Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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2Chronicles
2Chronicles 1
¶1. And Solomon ben-David strengthened himself over his kingdom, and Jehovah his God was with him, and he was made exceedingly great.
2. And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to captains of thousands, and of hundreds, and to governors, and to every chief of all Israel, the heads of the fathers.
3. So, Solomon and all the assembly went with him to the high place that was at Gibeon, for the tent of meeting of God was there which Moses, the servant of Jehovah, made in the wilderness.
4. But, the ark of God David had brought forth from Kirjath-Jearim where David prepared a place for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.
5. Also, the bronze altar that Bezaleel ben-Uri, ben-Hur had made, he placed before the tabernacle of Jehovah, and Solomon and the assembly sought Jehovah before it.
6. And there, Solomon went up to the bronze altar before Jehovah that was at the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.
7. During that night, God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.”
8. Then Solomon said to God, “You have shown great loving kindness to David my father, and you have made me king in his stead.
9. Now, O Jehovah God, let your word with David my father be established for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.
10. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I might go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this nation of yours, which is so great?”
11. And God said to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for riches, possessions, or glory, nor for the life of your enemies, nor yet did you ask for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you might judge my people over whom I have made you king,
12.that wisdom and that knowledge are granted to you, and I will give you riches, and possessions, and glory such as none of the kings had who were before you, and after you, there shall not be the like.”
13. Then Solomon came from the high place that was at Gibeon from before the tent of meeting to Jerusalem, and he reigned over Israel.
14. And Solomon gathered a chariotry, and horsemen and he had fourteen hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
15. And the king made silver and gold likened to stones in Jerusalem, and he made the cedar trees likened to sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.
16. Moreover, Solomon’s source for horses that he had, came from Egypt and from Kue, and the king’s merchants took them from Kue at market a price.
17. And they came up and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty shekels, and thus by their hand they brought them out to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
2Chronicles 2
¶1. And Solomon was intent to build a house for the name of Jehovah and a house for his kingdom.
2. And Solomon numbered seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men to hew in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.
¶3. And Solomon sent to Huram, King of Tyre, saying, “Deal with me as you dealt with my father David when you sent him cedars to build a house for him to dwell in.
4.Behold, I am building a house for the name of Jehovah my God, to consecrate it to Him, to offer before Him pungent incense, and continual showbread, and burnt offerings morning and evening, for sabbaths, and for new moons, and for appointed feasts of Jehovah our God. Forever shall this be an ordinance for Israel.
5.Moreover, the house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all the gods.
6.But who is able to build Him a house? Indeed, the heavens, even the heavens of heavens, cannot contain Him! And who am I that I should build Him a house, except to offer incense before Him?
7.So, send me now a man skilled to work in gold, and silver, and bronze, and iron, and purple, and crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem whom David my father has provided.
8.Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum trees from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon, and behold, my servants will be with your servants.
9.And provide for me timber in abundance because the house that I am building is great and will cause wonder.
10.And behold, I will give to your servants, the hewers who cut timber, twenty thousand cors of beaten wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”
¶11. And Huram, King of Tyre, answered in writing that he sent to Solomon, “Because Jehovah loves His people, He has made you king over them.”
12. Huram also said, “Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, who has given to David the King a wise son endowed with discretion and understanding, who will build a house for Jehovah and a house for his kingdom.
13.So, I have now sent a wise man endowed with understanding, Huram-Abi,
14.the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilled to work with gold, and with silver, with bronze, with iron, with stone, and with wood, with purple, with blue, and with fine linen, and with crimson, and to engrave any engraving, and to execute any plan that is given to him, with your wise men and the wise men of my lord David, your father.
15.And the wheat and barley, the oil and the wine that my lord has spoken of, let him now send them to his servants.
16.And we will cut trees from Lebanon as much as you need, and we will bring them to you by sea on rafts to Joppa. Then you will take them up to Jerusalem.”
¶17. Then Solomon numbered all the men who were sojourners in the land of Israel, after the numbering by which his father David had numbered them, and one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred were found.
18. Of them, he made seventy thousand burden bearers, and eighty thousand hewers in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.
2Chronicles 3
¶1. And Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where He appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2. And he began to build in the second month, on the second day, in the fourth year of his reign.
3. Now these are the measurements of the foundation laid by Solomon for building the house of God: the length in cubits (by the former measure) was sixty cubits, and the width was twenty cubits.
4. And the porch that was in front was twenty cubits long, corresponding to the width of the house, and the height was one hundred and twenty, and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5. And the greater house, he overlaid with cypress boards, and he overlaid them with pure gold and wrought on them palms and chains.
6. And he adorned the house with costly stone for beauty, and the gold was gold of Parvaim,
7.and he overlaid the house—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls, and its doors—with gold, and he engraved cherubim on the walls.
8. And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length was according to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits, and he overlaid it with six hundred talents of pure gold.
9. And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold, and he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10. And he made within the Most Holy Place two cherubim of carved work, and he overlaid them with gold.
11. As for the wings of the cherubim, their length was twenty cubits. The one wing was five cubits, touching a wall of the house, and the other wing was five cubits touching the wing of the other cherub.
12. And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching a wall of the house, and the other wing was five cubits, joined to the wing of the other cherub.
13. The wings of these cherubim spread out twenty cubits, and they stood upon their feet, and their faces were toward the house.[1]
¶14. And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and he wrought cherubim upon it.
¶15. He also made in front of the house two pillars thirty-five cubits in length, with an overlaid chapiter of five cubits on top of each.
¶16. He also made chains before the oracle and put them on top of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains.
¶17. And he raised the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and one on the left, and he called the name of the one on the right, Jachin, and the name of the one on the left, Boaz.
2Chronicles 4
¶1. And he made a bronze altar. Its length was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits, and its height was ten cubits.
2. And he made the molten sea, circular, ten cubits from its brim to its brim all around. And its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it about.
3. And under it was the likeness of oxen surrounding it round about, ten cubits encompassing the sea all around. Two rows of oxen were cast when it was cast.
4. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, and three facing west, and three facing south, and three facing east. And the sea was above them, and all their back parts were inward.
5. And its thickness was a handbreadth, and its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like a lily flower. It was able to contain three-thousand baths.
6. He also made ten lavers, and he put five on the right and five on the left to wash in them: they rinsed the work of the burnt offering in them. And the sea was for the priests to wash in.
¶7. And he made ten menorahs of gold according to their specification, and he put them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left.
8. And he made ten tables, and he placed them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of gold.
¶9. He also made the court of the priests, and the great court, and gates for the court, and he overlaid their gates with bronze.
10. And he placed the sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.
¶11. And Huram made the pans, and the shovels, and the basins. And Huram finished doing all the work that he made for King Solomon for the house of God:
12.two pillars, and two bowls of the chapiters were on the top of the two pillars, and the two lattice-works for covering the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars;
13.and four hundred pomegranates for the two lattice-works, two rows of pomegranates for one lattice-work for covering the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the faces of the pillars;
14.and he made bases, and he made lavers on the bases;
15.the one sea and the twelve oxen underneath it;
16.and the pans, and the shovels, and the meathooks. And all the vessels Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the house of Jehovah were polished bronze.
17. The King cast them in the area of the Jordan, in the clayey ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.
18. And Solomon made all these vessels, so very many that the weight of the bronze could not be ascertained.
¶19. And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: even the altar of gold; and the tables; and the Bread of the Presence on them;
20.and the menorahs; and their lamps of pure gold, to burn according to the ordinance before the oracle;
21.and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold (it was purest gold);
22.and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the fire-pans, of pure gold; the entrance of the house, its innermost doors to the Most Holy Place; and doors of the house for the temple, of gold.
2Chronicles 5
¶1. So, all the work that Solomon did for the house of Jehovah was completed. And Solomon brought in the things his father David had consecrated. And the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, he put into the treasuries of the house of God.
¶2. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from the city of David, that is, Zion.
3. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the King for the feast, which is in the seventh month.
4. And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.
5. And they brought up the ark, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up.
6. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were gathered to him before the ark began sacrificing sheep and oxen which could not be counted or numbered for multitude.
7. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah to its place, the oracle of the house, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim,
8.and the cherubim spread two wings over the place of the ark, and from above, the cherubim covered over the ark and its poles.
9. And the poles were extended so that the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen before the oracle, but they could not be seen outside. And it is there to this day.
10. Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb when Jehovah made a covenant with the sons of Israel when they came out from Egypt.
11. And it came to pass when the priests came out from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves—no one was keeping the courses—
12.and the Levites who were singers—all of them, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons, and their brothers—were clothed in fine linen, with cymbals and with harps and lyres, were standing east of the altar, and with them, one hundred and twenty priests sounding on the clarions,
13.and those sounding the clarions and the singers were as one, making one sound to praise and give thanks to Jehovah when they lifted their voice with the clarions, and cymbals, and instruments of song,) that they gave praise to Jehovah because He is good and His mercy endures forever, that then a cloud filled the house, the house of Jehovah.
14. And the priests were not able to stand to minister before the cloud because Jehovah’s glory filled the house of God.
2Chronicles 6
¶1. Then Solomon said, “Jehovah said that He would dwell in thick darkness.
2. But I have indeed built you a majestic house, and a fixed place for you to dwell in forever.”
3. And the king turned his face and blessed all the congregation of Israel, and all the congregation of Israel was standing.
4. And he said, “Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel, who with His hands has fulfilled that which He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying,
5.‘From the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name may be there, and I chose no man to be leader over my people Israel.
6.Yet, I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’
7.And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.
8.And Jehovah said to David my father, ‘Forasmuch as it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you have done well, in that it was in your heart.
9.Yet, you will not build the house, but your son, who will come forth from your loins; he will build the house for my name.’
10.And Jehovah caused His word to stand which He spoke, for I have risen up in the place of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah said, and I have built the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.
11.And there, I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of Jehovah that He made with the sons of Israel.”
12. And he stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of all the Assembly of Israel, and he spread his hands.
13. For Solomon had made a bronze platform and he placed it in the midst of the court. Its length was five cubits, and its width was five cubits, and its height was three cubits, and he stood on it. Then he knelt down upon his knees before all the assembly, and spread out his hands to heaven,
14. And he said, “O Jehovah, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens or on the earth, preserving the covenant and loving kindness for your servants who walk before you with all their heart,
15.you who have kept for your servant David my father what you spoke to him. Yea, you spoke with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled it, as at this day.
