Hezekiah Reigns in Judah^(A)

29 Hezekiah ^(B)became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^[a]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 ^(C)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 ^[b]sanctify yourselves, ^(D)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 ^(E)turned their faces away from the ^[c]dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him. ^7 (F)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 ^(G)wrath of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has ^(H)given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to ^(I)jeering, as you see with your ^(J)eyes. ⁹ For indeed, because of this ^(K)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 ^(L)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 ^(M)chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”

¹² Then these Levites arose: ^(N)Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the ^(O)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, ^(P)sanctified^[d] themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, ^(Q)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 ^(R)Kidron.

¹⁷ Now they began to ^[e]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 ^(S)cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and ^[f]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 ^(T)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 ^(U)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 ^(V)hands on them. ²⁴ And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering ^(W)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 (X)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, ^(Y)according to the commandment of David, of ^(Z)Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; ^(AA)for thus was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with the instruments ^(AB)of David, and the priests with ^(AC)the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, ^(AD)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, ^(AE)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 ^(AF)thank offerings into the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a ^(AG)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 ^(AH)their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had ^[g]sanctified themselves, ^(AI)for the Levites were ^(AJ)more diligent in ^(AK)sanctifying themselves than the priests. ³⁵ Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with ^(AL)the fat of the peace offerings and with ^(AM)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 ^(AN)month. ³ For they could not keep it ^(AO)at ^[h]the regular time, ^(AP)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 ^[i]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 ^(AQ)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, ^(AR)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 ^(AS)the kings of ^(AT)Assyria. ⁷ And do not be ^(AU)like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He ^(AV)gave them up to ^(AW)desolation, as you see. ⁸ Now do not be ^(AX)stiff-necked,^[j] 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, ^(AY)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 ^(AZ)compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is ^(BA)gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you ^(BB)return to Him.”

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

¹³ Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of ^(BG)Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴ They arose and took away the ^(BH)altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook ^(BI)Kidron. ¹⁵ Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites ^[k]were ^(BJ)ashamed, and ^[l]sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ They stood in their ^(BK)place ^[m]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 ^[n]sanctified themselves; ^(BL)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, ^(BM)many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, ^(BN)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 ^(BO)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 ^(BP)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 ^(BQ)who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and ^(BR)making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast ^(BS)another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(BT)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 ^(BU)sanctified^[o] themselves. ²⁵ The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners ^(BV)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 ^(BW)Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then the priests, the Levites, arose and ^(BX)blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to ^(BY)His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

The Reforms of Hezekiah^(BZ)

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and ^(CA)broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the ^[p]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 ^(CB)the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites ^(CC)for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the ^[q]camp of the Lord. ³ The king also appointed a ^[r]portion of his ^(CD)possessions^[s] 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 ^(CE)Law of the Lord.

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

⁵ As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance ^(CH)the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the ^(CI)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 ^(CJ)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 ^(CK)house of Zadok, answered him and said, ^(CL)“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 ^(CM)abundance.”

¹¹ Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ^(CN)rooms^[u] in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. ¹² Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; ^(CO)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 ^(CP)ruler of the house of God. ¹⁴ Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the ^(CQ)freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things. ¹⁵ And under him were ^(CR)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in ^(CS)the cities of the priests, to distribute ^(CT)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 ^(CU)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 ^[v]sanctified themselves in holiness.

¹⁹ Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in ^(CV)the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were ^(CW)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 ^(CX)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 ^(CY)prospered.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord^(CZ)

32 After ^(DA)these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. ² And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, ³ he consulted with his leaders and ^[w]commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city; and they helped him. ⁴ Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the ^(DB)springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the ^[x]kings of Assyria come and find much water?” ⁵ And ^(DC)he strengthened himself, ^(DD)built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired ^[y]the ^(DE)Millo in the City of David, and made ^[z]weapons and shields in abundance. ⁶ Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and ^(DF)gave them encouragement, saying, ^7 (DG)“Be strong and courageous; ^(DH)do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for ^(DI)there are more with us than with him. ⁸ With him is an ^(DJ)arm of flesh; but ^(DK)with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

^9 (DL)After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, ^10 (DM)“Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: ‘In what do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹ Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, ^(DN)“The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? ^12 (DO)Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You shall worship before one altar and burn incense on ^(DP)it”? ¹³ Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? ^(DQ)Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand? ¹⁴ Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my ^(DR)hand? ¹⁵ Now therefore, ^(DS)do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this, and do not believe him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’ ”

¹⁶ Furthermore, his servants spoke against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷ He also wrote letters to revile the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, ^(DT)“As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my ^(DU)hand.” ^18 (DV)Then they called out with a loud voice in ^[aa]Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and trouble them, that they might take the city. ¹⁹ And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth—^(DW)the work of men’s hands.

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death^(DX)

^20 (DY)Now because of this King Hezekiah and ^(DZ)the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. ^21 (EA)Then the Lord sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned ^(EB)shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.

²² Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and ^[ab]guided them on every side. ²³ And many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem, and ^(EC)presents^[ac] to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was ^(ED)exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.

Hezekiah Humbles Himself^(EE)

^24 (EF)In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the Lord; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah ^(EG)did not repay according to the favor shown him, for ^(EH)his heart was lifted up; ^(EI)therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. ^26 (EJ)Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them ^(EK)in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor^(EL)

²⁷ Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; ²⁸ storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and ^[ad]folds for flocks. ²⁹ Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for ^(EM)God had given him very much property. ^30 (EN)This same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and ^[ae]brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah ^(EO)prospered in all his works.

³¹ However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they ^(EP)sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to ^(EQ)test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

Death of Hezekiah

³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in ^(ER)the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the ^(ES)book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ^33 (ET)So Hezekiah ^[af]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(EU)honored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah^(EV)

33 Manasseh ^(EW)was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the ^(EX)abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the ^[ag]high places which Hezekiah his father had ^(EY)broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and ^(EZ)made wooden images; and he worshiped ^(FA)all ^[ah]the host of heaven and served them. ⁴ He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^(FB)“In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven ^(FC)in the two courts of the house of the Lord. ^6 (FD)Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced ^(FE)soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and ^(FF)consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ^7 (FG)He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the ^[ai]house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, ^(FH)“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; ^8 (FI)and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.” ⁹ So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

Manasseh Restored After Repentance

¹⁰ And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not ^[aj]listen. ^11 (FJ)Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with ^[ak]hooks, ^(FK)bound him with ^[al]bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. ¹² Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and ^(FL)humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, ¹³ and prayed to Him; and He ^(FM)received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh ^(FN)knew that the Lord was God.

¹⁴ After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of ^(FO)Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it ^(FP)enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁵ He took away ^(FQ)the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. ¹⁶ He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and ^(FR)thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. ^17 (FS)Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the ^[am]high places, but only to the Lord their God.

Death of Manasseh^(FT)

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of ^(FU)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, indeed they are written in the ^[an]book of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built ^[ao]high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of ^[ap]Hozai. ^20 (FV)So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

Amon’s Reign and Death^(FW)

^21 (FX)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them. ²³ And he did not humble himself before the Lord, ^(FY)as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

^24 (FZ)Then his servants conspired against him, and ^(GA)killed him in his own house. ²⁵ But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

Josiah Reigns in Judah^(GB)

34 Josiah ^(GC)was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; 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 still ^(GD)young, he began to ^(GE)seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began ^(GF)to purge Judah and Jerusalem ^(GG)of the ^[aq]high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. ^4 (GH)They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them ^(GI)and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He also ^(GJ)burned the bones of the priests on their ^(GK)altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with ^[ar]axes. ⁷ When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had ^(GL)beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law^(GM)

^8 (GN)In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the ^[as]temple, he sent ^(GO)Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the ^(GP)governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. ⁹ When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered ^(GQ)the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the ^(GR)remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the Lord, to repair and restore the house. ¹¹ They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. ¹² And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music, ¹³ were ^(GS)over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. ^(GT)And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.

¹⁴ Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest ^(GU)found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. ¹⁵ Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the ^(GV)book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. ¹⁷ And they have ^[at]gathered the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

¹⁹ Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. ²⁰ Then the king commanded Hilkiah, ^(GW)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[au]Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, ²¹ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not ^(GX)kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

²² So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^[av]Tokhath, the son of ^[aw]Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.

²³ Then she answered them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, ²⁴ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will ^(GY)bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the ^(GZ)book which they have read before the king of Judah, ²⁵ because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’ ²⁶ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— ²⁷ because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the ^(HA)Lord. ²⁸ “Surely 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 calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah Restores True Worship^(HB)

^29 (HC)Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he ^(HD)read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. ³¹ Then the king ^(HE)stood in ^(HF)his place and made a ^(HG)covenant before the Lord, to follow 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 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ Thus Josiah removed all the ^(HH)abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel ^[ax]diligently serve the Lord their God. ^(HI)All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers.

Josiah Keeps the Passover^(HJ)

35 Now ^(HK)Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the ^(HL)fourteenth day of the first month. ² And he set the priests in their ^(HM)duties and ^(HN)encouraged them for the service of the house of the Lord. ³ Then he said to the Levites ^(HO)who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: ^(HP)“Put the holy ark ^(HQ)in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. ^(HR)It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. ⁴ Prepare yourselves ^(HS)according to your fathers’ ^[ay]houses, according to your divisions, following the ^(HT)written instruction of David king of Israel and the ^(HU)written instruction of Solomon his son. ⁵ And ^(HV)stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. ⁶ So slaughter the Passover offerings, ^(HW)consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.”

⁷ Then Josiah ^(HX)gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s ^(HY)possessions. ⁸ And his ^(HZ)leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle. ⁹ Also ^(IA)Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.

¹⁰ So the service was prepared, and the priests ^(IB)stood in their places, and the ^(IC)Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. ¹¹ And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests ^(ID)sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites ^(IE)skinned the animals. ¹² Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written ^(IF)in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. ¹³ Also they ^(IG)roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they ^(IH)boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. ¹⁴ Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the ^(II)command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers ^(IJ)were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.

¹⁶ So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same 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 children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of ^(IK)Unleavened Bread for seven days. ^18 (IL)There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, 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 Dies in Battle^(IM)

^20 (IN)After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against ^(IO)Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. ²¹ But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.” ²² Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but ^(IP)disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

²³ And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.” ^24 (IQ)His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And ^(IR)all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵ Jeremiah also ^(IS)lamented for ^(IT)Josiah. And to this day ^(IU)all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. ^(IV)They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.

²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz^(IW)

36 Then ^(IX)the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. ^2 [az]Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ⁴ Then the king of Egypt made ^[ba]Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took ^[bb]Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim^(IY)

^5 (IZ)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did ^(JA)evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ^6 (JB)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in ^[bc]bronze fetters to ^(JC)carry him off to Babylon. ^7 (JD)Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. ⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then ^[bd]Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin^(JE)

^9 (JF)Jehoiachin was ^[be]eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁰ At the turn of the year ^(JG)King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, ^(JH)with the costly articles from the house of the Lord, and made ^(JI)Zedekiah,^{[bf] [bg]}Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah^(JJ)

^11 (JK)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and ^(JL)did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. ¹³ And he also ^(JM)rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he ^(JN)stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴ Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(JO)

^15 (JP)And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. ¹⁶ But ^(JQ)they mocked the messengers of God, ^(JR)despised His words, and ^(JS)scoffed at His prophets, until the ^(JT)wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

^17 (JU)Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who ^(JV)killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (JW)And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. ^19 (JX)Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. ²⁰ And ^(JY)those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, ^(JZ)where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(KA)Jeremiah, until the land ^(KB)had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate ^(KC)she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus^(KD)

^22 (KE)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(KF)Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of ^(KG)Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

The Revolt Against Rehoboam^(A)

12 And ^(B)Rehoboam went to ^(C)Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. ² So it happened, when ^(D)Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in ^(E)Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), ³ that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴ “Your father made our ^(F)yoke ^[a]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, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.

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

⁷ And they spoke to him, saying, ^(G)“If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

⁸ 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 this 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 Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” ¹³ Then the king answered the people ^[c]roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; ¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with ^[d]scourges!” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; for ^(H)the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had ^(I)spoken by 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 Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over ^(K)the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

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

²⁰ Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all ^(N)Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah ^(O)only.

²¹ And when ^(P)Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of ^(Q)Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²² But ^(R)the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ²³ “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, ²⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, ^(S)for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam’s Gold Calves

²⁵ Then Jeroboam ^(T)built^[e] Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built ^(U)Penuel. ²⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: ²⁷ If these people ^(V)go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

²⁸ Therefore the king asked advice, ^(W)made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. ^(X)Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” ²⁹ And he set up one in ^(Y)Bethel, and the other he put in ^(Z)Dan. ³⁰ Now this thing became ^(AA)a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. ³¹ He made ^[f]shrines on the high places, ^(AB)and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

³² Jeroboam ^[g]ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like ^(AC)the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. ^(AD)And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. ³³ So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had ^(AE)devised in his own heart. And he ^[h]ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and ^(AF)burned incense.

The Message of the Man of God

13 And behold, ^(AG)a man of God went from Judah to Bethel ^[i]by the word of the Lord, ^(AH)and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. ² Then he cried out against the altar ^[j]by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, ^(AI)Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be ^(AJ)burned on you.’ ” ³ And he gave ^(AK)a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”

⁴ So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself. ⁵ The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. ⁶ Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please ^(AL)entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.”

So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before. ⁷ Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and ^(AM)I will give you a reward.”

⁸ But the man of God said to the king, ^(AN)“If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. ⁹ For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ^(AO)‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ ” ¹⁰ So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

Death of the Man of God

¹¹ Now an ^(AP)old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his ^[k]sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. ¹² And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons ^[l]had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. ¹³ Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, ¹⁴ and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

And he said, “I am.”

¹⁵ Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”

¹⁶ And he said, ^(AQ)“I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷ For ^[m]I have been told ^(AR)by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’ ”

¹⁸ He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)

¹⁹ So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

²⁰ Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; ²¹ and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, ²² but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the ^(AS)place of which the Lord said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ”

²³ So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. ²⁴ When he was gone, ^(AT)a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. ²⁵ And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

²⁶ Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” ²⁷ And he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it. ²⁸ Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. ²⁹ And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. ³⁰ Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, ^(AU)“Alas, my brother!” ³¹ So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; ^(AV)lay my bones beside his bones. ^32 (AW)For the ^[n]saying which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the ^[o]shrines on the high places which are in the cities of ^(AX)Samaria, will surely come to pass.”

^33 (AY)After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. ^34 (AZ)And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as ^(BA)to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.

Judgment on the House of Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. ² And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that ^(BB)I would be king over this people. ^3 (BC)Also take ^[p]with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.” ⁴ And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose ^(BD)and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were ^[q]glazed by reason of his age.

⁵ Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.”

⁶ And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. ⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ^(BE)“Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, ⁸ and ^(BF)tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, ^(BG)who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes; ⁹ but you have done more evil than all who were before you, ^(BH)for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and ^(BI)have cast Me behind your back— ¹⁰ therefore behold! ^(BJ)I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and ^(BK)will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, ^(BL)bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. ¹¹ The dogs shall eat ^(BM)whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the Lord has spoken!” ’ ¹² Arise therefore, go to your own house. ^(BN)When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. ¹³ And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall ^[r]come to the grave, because in him ^(BO)there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

^14 (BP)“Moreover the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; ^[s]this is the day. What? Even now! ¹⁵ For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will ^(BQ)uproot Israel from this ^(BR)good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them ^(BS)beyond ^[t]the River, ^(BT)because they have made their ^[u]wooden images, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, ^(BU)who sinned and who made Israel sin.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to ^(BV)Tirzah. ^(BW)When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. ¹⁸ And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, ^(BX)according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

Death of Jeroboam

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he ^(BY)made war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁰ The period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers. Then ^(BZ)Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Reigns in Judah^(CA)

²¹ And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. ^(CB)Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city ^(CC)which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. ^(CD)His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. ^22 (CE)Now Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they ^(CF)provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. ²³ For they also built for themselves ^(CG)high^[v] places, ^(CH)sacred pillars, and ^(CI)wooden images on every high hill and ^(CJ)under every green tree. ^24 (CK)And there were also ^[w]perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the ^(CL)abominations of the nations which the Lord had cast out before the children of ^(CM)Israel.

^25 (CN)It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. ^26 (CO)And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields ^(CP)which Solomon had made. ²⁷ Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and ^[x]committed them to the hands of the captains of the ^[y]guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. ²⁸ And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.

^29 (CQ)Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ³⁰ And there was ^(CR)war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. ^31 (CS)So Rehoboam ^[z]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. ^(CT)His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then ^(CU)Abijam^[aa] his son reigned in his place.

Abijam Reigns in Judah^(CV)

15 ^(CW)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. ^(CX)His mother’s name was ^(CY)Maachah the granddaughter of ^(CZ)Abishalom. ³ And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; ^(DA)his heart was not ^[ab]loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. ⁴ Nevertheless ^(DB)for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem; ⁵ because David ^(DC)did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, ^(DD)except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. ^6 (DE)And there was war between ^[ac]Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. ^7 (DF)Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

^8 (DG)So Abijam ^[ad]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place.

Asa Reigns in Judah^(DH)

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. ¹⁰ And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. ^11 (DI)Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David. ^12 (DJ)And he banished the ^[ae]perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³ Also he removed ^(DK)Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of ^[af]Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and ^(DL)burned it by the Brook Kidron. ^14 (DM)But the ^[ag]high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s ^(DN)heart was loyal to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵ He also brought into the house of the Lord the things which his father ^(DO)had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.

¹⁶ Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷ And ^(DP)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built ^(DQ)Ramah, ^(DR)that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to ^(DS)Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in ^(DT)Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰ So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and ^(DU)sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked ^(DV)Ijon, ^(DW)Dan, ^(DX)Abel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in ^(DY)Tirzah.

^22 (DZ)Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them King Asa built ^(EA)Geba of Benjamin, and ^(EB)Mizpah.

²³ The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But ^(EC)in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴ So Asa ^[ah]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. ^(ED)Then ^(EE)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Nadab Reigns in Israel

²⁵ Now ^(EF)Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in ^(EG)his sin by which he had made Israel sin.

^27 (EH)Then Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha killed him at ^(EI)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. ²⁸ Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. ²⁹ And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to ^(EJ)the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ^30 (EK)because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ^32 (EL)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

Baasha Reigns in Israel

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in ^(EM)the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin.