Beginning

32 After which things and such truth (After these things and such loyalty, or such faithfulness), Sennacherib, the king of Assyrians, came and entered into Judah; and he besieged (the) strong cities, and would take those.

² And when Hezekiah had heard this thing, that is, that Sennacherib had come, and that all the fierceness of his battle was turned against Jerusalem,

³ he took counsel with [the] princes and with (the) most strong men, that they should stop the heads of wells, which were without the city; and when the sentence of all men deemed this profitable, (he took counsel with the leaders and the most strong men, who said that they should stop up, or close up, the heads of the wells, which were outside the city; and when the judgement of all the men judged this profitable,)

⁴ he gathered together a full great multitude of men, and they stopped (up) all the wells, and the river, that flowed in the midst of the land; and said, Lest the kings of Assyrians come, and find (an) abundance of waters (here).

⁵ Also Hezekiah did wittingly, and he builded all the wall that was destroyed, and he builded towers on the wall, and another wall withoutforth. And he repaired Millo in the city of David; and made armour of all kind, and shields. (And Hezekiah did knowingly, or with intent, and he rebuilt all the wall that was destroyed, and he built towers on the wall, and another wall outside it. And he repaired the Millo in the City of David; and he made all kinds of arms, or weapons, and shields.)

⁶ And he ordained princes of warriors in the host; and he called together all (the) men in(to) the street of the gate of the city, and spake to the heart(s) of them, and said,

⁷ Do ye manly, and be ye comforted (Be ye brave, and be ye strong); do not ye dread, neither be ye afeared of the king of Assyrians, nor of all the multitude that is with him; for many more be with us than with him.

⁸ A fleshly arm is with him; and the Lord our God is with us, which is our helper, and shall fight for us. And the people was comforted with such words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. (An arm of flesh is with him; but the Lord our God is with us, he is our helper, and shall fight for us. And the people were encouraged by such words from Hezekiah, the king of Judah.)

⁹ And after that these things were done, Sennacherib, [the king of Assyria,] sent his servants to Jerusalem; for he himself (but he himself), with all the host, besieged Lachish. He sent (them) to Hezekiah, king of Judah, and to all the people that was in the city of Jerusalem, and (they) said,

¹⁰ Sennacherib, king of Assyrians, saith these things, In whom have ye trust, and sit besieged in Jerusalem? (Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, saith these things, In whom do ye trust, when ye now sit besieged in Jerusalem?)

¹¹ Whether not Hezekiah deceiveth you, that ye betake you to death in hunger and thirst, and he affirmeth, that the Lord your God shall deliver you from the hand of the king of Assyrians? (Did not Hezekiah deceive you, so that now ye deliver yourselves unto death by hunger and thirst, while he yet affirmeth, that the Lord your God shall rescue you from the hands of the king of Assyria?)

¹² Whether this is not Hezekiah, that destroyed (the) high places, and altars of him, and commanded to Judah and Jerusalem, and said, Ye shall worship before one altar, and therein ye shall burn incense? (Is this not the same Hezekiah, who destroyed the Lord’s hill shrines, and his altars, and commanded to Judah and Jerusalem, and said, Ye shall worship before one altar, and ye shall burn incense on it?)

¹³ Whether ye know not what things I have done, and my fathers, to all the peoples of (other) lands? Whether the gods of (those) folks and of all (those) lands might deliver their country from mine hand? (Do ye not know what I and my forefathers have done, to all the peoples of other lands? Did the gods of those nations deliver their lands out of my hands?)

¹⁴ Who is, of all the gods of (those) folks, which my fathers destroyed, that might deliver his people from mine hand, that also your God may deliver you from mine hand? (Who was there, of all the gods of the nations whom my forefathers destroyed, that could rescue his people out of my hands? no one! yet ye think that your God shall rescue you out of my hands?)

¹⁵ Therefore Hezekiah deceive not you, neither scorn he you by vain counselling, neither believe ye to him; for if no god of all (those) folks and countries might deliver his people from mine hand, and from the hand of my fathers, followingly neither your God shall be able to deliver you from this mine hand. (And so do not let Hezekiah deceive you, nor scorn he you with vain counselling, nor believe ye him; for if no god of any of those other nations or lands could rescue his people out of my hands, or out of the hands of my forefathers, then it followeth, that your God shall not be able to rescue you out of my hands either.)

¹⁶ But also his servants spake many other things against the Lord God, and against Hezekiah, his servant.

¹⁷ Also he wrote epistles full of blasphemy against the Lord God of Israel, and he spake against God, and said, As the gods of other folks might not deliver their people from mine hand, so and the God of Hezekiah may not deliver his people from mine hand.

¹⁸ Furthermore, and with [a] great cry in the language of Jews, he sounded against the people, that sat on the walls of Jerusalem, to make them afeared, and to take the city. (And furthermore, with a great cry in the language of the Jews, they shouted at the people who sat on the walls of Jerusalem, to make them afraid, so it would be easier to take the city.)

¹⁹ And he spake against [the] God of Israel, as against the gods of the peoples of [the] earth, the works of men’s hands. (And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, like they spoke against the gods of the other peoples of the earth, which were the work of men’s hands.)

²⁰ Therefore Hezekiah, the king, and Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed against this blasphemy, and cried [out] till into heaven (and cried out to heaven).

²¹ And the Lord sent his angel, the which killed each strong man and warrior, and the prince of the host of the king of Assyrians; and he/Sennacherib turned again with shame to his land. And when he had entered into the house of his god, the sons, which went out of his womb, killed him there with sword. (And the Lord sent his angel, who killed each strong man and warrior, and the leader of the army of the king of Assyria; and he/Sennacherib returned with shame to his own land. And when he had gone into the house of his god, the sons, who went out of his womb, killed him there with the sword.)

²² And the Lord saved Hezekiah, and the dwellers of Jerusalem, from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Assyrians, and from the hand of all men; and he gave to them rest by compass. (And the Lord saved Hezekiah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, from the hands, or the power, of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and from the hands of all men; and he gave them peace all around.)

²³ Also many men brought offerings and sacrifices to the Lord into Jerusalem, and gifts to Hezekiah, king of Judah; which was enhanced after these things before all folks. (And many people brought offerings and sacrifices for the Lord to Jerusalem, and gifts for Hezekiah, the king of Judah; and after these things he was exalted, or held in high honour, before all the nations.)

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah was sick unto the death, and he prayed the Lord; and he heard him, and gave to him a sign;

²⁵ but he yielded not thankings to the Lord after the benefits which he had taken, for his heart was raised into pride (but Hezekiah did not give thanks to the Lord for the benefits which he had received, for his heart was raised up in pride); and (then the) wrath of the Lord was made against him, and against Judah, and against Jerusalem.

²⁶ And he was meeked afterward, for-thy that his heart was raised; both he was meeked, and the dwellers of Jerusalem (And he was humbled afterward, because his heart had been raised up; both he, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, were humbled); and therefore the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ And Hezekiah was rich, and full noble, and he gathered to himself full many treasures of silver, and of gold, and of precious stones, and of sweet smelling spices, and of armours of all kind, and of vessels of great price. (And Hezekiah was rich, and very glorious, and he made for himself many treasuries for his silver, and gold, and precious stones, and sweet smelling spices, and for all kinds of arms, or weapons, and for his vessels of great value.)

²⁸ Also he builded large (store)houses of wheat, [and] of wine, and of oil, and cratches of all beasts, and folds to sheep, (And he built large storehouses for his wheat, and wine, and oil, and stalls for all kinds of beasts, and sheepfolds,)

²⁹ and he builded six cities. And he had unnumberable flocks of sheep and of great beasts; for the Lord had given to him full much chattel.

³⁰ That is Hezekiah, that stopped the higher well of the waters of Gihon, and he turned those away under the earth at the west side of the city of David; in all his works he did by prosperity, whatever thing he would (and he prospered in all his works, whatever he did).

³¹ Nevertheless in the message of the princes of Babylon, that were sent to him for to ask of the great wonder, that befelled on the land, God forsook him, that he were assayed, and that all things were known that were in his heart. (Even when the messengers of the leaders of Babylon came, who were sent to ask him about the great wonder, that befell the land, and God abandoned him, so that he was tested, or tried, and so that all things could be known that were in his heart.)

³² Soothly the residue of [the] words of Hezekiah, and of his mercies, be written in the prophecy of Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of kings of Judah and of Israel. (And the rest of the deeds, and the mercies, or the righteous works, of Hezekiah, be written in the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, and in The Book of the Kings of Judah and of Israel.)

³³ And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him above the sepulchres of the sons of David. And all Judah and all the dwellers of Jerusalem made solemn the services of his burying; and Manasseh, his son, reigned for him. (And Hezekiah joined his ancestors, and they buried him in the uppermost of the tombs of the sons of David. And all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honour at the services for his burial; and his son Manasseh reigned for him.)

33 Manasseh was of twelve years, when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem five and fifty years. (Manasseh was twelve years old, when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-five years.)