16.And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for your servant David, my father, that which you spoke to him, saying, “You will not lack a man before me to sit upon the throne of Israel—if only your sons take heed to their way, to walk according to my law as you have walked before me.”
17. And now, O God of Israel, let your word be established which you spoke to your servant David.
18. But will God indeed dwell with man upon the earth? Behold, heaven—even the heaven of heavens—cannot contain you! How much less this house that I have built?
19. Yet, you have regarded the prayer of your servant and his supplication, O Jehovah, my God, that you would hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying before you,
20.that your eyes be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which you said, ‘You would put your name there,’ that you hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place,
21.and hear the supplications of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place, and hear from your dwelling-place, even from heaven; yea, hear and forgive.
22. If a man sins against his fellow, and an oath be laid upon him that he is made to swear, and the oath comes before your altar in this house,
23.may you hear from heaven, and act, and judge your servants, to recompense the wicked, setting his wicked way upon his head, and justifying the righteous, to give to him according to his righteousness.
24. And if your people Israel are smitten before an enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn back to you and confess your name, and they pray and plead for mercy before you in this house,
25.then you hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land that you gave to them and to their fathers.
26. When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and they pray toward this place, and they confess your name, and turn from their sin when you afflict them,
27.then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, even your people Israel, that you may teach them the good way in which they should walk and give rain to your land that you gave to your people for an inheritance.
28. If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, blight, and mildew, swarming locust, and destroying locust, if it come to pass that their enemy presses hard on them in the land at their gates—whatever affliction, and whatever illness—
29.any prayer, any supplication by any man or by all your people Israel if (? ashare) they confess, each man his affliction, and his grief, and he spreads out his hands toward this house,
30.then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to every man according to all his ways, for you will know his heart (for you, you alone, know the heart of the sons of man),
31.that they may fear you, to walk in your ways, all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our fathers.
32. And hear also the foreigner who is not of your people Israel when he comes from a distant land because of your great renown, and of your mighty hand, and of your out-stretched arm. When they come and pray toward this house,
33.and hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner cries out to you, so that all peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as do your people Israel, and to know that this house which I have built is called by your name.
34. When your people go out to battle against their enemies in the way that you send them, and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,
35.then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and uphold their cause.
36. When they sin against you (for there is no man who does not sin), and you become angry with them and deliver them before an enemy, and they take them away as their captives to a land, far or near,
37.but they turn back their heart in the land in which they were taken captive, and they repent and make supplication in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and committed iniquity! We have done wickedness!’,
38.and they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity which they were carried captive, and they pray to you toward their land that you gave to their fathers, and the city which you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name,
39.then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their supplications, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people who have sinned against you.
40. Now, O my God, I pray, let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to the prayer of this place.
41. And now, O Lord God, arise to your place of rest, you, and the ark of your strength, let your priests be clothed with salvation, O Lord God, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness.
42. O Lord God! Do not turn away the face of your anointed one! Remember the mercies of David your servant!
2Chronicles 7
¶1. And then Solomon finished praying, and the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of Jehovah filled the house.
2. And the priests were not able to enter into the house of Jehovah because the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah.
3. When all the children of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of Jehovah upon the house, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement, and prostrated themselves, and gave praise to Jehovah saying, “Because He is good; for His loving kindness endures forever!”
4. And the king and all the people offered sacrifices before Jehovah.
5. And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty two thousand oxen, and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. And the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.
6. And the priests stood over their charges, also the Levites with instruments of song before Jehovah, that King David had made to give thanks to Jehovah, for His loving kindness endures forever. When David praised by their hands, and the priests sounded clarions before them, then all Israel stood.
7. And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah, for there he made burnt offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings because the bronze altar that Solomon made could not contain the burnt offering and the grain offering, and the fat.
8. During that time, Solomon made the feast last seven days and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entering in of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt.
9. And on the eighth day they made a solemn assembly because they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
10. And on the twenty third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that Jehovah had done unto David and to Solomon, and to Israel His people.
11. So, Solomon completed the house of Jehovah and the house of the king. And all that came unto the heart of Solomon to do in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house he made to prosper.
12. And Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for myself for a house of sacrifice.
13.If I shut up the heavens so there is no rain, and if I command the locust to consume the land, or if I send forth a plague among my people,
14.then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sins, and heal their land.
15.Now my eyes are open and my ears attentive to the payer of this place.
16.And now, I have chosen and sanctified this house for my name will be there forever, also my eyes and my heart will be there forever.
17.And you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I command you, and keep my statutes and judgments,
18.then will I establish the throne of your kingdom, according to the covenant I made with David your father, saying, “You will not fail to have a man ruling in Israel.”
19.But, if you turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I placed before you, and depart, and serve other gods, and bow down to them,
20.then I will pluck them (you ?) up from my land that I gave to them, and this house which I sanctified for my name I will cast from before my face, and I will make it a byword and a mockery among all nations.
21.And this house that was exalted to everyone who passed by will be appalled, and say, ‘Wherein has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house?’
22.Then they will say, ‘Because they forsook Jehovah, God of their fathers, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and they took hold on other gods, and bowed down to them and served them. Therefore, He brought all this evil upon them.’”
2Chronicles 8
1. And it came to pass, at the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of Jehovah, and his own house,
2.and the cities which Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon rebuilt them, and caused the children of Israel to live there.
3. And Solomon went to Hamath-Zobah and prevailed against it.
4. He also built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath.
5. He also built Upper Beth-horon, and Lower Beth-horon, (see map book, pg. 61, x5) cities enclosed with walls, two gates and bars,
6.and Baalath, and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and the chariot cities and the cities of the horsemen, and of all Solomon’s desire that he longed to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
7. And all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the sons of Israel,
8.from their sons that were left behind in the land whom the sons of Israel were not able to completely destroy, Solomon raised them a levy forced laborers (or bond-service? Compare 1K9:21) unto this day.
9. But of the sons of Israel that (?) Solomon did not put in place bondservants for his work because they were men of war, even his officials, and his officers, and his captains of the chariotry, and his horsemen.
10. And these were the chief officers that King Solomon had, two hundred fifty that had charge over the people.
11. And Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house that he built for her because he said, “My wife will not dwell in the house of David, king of Israel for they are (it is?) holy to which the ark of Jehovah has come.”
12. Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Jehovah upon the altar of Jehovah that he built before the porch,
13.even by a day’s portion every day, offering according to the command of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the appointed seasons three times a in the year—Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Booths.
14. And he appointed, according to the ordinance of David, his father the courses of the priests over their labors, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and serve before the priests according to the matter as each day required, and gatekeepers by their courses at each gate. For so was the command of David, a man of God.
15. And they did not turn from the commandment of the king unto the priests, and the Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasuries.
16. And all the work of Solomon was prepared until the day of the foundation of the house of Jehovah, and until it was completed, and the house of Jehovah was perfect.
17. Then Solomon went to Ezion-Geber and to Elath, unto the seashore in the land of Edom.
18. And Hiram sent to him, by the hands of his servants, ships, and servants who had knowledge of the sea, and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and brought it to King Solomon.
2Chronicles 9
¶1. When the Queen of Sheba upon hearing of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions along with a great display of wealth, and camels bearing spices and an abundance of gold and precious stones, and she came unto Solomon and spoke to him with all that was on her heart.
2. And Solomon made known to her all her matters and there was not a thing hidden from Solomon that he could not reveal to her.
3. When the Queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon and the house that he had built,
4.and the food of his table, and the assembly of his servants, and the standing of his attendants and their raiment, and his cup-bearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered up in the house of Jehovah, there was no more breath in her.
5. Then she said to the king, “The report that I heard in my land of your words and wisdom was true.
6.And I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes, and behold the half of your greatness and wisdom was not told to me, for you exceed the report that I heard.
7.Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants who stand continually before you, and who hear your wisdom.
8.Blessed be Jehovah your God who delighted in you, to set you upon his throne to be king for Jehovah your God in the love of your God to Israel, to establish them forever. He made you king and set you over them, to execute judgment and righteousness.”
9. And she gave to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold and a great abundance of spices and precious stones. Never was there any such spice as the Queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
10. Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon that brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones.
11. And the king made of algum trees (stairways?) for the house of Jehovah and for the house of the king, also lyres, and harps for the singers, and never was seen the like of them before in all the land of Judah.
12. And King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked for, apart from what she had brought to the king. So, she turned, and departed to her own land, she and her servants.
13. And it came to pass, the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty six talents of gold,
14.apart from what the explorers and the traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15. And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of beaten gold went into one shield,
16.and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold. Three hundred shekels of gold went into one buckler. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
17. The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold.
18. And six steps lead up to the throne, and a golden footstool was fastened to the throne. And there were supports on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions which stood beside the supports.
19. And there stood twelve lions upon the six steps, one on each side. Thus, the like of it has not been made for any other kingdom.
20. Moreover, all of king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were made of silver, for silver was not accounted for anything in the days of Solomon.
21. For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram, once every three years. The ships came from Tarshish carrying gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
22. So, King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
23. Moreover, all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom that God had put in his heart.
24. And each of them brought his tribute, year after year by this matter: they brought vessels silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, weapons, and spices, horses, and mules.
25. And so it was, that Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, an twelve thousand horsemen which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.
26. And it came to pass, that he reigned over all the kings from the River, even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
27. And the king made silver likened to stones in Jerusalem, and he made the cedar trees likened to sycamore trees that were in the lowland for abundance.
28. And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt, and from all the lands.
29. Furthermore, the rest of the acts of Solomon from the beginning even unto the end, are they not written according to the writings of Nathan the prophet, and according to the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam ben-Nebat?
30. And Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31. So, Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, his father, Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
2Chronicles 10
¶1. And Rehoboam went to Shechem for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.
2. It came to pass, that Jeroboam ben-Nebat who was in Egypt heard this for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon. And Jeroboam dwelled in Egypt).
3. And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all Israel came in, and they spoke to Rehoboam saying,
4. “Your father made our yoke burdensome, and now lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke that he place upon us, and we will serve you.”
5. The he said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” And the people left.
6. And Rehoboam the king consulted with the old men that stood in the presence of Solomon his father when he was yet alive saying, “How do you advise me to return an answer to this people”.
7. And they spoke to him saying, “If today you will be good to this people and please them, and speaking good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”
8. But, he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had advised him, and he consulted with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
9. And he said to them, “What counsel do you give that we might return an answer to this people, who have spoken to me saying, ‘Make the yoke that your father put on us lighter.’”
10. And the young men that brought up him spoke to him saying, “Thus you speak to this people that spoke to you saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but now you make it lighter on us’. Thus you say to them, ‘my little finger will be thicker than my father’s loins’.
11. ‘And now, whereas my father laid a heavy yoke on you, even I will add to your yoke; my father chastened you with whips, but I will chasten you with scorpions.’
12. Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day just as the king had spoken saying, “Return to me on the third day.”
13. And the king answered them severely, and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men.
14. And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men saying, “My father made the yoke upon you heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastened you with whips, but I will chasten you with scorpions.”
15. Therefore, the king would not listen to the people for it was a turn of affairs by God in order that Jehovah may establish His word that He spoke by the hand off Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam ben-Nebat.
16. And all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them. Therefore, the people sent back word to the king saying, “What portion do we have in David? and neither do we have an inheritance in the son of Jesse.” “Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, O David!” And Israel went to their tents.
17. However, Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel that dwelled in the cities of Judah.
18. And king Rehoboam sent Hadoram who was over the forced labor, but the children Israel stoned him with stones and he died. Then king Rehoboam strengthened himself to get up to his chariot in order to escape to Jerusalem.
19. Therefore, Israel rebelled against the house of David even to this day.
2Chronicles 11
¶1. And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem and assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred eighty thousand chosen men, to wage war against Israel in order to bring back the kingdom to Rehoboam.
2. But it came to pass, that the word of Jehovah came to Shemiah, a man of God saying,
3. “Speak to Rehoboam ben-Solomon the king of Judah and to all the house of Judah, and Benjamin, saying,
4. Thus says Jehovah, ‘Do not go up, nor wage war against your brothers. Each man return to his house, for this thing is of me!’” So they obeyed the word of Jehovah and turned back from going against Jeroboam.
5. And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and he built fortress cities in Judah.
6. And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7.Beth-Zur, Socho, Adullam,
8.Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
9.Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10.Zorah, Ajalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, fortress cities.
11. And he strengthened the fortifications, and appointed commanders in them, and stores of food, and oil, and wine.
12. And he put in each city shields, and spears, and made them very strong, and Judah and Benjamin were with him.
13. And the priests and Levites who were throughout Israel came to him from all their districts.
14. For the Levites had left their fields and their possession, and come to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to Jehovah.
15. And he appointed his own priests for the high places, and for the demons, and for the calves that he made.
16. And after them, some from all the tribes of Israel, the ones who set their hearts to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
17. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam ben-Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the ways of David and Solomon for three years.
18. And Rehoboam took a wife for himself, Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth ben-David, and Abihail, the daughter of Eliab ben-Jesse.
19. And she bore him sons: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham.
20. And after her he took Maachah, the daughter of Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21. And Rehoboam loved Maachah, the daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and his concubines, for he took eighteen wives, and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22. So, Rehoboam appointed Abijah, the son of Maachah, as the chief prince among his brothers, that he might be made king.
23. And acted with wisdom, and he distributed some of his sons throughout all the regions of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities, and he gave them food in abundance. And he sought many wives for them.
2Chronicles 12
¶1. But it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of Jehovah, and all Israel with him.
2. And it came to pass, in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, (because they had transgressed against Jehovah)
3.with twelve hundred chariots, and sixty thousand horsemen, and the people who came with from Egypt were without number, Libyans ), Sukkiim, and Ethiopians.
4. And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem.
5. And Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “Thus says Jehovah: You have forsaken me, so I have also abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.”
6. Then the princes of Israel, and the king humbled themselves, and said, “Jehovah is righteous.”
7. And when Jehvoah saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but will grant them some deliverance, and my fury will not be poured out in Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8.Yet, they shall be his servants that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”
9. So Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and he took away the treasures of the church of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. And he took away the gold shields that Solomon had made.
10. And Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them into the hand of the officers of the guard who guarded the door of the king’s house.
11. And whenever the king needed to go to the church of Jehovah, the guard came and carried them, and returned them to the guards’ chamber.
12. And when he had humbled himself, the anger of Jehovah turned from him, and He would not destroy him completely. And then things were well in Judah.
13. And King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem, and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to set His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah, the Ammonitess.
14. And he did evil, for he did not prepare his heart to seek Jehovah.
15. Now the acts of Rehoboam, the first and the last, are they not written in the chronicles of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies. And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
16. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David, and Abijah, his son, reigned in his place.
2Chronicles 13
¶1. And in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, Abijah began to rule over Judah.
2. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Michaiah, the daughter of Urial of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3. And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of mighty men of war, four hundred thousand chosen men. And Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, might men of valor.
4. And Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and he said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam, and all Israel!
5.Is it not known to you that Jehovah, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons by a covenant of salt?
6.But Jeroboam ben-Nebat, the servant of Solomon-ben David rose up and rebelled against his lord.
7.And worthless men have gathered to him, sons of Belial, and they strengthened themselves against Rehoboam ben-Solomon, and when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not strengthen himself before them.
8.And now you are thinking to prevail against the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David, and you are a great multitude, and with you are the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.
9.Have you not cast out Jehovah’s priests, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves in the manner of the peoples of the lands? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a bullock from the herd and seven rams becomes a priest of what is no god.
10.But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken him, and the priests who minister to Jehovah are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites with their work,
11.as they offer burnt offerings to Jehovah every morning and evening, with pungent incense, set the rows of bread on the table of pure gold, and the gold menorah, and its burning lamps every evening because we keep the charge of Jehovah our God. But you have forsaken Him.
12.And behold, God is with us as captain, with his priests, and the trumpets to sound an alarm against you, O children of Israel. Do not fight against Jehovah, the God of your fathers, for you will not prosper.”
13. Now Jeroboam had set the ambush to come from behind them, so that they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.
14. And when Judah turned, then behold, the battle was in front of them and behind. Then they cried to Jehovah, and the priests blew with the trumpets.
15. And the men of Judah shouted, and it came to pass when the men of Judah shouted that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16. And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand.
17. And Abijah and his people struck them down in a great slaughter, and there fell slain five hundred thousand choice men of Israel.
18. And the children of Israel were subdued at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed because they depended on Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
19. And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and he took cities from him, Bethel and its towns, and Jeshanah and its towns, and Ephron and its towns.
20. And Jeroboam never again recovered his strength in the days of Abijah, and Jehovah struck him, and he died.
21. But Abijah grew stronger, and took fourteen wives for himself, and he fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22. And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings are written in the midrash[2] of the prophet Iddo.
2Chronicles 14
¶1. And Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. Then Asa, his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.
2. And Asa did what was good and upright in the eyes of Jehovah his God.
3. And he removed the altars of foreign gods, and the high places, and he destroyed the pillars, and cut down the sacred groves.
4. And he told Judah to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment.
5. And he removed from all the cities of Judah the high places, and the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him.
6. And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land was quiet, and there was no war in those years because Jehovah gave him rest,
7.and he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities, and surround them with a wall, with towers, gates, and bars while the land is still ours, for we have sought Jehovah our God, we have sought Him, and He has given us rest round about.” So, they built and prospered.
8. And Asa had an army three hundred thousand from Judah who bore shield and spear, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand shield bearers and archers, all of them mighty men of valor.
9. And Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of one million, and three hundred chariots. And he came to Mareshah.
10. And Asa came out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11. And Asa called to Jehovah his God, and he said, “O Jehovah, there is none like you to help between the great and those who have no strength. Help us, Jehovah our God, for we rest on you, and in your name we go against this multitude! O Jehovah, you are our God; let man not prevail against you.”
12. And Jehovah struck the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
13. And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and he overthrew the Ethiopians until none of them remained alive, for they were destroyed before Jehovah, and before his army. And they carried away very much spoil.
14. And they struck all the cities round about Gerar, for the terror of Jehovah was upon them. So, they plundered all the cities, for there was much spoil in them.
15. And they also struck the tents of the herders, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and they returned to Jerusalem.
2Chronicles 15
¶1. Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah ben-Oded,
2.and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. Jehovah will be with you while you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will be found of you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
3.Now for many days Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
4.But in their distress they turned to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He was found of them.
5.And in those times, there was no peace for him who went out or who came in, for many troubles came upon all the inhabitants of the lands.
6.And nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God vexed them with all manner of trouble.
7.But you, be strong, and do not let your hands relax, for there is a reward for your work.”
8. And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged, and he took away the abominations from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he took in the hill country of Ephraim, and he renewed the altar of Jehovah that was before the porch of Jehovah.
9. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners in them from Ephraim and Manasseh, and from Simeon, for many deserted to him from Israel when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him.
¶10. And they gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
11. And they sacrificed to Jehovah that day from the spoil they had brought seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep.
12. And they entered into a covenant to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul,
13.and that whoever would not seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether small or great, or man or woman.
14. And they swore to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with a shout of joy, and with clarions, and with shofars.
15. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and they sought Him with all their desire, and He was found of them. And Jehovah gave them rest round about.
16. And the king even removed Maachah, Asa’s mother from being queen because she set up an abomination in a sacred grove. And Asa cut down her abomination, and he crushed it, and burned it by the Kidron brook.
17. But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect all his days.
18. And he brought the things his father had dedicated, and the things he had dedicated into the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19. And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
2Chronicles 16
¶1. In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha, king of Israel, came up against Judah. And he built Ramah, so as to not allow anyone to come out or to go in to Asa, king of Judah.
2. Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasures of the house of Jehovah and the king’s house, and he sent it to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,
3.“There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he might depart from me.”
4. And Ben-Hadad listened to king Asa, and he sent his commanders of the army against the cities of Israel, and they struck Iyon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all store cities of Naphtali.
5. And it came to pass that when Baasha heard of it, that he ceased building Ramah, and put a stop to his work.
6. Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha was building, and he built Geba and Mizpah with them.
