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28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; but he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord like David his father.

For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made also molten images for the Baalim.

Moreover he burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

He sacrificed also and burned incense in the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, who were all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers.

And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah who was next to the king.

And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria.

But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, “Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, He hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.

10 And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem as bondmen and bondwomen unto you. But are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?

11 Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives back, whom ye have taken captive from your brethren; for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

12 Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war

13 and said unto them, “Ye shall not bring in the captives hither, for whereas we have offended against the Lord already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass; for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.”

14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.

15 And the men who were mentioned by name rose up and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all who were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses and brought them to their brethren at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

16 At that time King Ahaz sent unto the kings of Assyria to help him.

17 For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.

18 The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof; and they dwelt there.

19 For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made Judah naked and transgressed sorely against the Lord.

20 And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him and distressed him, but strengthened him not.

21 For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king and from the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria; but he helped him not.

22 And in the time of his distress he trespassed yet more against the Lord: this is that King Ahaz.

23 For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus which smote him; and he said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.

24 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.

25 And in every separate city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.

26 Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem; but they brought him not into the sepulchers of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

29 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.

And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,

and said unto them, “Hear me, ye Levites! Sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

For our fathers have trespassed and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.

Also they have shut up the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.

Therefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

For lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.

11 My sons, be not now negligent; for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that ye should minister unto Him and burn incense.”

12 Then the Levites arose: Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehalelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah;

13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15 And they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.

16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad into the Brook Kidron.

17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering with all the vessels thereof, and the showbread table with all the vessels thereof.

19 Moreover all the vessels which King Ahaz in his reign cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified; and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”

20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord.

21 And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven hegoats for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord.

22 So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise, when they had killed the rams they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. They killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.

23 And they brought forth the hegoats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation, and they laid their hands upon them.

24 And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar to make an atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet; for so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets.

26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.

28 And all the congregation worshiped, and the singers sang and the trumpeters sounded; and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.

30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord.” And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a free heart burned offerings.

32 And the number of the burnt offerings which the congregation brought was threescore and ten bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. All these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.

33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.

34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings. Therefore their brethren the Levites helped them till the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.

35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.

36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people; for the thing was done suddenly.

30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover unto the Lord God of Israel.

For the king had taken counsel with his princes and all the congregation in Jerusalem to keep the Passover in the second month.

For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together at Jerusalem.

And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation.

So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover unto the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem; for they had not done it for a long time in such manner as it was written.

So the couriers went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, “Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you that have escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.

And be not ye like your fathers and like your brethren who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see.

Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord and enter into His sanctuary, which He hath sanctified for ever; and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you.

For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before those who lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away His face from you if ye return unto Him.”

10 So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.

11 Nevertheless some from Asher and Manasseh and from Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

12 Also the hand of God was in Judah, to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by the word of the Lord.

13 And there assembled at Jerusalem many people to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great congregation.

14 And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away and cast them into the Brook Kidron.

15 Then they killed the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month; and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the Lord.

16 And they stood in their place according to their order, according to the law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites.

17 For there were many in the congregation who were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the Passover lambs for every one who was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord.

18 For a multitude of the people, even many from Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “The good Lord pardon every one

19 who prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.”

20 And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

21 And the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Lord.

22 And Hezekiah spoke comfortingly unto all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.

23 And the whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days, and they kept another seven days with gladness.

24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep, and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.

25 And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers who came out of the land of Israel and who dwelt in Judah rejoiced.

26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem.

27 Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the images in pieces, and cut down the Asherah poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.

And Hezekiah appointed the watches of the priests and the Levites according to their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the tents of the Lord.

He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord.

Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord.

And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.

And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps.

In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.

And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel.

Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

10 And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him and said, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have left plenty; for the Lord hath blessed His people, and that which is left is this great store.

11 Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare storage chambers in the house of the Lord; and they prepared them,

12 and faithfully brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things, over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler and Shimei his brother was the next.

13 And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.

14 And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the gatekeeper toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God to distribute the oblations of the Lord and the most holy things.

15 And next to him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small;

16 besides their genealogy of males from three years old and upward, even unto every one who entereth into the house of the Lord, his daily portion for their service in their charges, according to their courses,

17 both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses;

18 and to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation; for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness;

20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God.

21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.