Beginning

King Azariah of Judah^(A)

15 In Jeroboam’s twenty-seventh year as king of Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah^[a] began to rule as king of Judah. ² He was 16 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem.

³ He did what Yahweh considered right, as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴ But the illegal places of worship were still not torn down. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at these worship sites.

Azariah’s Skin Disease^(B)

⁵ Yahweh inflicted the king with a skin disease that lasted until the day the king died. So the king lived in a separate house. The king’s son Jotham was in charge of the palace and governed the country.

⁶ Isn’t everything else about Azariah—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? ⁷ Azariah lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His son Jotham succeeded him as king.

King Zechariah of Israel Rules for Six Months

⁸ In Azariah’s thirty-eighth year as king of Judah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah was king of Israel in Samaria for six months. ⁹ He did what Yahweh considered evil, as his ancestors had done. He didn’t turn away from the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit. ¹⁰ Shallum, son of Jabesh, plotted against Zechariah, attacked him at Kabal Am, killed him, and succeeded him as king. ¹¹ Everything else about Zechariah is written in the official records of the kings of Israel. ¹² It happened exactly as Yahweh had told Jehu: “Four generations of your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel.”

King Shallum of Israel Rules for One Month

¹³ Shallum, son of Jabesh, became king in Azariah’s thirty-ninth year as king of Judah. Shallum ruled for an entire month in Samaria. ¹⁴ Then Menahem, son of Gadi, came from Tirzah to Samaria, attacked Shallum (son of Jabesh), killed him, and succeeded him as king. ¹⁵ Everything else about Shallum—all about his conspiracy—is written in the official records of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶ Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah, everyone there, and its territory. Because the city didn’t open its gates for him, he attacked it and ripped open all its pregnant women.

King Menahem of Israel

¹⁷ In Azariah’s thirty-ninth year as king of Judah, Menahem, son of Gadi, began to rule as king of Israel. He ruled for 10 years in Samaria. ¹⁸ He did what Yahweh considered evil. During his entire life he never turned away from the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit.

¹⁹ King Pul of Assyria came to attack the country. So Menahem gave Pul 75,000 pounds of silver to gain his support and help strengthen his hold on the kingdom. ²⁰ Menahem raised the money from all the wealthy men in Israel. Each gave 20 ounces of silver for the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria left the country. ²¹ Isn’t everything else about Menahem—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? ²² Menahem lay down in death with his ancestors, and his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king.

King Pekahiah of Israel

²³ In Azariah’s fiftieth year as king of Judah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah began to rule. Pekahiah was king of Israel in Samaria for two years. ²⁴ He did what Yahweh considered evil. He didn’t turn away from the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit. ²⁵ His officer Pekah, son of Remaliah, plotted against him. With 50 men from Gilead, Pekah attacked Pekahiah, Argob, and Arieh in the fortress of the royal palace in Samaria. Pekah killed him and succeeded him as king. ²⁶ Everything else about Pekahiah—everything he did—is written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

King Pekah of Israel

²⁷ In Azariah’s fifty-second year as king of Judah, Pekah, son of Remaliah, began to rule Israel in Samaria. He ruled for 20 years. ²⁸ He did what Yahweh considered evil. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit. ²⁹ In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and the entire territory of Naphtali. He also took the people away to Assyria as captives. ³⁰ Hoshea, son of Elah, plotted against Pekah, son of Remaliah. Hoshea attacked him and killed him. Hoshea began to rule as king in his place in the twentieth year that Azariah, son of Jotham, was king of Judah. ³¹ Everything else about Pekah—everything he did—is written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

King Jotham of Judah^(C)

³² In the second year that King Pekah, son of Remaliah, ruled Israel, Jotham, son of Azariah, began to rule as king of Judah. ³³ He was 25 years old when he began to rule. He ruled for 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ He did what Yahweh considered right, as his father Azariah had done. ³⁵ But the illegal places of worship were not torn down. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at these worship sites. Jotham built the Upper Gate of Yahweh’s temple. ³⁶ Isn’t everything else about Jotham—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Judah?

