Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

29 ^(A)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^[a] the daughter of ^(B)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 ^(C)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 ^(D)consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth^[b] 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 ^(E)have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. ⁷ They also ^(F)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 ^(G)the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them ^(H)an object of horror, of astonishment, ^(I)and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ For behold, ^(J)our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. ¹⁰ Now ^(K)it is in my heart ^(L)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, ^(M)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, ^(N)Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of ^(O)the Kohathites; and of the sons of ^(P)Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the ^(Q)Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; ¹³ and of the sons of ^(R)Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of ^(S)Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ and of the sons of ^(T)Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of ^(U)Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. ¹⁵ They gathered their brothers and ^(V)consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, ^(W)by the words of the Lord, ^(X)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 ^(Y)the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ They began to consecrate ^(Z)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 ^(AA)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 ^(AB)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 ^(AC)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, ^(AD)and they laid their hands on them, ²⁴ and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, ^(AE)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 (AF)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, ^(AG)according to the commandment of David and of Gad ^(AH)the king's seer and of ^(AI)Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with ^(AJ)the instruments of David, ^(AK)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, ^(AL)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, ^(AM)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, ^(AN)“You have now consecrated yourselves to^[c] 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 ^(AO)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, ^(AP)their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—^(AQ)for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. ³⁵ Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was ^(AR)the fat of the peace offerings, and there were ^(AS)the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. ³⁶ And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

Passover Celebrated

30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. ² For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover ^(AT)in the second month— ³ for they could not keep it ^(AU)at that time ^(AV)because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— ⁴ and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. ⁵ So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, ^(AW)from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. ^6 (AX)So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, ^(AY)return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of ^(AZ)the kings of Assyria. ^7 (BA)Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. ^8 (BB)Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, ^(BC)that his fierce anger may turn away from you. ⁹ For ^(BD)if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children ^(BE)will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For ^(BF)the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, ^(BG)if you return to him.”

^10 (BH)So the couriers went from city to city through the country of ^(BI)Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but ^(BJ)they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. ¹¹ However, ^(BK)some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded ^(BL)by the word of the Lord.

¹³ And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^(BM)in the second month, a very great assembly. ¹⁴ They set to work and removed ^(BN)the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away ^(BO)and threw into the brook Kidron. ^15 (BP)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. ^(BQ)And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, ^(BR)so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. ^16 (BS)They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses ^(BT)the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. ¹⁸ For a majority of the people, ^(BU)many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise ^(BV)than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone ^19 (BW)who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.”^{[d] 20} And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. ²¹ And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^(BX)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might^[e] to the Lord. ²² And Hezekiah spoke ^(BY)encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing ^(BZ)peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast ^(CA)for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(CB)gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests ^(CC)consecrated themselves in great numbers. ²⁵ The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, ^(CD)and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. ²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for ^(CE)since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then ^(CF)the priests and the Levites arose and ^(CG)blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to ^(CH)his holy habitation in heaven.

Hezekiah Organizes the Priests

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and ^(CI)broke in pieces the ^(CJ)pillars and cut down ^(CK)the Asherim and broke down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned to their cities, every man to his possession.

² And Hezekiah appointed ^(CL)the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, division by division, each according to his service, the priests and the Levites, ^(CM)for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to minister in the gates of the camp of the Lord and to give thanks and praise. ^3 (CN)The contribution of the king from his own possessions was for the burnt offerings: the burnt offerings of morning and evening, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed feasts, ^(CO)as it is written in the Law of the Lord. ⁴ And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give ^(CP)the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the Lord. ⁵ As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly ^(CQ)the tithe of everything. ⁶ And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and ^(CR)the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps. ⁷ In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. ⁹ And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. ¹⁰ Azariah the chief priest, who was ^(CS)of the house of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, ^(CT)for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount left.”

¹¹ Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ^(CU)chambers in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. ¹² And they faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the dedicated things. The chief officer ^(CV)in charge of them was Conaniah the Levite, with ^(CW)Shimei his brother as second, ^13 (CX)while Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, ^(CY)Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers assisting Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king and ^(CZ)Azariah the chief officer of the house of God. ¹⁴ And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the east gate, was over the freewill offerings to God, to apportion the contribution reserved for the Lord and the most holy offerings. ^15 (DA)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah were faithfully assisting him in ^(DB)the cities of the priests, to distribute the portions to their brothers, old and young alike, by divisions, ¹⁶ except those enrolled by genealogy, males from three years old and upward—all who entered the house of the Lord ^(DC)as the duty of each day required—for their service according to their offices, by their divisions. ¹⁷ The enrollment of the priests was according to their fathers' houses; that of the Levites ^(DD)from twenty years old and upward was according to their offices, by their divisions. ¹⁸ They were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole assembly, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy. ¹⁹ And for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of common land belonging to their cities, there were men in the several cities who were ^(DE)designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone among the Levites who was enrolled.

²⁰ Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, ^(DF)and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. ²¹ And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

Sennacherib Invades Judah

32 ^(DG)After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. ² And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, ³ he planned with his officers and his mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him. ⁴ A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and ^(DH)the brook that flowed through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?” ⁵ He set to work resolutely and built up ^(DI)all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it,^[f] and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the ^(DJ)Millo in the city of David. He also made weapons and shields in abundance. ⁶ And he set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke ^(DK)encouragingly to them, saying, ^7 (DL)“Be strong and courageous. ^(DM)Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, ^(DN)for there are more with us than with him. ⁸ With him is ^(DO)an arm of flesh, ^(DP)but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Sennacherib Blasphemes

⁹ After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, ¹⁰ “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹ Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, “The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? ^12 (DQ)Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “Before one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices”? ¹³ Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver their lands out of my hand? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? ¹⁵ Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!’”

¹⁶ And his servants said still more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.” ¹⁸ And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. ¹⁹ And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men's hands.

The Lord Delivers Jerusalem

²⁰ Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. ²¹ And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with ^(DR)shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. ²² So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. ²³ And many ^(DS)brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

Hezekiah's Pride and Achievements

^24 (DT)In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah ^(DU)did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for ^(DV)his heart was proud. Therefore ^(DW)wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ But Hezekiah ^(DX)humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of ^(DY)costly vessels; ²⁸ storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. ²⁹ He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. ³⁰ This same Hezekiah ^(DZ)closed the upper outlet of the waters of ^(EA)Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. ³¹ And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, ^(EB)who had been sent to him to inquire about ^(EC)the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, ^(ED)in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.

³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written ^(EE)in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, ^(EF)in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the ^(EG)upper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

33 ^(EH)Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to ^(EI)the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the high places ^(EJ)that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made ^(EK)Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. ⁴ And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^(EL)“In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven in ^(EM)the two courts of the house of the Lord. ^6 (EN)And he burned his sons as an offering ^(EO)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and ^(EP)used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with ^(EQ)mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. ⁷ And ^(ER)the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, ^(ES)I will put my name forever, ⁸ and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land ^(ET)that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” ⁹ Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Manasseh's Repentance

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. ^11 (EU)Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and ^(EV)bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. ¹² And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God ^(EW)and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. ¹³ He prayed to him, and ^(EX)God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. ^(EY)Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

¹⁴ Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of ^(EZ)Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into ^(FA)the Fish Gate, and carried it around ^(FB)Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. ¹⁵ And ^(FC)he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. ¹⁶ He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. ^17 (FD)Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and ^(FE)his prayer to his God, and the words of ^(FF)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the ^(FG)Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁹ And his prayer, and how ^(FH)God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites ^(FI)on which he built high places and set up the ^(FJ)Asherim and the images, before ^(FK)he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.^{[g] 20} So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon's Reign and Death

^21 (FL)Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images ^(FM)that Manasseh his father had made, and served them. ²³ And he did not humble himself before the Lord, ^(FN)as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. ²⁴ And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. ²⁵ But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

Josiah Reigns in Judah

34 ^(FO)Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ³ For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the ^(FP)Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. ⁴ And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the ^(FQ)incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the ^(FR)Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and ^(FS)scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ^5 (FT)He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ And in the ^(FU)cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins^[h] all around, ⁷ he broke down the altars and beat the ^(FV)Asherim and the images ^(FW)into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The Book of the Law Found

^8 (FX)Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the ^(FY)governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, ^(FZ)the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. ⁹ They came to ^(GA)Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from ^(GB)Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord. And the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it for repairing and restoring the house. ¹¹ They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and ^(GC)beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. ¹² And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. ^(GD)The Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, ¹³ were over ^(GE)the burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

¹⁴ While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, ^(GF)Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given through^[i] Moses. ¹⁵ Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ Shaphan brought the book to the king, and further reported to the king, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. ¹⁷ They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the Lord and have given it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.

¹⁹ And when the king heard the words of the Law, ^(GG)he tore his clothes. ²⁰ And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, ²¹ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is ^(GH)the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Huldah Prophesies Disaster

²² So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent^[j] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. ²³ And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. ²⁵ Because they have forsaken me and ^(GI)have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore ^(GJ)my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. ²⁶ But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, ²⁷ because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁸ Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.

^29 (GK)Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. ³¹ And the king ^(GL)stood in his place ^(GM)and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³² Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ And Josiah took away ^(GN)all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Josiah Keeps the Passover

35 ^(GO)Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb ^(GP)on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² He appointed the priests to their offices ^(GQ)and encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. ³ And he said to the Levites ^(GR)who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. You need not carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. ⁴ Prepare yourselves ^(GS)according to your fathers' houses by your divisions, ^(GT)as prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel ^(GU)and the document of Solomon his son. ⁵ And ^(GV)stand in the Holy Place ^(GW)according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of your brothers the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by fathers' household. ⁶ And slaughter the Passover lamb, and ^(GX)consecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by^[k] Moses.”

⁷ Then Josiah contributed to the lay people, as Passover offerings for all who were present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of 30,000, and 3,000 bulls; ^(GY)these were from the king's possessions. ⁸ And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. ^(GZ)Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 bulls. ⁹ Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls.

¹⁰ When the service had been prepared for, the priests ^(HA)stood in their place, ^(HB)and the Levites in their divisions according to the king's command. ^11 (HC)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests ^(HD)threw the blood that they received from them ^(HE)while the Levites flayed the sacrifices. ¹² And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the bulls. ^13 (HF)And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they ^(HG)boiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. ¹⁴ And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place ^(HH)according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's ^(HI)seer; ^(HJ)and the gatekeepers were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁶ So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁷ And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, ^(HK)and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. ^18 (HL)No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Josiah Killed in Battle

^20 (HM)After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at ^(HN)Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. ²¹ But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” ²² Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but ^(HO)disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of ^(HP)Megiddo. ²³ And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, ^(HQ)“Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” ²⁴ So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. ^(HR)All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ^25 (HS)Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all ^(HT)the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a rule in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds according to what is written in the Law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Judah's Decline

36 ^(HU)The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. ² Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and ^(HV)laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent^[l] of gold. ⁴ And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.

^5 (HW)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ^6 (HX)Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(HY)and bound him in chains ^(HZ)to take him to Babylon. ^7 (IA)Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. ^8 (IB)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

^9 (IC)Jehoiachin was eighteen^[m] years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁰ In ^(ID)the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, ^(IE)with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his brother ^(IF)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

^11 (IG)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before ^(IH)Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. ^13 (II)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. ^(IJ)He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(IK)sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. ^16 (IL)But they kept mocking the messengers of God, ^(IM)despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, ^(IN)until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

Jerusalem Captured and Burned

^17 (IO)Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (IP)And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. ^19 (IQ)And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. ²⁰ He ^(IR)took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, ^(IS)and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had ^(IT)enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate ^(IU)it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus

^22 (IV)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(IW)that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, ^(IX)the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ²³ “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

Rehoboam's Folly

12 ^(A)Rehoboam went to ^(B)Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ² And as soon as ^(C)Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for ^(D)he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from^[a] Egypt. ³ And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ^4 (E)“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ He said to them, ^(F)“Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” ⁷ And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” ⁸ But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. ⁹ And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. ¹¹ And now, whereas ^(G)my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, ^(H)“Come to me again the third day.” ¹³ And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, ¹⁴ he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, ^(I)“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for ^(J)it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which ^(K)the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided

¹⁶ And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. ^(L)To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over ^(M)the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent ^(N)Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ^19 (O)So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. ²⁰ And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but ^(P)the tribe of Judah only.

^21 (Q)When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²² But the word of God came to ^(R)Shemaiah the man of God: ²³ “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the ^(S)rest of the people, ²⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, ^(T)for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam's Golden Calves

²⁵ Then Jeroboam ^(U)built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and ^(V)built Penuel.