Death of Solomon^(A)

^29 (B)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of ^(C)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of ^(D)Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ^30 (E)Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹ Then Solomon ^[a]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

The Revolt Against Rehoboam^(F)

10 And ^(G)Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. ² So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was in Egypt, ^(H)where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), that Jeroboam returned from Egypt. ³ Then they sent for him and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴ “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵ So he said to them, “Come back to me after three days.” And the people departed.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, saying, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

⁷ And they spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

^8 (I)But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. ⁹ And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

¹⁰ Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with ^[b]scourges!’ ”

¹² So ^(J)Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” ¹³ Then the king answered them roughly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders, ¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, ^[c]“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with ^[d]scourges!” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; ^(K)for the turn of events was from God, that the Lord might fulfill His ^(L)word, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

So all Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of revenue; but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. ^19 (M)So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Rehoboam’s Reign in Judah

11 Now ^(N)when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled from the house of Judah and Benjamin one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

² But the word of the Lord came ^(O)to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ³ “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up or fight against your brethren! Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the words of the Lord, and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Fortifies the Cities

⁵ So Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah. ⁶ And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Sochoh, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, fortified cities. ¹¹ And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. ¹² Also in every city he put shields and spears, and made them very strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.

Priests and Levites Move to Judah^(P)

¹³ And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. ¹⁴ For the Levites left ^(Q)their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for ^(R)Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the Lord. ^15 (S)Then he appointed for himself priests for the ^[e]high places, for ^(T)the demons, and ^(U)the calf idols which he had made. ^16 (V)And ^[f]after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, ^(W)came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. ¹⁷ So they ^(X)strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

The Family of Rehoboam

¹⁸ Then Rehoboam took for himself as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of ^(Y)Eliah the son of Jesse. ¹⁹ And she bore him children: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ After her he took ^(Z)Maachah the ^[g]granddaughter of ^(AA)Absalom; and she bore him ^(AB)Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Now Rehoboam loved Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom more than all his ^(AC)wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. ²² And Rehoboam ^(AD)appointed ^(AE)Abijah the son of Maachah as chief, to be leader among his brothers; for he intended to make him king. ²³ He dealt wisely, and ^[h]dispersed some of his sons throughout all the territories of Judah and Benjamin, to every ^(AF)fortified city; and he gave them provisions in abundance. He also sought many wives for them.

Egypt Attacks Judah^(AG)

12 Now ^(AH)it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that ^(AI)he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him. ^2 (AJ)And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord, ³ with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—^(AK)the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. ⁴ And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem.

⁵ Then ^(AL)Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ ”

⁶ So the leaders of Israel and the king ^(AM)humbled themselves; and they said, ^(AN)“The Lord is righteous.”

⁷ Now when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, ^(AO)the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸ Nevertheless ^(AP)they will be his servants, that they may distinguish ^(AQ)My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.”

^9 (AR)So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had ^(AS)made. ¹⁰ Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them ^(AT)to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. ¹¹ And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom. ¹² When he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah.

The End of Rehoboam’s Reign^(AU)

¹³ Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now ^(AV)Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, ^(AW)the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an ^(AX)Ammonitess. ¹⁴ And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.

¹⁵ The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, ^(AY)and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? ^(AZ)And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. ¹⁶ So Rehoboam ^[i]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then ^(BA)Abijah^[j] his son reigned in his place.

Abijah Reigns in Judah^(BB)

13 In ^(BC)the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over ^(BD)Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^[k]Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor.

⁴ Then Abijah stood on Mount ^(BE)Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: ⁵ Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel ^(BF)gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, ^(BG)by a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and ^(BH)rebelled against his lord. ⁷ Then ^(BI)worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(BJ)young and inexperienced and could not withstand them. ⁸ And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam ^(BK)made for you as gods. ^9 (BL)Have you not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, ^(BM)so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of ^(BN)things that are not gods? ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our ^(BO)God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. ^11 (BP)And they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the ^(BQ)showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps ^(BR)to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him. ¹² Now look, God Himself is with us as our ^(BS)head, ^(BT)and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!”

¹³ But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them; so they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they ^(BU)cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God ^(BV)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 Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain. ¹⁸ Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, ^(BW)because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.

¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and ^(BX)Ephrain^[l] with its villages. ²⁰ So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the Lord ^(BY)struck him, and ^(BZ)he died.

²¹ But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in ^(CA)the ^[m]annals of the prophet Iddo.

Asa Reigns over Judah

14 So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then ^(CB)Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.

Asa Reigns in Judah^(CC)

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, ³ for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and ^(CD)the ^[n]high places, and ^(CE)broke down the sacred pillars ^(CF)and cut down the wooden images. ⁴ He commanded Judah to ^(CG)seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also removed the ^[o]high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. ⁶ And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him ^(CH)rest. ⁷ Therefore he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. ⁸ And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried ^[p]shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew ^(CI)bows; all these were mighty men of ^(CJ)valor.

^9 (CK)Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to ^(CL)Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa ^(CM)cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is ^(CN)nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and ^(CO)in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”

¹² So the Lord ^(CP)struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to ^(CQ)Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army. And they carried away very much ^[q]spoil. ¹⁴ Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for ^(CR)the fear of the Lord came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much ^[r]spoil in them. ¹⁵ They also ^[s]attacked the livestock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

The Reforms of Asa

15 Now ^(CS)the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. ² And he went out ^[t]to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. ^(CT)The Lord is with you while you are with Him. ^(CU)If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but ^(CV)if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. ^3 (CW)For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a ^(CX)teaching priest, and without ^(CY)law; ⁴ but ^(CZ)when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. ⁵ And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. ^6 (DA)So nation was ^[u]destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. ⁷ But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

⁸ And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of ^[v]Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities ^(DB)which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord. ⁹ Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and ^(DC)those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰ So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. ^11 (DD)And they offered to the Lord ^[w]at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the ^[x]spoil they had brought. ¹² Then they ^(DE)entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; ^13 (DF)and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel ^(DG)was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. ¹⁴ Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. ¹⁵ And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and ^(DH)sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them ^(DI)rest all around.

¹⁶ Also he removed ^(DJ)Maachah, the ^[y]mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of ^[z]Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron. ¹⁷ But ^(DK)the ^[aa]high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.

¹⁸ He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils. ¹⁹ And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Asa’s Treaty with Syria^(DL)

16 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, ^(DM)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, ^(DN)that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ² Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, ³ “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

⁴ So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. ⁵ Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work. ⁶ Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

Hanani’s Message to Asa

⁷ And at that time ^(DO)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: ^(DP)“Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were ^(DQ)the Ethiopians and ^(DR)the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your ^(DS)hand. ^9 (DT)For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this ^(DU)you have done foolishly; therefore from now on ^(DV)you shall have wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer, and ^(DW)put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

Illness and Death of Asa^(DX)

^11 (DY)Note that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed 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, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he ^(DZ)did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.

^13 (EA)So Asa ^[ab]rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in his own tomb, which he had ^[ac]made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled ^(EB)with spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made ^(EC)a very great burning for him.

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

17 Then ^(ED)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. ² And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of ^(EE)Judah and in the cities of Ephraim ^(EF)which Asa his father had taken. ³ Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but sought ^[ad]the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to ^(EG)the acts of Israel. ⁵ Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah ^(EH)gave presents to Jehoshaphat, ^(EI)and he had riches and honor in abundance. ⁶ And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover ^(EJ)he removed the ^[ae]high places and wooden images from Judah.

⁷ Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, ^(EK)to teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸ And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. ^9 (EL)So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰ And ^(EM)the fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Also some of the Philistines ^(EN)brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

¹² So Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. ¹³ He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem.

¹⁴ These are their numbers, according to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; ¹⁶ and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^(EO)who willingly offered himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war. ¹⁹ These served the king, besides ^(EP)those the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

Micaiah Warns Ahab^(EQ)

18 Jehoshaphat ^(ER)had riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he ^(ES)allied himself with ^(ET)Ahab. ^2 (EU)After some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. ³ So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?”

And he answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war.”

⁴ Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ^(EV)“Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.”

⁵ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”

So 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 the Lord here, that we may inquire of ^(EW)Him?”^[af]

⁷ So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.”

And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”

⁸ Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly!”