³⁷ In those days Yahweh began to use King Rezin of Aram and Pekah, son of Remaliah, to attack Judah. ³⁸ Jotham lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz succeeded him as king.

King Ahaz of Judah^(D)

16 Pekah, son of Remaliah, was in his seventeenth year as king of Israel when King Ahaz, son of Jotham, began to rule as king of Judah. ² Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to rule. He ruled for 26 years in Jerusalem. He didn’t do what Yahweh his Elohim considered right, as his ancestor David had done. ³ He followed the example of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son by burning him alive. Sacrificing children was one of the disgusting things done by the nations that Yahweh had forced out of the Israelites’ way. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense as an offering at the illegal worship sites, which were on hills and under every large tree.

⁵ Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah, son of Remaliah of Israel, came to wage war against Jerusalem. They blockaded Ahaz but couldn’t get him to fight. ⁶ At that time King Rezin of Aram drove the Judeans out of Elath and gave it back to Edom.^[b] The Edomites came to Elath and still live there today.

⁷ Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria to say, “I’m your servant, your son. Come and save me from the kings of Aram and Israel who are attacking me.” ⁸ Ahaz took the silver and gold he found in Yahweh’s temple and in the treasury in the royal palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a present.

⁹ The king of Assyria listened to him and attacked Damascus. He captured it, took the people to Kir as captives, and killed Rezin.

¹⁰ Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria. He saw an altar there in Damascus. So King Ahaz sent the priest Urijah a model of the altar and a set of detailed plans. ¹¹ Urijah built an altar exactly like the model King Ahaz sent from Damascus. He finished it before Ahaz returned home from Damascus.

¹² When the king came from Damascus, he saw the altar. The king approached the altar and went up to it. ¹³ He sacrificed his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his wine offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offering on the altar. ¹⁴ But he moved the bronze altar dedicated to Yahweh. It had been in front of the temple between his altar and Yahweh’s temple. Ahaz put it on the north side of his altar. ¹⁵ King Ahaz gave this command to the priest Urijah: “On this great altar you must burn the morning burnt offerings and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offerings and grain offerings, and the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and wine offerings of all the people of the land. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt offerings and other sacrifices on it. I will use the bronze altar for prayer.” ¹⁶ The priest Urijah did what King Ahaz had commanded.

¹⁷ King Ahaz cut off the side panels of the bronze stands used in the temple and removed the basin from each of them. He took the bronze pool down from the bronze bulls that were under it and set it on a stone base. ¹⁸ Ahaz removed the covered walkway used on the day of worship. This walkway had been built in the temple. He also removed the outer entrance for the king from Yahweh’s temple. He did this to please the king of Assyria. ¹⁹ Isn’t everything else about Ahaz—the things he did—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? ²⁰ Ahaz lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His son Hezekiah succeeded him as king.

King Hoshea of Israel

17 In Ahaz’s twelfth year as king of Judah, Hoshea, son of Elah, began to rule as king of Israel in Samaria. He ruled for nine years. ² He did what Yahweh considered evil, but he didn’t do what the kings of Israel before him had done.

The Fall of Samaria

³ King Shalmaneser of Assyria defeated Hoshea, who became his servant and was required to make annual payments to him. ⁴ The king of Assyria found Hoshea to be a traitor. (Hoshea had sent messengers to King Dais of Egypt and had stopped making annual payments to the king of Assyria.) So the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison. ⁵ Then the king of Assyria attacked the entire country. He attacked Samaria and blockaded it for three years. ⁶ In Hoshea’s ninth year as king of Israel, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and took the Israelites to Assyria as captives. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ The Israelites sinned against Yahweh their Elohim, who brought them out of Egypt and rescued them from the power of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). They worshiped other gods ⁸ and lived by the customs of the nations that Yahweh had forced out of the Israelites’ way. They also did what their kings wanted them to do. ⁹ The Israelites secretly did things against Yahweh their Elohim that weren’t right:

They built for themselves illegal places of worship in all of their cities, from the smallest watchtower to the largest fortified city.

¹⁰ They set up sacred stones and poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah on every high hill and under every large tree.

¹¹ At all the illegal places of worship, they sacrificed in the same way as the nations that Yahweh had removed from the land ahead of them.

They did evil things and made Yahweh furious.

¹² They served idols, although Yahweh had said, “Never do this.”

¹³ Yahweh had warned Israel and Judah through every kind of prophet and seer,^[c] “Turn from your evil ways, and obey my commands and decrees as I commanded your ancestors in all my teachings, the commands I sent to you through my servants the prophets.” ¹⁴ But they refused to listen. They became as impossible to deal with as their ancestors who refused to trust Yahweh their Elohim. ¹⁵ They rejected his decrees, the promise^[d] he made to their ancestors, and the warnings he had given them. They went after worthless idols and became as worthless as the idols. They behaved like the nations around them, although Yahweh had commanded them not to do that. ¹⁶ They abandoned all the commands of Yahweh their Elohim:

They made two calves out of cast metal.

They made a pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah.

They prayed to the entire army of heaven.

They worshiped Baal.

¹⁷ They sacrificed their sons and daughters by burning them alive.

They practiced black magic and cast evil spells.

They sold themselves by doing what Yahweh considered evil, and they made him furious.

¹⁸ Yahweh became so angry with Israel that he removed them from his sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left. ¹⁹ Even Judah didn’t obey the commands of Yahweh their Elohim but lived according to Israel’s customs. ²⁰ So Yahweh rejected all of Israel’s descendants, made them suffer, handed them over to those who looted their property, and finally turned away from Israel.

²¹ When he tore Israel away from the family of David, the people of Israel made Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) king. Jeroboam forced Israel away from Yahweh and led them to commit a serious sin. ²² The Israelites followed all the sins Jeroboam committed and never turned away from them. ²³ Finally, Yahweh turned away from Israel as he had said he would through all his servants, the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their land to Assyria as captives, and they are still there today.

Assyria Brings Foreign People to Settle in Israel

²⁴ The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its cities.

²⁵ When they first came to live there, they didn’t worship Yahweh. So Yahweh sent lions to kill some of them. ²⁶ Then someone said to the king of Assyria, “The people you took as captives and settled in the cities of Samaria don’t know the customs of the god of that country, so he sent lions. Now the lions are killing them because they don’t know the customs of the god of this country.”

²⁷ The king of Assyria gave this command: “Bring one of the priests you captured from there. Let him go back to teach them the customs of the god of that country.” ²⁸ So one of the priests who had been taken prisoner from Samaria went to live in Bethel. He taught them how to worship Yahweh.

²⁹ But each group that settled in Samaria continued to make its own gods. They put them at the illegal places of worship, which the people of Samaria had made. Each group did this in the cities where they lived:

³⁰ The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth.

The people from Cuth made Nergal.

The people from Hamath made Ashima.

³¹ The people from Avva made Nibhaz and Tartak.

The people from Sepharvaim burned their children for Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

³² So while these people were worshiping Yahweh, they also appointed all kinds of people to serve as priests for the shrines at their illegal places of worship. ³³ They worshiped Yahweh but also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had come.

³⁴ Today they are still following their customs, as they’ve done from the beginning. They don’t fear Yahweh or live by the decrees, customs, teachings, or commands that Yahweh gave to the descendants of Jacob (whom he named Israel). ³⁵ When Yahweh made a promise to Israel, he commanded, “Never worship other gods, bow down to them, serve them, or sacrifice to them. ³⁶ Instead, worship Yahweh, who used his great power and a mighty arm to bring you out of Egypt. Bow down to Yahweh, and sacrifice to him. ³⁷ Faithfully obey the laws, rules, teachings, and commands that he wrote for you: ‘Never worship other gods. ³⁸ Never forget the promise I made to you. Never worship other gods. ³⁹ Instead, worship Yahweh your Elohim, and he will rescue you from your enemies.’”

⁴⁰ The people of Israel had refused to listen and made up their own rules, as they had done from the beginning. ⁴¹ These other nations worshiped Yahweh but also served their own idols. So did their children and their grandchildren. They still do whatever their ancestors did.