Jehoshaphat's Reforms

19 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ² But ^(A)Jehu the son of ^(B)Hanani ^(C)the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you ^(D)help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, ^(E)wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. ³ Nevertheless, ^(F)some good is found in you, for ^(G)you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have ^(H)set your heart to seek God.”

⁴ Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to ^(I)the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. ⁵ He appointed ^(J)judges in the land in all ^(K)the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶ and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, ^(L)for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. ⁷ Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for ^(M)there is no injustice with the Lord our God, ^(N)or partiality or taking bribes.”

⁸ Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat ^(O)appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, ^(P)to give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. ⁹ And he charged them: ^(Q)“Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, ^(R)and with your whole heart: ^10 (S)whenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and ^(T)wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. ¹¹ And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you ^(U)in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers. ^(V)Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”^[a]

Jehoshaphat's Prayer

20 After this ^(W)the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,^[b] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ² Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,^[c] from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in ^(X)Hazazon-tamar” (that is, ^(Y)Engedi). ³ Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face ^(Z)to seek the Lord, and ^(AA)proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

⁵ And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶ and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not ^(AB)God in heaven? You ^(AC)rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. ^(AD)In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. ⁷ Did you not, our God, ^(AE)drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of ^(AF)Abraham your friend? ⁸ And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ^9 (AG)‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,^[d] or pestilence, or famine, ^(AH)we will stand before this house and before you—^(AI)for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ ¹⁰ And now behold, the men of ^(AJ)Ammon and Moab and ^(AK)Mount Seir, whom ^(AL)you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, ^(AM)and whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹ behold, they reward us ^(AN)by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will you not ^(AO)execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but ^(AP)our eyes are on you.”

¹³ Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴ And ^(AQ)the Spirit of the Lord came^[e] upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵ And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ^(AR)‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, ^(AS)for the battle is not yours but God's. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of ^(AT)the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. ^17 (AU)You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ ^(AV)Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, ^(AW)and the Lord will be with you.”

¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat ^(AX)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ And the Levites, of the ^(AY)Kohathites and the ^(AZ)Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went out into ^(BA)the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! ^(BB)Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹ And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him ^(BC)in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

²² And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ^(BE)an ambush against the men of ^(BF)Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. ²³ For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, ^(BG)they all helped to destroy one another.

The Lord Delivers Judah

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there^[f] were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,^[g] for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. ²⁷ Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ^(BH)for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ^29 (BI)And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, ^(BJ)for his God gave him rest all around.

^31 (BK)Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. ^33 (BL)The high places, however, were not taken away; ^(BM)the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of ^(BN)Jehu the son of Hanani, ^(BO)which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

The End of Jehoshaphat's Reign

^35 (BP)After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. ³⁶ He joined him in building ships to go to ^(BQ)Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, ^(BR)“Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

Jehoram Reigns in Judah

21 ^(BS)Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place. ² He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of ^(BT)Israel.^{[h] 3} Their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and valuable possessions, together with ^(BU)fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn. ⁴ When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of ^(BV)Israel. ^5 (BW)Jehoram was ^(BX)thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ^6 (BY)And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for ^(BZ)the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ⁷ Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give ^(CA)a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

⁸ In his days Edom revolted from the ^(CB)rule of Judah and set up a king of their own. ⁹ Then Jehoram passed over with his commanders and all his chariots, and he rose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders. ¹⁰ So Edom revolted from ^(CC)the rule of Judah to this day. At that time Libnah also revolted from his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers.

¹¹ Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(CD)into whoredom and made Judah go astray. ¹² And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, ^(CE)‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or ^(CF)in the ways of Asa king of Judah, ^13 (CG)but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(CH)into whoredom, ^(CI)as the house of Ahab led Israel into whoredom, and also you ^(CJ)have killed your brothers, of your father's house, who were better than you, ¹⁴ behold, the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, ¹⁵ and you yourself will have a severe sickness ^(CK)with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day.’”