² And he did evil before the Lord after the abominations of heathen men, whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel. (And he did evil before the Lord after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.)

³ And he turned, and restored the high places, which Hezekiah, his father, had destroyed. And he builded altars to Baalim, and made woods, and worshipped all the knighthood of heaven, and praised it. (And he turned, and restored the hill shrines, which his father Hezekiah had destroyed. And he built altars to the Baalim, and made idol groves, or sacred poles, and worshipped all the host of heaven, that is, the moon, and the stars, and the planets, and praised them.)

⁴ And he builded altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, My name shall be in Jerusalem (into) without end.

⁵ Soothly he builded those altars to all the knighthood of heaven in the two large places of the house of the Lord. (Yea, he built those altars to all the host of heaven in the two courtyards of the House of the Lord.)

⁶ And he made his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; he kept (watch over) dreams; he followed false divining by (the) chittering of birds; and he served witchcrafts; and he had with him astrologers and enchanters, either tregetours, that deceived men’s wits (who deceived men’s minds), and he wrought many evils before the Lord to stir him to wrath.

⁷ And he set a graven and a molten sign in the house of the Lord (And he put a carved image, an idol, in the House of the Lord), of which house God spake to David, and to Solomon, his son, and said, I shall set my name [into] without end in this house, and in Jerusalem, which I chose of all the lineages of Israel;

⁸ and I shall not make the foot of Israel to move from the land which I gave to their fathers, so only that they take heed to do those things that I have commanded to them, and all the law, and ceremonies, and dooms, by the hand of Moses. (and I shall not make the foot of Israel to move from the land which I gave to their fathers, if only they take heed to do those things which I have commanded to them, and all the Law, and the statutes, and the judgements, or the laws, through Moses.)

⁹ But Manasseh deceived the men of Judah, and the dwellers of Jerusalem, so that they did evil, more than all heathen men, which the Lord had destroyed from the face of the sons of Israel. (But Manasseh deceived the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did evil, more than all the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.)

¹⁰ And the Lord spake to him, and to his people; and they would not take heed (but they would not take heed, or listen to him).

¹¹ Therefore the Lord brought upon them the princes of the host of the king of Assyrians (And so the Lord brought upon them the leaders of the army of the king of Assyria); and they took Manasseh, and bound him with chains, and stocks, and led him into Babylon.

¹² And after that he was anguished, he prayed (to) the Lord his God, and did penance greatly before the God of his fathers (and did great penance before the God of his fathers).

¹³ And he prayed (to) God, and beseeched him intently; and God heard his prayer, and brought him again into Jerusalem into his realm (and he brought him back to Jerusalem, and to his throne); and then Manasseh knew, that the Lord himself is God alone.

¹⁴ After these things he builded the wall without the city of David, at the west side of Gihon, in the valley, from the entering of the gate of fishes, by compass unto Ophel; and he raised it up greatly; and he ordained princes of the host in all the strong cities of Judah. (After these things he built the outside wall of the City of David, at the west side of Gihon, in the valley, unto the entrance at the Fish Gate, and all around Ophel; and he raised it up to a great height; and he stationed leaders of his army in all the fortified cities of Judah.)

¹⁵ And he did away alien gods and simulacra from the house of the Lord; and he did away the altars, which he had made in the hill of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and he casted them away all without the city. (And he took away the foreign, or other, gods and the idols from the House of the Lord; and he did away the altars which he had built on the Temple Mount, and in Jerusalem, and he threw all of them out of the city.)

¹⁶ Certainly he restored the altar of the Lord, and offered thereon slain sacrifices, and peaceable sacrifices, and praising (And he restored the altar of the Lord, and offered slain sacrifices, and peace offerings, or thank offerings, upon it); and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.

¹⁷ Nevertheless the people offered yet in high places to the Lord their God. (But still the people offered at the hill shrines, but only to the Lord their God.)

¹⁸ Forsooth the residue of [the] deeds of Manasseh, and his beseeching to his Lord God, and the words of [the] prophets, that spake to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, be contained in the words of the kings of Israel. (And the rest of the deeds of Manasseh, and his beseeching to the Lord his God, and the words of the prophets, who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, be contained in The Book of the Kings of Israel.)

¹⁹ And his prayer, and the hearing that the Lord heard him, and all his sins, and all his despising, and also the places in which he builded high things, and made maumet woods and images, before that he did penance, these be written in the book of Hozai. (And his prayer, and the answer that he received from the Lord, and all his sins, and offences, and also where he built the hill shrines, and made idol groves/and set up sacred poles, and carved images, before that he did penance, these be written in The Book of the Seers.)

²⁰ And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house; and Amon, his son, reigned for him.

²¹ Amon was of two and twenty years, when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

²² And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh, his father, had done; and he offered, and served to all the idols, which Manasseh had made.

²³ And he reverenced not the face of the Lord, as Manasseh, his father, reverenced (And he did not humble himself before the Lord, like his father Manasseh had humbled himself); and he did much greater trespasses than his father did.

²⁴ And when his servants had sworn together against him, they killed him in his house.

²⁵ Soothly the residue multitude of the people, after that they had slain them that had slain Amon, ordained Josiah, his son, king for him.

34 Josiah was of eight years, when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.

² And he did that, that was rightful in the sight of the Lord; and went in the ways of David, his father, and bowed not to the right side, neither to the left side.

³ And in the eighth year of the realm of his empire, when he was yet a boy, (that is, sixteen years of age,) he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year after that he began, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem from high places, and woods, and simulacra, and graven images (and in the twelfth year after that he began to reign, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem from the hill shrines, and the idol groves/and the sacred poles, and the idols, and the carved images).

⁴ And they destroyed before him the altars of Baalim, and they destroyed the simulacra, that were put above (them). Also he hewed down the maumet woods, and the graven images, and brake to small gobbets; and scattered abroad the small gobbets on the burials of them, that were wont to offer to those. (And they destroyed before him the altars of the Baalim, and they destroyed the idols, that were put upon them. And he cut down the idol groves, or the sacred poles, and the carved idols, and broke them into small pieces; and he scattered those small pieces all over the burials of those, who were wont to offer to those idols.)

⁵ Furthermore the king burnt the bones of (the) priests upon the altars of (the) idols, and (so) he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem of idolatry.

⁶ But also he destroyed all the idols in the cities of Manasseh, and of Ephraim, and of Simeon, unto Naphtali.

⁷ And when he had scattered the altars, and had all-broken into gobbets the maumet woods, and the graven images, and had destroyed all [the] temples of idols from all the land of Israel, he turned again into Jerusalem. (And when he had destroyed the altars, and the idol groves/and the sacred poles, and had broken the carved idols into pieces, and destroyed all the temples of idols in all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.)

⁸ Therefore in the eighteenth year of his realm, when the land and the temple was cleansed now, he sent Shaphan, the son of Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, the prince of the city, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, his chancellor, that they should repair the house of the Lord his God. (And so in the eighteenth year of his reign, when the land and the Temple had been cleansed, he sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah, the leader of the city, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, his chancellor, to repair the House of the Lord his God.)

⁹ Which came to Hilkiah, the great priest; and when they had taken of him the money, that was brought into the house of the Lord, which money the deacons and porters had gathered of men of Manasseh, and of Ephraim, and of all the remnant men of Israel, and of Judah and of Benjamin, and of the dwellers of Jerusalem, (And they came to the High Priest Hilkiah; and when they had delivered the money to him, that was brought to the House of the Lord, which money the Levites, who were the guards, or the doorkeepers, had gathered from the people of Manasseh, and of Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and of Judah and of Benjamin, and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem,)

¹⁰ they gave it in(to) the hands of them that were sovereigns of the workmen in the house of the Lord, that they should restore the temple, and repair all the feeble things thereof. (they gave it to those who were the rulers, or the overseers, of the workmen in the House of the Lord, so that they could restore the Temple, and repair all its weakened, or its broken, parts.)

¹¹ And they gave that money to the craftsmen and masons, for to buy stones hewed out of the quarries, and wood to the joinings of the building(s), and to the coupling(s) of [the] houses, which the kings of Judah had destroyed. (And they gave that money to the craftsmen and the masons, to buy stones cut out of the quarries, and timber for the joints of the buildings, and for the couplings of the houses, which the kings of Judah had destroyed.)

¹² The which workmen did faithfully all things. And the sovereigns of workers were Jahath, and Obadiah, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah, and Meshullam, of the sons of Kohath, which hasted the work; all were deacons, knowing how to sing with organs. (And the workmen faithfully did their work. And the rulers, or the overseers, of the workers were Jahath, and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah, and Meshullam, of the Kohathites, who hastened the work; all of them were Levites, who knew how to play instruments.)

¹³ And over them that bare burdens to diverse uses were scribes, and masters of deacons, and porters. (And they were over those who carried burdens, and did diverse types of work; and other Levites were writers, or secretaries, and clerks, and guards, or doorkeepers.)

¹⁴ And when they bare out the money, that was brought into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah, the priest, found a book of the law of the Lord by the hand of Moses. (And when they took out the money, that was brought into the Temple of the Lord, the High Priest Hilkiah found The Book of the Law of the Lord, written by Moses.)

¹⁵ And Hilkiah said to Shaphan, the writer, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah took it to Shaphan, (And Hilkiah said to Shaphan, the writer, I have found The Book of the Law in the House of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave it to Shaphan,)

¹⁶ and he bare in the book to the king (and he took the book to the king); and he told to him, and said, Lo! all things be fulfilled, or ended, which thou hast given into the hands of thy servants.

¹⁷ And they have welled together the silver, which is found in the house of the Lord; and it is given to the sovereigns of the craftsmen, and (to those) making diverse works; (And they have melted together the silver, which was kept in the House of the Lord; and it was given to the rulers, or the overseers, of the craftsmen, and to those doing diverse types of work;)

¹⁸ furthermore Hilkiah, the priest, took to me this book. And when he had rehearsed this book in the presence of the king, (and furthermore, the High Priest Hilkiah gave me this book. And when he had read the book before the king,)

¹⁹ and when the king had heard the words of the law, he rent his clothes; (and the king had heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes;)

²⁰ and he commanded to Hilkiah, and to Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and to Abdon, the son of Micah, and to Shaphan, the scribe, and to Asaiah, the servant of the king, and said,

²¹ Go ye, and pray the Lord for me, and for the remnant of men of Israel and of Judah, on all the words of this book, that is found (Go ye, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the rest of the people who remain in Israel and Judah, concerning all the words of this book, that is found). For great (is the) vengeance of the Lord (that) hath dropped upon us, for our fathers kept not the words of the Lord, to do all things that be written in this book.

²² Therefore Hilkiah, and they that were sent together (with him) from the king, went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, (the) keeper of the king’s clothes, the which Huldah dwelled in Jerusalem in the second ward (who lived in Jerusalem’s second ward); and they spake to her the words, which we told before.

²³ And she answered to them, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Say ye to the man, that sent you to me,

²⁴ The Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall bring evils upon this place, and upon the dwellers thereof (and upon its inhabitants), and all the cursings that be written in this book, that they have read before the king of Judah.

²⁵ For they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to alien gods, for to stir me to wrathfulness in all the works of their hands (For they have abandoned me, and have sacrificed to foreign, or other, gods, and have stirred me to anger with all the works of their hands); therefore my strong vengeance shall drop upon this place, and it shall not be quenched.

²⁶ But speak ye thus to the king of Judah, that sent you to pray (to) the Lord, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, For thou heardest the words of the book,

²⁷ and thine heart thereby is made nesh, and thou art meeked in the sight of the Lord of these things which be said against this place, and against the dwellers of Jerusalem, and thou hast reverenced my face, and hast rent thy clothes, and hast wept before me; also I have heard thee, saith the Lord. (and thy heart is softened by it, and thou art humbled before the Lord by these things which be said against this place, and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou hast reverenced my face, and hast torn thy clothes, and hast wept before me; yea, I have heard thee, saith the Lord.)

²⁸ For now I shall gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be borne into thy sepulchre in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil, that is, none of all the evils, that I shall bring in upon this place, and upon the dwellers thereof (and upon its inhabitants). Then they told to the king all things, that Huldah had said.

²⁹ And after that the king had called together all the elder men of Judah and of Jerusalem,

³⁰ he went up into the house of the Lord, and there went up together with him all the men of Judah, and the dwellers of Jerusalem, priests, and deacons, and all the people, from the least unto the most; to whose hearing in the house of the Lord, the king read all the words of the foresaid book. (he went up to the House of the Lord, and there went up together with him all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, from the least unto the most; to whom the king then read aloud all the words of the foresaid book that was found in the House of the Lord.)

³¹ And he stood in his throne, and smote, or made, a bond of peace before the Lord, for to follow him, and to keep the commandments, and the witnessings, and the justifyings of him, in all his heart, and in all his soul; and to do those things which were written in that book, that he had read. (And he stood by his throne, and struck a covenant before the Lord, to follow him, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul; and to do those things that were written in that book, that he had read.)

³² And he charged greatly upon this thing all men, that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin; and the dwellers of Jerusalem did after the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers. (And he greatly charged all who were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to keep this oath, or this pledge; and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did after the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers.)

³³ Therefore Josiah did away all the abominations from all the countries of the sons of Israel; and made all men, that were left in Israel, to serve the Lord God (And so Josiah did away all the abominations from all the territories of the Israelites; and made all, who were left in Israel, to serve the Lord God); and in all the days of his life they went not away from the Lord God of their fathers.