Idols Are Destroyed

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, ^(A)broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the ^[a]Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until ^[b]they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.

² And Hezekiah appointed ^(B)the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, ^(C)for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.

Reforms Continued

³ He also appointed ^(D)the king’s portion of his property for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the appointed festivals, ^(E)as it is written in the Law of the Lord. ⁴ Also he told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give ^(F)the portion due to the priests and the Levites, so that they might devote themselves to ^(G)the Law of the Lord. ⁵ As soon as the ^[c]order spread, the sons of Israel abundantly provided the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly ^(H)the tithe of everything. ⁶ The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and ^(I)the tithe of ^[d]sacred gifts which were consecrated to the Lord their God, and placed them in heaps. ⁷ In the third month they began to ^[e]make the heaps, and they finished them by the seventh month. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and ^(J)His people Israel. ⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰ Azariah, the chief priest ^(K)of the house of Zadok, said to ^[f]him, “^(L)Since the contributions started coming into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”

¹¹ Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ^(M)rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. ¹² They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge ^(N)of them, and his brother Shimei was second. ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers ^[g]under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and ^(O)Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God. ¹⁴ Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of the ^[h]voluntary offerings for God, to distribute the contributions for the Lord and the most holy things. ^15 [i]Under his authority were ^(P)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in ^(Q)the cities of the priests, to distribute their portions faithfully to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small, ¹⁶ without regard to their genealogical enrollment, to the males from ^[j](R)thirty years old and upward—everyone who entered the house of the Lord ^(S)for his daily obligations—for their work in their duties according to their divisions; ¹⁷ as well as the priests who were enrolled genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites ^(T)from twenty years old and upward, by their duties and their divisions. ¹⁸ The genealogical enrollment included ^[k]all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves ^[l]faithfully in holiness. ¹⁹ Also for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in ^(U)the pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city, ^(V)there were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone genealogically enrolled among the Levites.

²⁰ Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and ^(W)he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. ²¹ Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in the Law and in the commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and ^(X)prospered.

The Doom of Babylon

17 ^(A)Then one of the ^(B)seven angels who had the ^(C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you ^(D)the judgment of the ^(E)great prostitute who ^(F)sits on many waters, ² with whom ^(G)the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and ^(H)those who live on the earth ^(I)became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” ³ And ^(J)he carried me away ^[a](K)in the Spirit ^(L)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a ^(M)scarlet beast, full of ^(N)blasphemous names, having ^(O)seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman ^(P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and ^[b]adorned with gold, precious ^[c]stones, and pearls, holding in her hand ^(Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, ⁵ and on her forehead a name was written, ^[d]a ^(R)mystery: “^(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF ^(T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” ⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with ^(U)the blood of the ^[e]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered ^[f]greatly. ⁷ And the angel said to me, “Why ^[g]do you wonder? I will tell you the ^(V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the ^(W)seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸ “^(X)The beast that you saw ^(Y)was, and is not, and is about to ^(Z)come up out of the ^(AA)abyss and ^[h](AB)go to destruction. And ^(AC)those who live on the earth, ^(AD)whose names have not been written in the book of life ^(AE)from the foundation of the world, will ^(AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will ^[i]come. ^9 (AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The ^(AH)seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits, ¹⁰ and they are seven ^(AI)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ¹¹ The beast which ^(AJ)was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he ^(AK)goes to destruction. ¹² The ^(AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast ^(AM)for one hour. ¹³ These have ^(AN)one ^[j]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁴ These will wage ^(AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(AP)overcome them because He is ^(AQ)Lord of lords and ^(AR)King of kings; and ^(AS)those who are with Him are the ^(AT)called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵ And he *said to me, “The ^(AU)waters which you saw where the prostitute sits are ^(AV)peoples and multitudes, and nations and languages. ¹⁶ And the ^(AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her ^(AX)desolate and ^(AY)naked, and will ^(AZ)eat her flesh and will ^(BA)burn her up with fire. ¹⁷ For ^(BB)God has put it in their hearts to execute His ^[k]purpose ^[l]by ^(BC)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the ^(BD)words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman whom you saw is ^(BE)the great city, which ^[m]reigns over the kings of the earth.”