^16 (CL)And the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the anger^[i] of the Philistines and of ^(CM)the Arabians who are near the Ethiopians. ¹⁷ And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except ^(CN)Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

¹⁸ And after all this the Lord struck him ^(CO)in his bowels with an incurable disease. ¹⁹ In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, ^(CP)like the fires made for his fathers. ^20 (CQ)He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed ^(CR)with no one's regret. ^(CS)They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

22 ^(CT)And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men that came with ^(CU)the Arabians to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. ² Ahaziah was twenty-two^[j] years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, ^(CV)the granddaughter of Omri. ³ He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. ⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done. For after the death of his father they were his counselors, to his undoing. ⁵ He even followed their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. And the Syrians wounded Joram, ⁶ and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was wounded.

⁷ But it was ordained by^[k] God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there, ^(CW)he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu the son of Nimshi, ^(CX)whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. ^8 (CY)And when Jehu was ^(CZ)executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers, who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them. ^9 (DA)He searched for Ahaziah, and he was captured while hiding in Samaria, and he was brought to Jehu and put to death. ^(DB)They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, ^(DC)who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

^10 (DD)Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah. ¹¹ But Jehoshabeath,^[l] the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him^[m] from Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death. ¹² And he remained with them six years, hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Made King

23 ^(DE)But in the seventh year Jehoiada took courage and entered into a covenant with the commanders of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. ² And they went about through ^(DF)Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. ³ And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada^[n] said to them, “Behold, the king's son! Let him reign, ^(DG)as the Lord spoke concerning the sons of David. ⁴ This is the thing that you shall do: ^(DH)of you priests and Levites who come off duty on the Sabbath, one third shall be gatekeepers, ⁵ and one third shall be at the king's house and one third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶ Let no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests ^(DI)and ministering Levites. They may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the charge of the Lord. ⁷ The Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever enters the house shall be put to death. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men, who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss ^(DJ)the divisions. ⁹ And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains the spears and the large and small shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of God. ¹⁰ And he set all the people as a guard for the king, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house. ¹¹ Then they brought out the king's son and put the crown on him and gave him ^(DK)the testimony. And they proclaimed him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they said, ^(DL)“Long live the king.”

Athaliah Executed

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the Lord to the people. ¹³ And when she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” ¹⁴ Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and anyone who follows her is to be put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they laid hands on her,^[o] and she went into the entrance of ^(DM)the horse gate of the king's house, and they put her to death there.

Jehoiada's Reforms

¹⁶ And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord's people. ¹⁷ Then all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, ^(DN)and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. ¹⁸ And Jehoiada posted watchmen for the house of the Lord under the direction of ^(DO)the Levitical priests and the Levites ^(DP)whom David had organized to be in charge of the house of the Lord, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, ^(DQ)as it is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, ^(DR)according to the order of David. ¹⁹ He stationed ^(DS)the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord so that no one should enter who was in any way unclean. ²⁰ And he took the captains, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching ^(DT)through the upper gate to the king's house. And they set the king on the royal throne. ²¹ So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword.

Joash Repairs the Temple

24 ^(DU)Joash^[p] was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ^2 (DV)And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³ Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴ After this Joash ^(DW)decided to ^(DX)restore the house of the Lord. ⁵ And he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of ^(DY)Judah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you act quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. ⁶ So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem ^(DZ)the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the congregation of Israel for ^(EA)the tent of testimony?” ⁷ For ^(EB)the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also used all ^(EC)the dedicated things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.