7. And at that time, Hanani the seer, came to Asa the king of Judah, and he said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Aram, and did not rely on Jehovah your God, therefore, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.
8.Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a vast army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on Jehovah, He delivered them into your hand.
9.For the eyes of Jehovah run back and forth throughout all the earth to show himself strong for those whose hearts that are perfect with Him. In this you have done foolishly, for from now on, there will be wars against you.”
10. And Asa was angry with the seer, and he put him in the prison house because he was in a rage over this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.
11. Now behold, the acts of Asa, the first and the last ones, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12. And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet until his disease was severe, but even in his disease he did not seek Jehovah, but went to physicians.
13. And Asa slept with his fathers. And he dies in the forty-first year of his reign.
14. And they buried him in his tombs which he had cut for himself in the city of David. And they laid him on a bed which he had filled with spices, and various scented mixtures, the work of an apothecary, and they made a very large great pyre for him.
2Chronicles 17
¶1. And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and he strengthened himself against Israel.
2. And he placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons throughout the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim which his father had taken from Asa.
3. And Jehovah was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of David his father, and did not seek after the Baals,
4.but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments, and not according to Israel’s way.
5. Therefore, Jehovah established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great riches and glory.
6. And his heart exalted the ways of Jehovah, and furthermore he removed the high places and the sacred groves from Judah.
7. And in the third year of his reign, he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethaneel, and Michaiah to teach in the cities of Judah.
8. And with them were the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemirimoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, Levites, and with them Elishama and Jehoram the priests.
9. And they taught in Judah, and with them was the book of the law of Jehovah, and they went about through all the cities of Judah and taught the people.
10. Now the terror of Jehovah was upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, and they did not make war with Jehoshaphat.
11. And some of the Philistines brought gifts and tribute in silver to Jehoshaphat. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and seven thousand seven hundred he-goats.
¶12. And Jehoshaphat went on and grew exceedingly great. And he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah.
13. And he had much business in the cities of Judah, and the men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.
14. And these were their numbers by the house of their fathers: of Judah, captains of thousands: Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valor, three hundred thousand,
15.and next to him Jehohanan the chief, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand,
16.and next to him Amasiah ben-Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Jehovah, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor;
17.and of Benjamin: a mighty man of valor Eliada, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield,
18.and next to him Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand equipped for service.
19. These served the king, besides those whom the king placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.
2Chronicles 18
¶1. Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and glory, but he made a marriage alliance with Ahab.
2. And after some years he went down to Ahab, to Samaria. And Ahab killed many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him, and he enticed him to go up to Ramoth-Gilead with him.
3. For Ahab the king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-Gilead?” And he said to him, “I am as you are, and your people are as my people, even with you in the battle.”
4. But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire, I pray you, for the word of Jehovah today.”
5. So, the king of Israel assembles the prophets, four hundred men, and he said to them, “Shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up! For God will deliver it into the king’s hand.”
6. But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of Jehovah here, that we might inquire of Him?”
7. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies favorably concerning me, but evil every time. He is Michaiah ben-Imla.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
8. And the king of Israel summoned an officer, and said, “Bring Michaiah ben-Imla quickly.”
9. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were sitting each on his throne clothed in robes. And they were sitting in a threshing floor at the entrance gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.
10. And Zedekiah ben-Chenaanah made himself iron horns, and he said, “Thus says Jehovah: with these you will push Aram until they are destroyed.”
11. And all the prophets prophesied thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and succeed. For Jehovah will deliver it into the king’s hand.”
12. And the messenger who went to call Michaiah spoke to him, saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets, as from one mouth, are favorable to the king. So, I pray that your word be as one of theirs, and that you speak favorably.”
13. But Michaiah said, “As Jehovah lives, that which my God says, that will I speak.”
14. And he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Michah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I refrain.” And he said, “Go up, and you shall succeed, for they shall be delivered into your hand.”
15. And the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you will say nothing to me but the truth in the name of Jehovah?”
16. Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd, and Jehovah said, ‘These have no master. Let them return each to his house in peace.’”
17. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy favorably concerning me, but evil?”
18. And he said, “Therefore, hear the word of Jehovah: I saw Jehovah sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right and his left.
19.And Jehovah said, “Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead.” And this one spoke like this, and that one spoke like that.
20.Then a spirit came forward and stood before Jehovah, and he said, ‘I will entice him.’ And Jehovah said to him, ‘How?’
21. And he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And He said, ‘You will entice him, and moreover you will succeed. Go forth, and do so.’
22.So, behold, Jehovah has now put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, and Jehovah has spoken evil against you.”
23. Then Zedekiah ben-Chenaanah drew near, and he struck Michaiah on the cheek, and he said, “Where is this way that the Spirit of Jehovah passed from me to speak to you?”
24. And Michaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.”
25. Then the king of Israel said, “Seize Michaiah, and take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son.
26.And say, ‘Thus says the king: put this one in the prison house, and feed him the bread of affliction and the water of affliction until I return in peace.’ ”
27. And Michaiah said, “If you return at all in peace, Jehovah did not speak with me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”
28. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead.
29. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go to the battle, but you put on your robes.” So, the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went to the battle.
30. Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Do not fight with the small or the great, but with the king of Israel only.”
31. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “He is the king of Israel”, and they circled around him to fight, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Jehovah helped him, and God turned them aside from him.
32. For it came to pass that when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
33. But a man drew a bow unwittingly and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor, and he said to the charioteer, “Turn your hand, and take me out of the host, for I am wounded.”
34. And the battle increased that day, but the king of Israel was propped up in the chariot opposite the Arameans until evening, and he died at the going down of the sun.
2Chronicles 19
¶1. But Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.
2. And Jehu ben-Hanani, the seer, came to meet him, and he said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those hated by Jehovah? For because of this wrath has come upon you from the presence of Jehovah.
3.However, good things are found in you, for you have burned the sacred groves out of the land, and you have prepared your heart to seek God.”
4. And Jehoshaphat dwelt in Jerusalem. And he went out again through the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and he turned them back to Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
5. And he set judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city.
6. And he said to the judges, “Consider what you do, because you judge not for man, but for Jehovah. And with you are matters for judgment.
7.So, let the fear of Jehovah be upon you. Take heed, and do it. For there is no wickedness in Jehovah our God, nor respect of persons, nor the taking of a bribe.”
8. And in Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat set some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chiefs of the fathers of Israel as a judge for Jehovah and for dispute when they returned to Jerusalem.
9. And he charged them, saying, “Thus shall you do in the fear of Jehovah, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.
10.And whatever dispute comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes, and judgments, then you shall warn them so that they do not trespass against Jehovah and wrath come upon them and on your brothers. Do this, and you shall not incur guilt.
11.And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of Jehovah, and Zebadiah ben-Ishmael, the ruler of the king’s house, in all the matters of the king. And the Levites will be officers before you. Be strong, and do it, and Jehovah shall be with the good.”
2Chronicles 20
¶1. And it came to pass after this that the children of Moab, and children of Ammon, of the Ammonites, with them also came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2. And they came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming upon you from beyond the sea, from Aram , and behold, it is in Hazazon-Tamar, which is En-gedi.
3. And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he set his face to seek Jehovah, and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4. And Judah assembled themselves to seek help from Jehovah, even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.
5. And Jehoshaphat stood in the Assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Jehovah before the new court.
6. And he said, “O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, are you not He, the God of heaven? And do you not rule in all the kingdoms of the nations? And are not power and might in your hand, so that there is none who can stand against you?
7.Are you not our God who dispossessed the inhabitants of this land from before your people Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham your friend forever?
8. And they dwelt in it, and built you a sanctuary for your name in it, saying,
9. ‘If evil comes upon us, sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we shall stand before this house, and in your presence, (for your name is in this house) and cry out to you in our distress, then you will hear and save.’
10.So, behold now, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir whom you would not allow Israel to go through when they came from the land of Egypt, so they turned aside from them, and did not destroy them.
11. And behold, they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out of your inheritance which you caused us to inherit.
12.O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no strength before this great multitude that is coming against us. Nor do we know what we should do, but our eyes are on you.”
13. And all Judah stood before Jehovah, even their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14. Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jahaziel ben-Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah the Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the Assembly.
15. And he said, “Hear you all Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. Thus says Jehovah to you: ‘Do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
16.Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you shall find them at the end of the wadi, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17.It is not for you to fight in this battle. Set yourselves. Stand, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out before them, for Jehovah is with you.’”
18. Then Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the earth, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before Jehovah to do obeisance to Jehovah.
19. And the Levites, of the sons of Kohathites, and of the sons of the Korhites, rose up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with a loud voice on high.
20. And so, they arose in the morning and went forth to the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Jehovah your God, and you will be established; believe in His prophets, and you will prosper!”
21. And when he had taken counsel with the people, he stationed singers to Jehovah, that they should give praises to the beauty of holiness as they went forth before the armed men, and saying, “Give thanks to Jehovah, for His lovingkindness endures forever.”
22. And at the time they began to sing and give praise, Jehovah set an ambush against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come to Judah, and they were struck down.
23. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly destroy and exterminate them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy each man his neighbor.
24. And when Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked at the multitude, and behold, there were corpses fallen to the ground, and none had escaped.
25. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil, they found among them an abundance of goods with the corpses, and valuable vessels, and they stripped it off for themselves, until they could not carry more. And they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.
26. And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berachah,[3] for there they blessed Jehovah. Therefore, the name of that place was called Valley of Berechah.
27. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat at their head, to come back to Jerusalem with joy, for Jehovah had made them rejoice over their enemies.
28. And they came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the church of Jehovah.
29. And the terror of Jehovah was upon all the kingdoms the lands when they heard that Jehovah had fought with Israel’s enemies.
30. And Jehoshaphat’s kingdom had rest, for his God gave him rest all around.
¶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 Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
32. And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and did not depart from it, doing what was right in the eyes of Jehovah.
33. Only, the high places were not taken away, for the people had not yet prepared their heart for the God of their fathers.
34. And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last ones, behold, they are written in the chronicles of Jehu ben-Hanani, which was put into the book of the kings of Israel.
35. And after this, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel who did wickedly.
36. And he joined with him to make ships to go to Tarshish. And they made the ships at Ezion-gaber.
37. Then Eliezer ben-Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “As you have joined yourself with Azariah, Jehovah has broken your works.” And the ships were smashed, and they were not able to go to Tarshish.
2Chronicles 21
¶1. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
2. And he had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat the king of Israel.
3. And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and gold, and precious things, and fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram.
4. And when Jehoram had risen over his father’s kingdom, he strengthened himself, and he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes 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 way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did, because he had the daughter of Ahab as his wife. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah.
7. But Jehovah was not willing to destroy the house of David for the sake of the covenant that He made for David, that He had said He would give to him and his sons a lamp forever.
8. In his days, Edom revolted from under the rule of Judah, and they set up a king over themselves.
9. And Jehoram went over with his princes, and all the chariots with him, and it came to pass that he rose up by night and struck Edom, who had surrounded him and the chariot commanders.
10. And Edom revolted from the rule of Judah until this day. Then Libnah revolted at that time from his rule because he had forsaken the God of his fathers.
11. Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah, and he caused the inhabitants of Judah to go whoring, even compelling Judah to do so.
¶12. And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “Thus says Jehovah, the God of David your father: because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, nor in the ways of Asa the king of Judah,
13.but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go whoring according to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and that you also killed your brothers of your father’s house, who were better than you,
14.behold, Jehovah will strike your people, and your wives, and your possessions with a great plague.
15.And you shall have severe sickness with a disease of your bowels until your bowels come out of you because of the disease, days upon days.”
16. Jehovah also stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and the Arabians who bordered the Ethiopians.
17. And they came up into Judah and broke into it, and they carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons, and his wives, so that not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz his youngest son.
18. And after all this, Jehovah struck him in his bowels with a disease for which there was no cure.
19. And it came to pass as days followed days, even at the end of the passing of the days of two years, that his bowels came out because of his disease, and he died of the severe diseases. And his people made no burning for him like the burning for his fathers.
20. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. And he departed without honor, yet they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
2Chronicles 22
¶1. Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead, for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the company had killed all the older sons. So, Ahaziah ben-Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned.
2. Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri.
3. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing evil.
4. So, he did evil in the eyes of Jehovah like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father to his destruction.
5. He even followed their counsel, and went with Jehoram ben-Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael the king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead, and the Arameans struck Joram.
6. And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds that he was given at Ramah when he fought Hazael the king of Aram. And Azariah ben-Jehoram the king of Judah went down to see Jehoram ben-Ahab in Jezreel because he was wounded.
7. But the downfall of Ahaziah was of God by his coming to Joram, for when he had come, he went out with Jehoram to Jehu ben-Nimshi, whom Jehovah had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.
8. And it came to pass, when Jehu was executing judgment against the house of Ahab, that he found the princes of Judah, and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers, who ministered to Ahaziah, and he killed them.
9. And he sought for Ahaziah and caught him, for he had hidden himself in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu, and he killed him. And they buried him, for, he said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat who sought Jehovah with all his heart.” And there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.
10. And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, then she arose and she spoke against all the seed of the royal house of Judah.
11.But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash ben-Ahaziah, and stole him away from the midst of the king’s sons who were slain, and she put him and his nurse in the private bedroom. Thus did Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the daughter of Ahaziah) hide him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him.
12. And he was hidden with them in the house of God six years, and Athaliah reigned over the land.
2Chronicles 23
¶1. Then, in the seventh year, Jehoiada took courage, and he brought the captains of hundreds, Azariah ben-Jeroham, and Ishmael ben-Jehohanan, and Azariah ben-Obed, and Maaseiah ben-Adaiah, and Elishaphat ben-Zichri into covenant with him.
2. And they went round about through 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 the whole Assembly made a covenant with the king in the church of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign according to the word of Jehovah concerning the sons of David.
4.This is the thing that you shall do. A third of you, from the priests and the Levites, shall enter on the Sabbath to be gatekeepers of the doors,
5.and a third shall be at the king’s house, and a third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people shall be in the courts of the church of Jehovah.
6.But let no one come into the church of Jehovah except the priests and those of the Levites who minister. They shall go in, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the charge of Jehovah.
7.And the Levites shall completely surround the king, each man with his weapon in his hand, and anyone else who comes into the house shall be killed. And you shall be with the king when he comes in and goes out.”
8. And the Levites and all Judah did according to everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they kept each course of his men who came in on the Sabbath with those who were going out on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the courses.
9. And Jehoiada the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears, and the bucklers, and the shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of God.
10. And he stood all the people, with each man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side, by the altar, and at the house by the king round about.
11. Then they brought out the king’s son, and they put the crown on him and the testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they said, “May the king live.”
¶12. Now when Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the church of Jehovah.
13. And she looked, and behold, the king was standing at his pillar at the entrance, with the captains and the trumpets by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and sounding with the trumpets, and the singers with musical instruments, and the teachers praising. Then Athaliah tore her clothes, and she said, “Treason! Treason!”
14. But Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who had been appointed over the army, and he said to them, “Take her out of the house between the ranks, and whoever follows after her shall be killed with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not kill her in the church of Jehovah.”
15. So they laid hands on her, and when she came to the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king’s house, they killed her there.
¶16. And Jehoiada made a covenant between him and all the people, and the king to be the people of Jehovah.
17. And all the people went to the house of Baal, and they tore it down. And they smashed its altars and its images, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
18. And Jehoiada appointed officers of the church of Jehovah by the hand of the priests, the Levites whom David had divided for the church of Jehovah to offer burnt offerings to Jehovah as it is written in the law of Moses, with joy and with song as ordained by David.
19. And he stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the church of Jehovah, that no one unclean in any way should enter in.
20. And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and he brought the king down from the church of Jehovah. And they came through the upper gate of the king’s house, and sat the king on the throne of the kingdom.
21. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city had rest for they had killed Athaliah with the sword.
2Chronicles 24
¶1. Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibah of Beersheba.
2. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
3. And Jehoiada took for himself two wives, and he fathered sons and daughters.
4. And it came to pass after this that Joash had a heart to repair the church of Jehovah.
5. And he gathered the priests and the Levites, and he said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and collect money from all Israel sufficient to restore the house of your God year by year, and you shall make haste concerning this matter.” But the Levites did not make haste.
6. So the king called for Jehoiada the chief priest, and he said to him, “Why have you not required of the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the contribution of Moses, the servant of Jehovah, and of the Assembly of Israel, for the tent of witness?”
7. For that wicked woman Athaliah, her sons, had broken into the church of God, and they also dedicated all the consecrated things of the church of Jehovah to the Baals.
8. And the king said, “Make a chest, and put it outside at the gate of the house of Jehovah.”
9. And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to Jehovah the contribution that Moses, the servant of God, laid upon Israel in the wilderness.
10. And all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, and they brought it in, and dropped it into the chest until it was full.
11. And so it was that whenever the chest was brought to the king’s office by the hand of the Levites, when they saw that there was much money, that the king’s scribe and the head priest’s officer came and emptied out the chest. Then they took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and they gathered money in abundance.
12. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and they hired stonecutters and carpenters to repair the church of Jehovah, and also workers with iron and bronze to restore the church of Jehovah.
13. And the workmen labored, and the repair advanced through the work of their hand, and they restored the church of God according to its specification, and they strengthened it.
14. And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and they made accoutrements for the church of Jehovah, vessels for ministry, for offerings, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the church of Jehovah continually all the days of Jehoiada.
¶15. And Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died. He was one hundred and thirty years old when he died.
16. And they buried him in the city of David with the kings, for he had done good in Israel, and with God, and His house.
17. But after Jehoiada’s death, the princes of Judah came and did obeisance to the king. And the king took heed to them.
18. And they forsook the church of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and served the sacred groves and the idols. Then wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their guilt.
19. Yet He sent prophets to them to bring them back to Jehovah, and they testified against them, but they would not listen.
20. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah ben-Jehoiada the priest, and he stood up above the people and said to them, “Thus says God. Why do you transgress the commandments of Jehovah? For you will not prosper when you forsake Jehovah; He has also forsaken you.”
21. And they conspired together against him, and they stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of Jehovah.
22. And Joash the king did not remember to kindness that Jehoiada his father had shown toward him, but he killed his son. And as he died he said, “May Jehovah see and require it.”
23. And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the army of Aram came up against him. And they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people among the people, and they sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.
24. For the army of Aram came with a small number of men, but Jehovah delivered a very great army into their hand, for they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers. So, they executed judgments against Joash.
25. And when they departed from him (for they left him very sick), his servants conspired against him because of the blood of Jehoiada the priest’s sons, and they killed him on his bed, and he died. And they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.
26. And these were who conspired against him: Zabad,the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jozabad, the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.
27. And his sons, and the many oracles against him, and the establishment of the house of God, behold, they are written in the midrash of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
2Chronicles 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 was right in the eyes of Jehovah, yet not with a perfect heart.
3. And it came to pass when the kingdom was established as his, that he killed his servants who had struck down his father the king.
4. But he did not kill their children, for it is written in the book of the law of Moses that Jehovah commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death on account of children, and children shall not be put to death on account of fathers, for each man shall be put to death for his own sin.”[4]
¶5. Then Amaziah assembled Judah, and he appointed captains of thousands and captains of hundreds according to the house of their fathers throughout all Judah and Benjamin. And he numbered those from twenty years and above, and found that there were three hundred thousand choice men who could go out in the army, who could handle spear and shield.
6. But he hired from Israel one hundred thousand might men of valor from Israel with a hundred talents of silver.
7. And a man of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for Jehovah is not with Israel, all the children of Ephraim.
8.But should you go, making yourself strong for the war, God will cause you to stumble before the enemy, for God has power to help and to cast down.”
9. And Amaziah said to the man of God, “Then what am I to do for the hundred talents of silver that I gave to the mighty men of Israel?” And the man of God said, “Jehovah is able to give you more than this.”
10. So Amaziah separated them, the band that had come to him from Ephraim, that they should go back to their place. But their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned to their place burning with anger.
11. But Amaziah strengthened himself, and led his people out, and he came to the Valley of Salt, and struck down ten thousand of the children of Seir.
12. And ten thousand were captured alive by the children of Judah, and they brought them to the top of a cliff, and threw them down from the top of the cliff, and they were all dashed to pieces.
13. But the men of the band that Amaziah had sent back from going with him to the battle, they raided cities of Judah from Samaria as far as Beth-horon, and they struck down three thousand of them, and took much spoil.
¶14. And it came to pass, after Amaziah came from striking the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and stood them up to be his gods, and he bowed himself before them, and burnt incense to them.
15. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Amaziah, and He sent a prophet to him, and he said to him, “Why are you seeking after the gods of the people who could not deliver their own people from your hand?”
16. But as he was speaking to him, then the king said to him, “Have you been made the king’s counselor? Stop yourself! Why should you be struck down?” Then the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, for you have done this, and have not taken heed to my counsel.”
¶17. Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel, and he sent to Joash ben-Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look at each other.”
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 for a wife.’ But a beast of the field that was in Lebanon came along and trampled down the thistle.
19.You think, behold, you have struck down Edom, and your heart has lifted you up to boast. Stay in your house now. Why should stir up trouble, and you fall, you and Judah with you?”
20. But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, that He might deliver them into their hand because they had sought the gods of Edom.
21. So Joash king of Israel went up, and they looked at each other, he and Amaziah the king of Judah at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
22. And Judah was struck down before Israel, and they fled, each man to his tent.
23. And Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah ben-Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, king of Judah at Beth-shemesh. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and he broke down the walls of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits.
24. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, and the children as hostages, and returned to Samaria.
¶25. And Amaziah ben-Joash the king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Joash ben-Jehoahaz the king of Israel.
26. And the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, the first ones and the last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?
27. Now from the time that Amaziah turned from following Jehovah, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. So, he fled to Lachish, but they sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there.
28. And they carried him on horses, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David.[5]
2Chronicles 26
¶1. And all the people of Judah took Uzziah when he was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father, Amaziah.
2. He is the one who built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers.
3. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
4. And he did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
5. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God. And as long as he sought Jehovah, God made him to prosper.
6. He went out and made war against the Philistines and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the Philistines.
7. And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-Baal and the Meunites.
8. The Ammonites also gave tribute to Uzziah. And his fame went out even to the entrance of Egypt, for he grew exceedingly strong.
9. And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, and at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and fortified them.
10. He also built towers in the wilderness and hewed out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fertile fields, for he was a lover of the ground.
11. Moreover, Uzziah had an army prepared for war, who went out to war by divisions, according to the number of their muster by the hand of Jeuel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s officials.
12. The total number of the heads of the fathers, mighty men of valor, was two thousand six hundred.
13. And under them was a strong army of three hundred seven thousand and five hundred who made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
14. And Uzziah prepared for them, for the whole the army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and stones for slinging.
15. And he made in Jerusalem devices, by a cunning man, to be on the towers and at the corners to shoot arrows and large stones. And his fame spread afar, for he was wondrously helped until he was strong.
16. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his ruin, and he was unfaithful to Jehovah his God, for he went into the temple of Jehovah to burn incense upon the incense altar.
17. And after him went Azariah the priest, and with him eighty valiant priests of Jehovah.
18. And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Jehovah, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the Holy Place! For you have been unfaithful, and it will bring you no honor from Jehovah God!”
19. But Uzziah became enraged, and in his hand was a censer for burning incense. But when he became enraged at the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the church of Jehovah, before the altar of incense.
20. And Azariah the High Priest, and all the priests, looked at him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they hurried him out of there. Yea, he himself hastened to leave because Jehovah had stricken him.
21. And so, Uzziah the king was a leper until the day of his death, and he lived as a leper in a house apart, barred from the church of Jehovah, and Jotham his son was king over the household, judging the people of the land.
22. Now, the rest of the deeds of Uzziah, the first and the last ones, Isaiah ben-Amoz, the prophet, has written.
23. And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that was for the kings, for they said, “He was stricken with leprosy.” And his son Jotham reigned after him.
2Chronicles 27
¶1. Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.
2. And he did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; howbeit, he did not enter into the temple of Jehovah. But the people were still corrupt.
3. He built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and on the wall of Ophel, he built much.
4. And he built cities in the hill-country of Judah, and on wooded heights he built fortresses with towers.
5. And he fought with the king of the children of Ammon and prevailed against them. And they gave him that year one hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and of barley ten thousand. This did the children of Ammon render to him, and in the second year, and the third.
6. And so, Jotham became strong because he ordered his ways before Jehovah his God.
7. And the rest of the deeds 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 became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years.
9. And he slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
2Chronicles 28
¶1. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he was king sixteen years in Jerusalem, and he did not do what was right in the eyes of Jehovah, like David his father.
2. Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and he also made molten images of Baals.
3. He also burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom Jehovah dispossessed before the children of Israel.
4. And he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places and on the hills, and beneath every green tree.
5. So, Jehovah his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram, and they attacked him and took from him many people as captives, and they brought them to Damascus. And He also gave him into the hand of the king of Israel, and he dealt him a great blow.
6. For Pekah ben-Remaliah killed in Judah one hundred and twenty thousand in one day, who were all valiant men, because they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
7. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son, and Azrikam, ruler of the house, and Elkanah, who was next to the king.
8. And from their brothers, the sons of Israel took captive two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters, and they took from them much spoil besides, and they carried the spoil to Samaria.
9. But a prophet of Jehovah was there, Oded by name, and he went forth before the army that came to Samaria, and he said to them, “Behold, because the wrath of Jehovah, the God of your fathers, was upon Judah, He gave them into your hands, and you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches up to heaven.
10.And now, you think to reduce the children of Judah and Jerusalem to be your men-slaves and women-slaves! Are is there not also wrongdoing among you—yes, you!— before Jehovah your God‽
11.Therefore, hear me now, and return the captivity whom you have taken captive from your kinsmen, for the fierce anger of Jehovah is upon you!
12. Some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah ben-Jehohanan, Berechiah ben-Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah ben-Shallum, and Amasa ben-Hadlai also rose up against those coming from the war
13.and said to them, “You must not bring the captives here, for guilt is upon is from Jehovah, and you are proposing to add to our sin and our guilt. For our guilt is great, and there is fierce anger against Israel.
14. So, the armed men left the captive and the booty before the princes and all the Assembly.
15. And the men who have been mentioned by name arose and took charge of the captives, and with the spoil, they clothed all who were naked among them. Yea, they clothed them, gave them shoes, gave them something to eat and drink, anointed them, and led on donkeys everyone feeble, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their kinsmen, and returned to Samaria.
¶16. At that time, King Ahaz sent for the great king of Assyria to help him.
17. For the Edomites had come again and attacked Judah, and had carried away captives.
18. And the Philistines had made raids on the cities of the Shephelah and the south of Judah. And they had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its villages, Timnah and its villages, Gimzo and its villages, and they settled there.
19. For Jehovah brought Judah low because of Ahaz the king of Israel, for he caused restraint to cease in Judah and was very treacherous against Jehovah.
20. So, Tiglath-pilesar the king of Assyria, did come to him, but he oppressed him and did not help him.
21. Ahaz even took part of the house of Jehovah and the house of the king and princes and gave it to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.
22. But in the time of his distress, he became even more treacherous against Jehovah, this King Ahaz.
23. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, I will sacrifice to them and they will help me.” But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.
24. Then Ahaz gathered all the vessels of the church of God and cut up the vessels of the church of God, and then he shut up the doors of the church of Jehovah and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.
25. And in every single city of Judah, he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and he provoked Jehovah, the God of his fathers,
26. And the rest of his deeds and all his ways, from first to 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 the city, in Jerusalem, for they would not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
2Chronicles 29
¶1. Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign. and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, daughter of Zachariah. (Zechariah?)
2. And he did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah according to all that David his father had done.
3. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he himself opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and he repaired them.
4. And he brought in the priest and the Levites and gathered them in a spacious place to the east.
5. And he said, Hear me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves, now! And sanctify the house of Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and carry the filth out of the Holy Place!
6. For our fathers have been unfaithful and did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah our God, and they forsook Him and turned their faces away from the dwelling place of Jehovah, and turned their backs.
7. They also closed the doors of the portico, and put out the lamps, and did not burn incense or offer up burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
8. And so, the wrath of Jehovah was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He made them an object of horror, and astonishment, and hissing, as you yourselves see with your own eyes.
9. And, behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, and our daughters, and our wives are in captivity for this.
10. It is now in my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger might turn from us.
11. My sons, do not be slack now, for Jehovah has chosen you to stand in His presence, to minister to Him, yea, to be His ministers and burn incense.
12. And the Levites arose: Mahath ben-Amasai and Joel ben-Azaraiah of the sons of the Kohathites; and from the sons of the Mararites, Kish ben-Avri and Azariah ben-Jehalleleel; and from the Gershonites, Joah ben-Zimmah and Aden ben-Joach;
13.and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14.and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15. And they gathered with their kinsmen and sanctified themselves, and then went in according to the king’s command, by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the church of Jehovah.
16. Now, the priests went into the inner part of the church of Jehovah to do the cleaning, and they brought out all the uncleanness that was found in the temple of Jehovah into the court of the church of Jehovah, and the Levites took it out to carry it outside to the Brook Kidron.
17. And they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify the temple, and on the eighth day of the month, they came to the portico of Jehovah. So, they sanctified the church of Jehovah in eight days. And in the sixteenth day of the first month, they finished.
18. And they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “ We have cleansed the entire house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the row bread and all its utensils.
19.And all the vessels which King Ahaz, in his unfaithfulness, discarded during his reign we have prepared and sanctified, and behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah.”
¶20. And Hezekiah the king rose early, and he gathered the rulers of the city and went up to the church of Jehovah.
21. And they brought in seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering on behalf of the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the sons of Aaron, the priests, to make offerings on the altar of Jehovah.
22. So, they slaughtered the cattle, and the priests received the blood and threw it against the altar, and they slaughtered the rams and threw the blood against the altar, and they slaughtered the lambs and threw the blood against the altar.
23. Then they brought the he-goats for the sin offering before the king and the Assembly, and they laid their hands on them,
24.and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the king had commanded the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
25. And he stationed Levites in the church of Jehovah with cymbals, with lutes,[6] and with lyres, according to the commandment of David, and Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet. For the commandment had come from Jehovah through His prophets.
26. And the Levites stood with instruments of David, and the priests with trumpets.
27. And Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, one began the song of Jehovah, with the trumpets and with all the instruments of David the king of Israel.
28. And the whole Assembly worshipped, and the song was sung, and the trumpets were sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was completed.
29. And when the offering was completed, the king and all those present with him bowed down and worshipped.
30. And King Hezekiah and the rulers told the Levites to praise Jehovah in the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they gave praise with gladness, and then they bowed down and worshipped.
31. Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to Jehovah, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings at the house of Jehovah!” And the Assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings. And everyone who wanted to brought offerings. [or, “and all their freewill offerings.”]
32. And the number of burnt offerings which the Assembly brought was seventy bullocks, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to Jehovah.
33. And the consecrated things were six hundred of the herd and three thousand of the flock.
34. But the priests were too few, and were not able to skin all the burnt offerings. So, their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was finished, until the priests had sanctified themselves. For the Levites had been more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
35. And besides the many burnt offerings, there were the portions of fat of the peace offerings and the libations of the burnt offering. And so, the service of the house of Jehovah was set in order.
36. And Hezekiah rejoiced with all the Assembly for what God had set in order for the people, for the thing was done suddenly.
2Chronicles 30
¶1. Now, Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem to keep the Passover of Jehovah the God of Israel.
2. For the king and the princes and the whole Assembly in Jerusalem agreed together to keep the Passover in the second month,
3.for they were not able to keep it at that time because the priests had not sufficiently sanctified themselves and the people were not yet gathered in Jerusalem,
4.and the thing was right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of the whole Assembly.
5. So, they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, to come to keep the Passover to Jehovah, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not done it for a long time as it is written.
6. So, the runners went with letters from the hand of the king and his princes throughout Israel and Judah, according to the king’s command, saying, “Children of Israel! Return to Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you that has escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria!
7.And do not be like your fathers or like your kinsmen, who were treacherous against Jehovah the God of their fathers, and so He gave them over to desolation, just as you now see.
8.Do not be stiff-necked now like your fathers! Yield to Jehovah and come to the sanctuary He has consecrated forever, and serve Jehovah your God, and He will turn the fury of His anger away from you!
9.For if you return to Jehovah, your kinsmen and your children may find compassion before their captors and return to this land, for Jehovah your God is gracious and compassionate, and He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”
10. So, the runners passed from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun. But they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.
11. However, some men from Asher, and Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.
12. The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to carry out the commandment of the king and the princes according to the word of Jehovah.
13. And many people were gathered in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great Assembly.
14. And they rose up and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they removed all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook Kidron.
15. And they slaughtered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and then they brought burnt offerings to the church of Jehovah.
16. And they stood at their post according to their custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God, the priests throwing the blood received from the hand of the Levites.
17. For there were many in the Assembly who had not sanctified themselves, and so the Levites were over the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to Jehovah.
18. For the greater part of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written, for Hezekiah had interceded for them, saying, “May Jehovah, who is good, pardon
19.everyone who has prepared his heart to seek God, Jehovah, the God of his fathers, though not according to the purification standard of the sanctuary.”
20. And Jehovah heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
21. And the children of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised Jehovah every day, singing with loud instruments unto Jehovah.
22. And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had demonstrated good skill before Jehovah, and they feasted the appointed time, seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to Jehovah the God of their fathers.
23. Then the whole Assembly agreed together to keep the feast another seven days, and so, they kept the seven days with gladness.
24. For Hezekiah the king of Judah had contributed for the Assembly a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep, and the rulers had contributed for the Assembly a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep. And many priests sanctified themselves.
25. And the whole Assembly of Judah, along with the priests and the Levites, and all the Assembly that had come out of Israel, and the foreigners who came from the land of Israel and who dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.
26. So, there was great joy in Jerusalem. Since the days of Solomon ben-David the king of Israel, nothing like this had been in Jerusalem.
27. And the priests, the Levites, rose up and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came into His holy habitation in heaven.
2Chronicles 31
¶1. When all this was done, all Israel that could be found went out to the cities of Judah and shattered the pillars and hewed down the sacred trees, and they tore down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and Ephraim and Manasseh, until all were destroyed. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his own possession.
2. And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests, and the Levites according to their divisions, each according to his service, whether priests or Levites, for the burnt offering and peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise Jehovah at the gates of the camps of Jehovah.
3. And the king designated a portion from his own possessions for burnt offerings, for the morning and the evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the new moons and appointed times, as it is written in the law of Jehovah.
4. And he told the people who were living in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites so that they might give themselves to the law of Jehovah.
5. And as soon as the word spread abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in abundance the tithe of everything.
6. And the children of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought the tithe of cattle and flocks, and the tithe of holy things consecrated to Jehovah their God. Yea, they gave them by heaps.
7. In the third month they began to lay the heaps, and in the seventh month, they finished.
8. When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed Jehovah and His people Israel.
9. And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps,
10. And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok spoke to him and said, “Since they began to bring the separated portion to the church of Jehovah, we have had plenty to eat, and plenty left over, for Jehovah has blessed His people, and this abundance is what is left over.
11. Then, Hezekiah said to prepare chambers in the church of Jehovah, and they prepared them.
12. And they brought the separated portion, and the tithe, and the dedicated things faithfully, and over them Conaniah the Levite was ruler, and Shemei his brother was second.
13. And Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Conaniah and Shemei his brother, by appointment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah, ruler of the house of God.
14. And Kore ben-Imnah the Levite, porter on the east side, was over God’s freewill offerings, to distribute Jehovah’s separated portion and the most holy things.
15. And under him, in the cities of the priests, Eden, Minjamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shechaniah faithfully distributed to their brothers by their divisions, great and small alike,
16.besides those males recorded by genealogy from three years old and upward, all who entered the church of Jehovah, as his daily duties demanded, for their service in their offices, according to their divisions,
17.even to the priests genealogically recorded in their fathers’ house, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, according to their duties and their divisions.
18. Their genealogy was recorded along with all their little children, their wives, and their sons and daughters, for the whole Assembly, because they had faithfully kept themselves holy.
19. And as for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of common land belonging to their cities, in each and every city were men designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests, and to all who were enrolled by genealogy among the Levites.
20. And thus Hezekiah did in all the cities of Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before Jehovah his God.
21. And he did with all his heart every work that he began concerning the service of the house of God, and the law and commandments, to seek his God. So, he prospered.
2Chronicles 32
¶1. After these faithful deeds were done, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, for he thought to sever them for himself.
2. When Hezekiah learned that Sennacherib had come and that his face was set for battle against Jerusalem,
3.he then consulted with his captains and his mighty men to stop up the waters of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him.
4. And many people were gathered, and they stopped up all the springs and the brook that flowed through the midst of the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?”
5. He also strengthened himself, and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down, and built it up to the towers, and another wall outside, and he strengthened Millo in the city of David, and he made an abundance of weaponry and shields.
6. And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them to himself into the street at the gate of the city. Then he spoke to their heart, saying,
7.“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria or before all the multitude that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.
8.With him is the arm of flesh, but with us is Jehovah our God to help us, and to fight our battles!” Then the people were encouraged by the words of Hezekiah, the king of Judah.
¶9. After this, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent his servants to Jerusalem (although he himself went up against Lachish and all his forces with him), against Hezekiah, king of Judah, and against all Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,
10.“Thus says Sennacherib, king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?
11.Has not Hezekiah persuaded you to give yourselves up to die by famine and by thirst, saying, “Jehovah our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”?
12.Has not Hezekiah himself taken away His high places and His altars and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, saying, “Before one altar shall you worship, and upon it shall you sacrifice”?
13.Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands able at all to deliver their lands out of my hand?
14.Who is it among all the gods of these nations that my fathers destroyed who was able to deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand?
15.And now, do not let Hezekiah beguile you nor persuade you like this, neither believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people out of my hand or out of the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand?’”
16. And again, his servants spoke against Jehovah God and against Hezekiah, His servant.
17. And he wrote letters to reproach Jehovah, God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “Just as the gods of the nations of other lands did not deliver their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand.”
18. Then they cried in a loud voice in Judean to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall to frighten them and to dishearten them, that they might take the city.
19. And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem as against the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of man’s hands.
20. And Hezekiah the king and Isaiah ben-Amoz the prophet prayed concerning this, and they cried out to heaven.
21. Then Jehovah sent an angel, and he destroyed every mighty warrior, and officer, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So, he returned in disgrace to his own land. And when he went into the house of his god, they that came from his bowels struck him down by the sword there.
22. So, Jehovah delivered Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and from the hand of all their adversaries, and gave them rest on every side.
23. And many brought tribute to Jehovah to Jerusalem and choice gifts to Hezekiah, king of Judah, and in this manner, he was exalted in the sight of all nations.
¶24. In those days, Hezekiah became sick unto death, and he prayed to Jehovah, and He spoke to him and gave him a sign.
25. But because his heart was exalted, Hezekiah did not repay the favor shown to him. Therefore, wrath was upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
26. Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the haughtiness of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Therefore, the wrath of Jehovah did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.
27. And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver and gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all articles of value,
28.and storehouses for produce of grain, and new wine, and fresh oil, and stalls for every kind of beast, and folds for flocks.
29. He also made for himself cities, and possessed a multitude of flocks and herds, for God had given him very many possessions.
30. Moreover, Hezekiah stopped the upper water source of Gihon, and he made it flow straight down to the west of the city of David. And in all his works, Hezekiah prospered.
31. And as for the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon who had been sent to him to inquire of the wonder that was in the land, God left him alone in order to test him, to know all that was in his heart.
32. Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah ben-Amoz the prophet, in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
33. And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the ascent of the sepulchers of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son became king in his stead.
2Chronicles 33
¶1. Mannaseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, after the abominations of the nation’s that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.
3. And he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had torn down, and he erected altars for the Baals, and he made Ashteroth,[7] and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4. And he built altars in the church of Jehovah, where Jehovah had said, “My name will be in Jerusalem forever.”
5. And he built altars to all the host of heaven in the two courts of the church of Jehovah.
6. And he sacrificed his sons in the fire[8] in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and practiced soothsaying, and divination, and sorcery, and dealt often with a necromancer and one with a familiar spirit, and did what is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger.
7. And he set up a graven image and an idol, which he had made, in the house of God, concerning which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
8.and Israel will not again be removed from the land that I appointed to your fathers. If only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them by the hand of Moses, even all the law, and statutes, and judgments.”
9. But Manasseh caused Judah to go astray and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do greater evil than the nations which Jehovah destroyed before the children of Israel.
10. And Jehovah spoke to Manasseh and to all the people, but they would not listen.
11. And so, Jehovah brought against them the commanders of the army which belonged to the King of Assyria, and they took Manasseh with hooks, and bound him with chains of bronze, and took him to Babylon.
12. And in his distress, he entreated the favor of Jehovah his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13.and prayed to Him. And He was moved for him, and heard his supplication, and He returned him to Jerusalem, int his kingdom, and then Manasseh knew that Jehovah is God.
14. And after that, he built wall outside the city of David, west of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and brought it around to Ophel, and made it very high, and he put military leaders in all the fortified cities in Judah,
15. And he took away the foreign gods and the images from the house of Jehovah, and all the altars he had built on the mountain of the house of Jehovah and in Jerusalem, and he cast them out of the city.
16. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah and made sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving on it, and he told Judah to serve Jehovah, the God of Israel.
17. Nevertheless, the people continued sacrificing at the high places, but only to Jehovah their God.
18. Now, the rest of the deeds of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
19. And his prayer when He was entreated of him, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the places where he built high places, and erected Asherah pillars and graven images before he humbled himself, behold, they are written among the sayings of Hozai.
20. And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him at his own house, and Amon his son reigned after him.
¶21. Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, as Manasseh his father had done, and Amon sacrificed to all the graven images that Manasseh his father had made, and served them.
23. But he did not humble himself before Jehovah the way Manasseh his father humbled himself; on the contrary, this Amon did even more wrong.
24. And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house.
25. But the people of the land killed all those who conspired against king Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
2Chronicles 34
¶1. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
2. And he did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah and walked in the ways of David his father; yea, he did not turn aside to the right or the left.
3. And in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year, he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, and the Asherah pillars, and the graven images, and the molten images.
4. Yea, in his presence, they tore down the altars of the Baals, and hewed down the sun-pillars that belonged to them, that were above them, and broke to pieces the Asherah pillars, and the carved images, and the molten mages. Then he made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had made sacrifices to them,
5.and he burned the bones of the priests on the altars. And so, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem,
6.as well as in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even to Naphtali, in their mountain villages round about.
7. And when he had torn down the altars, and crushed to powder the Asherah pillars, and graven images, and molten images, and had cut down all the sun-pillars in the whole land of Israel, then he returned to Jerusalem.
8. Now, in the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan ben-Azaliah and Maaseiah, governor of the city, and Josh ben-Joahaz the recorder to repair the house of Jehovah his God.
9. So, they went to Hilkiah the high priest and turned over the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the door-keepers, had collected from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10. And they delivered it to the overseers of the work being done in the church of Jehovah. And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the church of Jehovah to repair and restore the house.
11. And they gave it to the craftsmen and builders, to purchase hewn stone, and timber for binders and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin.
12. And the men did the work faithfully. And over them, Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the sons of the Kohathites were appointed to oversee them as well all the Levites who were skillful with instruments of music,
13.also the burden-bearers and overseers, even all who were providing labor for any kind of work, even some of the Levitical scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.
14. And when they brought out the money that had been brought into the church of Jehovah, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.
15. And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of Jehovah.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.
16. Then Shaphan carried the book in to the king. And brought word back to the king, saying, “All that was committed to your servants, they are doing.
17.And they have emptied out the money that was found in the house of Jehovah and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the hand of those doing the work.”
18. Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read in it before the king.
19. And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.
20. And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam ben-Shaphan, and Abdon ben-Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Isaiah the king’s servant, saying,
21.“Go! Inquire of Jehovah for me and for the remnant in Jerusalem and Judah concerning the words of the book that was found! For great is the wrath of Jehovah that has been poured out on us because our fathers did not keep the word of Jehovah, to do according to all that is written in this book!”
22. Then Hilkiah went with others from the king to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum ben-Tokehath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe, for she lived in Jerusalem, in the Second Quarter. And they spoke to her as they were instructed.
23. And she said to them, “Thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me,
24.‘Thus says Jehovah: Behold, I am bringing evil upon this place and its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that they read before the king of Judah
25.because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore, my wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched!’
26.But concerning the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall you say to him: ‘Thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel regarding the words that you heard:
27.Inasmuch as your heart was tender and you have humbled yourself before God when you heard His words concerning this place and its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before me, and you tore your garments and wept before me, I have also heard you, says Jehovah.
28.Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.
29. Then the king send out and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30. And the king went up to the house of Jehovah with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and Levites—and all the people from the great to the small—and he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of Jehovah.
31. And the king stood in his place, and he made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart, and with all his soul to ‘carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
32. And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. And so, the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
33. So, Josiah took away all the abominations from all the areas that belonged to the children of Israel, and he made all who were present in Jerusalem to serve Jehovah their God dutifully. All his days, they did not turn from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
2Chronicles 35
¶1. Then Josiah kept a Passover unto Jehovah in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month.
2. And he appointed the priests their offices and encouraged them for the service of the house of Jehovah.
3. And he told the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to Jehovah, “Put the holy ark into the house which Solomon ben-David the king of Israel built. It is not to be a burden on your shoulders. Serve Jehovah your God now, and His people Israel!
4.And prepare yourselves according to the house of your fathers according to your courses according to the prescription of David the king of Israel and the prescription of Solomon his son.
5.And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of your brothers’ fathers’ house, sons of the people, according to the part of the families of the Levites.
6.And slaughter the Passover, and sanctify yourselves, and make preparations for your brothers to do according to the word of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.”
7. And Josiah contributed for the children of the people a flock of lambs and kids, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand cattle. These were from the king’s possessions.
8. His princes also willingly contributed to the people, and to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings one thousand and six hundred, and three hundred cattle.
9. Conaniah also, with Shemaiah and Nethaneel his brothers, as well as Heshabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, gave five thousand Passover offerings to the Levites, and five hundred cattle.
10. So, the service was prepared. And the priests stood in their place, and the Levites according to their divisions, as the king had commanded.
11. And they slaughtered the Passover offering, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them.
12. And they set aside the burnt offerings to distribute them according to the divisions of the house of the fathers of the children of the people, that they might make an offering to Jehovah as it is written in the book of Moses, and likewise the cattle.
13. And they roasted the Passover on the fire according to the custom, and they boiled the holy parts in pots, and kettles, and pans, and they carried them quickly to all the children of the people.
14. And afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering up burnt offerings with the fat portions until nightfall. So, the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.
15. And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place according to the commandment of David, even Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to cease from their service because their brothers, the Levites, made preparations for them.
16. So, all the service of Jehovah was prepared that day, for keeping the Passover and offering burnt offerings on the altar of Jehovah, according to the command of King Josiah.
17. And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days.
18. Such a Passover had not been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests and Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
19. In the eighteenth year of his reign was this Passover kept.
¶20. After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho the king of Egypt came up to fight at Carchemesh by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him.
21. And he sent messengers to him, saying, “What is there between me and you, O king of Judah? I am not come up against you today, but against the house with which I am at war, and God told me to hurry. So, cease from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you!”
22. Nevertheless, Josiah would not turn away from him, but he disguised himself to fight against him. Yes, he would not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.
23. And the archers shot king Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.”
24. So his servants took him out of the chariot, and they put him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
¶25. And Jeremiah made a lament for Josiah, and to this day, all the male and female singers sing of Josiah in their lamentations, and men made them an ordinance for Israel. And behold, they are written in The Laments.
26. Now, the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his great goodness according to what is written in the law of Jehovah,
27.yea, his deeds first to last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
2Chronicles 36
¶1. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz ben-Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in the place of is father.
2. Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
3. Then the king of Egypt deposed him, and he imposed upon the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
4. And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Necho took his brother Joahaz and carried him to Egypt.
5. And Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah his God.
6. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and he bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.
7. Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon some articles from the house of Jehovah, and he put them in his palace in Babylon.
8. Now, the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he committed, and what has been found out about him, 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[9] years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah.
10. And at the turn of the year, king Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him into Babylon, with precious articles from the church of Jehovah, and he made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah in Jerusalem.
11. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, at the mouthpiece of Jehovah.
13. Moreover, he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath before God, but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart instead of turning to Jehovah, the God of Israel.
14. The princes also, the priests, and the people committed extraordinarily treacherous acts, like all the abominations of the Gentiles, and they polluted the house of Jehovah that He had consecrated in Jerusalem.
15. And Jehovah, the God of their fathers, sent to them by the hand of His messengers, rising early and sending them, because he felt compassion for His people and for His habitation.
16. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of Jehovah was stirred up against His people, until there was no cure.
17. That is why He brought up upon them the king of the Chaldeans, and he slew their young men with the sword in the temple sanctuary, and he spared neither young man nor virgin, elder nor aged. He gave them all into his hand.
18. And all the vessels of the house of God, both great and small, and the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king and his princes—all of it he brought to Babylon.
19. And they burned down the house of God, and they broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned up all its palaces with fire. And all its valuable vessels, they destroyed.
20. And those who survived the sword, he carried off to Babylon, and they became his and his children’s. And they were servants to the king until the reign of the kingdom of Persia,
21.to fulfill the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days it lay desolate, it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
22. Then, in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia, to fulfill the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, and he made a proclamation for all his kingdom, and put it in writing also, saying,
23.“Thus says Cyrus the king of Persia: Jehovah, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has appointed me to build a house for Him in Jerusalem which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all His people, may Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up.”
Footnotes
[1] Or, “their faces were inward”.
[2] Or, story or record.
[3] Berechah means “blessing”.
[4] Dt. 24:16, almost identical.
[5] LXX. Hebrew reads, Judah.
[6] Hebrew uncertain.
[7] Or, “sacred trees” or “sacred poles”.
[8] LIt., “devoted his sons in the fire”,
[9] Hebrew: eight. Cf. 2Kings 24:8.