⁹ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, clothed in their robes, sat each on his throne; and they sat at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. ¹⁰ Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made ^(EX)horns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ”

¹¹ And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

¹² Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.”

¹³ And Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, ^(EY)whatever my God says, that I will speak.”

¹⁴ Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”

And he said, “Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!”

¹⁵ So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁶ Then he said, “I saw all Israel ^(EZ)scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no ^(FA)shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ ”

¹⁷ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

¹⁸ Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His ^(FB)throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. ¹⁹ And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. ²⁰ Then a ^(FC)spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ ²¹ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.’ ²² Therefore look! ^(FD)The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

²³ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and ^(FE)struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go from me to speak to you?”

²⁴ And Micaiah said, “Indeed you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!”

²⁵ Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; ²⁶ and say, ‘Thus says the king: ^(FF)“Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I return in peace.” ’ ”

²⁷ But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by ^(FG)me.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!”

Ahab Dies in Battle^(FH)

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 ^(FI)disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

³⁰ Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

³¹ So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat ^(FJ)cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him. ³² For so it was, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. ³³ Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the ^[ag]joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” ³⁴ The battle increased that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; and about the time of sunset he died.

Jehoshaphat’s Additional Reforms

19 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem. ² And Jehu the son of Hanani ^(FK)the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and ^(FL)love those who hate the Lord? Therefore the ^(FM)wrath of the Lord is upon you. ³ Nevertheless ^(FN)good things are found in you, in that you have removed the ^[ah]wooden images from the land, and have ^(FO)prepared your heart to seek God.”

The Reforms of Jehoshaphat

⁴ So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord God of their ^(FP)fathers. ⁵ Then he set ^(FQ)judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶ and said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for ^(FR)you do not judge for man but for the Lord, ^(FS)who is with you ^[ai]in the judgment. ⁷ Now therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for ^(FT)there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no ^(FU)partiality, nor taking of bribes.”

⁸ Moreover in Jerusalem, for the judgment of the Lord and for controversies, Jehoshaphat ^(FV)appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief fathers of Israel, ^[aj]when they returned to Jerusalem. ⁹ And he commanded them, saying, “Thus you shall act ^(FW)in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a loyal heart: ^10 (FX)Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or commandment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they trespass against the Lord and ^(FY)wrath come upon ^(FZ)you and your brethren. Do this, and you will not be guilty. ¹¹ And take notice: ^(GA)Amariah the chief priest is over you ^(GB)in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also the Levites will be officials before you. Behave courageously, and the Lord will be ^(GC)with the good.”

Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated

20 It happened after this that the people of ^(GD)Moab with the people of ^(GE)Ammon, and others with them besides the ^(GF)Ammonites,^[ak] came to battle against Jehoshaphat. ² Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from ^[al]Syria; and they are ^(GG)in Hazazon Tamar” (which is ^(GH)En Gedi). ³ And Jehoshaphat feared, and set ^[am]himself to ^(GI)seek the Lord, and ^(GJ)proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ So Judah gathered together to ask ^(GK)help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

⁵ Then 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 ^(GL)God in heaven, and ^(GM)do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and ^(GN)in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? ⁷ Are You not ^(GO)our God, who ^(GP)drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham ^(GQ)Your friend forever? ⁸ And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ^9 (GR)‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your ^(GS)name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ ¹⁰ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You ^(GT)would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but ^(GU)they turned from them and did not destroy them— ¹¹ here they are, rewarding us ^(GV)by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will You not ^(GW)judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but ^(GX)our eyes are upon You.”

¹³ Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.

¹⁴ Then ^(GY)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵ And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ^(GZ)‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, ^(HA)for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the ^[an]brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. ^17 (HB)You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, ^(HC)for the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸ And Jehoshaphat ^(HD)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

²⁰ So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: ^(HE)Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” ²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, ^(HF)and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, ^(HI)the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. ²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they ^[ao]had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, ^(HJ)they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the ^[ap]dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; 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 ^[aq]Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. ²⁷ Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had ^(HK)made them rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ²⁹ And ^(HL)the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his ^(HM)God gave him rest all around.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign^(HN)

^31 (HO)So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³² And he walked in the way of his father ^(HP)Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. ³³ Nevertheless ^(HQ)the ^[ar]high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not ^(HR)directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, ^(HS)which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ After this ^(HT)Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, ^(HU)who acted very ^(HV)wickedly. ³⁶ And he allied himself with him ^(HW)to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. ³⁷ But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” ^(HX)Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go ^(HY)to Tarshish.

Jehoram Reigns in Judah^(HZ)

21 And ^(IA)Jehoshaphat ^[as]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. ² He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. ³ Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.

⁴ Now when Jehoram ^[at]was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.

^5 (IB)Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, 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 had done, for he had the daughter of ^(IC)Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. ⁷ Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the ^(ID)covenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his ^(IE)sons forever.

^8 (IF)In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves. ⁹ So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. ¹⁰ Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers. ¹¹ Moreover he made ^[au]high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to ^(IG)commit harlotry, and led Judah astray.

¹² And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying,

¹⁶ Moreover the ^(IM)Lord ^(IN)stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the ^(IO)Arabians who were near the Ethiopians. ¹⁷ And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also ^(IP)his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except ^[av]Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

¹⁸ After all this the Lord struck him ^(IQ)in his intestines with an incurable disease. ¹⁹ Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no ^[aw]burning for him, like ^(IR)the burning for his fathers.

²⁰ He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah^(IS)

22 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made ^(IT)Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the ^(IU)Arabians into the camp had killed all the ^(IV)older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. ² Ahaziah was ^[ax]forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^(IW)Athaliah the ^[ay]granddaughter of Omri. ³ He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. ⁴ Therefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction. ⁵ He also followed their advice, and went with ^[az]Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. ^6 (IX)Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And ^[ba]Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

⁷ His going to Joram ^(IY)was God’s occasion for Ahaziah’s ^[bb]downfall; for when he arrived, ^(IZ)he went out with ^[bc]Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, ^(JA)whom the Lord had anointed to ^[bd]cut off the house of Ahab. ⁸ And it happened, when Jehu was ^(JB)executing judgment on the house of Ahab, and ^(JC)found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them. ^9 (JD)Then he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of ^(JE)Jehoshaphat, who ^(JF)sought the Lord with all his heart.”

So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah^(JG)

^10 (JH)Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. ¹¹ But ^[be]Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took ^(JI)Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. ¹² And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Crowned King of Judah^(JJ)

23 In ^(JK)the seventh year ^(JL)Jehoiada strengthened himself, and made a covenant with the captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of ^(JM)Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. ² And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the ^(JN)chief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

³ Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord has ^(JO)said of the sons of David. ⁴ This is what you shall do: One-third of you ^(JP)entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors; ⁵ one-third shall be at the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶ But let no one come into the house of the Lord except the priests and ^(JQ)those of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord. ⁷ And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

⁸ So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed ^(JR)the divisions. ⁹ And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small ^(JS)shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God. ¹⁰ Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king. ¹¹ And they brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, ^(JT)gave him the ^[bf]Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “Long live the king!”

Death of Athaliah^(JU)

¹² Now when ^(JV)Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. ¹³ When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and ^(JW)those who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, ^(JX)“Treason! Treason!”

¹⁴ And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the Lord.”

¹⁵ So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance ^(JY)of the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there.

¹⁶ Then Jehoiada made a ^(JZ)covenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ And all the people went to the ^[bg]temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and ^(KA)killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. ¹⁸ Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the Lord to the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had ^(KB)assigned in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the ^(KC)Law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David. ¹⁹ And he set the ^(KD)gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.

^20 (KE)Then he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the Lord; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king’s house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom. ²¹ So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

Joash Repairs the Temple^(KF)

24 Joash ^(KG)was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² Joash ^(KH)did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³ And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴ Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the Lord. ⁵ Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and ^(KI)gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.”

However the Levites did not do it quickly. ^6 (KJ)So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of ^(KK)Moses the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel, for the ^(KL)tabernacle of witness?” ⁷ For ^(KM)the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the ^(KN)dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals.