⁸ So the king commanded, and they made a chest and set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord. ⁹ And ^(ED)proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in for the Lord ^(EE)the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished.^{[q] 11} And whenever the chest was brought to the king's officers by the Levites, when they saw that there was much money in it, the king's secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and take it and return it to its place. Thus they did day after day, and collected money in abundance. ¹² And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who had charge of the work of the house of the Lord, and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord. ¹³ So those who were engaged in the work labored, and the repairing went forward in their hands, and they restored the house of God to its proper condition and strengthened it. ¹⁴ And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, and with it ^(EF)were made utensils for the house of the Lord, both for the service and for the burnt offerings, and dishes for incense and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord regularly all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died. He was 130 years old at his death. ¹⁶ And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. ¹⁸ And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served ^(EG)the Asherim and the idols. And ^(EH)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. ^19 (EI)Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. ^(EJ)These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

Joash's Treachery

^20 (EK)Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah ^(EL)the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ^(EM)‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? ^(EN)Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” ²¹ But ^(EO)they conspired against him, ^(EP)and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see ^(EQ)and avenge!”^[r]

Joash Assassinated

²³ At the end of the year ^(ER)the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, ^(ES)the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, ^(ET)because Judah^[s] had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they ^(EU)executed judgment on Joash.

²⁵ When they had departed from him, leaving him ^(EV)severely wounded, ^(EW)his servants conspired against him because of the blood of ^(EX)the son^[t] of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, ^(EY)but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶ Those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabite. ²⁷ Accounts of his sons and of the many oracles against him and of ^(EZ)the rebuilding^[u] of the house of God are written in the ^(FA)Story^[v] of the Book of the Kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

25 ^(FB)Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, ^(FC)yet not with a whole heart. ³ And as soon as the royal power was firmly his, he killed his servants who had struck down the king his father. ⁴ But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, ^(FD)“Fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children die because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.”

Amaziah's Victories

⁵ Then Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers' houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those ^(FE)twenty years old and upward, and found that they were ^(FF)300,000 choice men, fit for war, ^(FG)able to handle spear and shield. ⁶ He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents^[w] of silver. ⁷ But ^(FH)a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites. ⁸ But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? ^(FI)For God has power to help or to cast down.” ⁹ And Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” ¹⁰ Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah and returned home in fierce anger. ¹¹ But Amaziah took courage and led out his people and went to the ^(FJ)Valley of Salt and struck down ^(FK)10,000 men of Seir. ¹² The men of Judah captured another 10,000 alive and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, and they were all dashed to pieces. ¹³ But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, ^(FL)from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 people in them and took much spoil.

Amaziah's Idolatry

¹⁴ After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, ^(FM)he brought the gods ^(FN)of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them. ¹⁵ Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people ^(FO)who did not deliver their own people from your hand?” ¹⁶ But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that ^(FP)God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

Israel Defeats Amaziah

^17 (FQ)Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” ¹⁸ And Joash the king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, ^(FR)“A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. ¹⁹ You say, ‘See, I^[x] have struck down Edom,’ and ^(FS)your heart has lifted you up in boastfulness. But now stay at home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies, ^(FT)because they had sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ²² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. ²³ And Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, son of ^(FU)Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for 400 cubits,^[y] from ^(FV)the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. ²⁴ And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, in the care of ^(FW)Obed-edom. He seized also the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.

^25 (FX)Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. ²⁶ Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, from first to last, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ From the time when he turned away from the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. ²⁸ And they brought him upon horses, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David.^[z]

Uzziah Reigns in Judah

26 And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. ² He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. ³ Uzziah was ^(FY)sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ⁴ And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He set himself to seek God ^(FZ)in the days of Zechariah, ^(GA)who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

⁶ He went out and ^(GB)made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him ^(GC)against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the ^(GD)Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites ^(GE)paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. ⁹ Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at ^(GF)the Corner Gate and at ^(GG)the Valley Gate and at ^(GH)the Angle, and fortified them. ¹⁰ And he built towers in the wilderness and ^(GI)cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. ¹¹ Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders. ¹² The whole number of the heads of fathers' houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600. ¹³ Under their command was an army of ^(GJ)307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, ^(GK)coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

Uzziah's Pride and Punishment

¹⁶ But when ^(GL)he was strong, ^(GM)he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ But ^(GN)Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, ¹⁸ and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, ^(GO)“It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, ^(GP)but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.” ¹⁹ Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, ^(GQ)leprosy^[aa] broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. ²⁰ And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. ^21 (GR)And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived ^(GS)in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, ^(GT)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote. ²³ And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Jotham Reigns in Judah

27 ^(GU)Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done, ^(GV)except he did not enter the temple of the Lord. But the people still followed corrupt practices. ³ He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord and did much building on the wall of ^(GW)Ophel. ⁴ Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. ⁵ He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents^[ab] of silver, and 10,000 cors^[ac] of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years. ⁶ So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God. ^7 (GX)Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ He was ^(GY)twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹ And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Ahaz Reigns in Judah

28 ^(GZ)Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, ² but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made ^(HA)metal images for ^(HB)the Baals, ³ and ^(HC)he made offerings in the ^(HD)Valley of the Son of Hinnom and ^(HE)burned his sons as an offering,^[ad] according to ^(HF)the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. ⁴ And he sacrificed and ^(HG)made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Defeated

^5 (HH)Therefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. ⁶ For ^(HI)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. ⁷ And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.

⁸ The men of Israel took captive 200,000 ^(HJ)of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, ^(HK)was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage ^(HL)that has reached up to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the Lord your God? ¹¹ Now hear me, and send back the captives ^(HM)from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

¹² Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war ¹³ and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the Lord in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already 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 assembly. ¹⁵ And ^(HN)the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, ^(HO)provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, ^(HP)the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

^16 (HQ)At that time King Ahaz sent to the king^[ae] of Assyria for help. ¹⁷ For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. ^18 (HR)And the Philistines had made raids on ^(HS)the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco ^(HT)with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. ¹⁹ For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made ^(HU)Judah act sinfully^[af] and had been very unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ So ^(HV)Tiglath-pileser^[ag] king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. ^21 (HW)For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the Lord and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

Ahaz's Idolatry

²² In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. ²³ For ^(HX)he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, ^(HY)“Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will 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 ^(HZ)cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made himself ^(IA)altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city of Judah he made high places to ^(IB)make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his fathers. ^26 (IC)Now the rest of his acts 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 ^(ID)they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

29 ^(IE)Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah^[ah] the daughter of ^(IF)Zechariah. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he ^(IG)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. ⁴ He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east ⁵ and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now ^(IH)consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth^[ai] from the Holy Place. ⁶ For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and ^(II)have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. ⁷ They also ^(IJ)shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore ^(IK)the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them ^(IL)an object of horror, of astonishment, ^(IM)and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ For behold, ^(IN)our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. ¹⁰ Now ^(IO)it is in my heart ^(IP)to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, do not now be negligent, ^(IQ)for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

¹² Then the Levites arose, ^(IR)Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of ^(IS)the Kohathites; and of the sons of ^(IT)Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the ^(IU)Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; ¹³ and of the sons of ^(IV)Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of ^(IW)Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ and of the sons of ^(IX)Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of ^(IY)Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. ¹⁵ They gathered their brothers and ^(IZ)consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, ^(JA)by the words of the Lord, ^(JB)to cleanse the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they 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 and carried it out to ^(JC)the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ They began to consecrate ^(JD)on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, 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, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. ¹⁹ All the utensils ^(JE)that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

²⁰ Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. ²¹ And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats ^(JF)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 slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood ^(JG)and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. ²³ Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, ^(JH)and they laid their hands on them, ²⁴ and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, ^(JI)to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

^25 (JJ)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, ^(JK)according to the commandment of David and of Gad ^(JL)the king's seer and of ^(JM)Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with ^(JN)the instruments of David, ^(JO)and the priests with the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, ^(JP)the song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. ²⁸ The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. ²⁹ When the offering was finished, ^(JQ)the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. ³⁰ And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

³¹ Then Hezekiah said, ^(JR)“You have now consecrated yourselves to^[aj] the Lord. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were ^(JS)of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. ³² The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. ³³ And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. ³⁴ But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, ^(JT)their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—^(JU)for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. ³⁵ Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was ^(JV)the fat of the peace offerings, and there were ^(JW)the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored.