he said to Judah, Come, let us pray before the LORD God of our fathers. 5 Also he uprooted out of all the cities of Judah the shrines on the high places and the idols; and his kingdom was quiet in his days, and he had no enemies on all his borders. 6 And he built fenced cities in Judah; for the land had rest, and there was no one who made war against him in those years, because the LORD had given him rest. 7 Therefore he said to Judah, Come, let us build these cities, and surround them with walls and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is still quiet of wars; because we have sought the LORD our God, and he also has sought us and he has given us rest from all those who are round about us, and has comforted us and delivered us. 8 And Asa had an army of mighty men of valour that bore swords and spears out of the tribe of Judah, three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin, that bore breastplate and drew bows, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these were mighty men of valour."

"9 ¶ And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with a large army of a million men and thirty thousand chariots, and came to Mareshah. 10 Then Asa went out against him, and he fought against him in the valley of Mareshah. 11 And Asa prayed before the LORD his God and said, Thou art our LORD, thou art the help of thy people; and when thou dost deliver a great army in the hands of a small force, then all the inhabitants of the earth shall know that it is good to rely on thee; help us, O LORD our God, because in thy name we have come against this great army. O LORD our God, delay not thy might from us. 12 And when Asa had finished praying, the angel of the LORD routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. 13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them as far as Gedar; and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not be numbered: for they were defeated before the LORD and before his armies; and they took and carried away very much spoil. 14 And they smote all the cities round about Gedar, for the fear of the LORD came upon them; and they plundered all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. 15 They also carried away the tents of the Arabians and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and brought them to Jerusalem."

"15:1 ¶ AND the Spirit of the LORD came upon Azariah the son of Azor; 2 And he went out to meet Asa and said to him, Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you for ever and ever; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 Now for a long time Israel has not served their God in truth and has not accepted the teaching of their priests and would not obey their laws; therefore they were delivered into the hand of their enemies. 4 But when in their distress they prayed to the LORD God of Israel and sought him, he was found by them. 5 And in those early times when we did not worship our God, there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in. because of great misfortune that came upon all the inhabitants of the land. 6 And we were scattered in every nation and people, and in towns and cities, 7 Because we had forsaken our God and would not listen to the voice of his servants, the prophets; so he rewarded us according to our works."

"8 ¶ And when Asa heard these words of Azariah the son of Azor the prophet, he took courage and removed the idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the land of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that was in the front of the porch of the LORD. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and the proselytes with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh and out of Simeon; for they gathered together and came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. 10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And the same day they offered to the LORD of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and six thousand sheep. 12 And they entered into a covenant to pray to the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 And that whosoever would not pray to the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 And they swore to the LORD with a loud voice, and with sounding of curved and straight trumpets. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at this report which they heard; for they sought him with all their heart and prayed to him with all their soul; and he was found by them, and he delivered them from all their enemies round about. 16 And also Maachah the mother of Asa he removed from being queen mother, because she had a feast to her idols; and Asa cut down her idols and burned them at the brook Kidron. 17 But the altars on the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect in the worship of the LORD his God all the days of his life. 18 And he brought into the house of the LORD the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated, silver and gold and vessels. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa."

"16:1 ¶ IN the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramtha, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent them to Bar-hadad king of Aram, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 3 There is a league between me and you, as there was between my father and your father; behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me. 4 And Bar-hadad hearkened to King Asa, and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they came and encamped against the cities of Israel; and they took Ijon, Abel, and Beth-maacah, and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 Then when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramtha, and let his work cease. 6 Then Asa the king gathered together all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramtha and its timber with which Baasha was building; and King Asa built with them Ramtha of Benjamin and the town of Mizpah."

"7 ¶ And at that time Hanan the prophet came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of Aram will flee. 8 And they will go and become strong, both they and the Ethiopians and the kings that are with them, and will become great armies with very many chariots and horsemen, but when you seek the LORD your God, he will deliver them into your hands. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth; therefore, be strong, and let your heart be perfect towards his worship, and understand all his wonders; for the LORD your God will fight for you. 10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in prison because he reported things which he did not see and made the heart of the people tremble; therefore Asa kept himself aloof from the people at that time. 11 And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 And Asa was diseased in his feet in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, and was laid in his house. 13 And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 And they buried him in his own sepulchre in the city of David, and they laid him on a bier which was filled with many kinds of spices, and they made a very great burnt offering for him."

"17:1 ¶ AND Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 And he placed mighty men in all the fortified cities of Judah, and appointed governors in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which Asa his father had taken. 3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of his father David and did not pray to images; 4 But he prayed to the LORD God of his father and walked in his commandments and kept his statutes, and did not do according to the ways of Israel. 5 Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought presents to Jehoshaphat and he had riches and honor in abundance. 6 And his heart was strengthened in the ways of the LORD; moreover he uprooted the altars and the high places which were within the territory of Judah. 7 Also in the third year of his reign he sent and called his princes and the commanders of the armies, even to Obadiah, Zechariah, Nathanael, Melachiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. 8 And with them were the Levites, even Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zechariah, Ashaiel, Natorah, Jonathan, Adonijah, and Tobiah. These were all Levites, and with them were Elishama and Jehoram, priests. 9 And they taught in all the land of Judah, having the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people."

"10 ¶ And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Also some of the cities of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, silver, and poll tax; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats, yearly. 12 And Jehoshaphat grew exceedingly rich; and he built in Judah castles and store cities. 13 And he had much business in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem. 14 And this is the number of them according to the house of their fathers. Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adino the chief, and with him mighty men of valour, three hundred thousand. 15 And next to him was Johanan the commander, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand valiant men. 16 And next to him was Shemai the son of Zerah, with whom the LORD was pleased, and with him two hundred thousand valiant men. 17 And of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valour, and with him, armed with bow and shield, two hundred thousand. 18 And next to him was Jehozabad, a mighty man, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand ready for the war. 19 These were all who served King Jehoshaphat, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all the land of Judah."

"18:1 ¶ NOW Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance, and he made an alliance with Ahab. 2 And after two years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the armed forces that were with him, and advised him to go up to Ramath-gilead. 3 And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Will you go up with me to Ramath-gilead? And he answered him, I will go up as you do; and my people are as your people; and my horses as your horses, and we will go with you to war."

"4 ¶ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray, for the word of the LORD today. 5 Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of the prophets four hundred men, and said to them, Shall we go to Ramath-gilead to battle or shall I forbear? And they said to him, Go up; for the LORD will deliver your enemies into your hands. 6 But King Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a true prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of him? 7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him; for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. His name is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 8 And the king of Israel called for one of the officers and said to him, Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imla. 9 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each man on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the false prophets were prophesying before them. 10 And Zedekiah the son of a Canaanitish woman had made for himself horns of iron, and he said, Thus says the LORD: With these you shall pierce the Arameans until they are cut off and destroyed. 11 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramath-gilead, and triumph: for the LORD will deliver your enemies into your hands, O king. 12 And the messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold, the words of the false prophets have declared good to the king with one accord; let your words, therefore, be pleasant like one of theirs, and you also prophesy good. 13 And Micaiah said, As the LORD God lives, what my God puts into my heart, that will I speak. 14 And when he was come to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramath-gilead or shall I forbear? And he said to him, Go up and triumph, and they shall be delivered into your hands. 15 And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure you that you say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD? 16 Then he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd; and the LORD said, These have no king; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace. 17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? 18 Then Micaiah said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. 19 And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and be slain at Ramath-gilead? And one said, I will entice him after this manner, and another said, I will entice him after that manner. 20 Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD and said, I will entice him, and the LORD said to him, With what? 21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, You shall entice him, and you shall also prevail; go out, and do according to what you have said. 22 Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, and the LORD has decreed evil against you. 23 Then Zedekiah the son of the Canaanitish woman came near and struck Micaiah on his cheek, and said to him, Since when did the Spirit of the LORD depart from me to speak to you? 24 And Micaiah said, Behold, you shall see on that day when you shall go into an inner chamber to hide yourself. 25 Then the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back and detain him in the house of Amon the governor of the city and in the house of Joash the king’s son; 26 And say, Thus says the king: Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction until I return in peace. 27 And Micaiah said, If you certainly return in peace, then the LORD has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, all you people."

"28 ¶ So Jehoshaphat the king of Judah and Ahab the king of Israel went up to Ramath-gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will put on my armor, and go and stand in the battle array; and you put on your armor. So the king of Israel put on his armor, and went and stood in the battle array. 30 Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, thirty-two in number, saying, Fight not with small or great, but only with the king of Israel. 31 And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they came against him to fight him; but Jehoshaphat cried out and the LORD helped him; and he turned them away from him. 32 And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 And a certain man shot an arrow unwittingly towards him, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of his breastplate; therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn your hand and carry me out of the host; for I am grievously wounded. 34 And the battle grew fiercer that day; but the king of Israel was seated in the chariot fighting against the Arameans until the evening, and at sunset he died."

"19:1 ¶ AND at the evening Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu the son of Hanan the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, Should you go to help the ungodly, and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the LORD is angry with you. 3 But I believe good reports have been heard about you, in that you have not shed innocent blood in the land and have prepared your heart to pray before the LORD in truth. 4 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from the city of Beersheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back to worship the LORD God of their fathers."

"5 ¶ And he appointed judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah and the great cities. 6 And he said to the judges, Take heed what you do; for you judge not for man, but for the LORD our God. 7 Therefore be courageous and judge righteously, so that the LORD may be with you for ever; take heed and do it; for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God nor respect of persons nor taking of bribes. 8 Moreover in Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat appointed men of the Levites and of the priests and of the chiefs of the fathers of the children of Israel for the judgment of the LORD; then he returned to Jerusalem. 9 And he charged them, saying, Thus shall you do in reverence of the LORD, in faithfulness and with a perfect heart. 10 And whatsoever case shall come to you of your brethren who dwell in your cities, between bloodshed and bloodshed, between law and commandment, between statutes and ordinances, you shall warn them so that they may not be guilty before the LORD, and thus he become angry with them and with their brethren; this do, and you shall not be guilty. 11 And, behold, I have appointed priests over you, that they may judge just and faithful judgments according to the commandment of the LORD. And Zechariah the son of Shemiah declared to all the people of Judah all the commandments of the king; he also declared to the scribes and the Levites, repeating everything before them, saying, Deal courageously, and the LORD will help you for ever."

"20:1 ¶ AND it came to pass after this, the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, with the mighty men of war, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2 Then there came messengers and told Jehoshaphat, saying, A great army has come against you from beyond the Red Sea; and, behold, they are encamping in Jericho, which is En-gad. 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and he raised up his face to pray before the LORD and proclaimed a fast for all the inhabitants of Judah. And he said to them, Gather yourselves together and come let us beseech the LORD our God. 4 And all the inhabitants of Judah gathered themselves together, even from far off cities, and they came to beseech the LORD. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Judah in the house of the LORD, which is in Jerusalem, before the new court, 6 And he prayed and said, O LORD God of our fathers, thou art the God in heaven, and thou art ruler over all the kingdoms of the world, and thine is power and might, and now I stand before thee praying. 7 And thou art our God, who didst destroy the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and gavest it to the descendants of Abraham thy friend for ever. 8 And they have dwelt in it, and have built in it a sanctuary for thy name, saying, 9 Now, because there is a sanctuary among us, no evil shall come upon us, nor the sword nor judgment nor pestilence nor famine; and we shall come and stand before this house and before thee (for thy name has been invoked in this house), and we will pray before thee in this house, and thou wilt hear our prayer and save us. 10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon, of the mount of Gabel, and of Moab, with whom thou wouldst not let Israel mix when thou didst bring them out of the land of Egypt, and thou hadst removed the yoke of the Egyptians from them, 11 Behold, now they reward us; they are coming to drive us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 12 O our God, make thyself known and judge them, for we have no strength to stand before them; bring upon them the sword of thy judgment, for we do not know what to do; but our eyes are upon thee. 13 And all Judah stood before the LORD with their little ones, their wives, their sons, and their daughters."

"14 ¶ Then upon Hazaiel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiadah, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the spirit of might from before the LORD, and he was standing before the people of Israel; 15 And he said, Hearken, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says the LORD your God: Be not afraid nor dismayed because of this great army; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Hasten, go down against them; behold, they are coming up early in the morning; and you shall find them in the cliff of the valley, before the wilderness. They are coming up to fight against you. 17 And in that hour, stand still and see the salvation that the LORD will do for you, O Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them; for the LORD God will help you. 18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground and worshipped; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. 19 And the Levites of the descendants of the Kohathites and of the descendants of the Korhites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice,"

"20 ¶ And they rose early in the morning and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, so you shall be established; believe in his prophets, and you shall be delivered. 21 Then he stood in the midst of the people and said, Come, let us give thanks to the LORD, and give praise to the excellency of his holiness, as he is going forth before our armies to fight for us against our enemies. And they said, Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever. Then the hills began to give praise and the mountains began to rejoice. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 24 And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked to the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none had escaped. 25 And when Jehoshaphat and the people of Israel came to take away the spoil from them, they found among them an abundance of booty: riches, bridles, horses, and precious jewels, and they took for themselves whatever they desired. 26 And it came to pass after three days, when they were through taking the spoil, because it was so much, they assembled themselves on the fourth day in the valley of Borktha; for there they blessed the LORD God; therefore the name of that place was called the valley of Borktha to this day. 27 Then all the men of Judah returned to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat at their head, for they were returning to Jerusalem rejoicing; for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with songs, harps, lyres, and curved and straight trumpets, to the house of the LORD. 29 And the fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for the LORD gave him rest on all sides."

"31 ¶ And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah; he was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Arubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father, and did not turn aside from them, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD. 33 However the shrines on the high places were not removed; for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts to the God of their fathers. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the sayings of Jehu the son of Hanan, which are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. 35 And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly, more than all the kings of Israel. 36 And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion-gaber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Jehoshaphat’s uncle prophesied in the city of Mareshah against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because of your partnership with Ahaziah, the LORD has confused all your works. And the ships were damaged and were not able to go to Tarshish."

"21:1 ¶ NOW Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. 2 And he had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, and these are their names: Azariah, Nahjaiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Malchael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 3 And their father gave them great gifts of silver and of gold, and many other gifts, with fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram because he was his first-born. 4 Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and slew all his brothers in the battle and also slew some of the elders of Israel. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for Ahab’s sister was his wife; and he did that which was evil in the presence of the LORD. 7 However the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David anti because he had promised to give an heir to him and to his sons for ever. 8 In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king. 9 Then Jehoram crossed over the Jordan with his princes, and all his chariots with him; and he rose up by night and smote the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. 10 So the Edomites revolted from the dominion of Judah to this day. At the same time also did the Edomites who dwelt in Libnah revolt from his rule, because Jehoram had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. 11 Moreover he made shrines on high places in the mountains of Judah and caused the Nazarites of Jerusalem to drink wine and scattered the house of Judah."

"12 ¶ And there was brought to him a letter from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the LORD God of David your father: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 But have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go astray with the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also have Main your brothers, your father’s sons, who were better than yourself; 14 Behold, the LORD will smite you with a great plague, together with your people, your children, your wives, and all your goods; 15 And you yourself shall die with a severe sickness; and you shall be consumed with a great torment until your bowels fall out because of your sickness. And you shall be tormented for many years. 16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians who dwelt near the Ethiopians; 17 And they came up against Judah and smote it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also and his wives; so that no son was left to him except Ahaziah his youngest son. 18 And after all this he was smitten in his bowels with an incurable disease. 19 And it came to pass that in the process of time, after the end of two years, the word of the prophet was fulfilled, his bowels fell out because of his sickness; so he died of sore disease. And his people did not honor him with a funeral according to the manner they had done for his fathers. 20 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem, and his departure was not regretted. And he was buried in the city of David his father, but not in the sepulchres of the kings."

"22:1 ¶ THEN the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead; for raiders had come to the camp and slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. 2 Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. 3 And he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for he was the son of Ahab’s sister. 4 He also committed many sins and did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab; for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction, 5 Because he walked after their counsel, and went with Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramath-gilead; and the Arameans smote Joram. 6 And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which he had received at Ramtha, when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. And Ahaziah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick. 7 And the destruction of Ahaziah was determined by God, who decreed that he should go to Joram; for when he was come, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu the son of Jamshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. 8 And when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah who ministered to Ahaziah and slew them. 9 And he sought Ahaziah and he caught him (for he was hiding in Samaria) and brought him to Jehu; and when they had slain him, they buried him; for they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no one with power to rule over the kingdom."

"10 ¶ Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the king’s sons of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, stole Joash the son of Ahaziah from among the king’s sons who were about to be slain, and hid him and his nurse in her bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiadah the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not slay him. 12 And he was hid with her in the house of the LORD six Years; and Athaliah reigned over the land."

"23:1 ¶ AND in the seventh year Jehoiadah strengthened himself and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeruham and Ishmael the son of Johanan and Azariah the son of Obed and Shemiah the son of Ido and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they made a covenant together. 2 And they went about in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the chiefs of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 And all the congregation made a covenant in the presence of the king in the house of the LORD. And Jehoiadah said to them. Behold, the king’s son shall reign over you, as the LORD has spoken to David his servant. 4 This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you who enter the temple on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites and of the porters shall be on guard; 5 And a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the cook’s gate: and all the people shall be on guard in the court of the house of the LORD. 6 But let no one enter the house of the LORD except the priests and the Levites; they shall enter, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep watch over the house of the LORD. 7 And the Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else enters the inner house shall be put to death; but you be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out. 8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiadah the priest had commanded, and every man took his men who were to keep watch on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiadah the priest had dismissed them from their duties. 9 Moreover Jehoiadah the priest delivered spears and bucklers and shields to the captains of hundreds that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the LORD. 10 And all the people stood up, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, and by the king round about. 11 Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on his head, and gave him the sceptre and made him king. And Jehoiadah and his sons anointed him and said, Long live the king!"

"12 ¶ Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people rejoicing and praising the LORD, she came to the king into the house of the LORD; 13 And she looked, and, behold, the king stood by the pillar according to the rite of the kings, and the people were sounding with curved and straight trumpets before the king; and all the people were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers accompanied with instruments of music. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and said, Treason! Treason! 14 Then Jehoiadah the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were set over the army and said to them, Take her out of the ranks, and whosoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Do not slay her in the house of the LORD. 15 Then they made a passage for her, and she went into the entrance of the horse gate, and she was put to death there. 16 And Jehoiadah made a covenant between himself and all the people, and between himself and the king, that they should be the LORD’S people. 17 Then all the people went to the house of Baal and demolished it, and broke his altars and his images in pieces, and slew the priest of Baal before the altar. 18 Also Jehoiadah appointed officers in the house of the LORD, and the priests and the Levites, whom David had divided into groups, to be in charge of the house of the LORD, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David. 19 And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD SO that no one who was unclean in anything should enter in. 20 And he took the captains of hundreds and the governors of the people and all the people of the land, and they came through the high gate of the king’s house and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. 21 And all the people of the land rejoiced, sounding with trumpets, after they had slain Athaliah with the sword."

"24:1 ¶ JOASH was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of the city of Beersheba. 2 And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiadah the priest. 3 And Jehoiadah the priest took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters. 4 And it came to pass after this that Jehoiadah determined in his heart with Joash secretly to restore the house of the LORD and to repair everything that was needed in it. 5 And Jehoiadah the priest gathered together the priests and the Levites and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah and gather from all the cities of Israel silver and gold to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you hasten the matter. 6 And the king called for Jehoiadah the chief priest and said to him, Why have you not required the Levites to go and bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the gifts that were prescribed by Moses the servant of the LORD and summon the congregation of Israel for the feast of the tabernacle of the assembly? 7 For Athaliah taught wickedly, and had broken up the house of the LORD; and also given all the dedicated things that were in the house of the LORD for the worship of the idols. 8 And at the king’s commandment, they made a chest, and set it outside the gate of the house of the LORD. 9 And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in to the LORD the portion that Moses the servant of the LORD laid upon Israel in the wilderness. 10 And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in gifts and took the chest and put it in its place and cast into it until it was full. 11 And when they saw that there was much money in the chest, then the king’s scribe and the overseer of the high priest’s house came and counted the money, and put it into bags. 12 And they gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also workers in iron and brass to restore the house of the LORD. 13 So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in order and strengthened it. 14 And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiadah, whereof were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiadah."

"15 ¶ But Jehoiadah grew old, and was full of days when he died; a hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. 16 And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, and they said, Such shall be rewarded to him who does good in Israel. And he also had contributed greatly to the house of the LORD. 17 Now after the death of Jehoiadah came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king listened to them. 18 And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and went and served images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because they committed this sin. 19 Yet God sent prophets to them to bring them back from their ways, but they would not listen, so the prophets testified against them, but they would not give ear. 20 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiadah the priest, and he went up and stood above the people and said to them, Thus says the LORD: Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken my way, I will also forsake you. 21 And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiadah his father had done to him, but he slew his sons after him. And when his sons were about to be slain, they said, May the LORD see and avenge it. 23 And it came to pass at the end of the year, the army of Aram came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. 24 For the army of Aram came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So what Joash had done was condemned by the judges. 25 And when they were departed from him (for they left him in a state of severe illness), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiadah the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the city of David his father, but they did not bury him in the sepulchres of the kings. 26 And these are the names of those who conspired against him: Zaccor the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess and Jehozabad the son of Netoroth a Moabitess. 27 And his sons also and many other people conspired against him. And the rest of the sins which he committed in the house of the LORD, behold, they are written in the poems of the Book of the Kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead."

"25:1 ¶ AMAZIAH 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. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart. 3 Now it came to pass when the kingdom was strengthened in his hand, he slew his servants who had killed the king his father. 4 But he did not slay the children of the murderers, because so it is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin. 5 Then Amaziah gathered Judah together and appointed over them commanders of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found that they were three hundred thousand young men, able to go forth to war, that could draw sword and handle shield. 6 He hired also a hundred thousand mighty men of valour from Israel for a hundred talents of silver. 7 But there came a prophet of the LORD to him, saying, O king, let not all the army of Israel go with you; for the LORD is not with all Israel, neither with all the house of Ephraim. 8 You are to engage in a great battle, and the LORD will cause you to fall before your enemies because you have not praised the LORD, for he is the helper and one who exalts. 9 And Amaziah said to the prophet of the LORD, What folly have I committed in giving the hundred talents to the men of Israel? And the prophet of God said to him, The LORD your God is able to give you much more than this, double what you have given. 10 Then Amaziah separated the men that had come to him from Ephraim, to go home again; wherefore his anger was greatly kindled against Israel. And he sent them back home in his great anger. 11 And Amaziah strengthened himself and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt and slew ten thousand of the men of mount Gebal. 12 And another ten thousand left alive, the children of Judah captured and brought to the top of the rocks, and all of them came bound in chains. 13 And the valiant men whom Amaziah had carried captive when he went to war, he set over the cities of Judah, and over Samaria, and over the towns of the Gentiles; and they smote three thousand men of the towns and took much spoil."

"14 ¶ Now it came to pass after Amaziah was come from slaughter of the Edomites, they brought to him the gods of the men of mount Gebal, and he set them up before him and worshipped before them and burned Incense to them. 15 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent to him a prophet, who said to him, Why have you prayed before the gods of the Gentiles, which could not deliver their own people out of your hands? 16 And it came to pass, as the prophet conversed with him, he said to him, The worship of wooden idols has been taken up by the kings. Then the prophet withdrew from him, and said to him, Woe to you! for, behold, the LORD has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel."

"17 ¶ Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us face each other in battle. 18 But Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that is in Lebanon sent to the cedar that is in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son to wife; and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trampled down the thistle. 19 Surely, because you have defeated the Edomites, your heart has lifted you up to boast; keep your dignity and stay at home; why should you stir up trouble, that you should fall, even you and all Judah with you? 20 But Amaziah would not listen; then Joash king of Israel and Amaziah king of Judah went up 21 And confronted each other in battle, at the town of Beth-shemesh, which is in the border of the land of Judah. 22 And Judah was defeated before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent. 23 And Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah in the town of Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. 24 And he took all the silver and the gold and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, together with the vessels that were kept by Ober-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house and the vessels of the king’s house and the vessels of gold, and returned to Samaria. 25 And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Now from the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, his servants made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish; but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there. 28 And his servants brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of David."

"26:1 ¶ THEN all the people of Judah took Uzziah his son, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 2 He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jeconiah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David did. 5 And he prayed before the LORD in the days of Zechariah, who taught him in the worship of the LORD, and the LORD prospered all his ways. 6 And he went forth and made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Gaza and the wall of Ashdod. 7 And God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal and the Mehunims. 8 And his fame spread as far as the land of Egypt; for he continued to fight. 9 Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate and at the western gate, and fortified them with iron bars. 10 He also built many towers in the cities which he had, and he built for himself many castles; for he had much wealth; and had farmers and workers both in the plains and on the mountains, because he had much cattle. 11 Moreover Uzziah had an army of mighty men that went out to war. Their number was thirty-two thousand and six hundred. 12 And the others who dwelt in the open country were three hundred thousand; and the men who were girded with sword were seven thousand and five hundred, 13 Who stood up every day guarding the king. 14 And Uzziah prepared for them, throughout all the host, shields and spears and helmets and breastplates and bows and slings to cast stones. 15 And his fame spread throughout all the lands, until he became very rich."

"16 ¶ But when he became very rich, his pride was lifted up exceedingly, so he transgressed against the LORD his God and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. 17 And Azariah the priest went in after him and said to him, 18 It is not your place, O king, nor have you the right to burn incense upon the altar. 19 Then immediately King Uzziah’s anger kindled against the priests, and he commanded to put them out of the sanctuary; and in that hour the leprosy went forth out of the sanctuary and fell on the forehead of King Uzziah as he entered to burn incense in the house of the LORD. 20 And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, turned toward him, and, behold, he hastened to go out because he knew that the LORD had smitten him. 21 And Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a house in solitude, being a leper; for he had blasphemed against the house of the LORD; and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. 22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, behold, they are written by Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 23 So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the cemetery, not in the burial place which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper; and Jotham his son reigned in his stead."

"27:1 ¶ JOTHAM was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; howbeit he neglected to enter into the temple of the LORD, and the people were still corrupt. 3 He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD, and completed the wall and improved it. 4 Moreover he built cities in the land of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers. 5 He fought also with the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year a hundred talents of silver and ten thousand measures of wheat and ten thousand measures of barley. The Ammonites gave to him the same amount in the second year and in the third year. 6 So Jotham became mighty because he established his ways before the LORD his God. 7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead."

"28:1 ¶ AHAZ was twenty-five 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, like David his father; 2 But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and also made altars for the idols. 3 Moreover he burned incense in great valleys, and passed his son through the fire, according to the custom of the nations whom the LORD had destroyed from before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed also and burned incense upon the altars and on high places and under every beautiful tree. 5 Therefore the LORD God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram; and he smote him with a great slaughter, and carried away a great multitude of people captive and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter."

"6 ¶ For Pekah the son of Romaliah slew from the army of the king of Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim slew Maasiah the king’s son and Azrikai the governor of the palace and Elkanah who was next to the king. 8 And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand and their sons and their daughters, and also took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. 9 But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Ado; and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, Behold, because the LORD God of our fathers was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your hands, and you have slain them and had no pity on them. 10 And now you purpose to make them menservants and maidservants to yourself, and even now you know that you have committed this sin in the presence of the LORD your God. 11 Now hear me, therefore, and send back those whom you have taken captive from your brethren, lest the fierce wrath of the LORD come upon you. 12 Then certain of the chiefs of the Ephraimites, Azariah the son of Johanan and Berechiah the son of Mekariah, stood up against them who came from the war, 13 And said to them, You shall not bring these captives here, that we may not sin again against the LORD our God; you intend to add more to our trespass and to our sins; for our sins are exceedingly great. 14 So they sent back all the captives to Jerusalem. But again they dealt deceitfully with the LORD. 15 And the men who were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren; then they returned to Samaria."

"16 ¶ At that time King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria to help him, 17 For until this time the Edomites came and smote Judah and carried away captives. 18 And the Philistines also had come and besieged the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had captured the town of Beth-shemesh and the town of Ajalon and the town of Azoroth and Shob with its villages and Timnah with its villages and Geram with its villages. 19 For the LORD brought Judah low because of the sins of Ahaz king of Judah; for he increased iniquity in Judah and transgressed grievously against the LORD. 20 And Tiglath-pilezer king of Assyria came against him, and encamped against him and distressed him greatly. 21 And King Ahaz took away the vessels that were in the house of the LORD and the vessels that were in the houses of former kings and in the houses of rich men, and gave them to the king of Assyria, that he might not harm him in the time of his distress. 22 But they transgressed still more against the LORD: this same King Ahaz. 23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, saying, You are my gods and my lords: to you will I offer worship and to you will I make sacrifice; thus he was a stumbling block to Judah, he sinned and caused all the people of Judah to sin. 24 And Ahaz gathered together all the vessels of the house of the LORD, and cut in pieces the vessels that were in the house of the LORD, and shut up the inner and the outer doors of the house of the LORD, and he made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 And in every village and hamlet of Judah he made an altar to serve other gods. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz and all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Jerusalem; for they did not bring him into the sepulchres of the kings of Judah; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead."

"29:1 ¶ HEZEKIAH began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Ani, the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, just as David his father had done. 3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. 4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the court of the sanctuary, 5 And said to them, Hear me, O Levites, sanctify now yourselves and sanctify the house of the LORD God of our fathers, and remove your evil works from your mind, 6 So that we may not do according to that which our fathers have done, for they did evil in the sight of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. 7 Also they have shut up the doors of the porches and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings upon the altar of the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the wrath of the LORD came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to curse, to desolation, and to sword, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 And even now, because we have gone astray from following the LORD our God and have forsaken the covenant which he gave to our fathers, therefore he also has forsaken us. 11 My sons, be not now negligent; for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him, to serve him and to minister unto him and burn incense."

"12 ¶ Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehalelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 13 And of the sons of Elzaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 And of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeruthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the LORD to cleanse the house of the LORD. 16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it to carry it out into the brook Kidron. 17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD; SO they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days, and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD and the altar of burnt offering with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table with all the vessels thereof. 19 Moreover all the vessels which King Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD."

"20 ¶ Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the elders of Jerusalem, and went up to the house of the LORD. 21 And they brought to him seven bullocks, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven he-goats for an atonement for the kingdom and for Judah and for the sanctuary. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD 22 And to kill the bullocks, and commanded the priests to receive the blood and sprinkle it on the horns of the altar; 23 And to bring forth the he-goats before the LORD and before the king and before the congregation of Israel, and to lay hands upon them; 24 And that the priests should kill them and sprinkle their blood upon the horns of the altar to make an atonement for all Israel; for the king had commanded that all Israel should bring burnt offerings and sacrifices. 25 And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with the songs of David, and with the songs of Gad the prophet of King David and of Nathan the prophet of King David; for David used to sing the songs of the LORD his God as they were sung by the mouth of the prophets. 26 And the Levites stood singing the songs of David, and the priests sounded with curved and straight trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offerings upon the altar. And when the burnt offerings began, Hezekiah also began to sing the songs of the LORD, according to the songs of David king of Israel. 28 And all the congregation of Israel worshipped and sang songs and sounded with the curved and straight trumpets until the burnt offerings were finished. 29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him knelt and worshipped. 30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the prophet. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshipped. 31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now you have consecrated yourselves to the way of the LORD; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the people brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; everything which their hearts desired, they brought in. 32 And the number of the burnt offerings which the people brought was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. 33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not slay all the burnt offerings; therefore their brethren, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished, and after this the priests sanctified themselves; for the Levites were meek in their hearts to sanctify themselves more than the priests. 35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings and of the lambs for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. 36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people of Israel, because the service of the temple was accomplished; for the thing was done promptly."

"30:1 ¶ AND Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the passover to the LORD God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the congregation of Israel who were in Jerusalem had taken counsel to celebrate the passover to the LORD God of Israel in the second month. 3 For they could not keep it at the appointed time because the priests had not sanctified themselves, neither had the instructors of the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. 4 And the thing pleased the king and all the people of Israel. 5 So they confirmed a decree to carry it out; and they made a proclamation throughout all Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan that they should come to celebrate the passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem; for they were exceedingly rich. 6 So the couriers went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and by the command of the king, saying, O you children of Israel, turn again to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hands of the king of Assyria. 7 And be not like your fathers and like your brethren who trespassed against the LORD God of our fathers so that he gave them up to desolation, as you see. 8 Now do not be stiffnecked as your fathers were, but enter into the sanctuary which he has sanctified for ever, and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. 9 Because he has revealed himself to you, your children, and your brethren; and he shall grant you compassion before those who carry you captive, and shall bring you back to this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you when you return to him. 10 So the couriers of King Hezekiah passed from village to village throughout the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as Zebulun; 11 But some of the wicked men, who were in the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Manasseh, and the tribe of Zebulun, laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 12 Nevertheless the rest of the men of these tribes humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem with the tribe of Judah. And the hand of God was upon them to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of his princes, according to the word of the LORD."

"13 ¶ And there assembled at Jerusalem many people to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. 14 And they arose and demolished the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they destroyed all the shrines of idols and cast them into the brook Kidron. 15 Then they celebrated the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month; and the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves and brought in burnt offerings to the house of the LORD. 16 And they stood in their places after their manner, as it is written in the law of Moses the prophet of the LORD; the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the congregation of Israel who had not sanctified themselves; therefore the Levites had charge of the killing of the passover lambs, and they saw that every one was clean, to sanctify him to the LORD; 18 For there were a great many people in the assembly of Israel, from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, the four tribes, who had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the passover unlawfully. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, May the good LORD pardon all the people of Israel, 19 For we have prepared our hearts to pray to the LORD God of our fathers, and sanctification would not purify us any more. 20 And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Hezekiah, and healed the people."

"21 ¶ And the children of Israel that were present in Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing songs of praise. 22 And Hezekiah spoke to all the Levites who were singing good songs before the LORD; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. 23 And the whole assembly stayed over to celebrate another seven days; and they kept the other seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the assembly seven thousand of the choicest oxen, large and small, and also gave to the assembly of Israel a thousand of the choicest bullocks, and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. 25 And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the proselytes who came out of the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people of Israel; and the LORD heard their voice, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even to heaven."

"31:1 ¶ NOW when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the images in pieces and cut down the leopard statues and demolished the shrines and the altars that were in Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then the Israelites returned, every man to his possession; and they entered in peace into their own cities. 2 And Hezekiah appointed the times of serving of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, every man according to his service, the priests and the Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the temple of the LORD. 3 And the king gave of his own substance oxen for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths and for the new moons and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. 4 Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. 5 And as soon as the commandment was published in Israel, they brought the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, and of their cattle, and of the produce of the field; and the tithe of all things they brought in abundantly. 6 And the children of Israel and Judah who dwelt in the cities of Judah also brought in gifts and offered them to the LORD their God. And they brought in tithes upon tithes of grain, of wine, and of their cattle, and of the produce of the field. They brought the tithes and consecrated them to the LORD their God. 7 In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the tithe supplies, and in the seventh month Hezekiah took it and distributed it among the priests and the Levites. 8 And when Hezekiah and the princes saw that the tithe of the priests was so abundant, they blessed the LORD and prayed for Israel. 9 Then Hezekiah prayed for the priests and for the Levites concerning the abundance of the tithe. 10 And he called for Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok and said to him, This tithe is ready for you, to be eaten, because it has been brought into the house of the LORD, now you can eat and be filled, and what is left of it, give it to the poor and to the fatherless, for the LORD has blessed his people and has given them this abundance. And what is left, give it to all the people of Israel."

"11 ¶ Then Hezekiah commanded that storehouses be prepared in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them, 12 And they brought in the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully; over them Cononiah the Levite was overseer and Shimei his brother was the next. 13 And Nehiel, Uzziah, Nahath, Ashail, Jerimoth, Jozabar, Eliel, Ismachiah, Matah, Benaiah, and Shemiah his brother were overseers under the hand of Cononiah, at the command of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of the LORD. 14 And Kariah the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter of the east gate, was over the freewill offerings of the LORD and over the most holy things. 15 And next to him were Eden, Benjamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to distribute portions to their brethren, to the great and small alike; 16 Besides that which is due to the males from three years old and upward, even to every one who entered into the house of the LORD, their daily portion for their service in their duties according to their divisions; 17 And oil and wine were given to the priests and the Levites according to the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their divisions; 18 And oil was given for their lanterns, to their wives, their sons, and their daughters, and to all the congregation of Israel, for in their set office they sanctified themselves faithfully. 19 For the sons of Aaron the priest were holy, their flesh was holy, and they never touched women; and they went about in every village and suburb, men whose names were well known, to give portions to all the males among the priests and to all that were reckoned by the genealogies among the Levites. 20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and he did that which was good and right, and walked in truth before the LORD. 21 And in every work that he began to do in the house of the LORD, and in the law and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart and prospered."