⁸ Then at the king’s command ^(KO)they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the Lord. ⁹ And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord ^(KP)the collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given. ¹¹ So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king’s official by the hand of the Levites, and ^(KQ)when they saw that there was much money, that the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

¹² The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and they hired masons and carpenters to ^(KR)repair the house of the Lord, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the Lord. ¹³ So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; ^(KS)they made from it articles for the house of the Lord, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

Apostasy of Joash

¹⁵ But 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 among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. ¹⁸ Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served ^(KT)wooden images and idols; and ^(KU)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. ¹⁹ Yet He ^(KV)sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God ^[bh]came upon ^(KW)Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ^(KX)‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? ^(KY)Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.’ ” ²¹ So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they ^(KZ)stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his ^[bi]father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, “The Lord look on it, and ^(LA)repay!”

Death of Joash^(LB)

²³ So it happened in the spring of the year that ^(LC)the army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their ^[bj]spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ For the army of the Syrians ^(LD)came with a small company of men; but the Lord ^(LE)delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they ^(LF)executed judgment against Joash. ²⁵ And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), ^(LG)his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the ^[bk]sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶ These are the ones who conspired against him: ^[bl]Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of ^[bm]Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷ Now concerning his sons, and ^(LH)the many oracles about him, and the repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the ^[bn]annals of the book of the kings. ^(LI)Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah^(LJ)

25 Amaziah ^(LK)was twenty-five years old when he became king, 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 sight of the Lord, ^(LL)but not with a loyal heart.

^3 (LM)Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established for him, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. ⁴ However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying, ^(LN)“The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.”

The War Against Edom^(LO)

⁵ Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their fathers’ houses, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them ^(LP)from twenty years old and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield. ⁶ He also hired one hundred thousand mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver. ⁷ But a ^(LQ)man of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim. ⁸ But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has ^(LR)power to help and to overthrow.”

⁹ Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?”

And the man of God answered, ^(LS)“The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” ¹⁰ So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home. Therefore their anger was greatly aroused against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.

¹¹ Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his people, he went to ^(LT)the Valley of Salt and killed ten thousand of the people of Seir. ¹² Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces.

¹³ But as for the soldiers of the army which Amaziah had discharged, so that they would not go with him to battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon, killed three thousand in them, and took much ^[bo]spoil.

¹⁴ Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that ^(LU)he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be ^(LV)his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ Therefore the anger of the Lord was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought ^(LW)the gods of the people, which ^(LX)could not rescue their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶ So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?”

Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has ^(LY)determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

Israel Defeats Judah^(LZ)

¹⁷ Now ^(MA)Amaziah king of Judah asked advice and sent to ^[bp]Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.”

¹⁸ And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. ¹⁹ Indeed you say that you have defeated the Edomites, and your heart is lifted up to ^(MB)boast. Stay at home now; why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall—you and Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not heed, for ^(MC)it came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they ^(MD)sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So Joash king of Israel went out; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at ^(ME)Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ²² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. ²³ Then Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of ^(MF)Jehoahaz, at Beth Shemesh; and he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits. ²⁴ And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of God with ^(MG)Obed-Edom, the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

Death of Amaziah^(MH)

^25 (MI)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 acts of Amaziah, from first to last, indeed are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁸ Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in ^[bq]the City of Judah.

Uzziah Reigns in Judah^(MJ)

26 Now all the people of Judah took ^[br]Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. ² He built ^[bs]Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers.

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ⁴ And he did what was ^(MK)right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. ^5 (ML)He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who ^(MM)had understanding in the ^[bt]visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him ^(MN)prosper.

⁶ Now he went out and ^(MO)made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against ^(MP)the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. ⁸ Also the Ammonites ^(MQ)brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.

⁹ And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the ^(MR)Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them. ¹⁰ Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in ^[bu]Carmel, for he loved the soil.

¹¹ Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. ¹² The total number of ^[bv]chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. ¹³ And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. ¹⁵ And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by ^(MS)skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.

The Penalty for Uzziah’s Pride^(MT)

¹⁶ But ^(MU)when he was strong his heart was ^(MV)lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God ^(MW)by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ So ^(MX)Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men. ¹⁸ And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It ^(MY)is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the ^(MZ)priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, ^(NA)leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. ²⁰ And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also ^(NB)hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.

^21 (NC)King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an ^(ND)isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet ^(NE)Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote. ^23 (NF)So Uzziah ^[bw]rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Jotham Reigns in Judah^(NG)

27 Jotham ^(NH)was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^[bx]Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. ² And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the temple of the Lord). But still ^(NI)the people acted corruptly.

³ He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord, and he built extensively on the wall of ^(NJ)Ophel. ⁴ Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers. ⁵ He also fought with the king of the ^(NK)Ammonites and defeated them. And the people of Ammon gave him in that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The people of Ammon paid this to him in the second and third years also. ⁶ So Jotham became mighty, ^(NL)because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.

⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, indeed 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 sixteen years in Jerusalem. ^9 (NM)So Jotham ^[by]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then ^(NN)Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Ahaz Reigns in Judah^(NO)

28 Ahaz ^(NP)was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done. ² For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made ^(NQ)molded images for ^(NR)the Baals. ³ He burned incense in ^(NS)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned ^(NT)his children in the ^(NU)fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had ^(NV)cast out before the children of Israel. ⁴ And he sacrificed and burned incense on the ^[bz]high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Syria and Israel Defeat Judah^(NW)

⁵ Therefore ^(NX)the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They ^(NY)defeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter. ⁶ For ^(NZ)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, ^(OA)because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. ⁷ Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer over the house, and Elkanah who was second to the king. ⁸ And the children of Israel carried away captive of their ^(OB)brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters; and they also took away much ^[ca]spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Israel Returns the Captives

⁹ But a ^(OC)prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them: “Look, ^(OD)because the Lord God of your fathers was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand; but you have killed them in a rage that ^(OE)reaches up to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you propose to force the children of Judah and Jerusalem to be your ^(OF)male and female slaves; but are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? ¹¹ Now hear me, therefore, and return the captives, whom you have taken captive from your brethren, ^(OG)for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

¹² Then some of the heads of the children 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 came from the war, ¹³ and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for we already have offended the Lord. You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” ¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the ^[cb]spoil before the leaders and all the assembly. ¹⁵ Then the men ^(OH)who were designated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the ^[cc]spoil they clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them and gave them sandals, ^(OI)gave them food and drink, and anointed them; and they let all the feeble ones ride on donkeys. So they brought them to their brethren at Jericho, ^(OJ)the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

Assyria Refuses to Help Judah^(OK)

^16 (OL)At the same time King Ahaz sent to the ^[cd]kings of Assyria to help him. ¹⁷ For again the ^(OM)Edomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives. ^18 (ON)The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there. ¹⁹ For the Lord ^[ce]brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of ^(OO)Israel, for he had ^(OP)encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ Also ^(OQ)Tiglath-Pileser^[cf] king of Assyria came to him and distressed him, and did not assist him. ²¹ For Ahaz took part of the treasures from the house of the Lord, from the house of the king, and from the leaders, and he gave it to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him.

Apostasy and Death of Ahaz^(OR)

²² Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. This is that King Ahaz. ²³ For ^(OS)he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them ^(OT)that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. ²⁴ So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, ^(OU)shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ And in every single city of Judah he made ^[cg]high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.

^26 (OV)Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ So Ahaz ^[ch]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they ^(OW)did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah^(OX)

29 Hezekiah ^(OY)became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^[ci]Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. ² And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he ^(OZ)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. ⁴ Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, ⁵ and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now ^[cj]sanctify yourselves, ^(PA)sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. ⁶ For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have ^(PB)turned their faces away from the ^[ck]dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him. ^7 (PC)They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore the ^(PD)wrath of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has ^(PE)given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to ^(PF)jeering, as you see with your ^(PG)eyes. ⁹ For indeed, because of this ^(PH)our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.

¹⁰ “Now it is in my heart to make ^(PI)a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has ^(PJ)chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”

¹² Then these Levites arose: ^(PK)Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the ^(PL)Kohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; ¹³ of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵ And they gathered their brethren, ^(PM)sanctified^[cl] themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, ^(PN)to cleanse the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the Lord to the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook ^(PO)Kidron.

¹⁷ Now they began to ^[cm]sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule 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 King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. ¹⁹ Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had ^(PP)cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and ^[cn]sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the Lord.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

²⁰ Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers 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 for a ^(PQ)sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. ²² So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and ^(PR)sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. ²³ Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their ^(PS)hands on them. ²⁴ And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering ^(PT)to make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.

^25 (PU)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, ^(PV)according to the commandment of David, of ^(PW)Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; ^(PX)for thus was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with the instruments ^(PY)of David, and the priests with ^(PZ)the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, ^(QA)the song of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. ²⁸ So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. ²⁹ And when they had finished offering, ^(QB)the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. ³⁰ Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

³¹ Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near, and bring sacrifices and ^(QC)thank offerings into the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a ^(QD)willing heart brought burnt offerings. ³² And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. ³³ The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. ³⁴ But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore ^(QE)their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had ^[co]sanctified themselves, ^(QF)for the Levites were ^(QG)more diligent in ^(QH)sanctifying themselves than the priests. ³⁵ Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with ^(QI)the fat of the peace offerings and with ^(QJ)the drink offerings for every burnt offering.

So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. ³⁶ Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly.

Hezekiah Keeps the Passover

30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. ² For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second ^(QK)month. ³ For they could not keep it ^(QL)at ^[cp]the regular time, ^(QM)because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. ⁴ And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. ⁵ So they ^[cq]resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner.

⁶ Then the ^(QN)runners went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the king: “Children of Israel, ^(QO)return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of ^(QP)the kings of ^(QQ)Assyria. ⁷ And do not be ^(QR)like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He ^(QS)gave them up to ^(QT)desolation, as you see. ⁸ Now do not be ^(QU)stiff-necked,^[cr] as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, ^(QV)that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. ⁹ For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with ^(QW)compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is ^(QX)gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you ^(QY)return to Him.”

¹⁰ So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but ^(QZ)they laughed at them and mocked them. ¹¹ Nevertheless ^(RA)some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² Also ^(RB)the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, ^(RC)at the word of the Lord.

¹³ Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of ^(RD)Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴ They arose and took away the ^(RE)altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook ^(RF)Kidron. ¹⁵ Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites ^[cs]were ^(RG)ashamed, and ^[ct]sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ They stood in their ^(RH)place ^[cu]according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had not ^[cv]sanctified themselves; ^(RI)therefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord. ¹⁸ For a multitude of the people, ^(RJ)many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, ^(RK)yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone ¹⁹ who ^(RL)prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” ²⁰ And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^(RM)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments. ²² And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites ^(RN)who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and ^(RO)making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast ^(RP)another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(RQ)gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests ^(RR)sanctified^[cw] themselves. ²⁵ The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners ^(RS)who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. ²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of ^(RT)Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then the priests, the Levites, arose and ^(RU)blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to ^(RV)His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

The Reforms of Hezekiah^(RW)

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and ^(RX)broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the ^[cx]high places and the altars—from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned to their own cities, every man to his possession.

² And Hezekiah appointed ^(RY)the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites ^(RZ)for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the ^[cy]camp of the Lord. ³ The king also appointed a ^[cz]portion of his ^(SA)possessions^[da] for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the ^(SB)Law of the Lord.

⁴ Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute ^(SC)support^[db] for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to ^(SD)the Law of the Lord.

⁵ As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance ^(SE)the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the ^(SF)tithe of everything. ⁶ And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the ^(SG)tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the Lord their God they laid in heaps.

⁷ In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. ⁸ And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel. ⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰ And Azariah the chief priest, from the ^(SH)house of Zadok, answered him and said, ^(SI)“Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great ^(SJ)abundance.”

¹¹ Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ^(SK)rooms^[dc] in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. ¹² Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; ^(SL)Cononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next. ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ^(SM)ruler of the house of God. ¹⁴ Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the ^(SN)freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things. ¹⁵ And under him were ^(SO)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in ^(SP)the cities of the priests, to distribute ^(SQ)allotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small.

¹⁶ Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the Lord his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division, ¹⁷ and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites ^(SR)from twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions, ¹⁸ and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company of them—for in their faithfulness they ^[dd]sanctified themselves in holiness.

¹⁹ Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in ^(SS)the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were ^(ST)designated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites.

²⁰ Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he ^(SU)did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. ²¹ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he ^(SV)prospered.