"32:1 ¶ AFTER these things and the faithful acts which Hezekiah did, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, and said to their inhabitants, Give me a pledge and come to me. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib king of Assyria and his armies had come to fight against Jerusalem, 3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to conceal the waters of the fountains which were outside the city; and they did help him. 4 So there was gathered a great multitude of the people of Israel together, who concealed all the fountains and the great brooks that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Lest the king of Assyria come and find much water. 5 They also strengthened themselves and built up one wall opposite the other and polluted the canal which David had constructed. And Hezekiah made weapons, shields, and spears in abundance. 6 And he set captains of war over the people, each one over ten, and gathered them together to him in the market place of the city, and spoke to all of them, saying. 7 Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed in the presence of the king of Assyria, nor in the presence of all the armies that have come with him; for there is more with us than with him: 8 With him is an arm of flesh; with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people were encouraged with the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."

"9 ¶ After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent Rab-shakey together with his servants, and they came to Jerusalem (but he himself was besieging Lachish, and all his commanders with him) to all the people of Judah that were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: On whom are you trusting, that you remain in Jerusalem during the siege? 11 Hezekiah is deceiving you that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, and moreover he is misleading you, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hands of the king of Assyria. 12 Has not the same Hezekiah removed his high places and altars, and commanded Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, You shall worship before one altar and burn incense upon it? 13 Perhaps you know what I and my fathers have done to all the people of other lands? And the gods of nations of those lands were not able to deliver their lands out of my hand. 14 Who is there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that was able to deliver his people out of my hand, that the LORD should be able to deliver you out of my hand? 15 Now therefore do not let Hezekiah deceive you nor make you to trust in this, and do not believe him; for your God will not be able to deliver you out of my hand; for all nations and kingdoms have not been able to deliver their cities out of my hand, and out of the hands of my fathers; your God also will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. 16 And his servants spoke these things before the LORD God of Israel and in the presence of his servant Hezekiah. 17 And he wrote letters to revile the LORD God of Israel, and to speak to the people of Israel, saying, As the gods of the nations of these lands were unable to deliver their cities out of my hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah be able to deliver his city out of my hand. 18 Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language to the people who were seated on the wall of Jerusalem, to frighten them and to trouble them, that they might capture the wall of the city. 19 And they spoke in the name of the gods of the people of the earth and also in the name of the God of Jerusalem, imploring him to reward them according to the work of their hands. 20 Then Hezekiah and Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet, prayed because of this, and the LORD heard the voice of their prayer. 21 And the LORD sent an angel from before him, who smote all the mighty men of valour and the kings and the princes who were in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his own land. And when he came into the house of his gods, his sons, who came forth of his own loins, slew him there with the sword. 22 Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hands of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all of those who invaded their borders. 23 And many of the children of Israel brought gifts to the LORD to Jerusalem, and gave presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted before all nations."

"24 ¶ In those days Hezekiah was sick to death, and he prayed before the LORD and said, Thou hast performed mighty miracles for me and thou hast rewarded me according to the works of my hands. 25 And the sickness of Hezekiah was due to the pride of his heart; therefore the wrath of the LORD came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 27 And Hezekiah had exceeding great wealth and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver and for gold and for precious stones and for spices and for shields and for all manner of pleasant vessels; 28 Storehouses also for the increase of grain and wine and oil; and stalls for all kinds of beasts; 29 And folds for herds and for flocks, and for oxen and other beasts; for the LORD had given him very much substance. 30 This same Hezekiah also buried the outlet for the waters of the upper spring and brought it straight down to the western cistern of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. 31 And he sought the law of the LORD, as it was given in the land, and the LORD knew all that was in his heart. 32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness and his excellent ways, behold, they are written in the prophecy of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death, and they returned to Jerusalem. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead."

"33:1 ¶ MANASSEH was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; 2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LOAD, according to the works of the nations which the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. 3 For he built again the altars which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he built shrines for the idols and made images of leopards, and worshipped them. 4 Moreover he worshipped all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 And he also caused his son to pass through the fire in the great valley; and he practiced augury and soothsaying and sorcery, and inquired of the Chaldeans and of familiar spirits; and he did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 7 And he set the image of the idol which had four faces, which he had made, in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen for myself out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever; 8 Neither will I any more remove the children of Israel from this land which I have given to their fathers; if only they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and my statutes and my ordinances which my servant Moses commanded them. 9 So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go astray and to do evil works like the nations which the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people; but they would not hearken."

"11 ¶ Therefore the LORD brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh alive and bound him with chains and carried him to Babylon. 12 But when he was in distress, he prayed before the LORD his God and reverenced greatly the LORD God of his fathers, 13 And he prayed before the LORD, and he heard his voice and heard his prayer, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God. 14 Now after this he built an outer wall to the city of David on the west side of the brook of Gihon to the entrance of the fish gate, and encircled the whole of Jerusalem with an outer wall and raised it up a very great height, and he appointed commanders of the army in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 And he took away the strange gods and the idols out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. 16 And he built an altar to the LORD, and sacrificed upon it burnt offerings and peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to keep the feast to the LORD God of Israel; 17 And not to sacrifice again to strange gods, nor to offer burnt offerings to them, but before the LORD their God only. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and his prayer to his God and the words of the prophets who prophesied concerning him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 19 His prayer, also, and how the LORD heard his voice, and all his sins and his iniquity, and the places on which he built altars and appointed priests, and the shrines he built for the idols, behold, they are written among the sayings of Hanan the prophet. 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house, in the garden of the treasury; and Arnon his son reigned in his stead."

"21 ¶ And Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done; for Arnon sacrificed to all the images and idols which Manasseh his father had made and worshipped them; 23 And he did not humble himself before the LORD his God, as Manasseh humbled himself before the LORD his God; but Amon committed sins more and more. 24 And his servants conspired against him and slew him in his own house. 25 But the people of the land slew all those who had conspired against King Arnon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead."

"34:1 ¶ JOSIAH was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a little boy, he began to pray to the LORD the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Moreover he began to demolish altars, idols, carved images, and idol temples, 4 And the decorations, necklaces, bells, and all the trees that were made for idols, he broke in pieces and ground them to dust and scattered their ashes upon the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 And the bones of the priests who served them, he dug out of their graves and brought them and burned them, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon and Naphtali, in their streets round about. 7 And when he had broken down the altars and smashed in pieces the images, and ground them into dust and scattered it throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem."

"8 ¶ Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land of Israel and his own house, he sent for Shaphan the son of Azaliah and Maasiah the scribe of the city, and said to them, Go, repair the house of the LORD your God. 9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, which the Levites the keepers of the doors had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they delivered it into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen who did the work in the house of the LORD, to repair and to plaster the house; 11 And they gave it also to the carpenters and to the masons and to those who bought precious stones and timber for the repairing and for the plastering of the house which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12 And the men did the work of the sanctuary faithfully; and the overseers over them were Nahat and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Shallum, of the sons of the Kohathites, and the singers and the Levites who played with the instruments of music, 13 And all those who did the work in any manner of service; and of the Levites there were scribes and officers and porters who acted as overseers."

"14 ¶ And when they carried out the money that had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses. 15 And Hilkiah the priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah the priest gave the book to Shaphan. 16 And Shaphan the scribe told the king what Hilkiah had told him, and brought him word, saying, All that you have committed to your servants, they do. 17 And they have spent the money for the repair of the house of the LORD, and have given account to the overseers and to the workmen. 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. 19 And it came to pass when the king had heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah and Ahikam the son of Shaphan and Abchor the son of Micah and Shaphan the scribe and Asaiah the steward of the king’s household, saying, 21 Go, pray before the LORD for me and for the people of Israel and Judah concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of the LORD to do after all that is written concerning us in this book. 22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had appointed, went to Huldi the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Hisdah the keeper of the vessels (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in meditation) and they spoke to her according to the king’s command. 23 And she said to them. Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will bring evil upon this place and upon its inhabitants, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, 25 Because they have forsaken me and have worshipped other gods and have provoked me to anger with the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched. 26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, SO shall you say to him: Thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which you have heard: 27 Because your heart was humbled, and you did tremble before the LORD when you heard these things which I will bring against this place and against its inhabitants, and have humbled yourself before me and have rent your clothes and wept before me; I have heard you also, says the LORD. 28 Therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place and upon its inhabitants. So they brought back the word to the king."

"29 ¶ Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites and all the people, great and small; and he read before them all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. 31 And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his testimonies, with all his heart and with his whole soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. 32 And he caused all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah took away all the abominations which the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel, and he made all the people who were found in Israel to serve the LORD their God. And they did not go astray from following the LORD God of their fathers."

"35:1 ¶ MOREOVER Josiah kept a passover to the LORD in Jerusalem; and he celebrated the feast on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the priests in their charges, and appointed them over the service of the house of the LORD, 3 And he said to the Levites who dwelt in all Israel. Sanctify yourselves to the LORD, and put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; for you have no longer to carry it upon your shoulders; serve now the LORD your God and his people Israel, 4 And prepare your hearts and the heart of your fathers, according to the writing of David, king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son, 5 And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of your fathers and of your brethren the people, and after the divisions of the families of the Levites, 6 And kill the passover and sanctify yourselves and prepare the hearts of your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 7 Then Josiah gave to the people sheep, lambs, and kids of the goats, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks; these were of the king’s substance. 8 And his princes gave willingly to the people and to the priests and to the Levites; Hilkiah and Zechariah and Nehiel, rulers of the house of the LORD, gave to the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred sheep and three hundred oxen. 9 Conaniah, also, and Shemaiah his nephew and Hashabiah and Jadiel gave to the Levites for passover offerings five thousand sheep and five hundred oxen. 10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places and the Levites in their courses, 11 And they killed the passover according to the king’s command, and the priests sprinkled some of the blood. 12 And the Levites flayed the victims and gave the burnt offerings to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses. And so they did every morning. 13 And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they cooked in pots and in caldrons and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people. 14 And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering the burnt offerings and the fat until the Levites were through; then the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests the sons of Aaron, who ministered. 15 And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Haman and Jerithon, the king’s seers; and the porters remained at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites served them. 16 So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of King Josiah. 17 And the children of Israel who were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of the unleavened bread seven days. 18 And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests and the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were present in Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept."

"20 ¶ After all this, when Josiah had prepared the affairs of the temple, Pharaoh the lame king of Egypt came up to fight against Mabog by Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 21 But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with you, O king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, O king of Judah; for indeed I have not come to fight against you. The LORD has told you to frighten me; cease from meddling with God, who is with me, that he may not destroy you. 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him; for he had gone to fight with him. And he did not listen to the words of Pharaoh the lame; for Josiah did not know that it was from the LORD, so he went forth to fight against him in the plain of Megiddo. 23 Then Pharaoh the lame shot two arrows at Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Take me away; for I am severely wounded. 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him into his own royal chariot; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died and was buried in the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, saying, All righteous men and righteous women, weep in your lamentations for Josiah. And he made them an ordinance in Israel, to this day; and, behold, these lamentations are written in the Book of Lamentations. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to that which is written in the law of the LORD, 27 And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah."

"36:1 ¶ THEN the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem. 2 And Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 And the king of Egypt deposed him, 4 And he made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh the lame took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt, and he died there. 5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in chains to carry him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried away some of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his temple in Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and the abominations which he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. 10 And when the year was expired, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon sent a force against him and brought him to Babylon, both him and the precious vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem."

"11 ¶ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who prophesied from the mouth of the LORD. 13 And he also rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by the name of the LORD; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart and would not pray before the LORD God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the chiefs of the priests and of the Levites and of the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the nations, and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. 15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, giving useful advice in advance; because he had compassion on his people and on the flock that he had chosen; 16 But they laughed at the messengers of the LORD and despised their words and mocked his prophets until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. 17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and who had no compassion upon young men or virgins, nor upon the old men, nor upon babies; he delivered them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of the LORD, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of the LORD and broke down the walls of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all the costly vessels thereof. 20 And those who had escaped from the sword he carried away captive to Babylon, where they became servants to him and to his sons until the LORD delivered the kingdom to the Persians; 21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths, all the days that it lay desolate until the seventy years were completed."

"22 ¶ Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing, saying, 23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has the LORD God of heaven given me; and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people with whom the LORD his God is pleased? Let him go up, and let him come to me."