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Hezekiah’s Illness

20 At that time Hezekiah became very sick. He was almost dead. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him. Isaiah told him, “This is what the Lord says: You are going to die. So you should give your last orders to everyone. You will not get well.”

² Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord. He said, ³ “Lord, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you. I have done what you said was right.” And Hezekiah cried loudly.

⁴ Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: ⁵ “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer. And I have seen your tears. So I will heal you. Three days from now you will go up to the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ I will add 15 years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. And I will protect the city for myself and for my servant David.’”

⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Make a paste from figs.” So they made it and put it on Hezekiah’s boil. And he got well.

⁸ Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me? What is the sign that I will go up to the Temple of the Lord on the third day?”

⁹ Isaiah said, “The Lord will do what he says. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps? Or do you want it to go back ten steps?”

¹⁰ Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps. Instead, let it go back ten steps.”

¹¹ Then Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord. And the Lord brought the shadow back ten steps. It went back up the stairway of Ahaz that it had gone down.

Messengers from Babylon

¹² At that time Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, was king of Babylon. He sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah. He did this because he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ Hezekiah was happy to see the messengers. So he showed them what was in his storehouses: the silver, gold, spices and expensive perfumes. He showed them his swords and shields. He showed them all his wealth. He showed them everything in his palace and his kingdom.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. Isaiah asked him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?”

Hezekiah said, “They came from a faraway country. They came to me from Babylon.”

¹⁵ So Isaiah asked him, “What did they see in your palace?”

Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my palace. I showed them all my wealth.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the words of the Lord: ¹⁷ ‘In the future everything in your palace will be taken away to Babylon. Everything your ancestors have stored up until this day will be taken away. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘Some of your own children will be taken away. Those who will be born to you will be taken away. And they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

¹⁹ Hezekiah told Isaiah, “These words from the Lord are good.” He said this because he thought, “There will be peace and security while I am king.”

²⁰ Everything else Hezekiah did is written down. All his victories and his work on the pool are written down. And his work on the tunnel to bring water into the city is recorded. They are all written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. ²¹ Then Hezekiah died. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Manasseh King of Judah

21 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. And he was king 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. ² He did what the Lord said was wrong. He did the hated things the other nations had done. And the Lord had forced these nations out of the land ahead of the Israelites. ³ Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had destroyed the places where false gods were worshiped. But Manasseh rebuilt them. He built altars for Baal. And he made an Asherah idol as Ahab king of Israel had done. Manasseh worshiped all the stars of heaven and served them. ⁴ The Lord had said about the Temple, “I will be worshiped in Jerusalem.” But Manasseh built altars in the Temple of the Lord. ⁵ He built altars to worship the stars in the two courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ He burned his own son as a sacrifice. He practiced magic and told the future by explaining signs and dreams. He got advice from mediums and fortune-tellers. He did many things that the Lord said were wrong. And this made the Lord angry.

⁷ Manasseh carved an Asherah idol and put it in the Temple. The Lord had spoken to David and his son Solomon about the Temple. He had said, “I will be worshiped in this Temple and in Jerusalem forever. I have chosen Jerusalem from all the tribes of Israel. ⁸ I will never again make the Israelites wander out of the land I gave their ancestors. But they must obey everything I have commanded them. And they must obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave them.” ⁹ But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them to do wrong. They did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.

¹⁰ The Lord spoke through his servants the prophets. He said, ¹¹ “Manasseh king of Judah has done these hated things. He has done more evil than the Amorites before him. Manasseh also has caused Judah to sin with his idols. ¹² So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring much trouble on Jerusalem and Judah. Anyone who hears about it will be shocked. ¹³ I will stretch the measuring line of Samaria over Jerusalem. And the plumb line used against Ahab’s family will be used on Jerusalem. I will wipe out Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish. He wipes it and turns it upside down. ¹⁴ I will go away from the rest of my people who are left. I will give them to their enemies. They will be robbed by all their enemies. ¹⁵ My people did what I said was wrong. They have made me angry from the day their ancestors left Egypt until now.’”

¹⁶ Manasseh also killed many innocent people. He filled Jerusalem from one end to the other with their blood. This was besides the sin he caused Judah to do. He caused Judah to do what the Lord said was wrong.

¹⁷ The other things Manasseh did as king are written down, even the sin he did. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. ¹⁸ Manasseh died and was buried in the garden of his own palace. It is the garden of Uzza. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became king in his place.

Amon King of Judah

¹⁹ Amon was 22 years old when he became king. He was king for two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz. She was from Jotbah. ²⁰ Amon did what the Lord said was wrong. He did as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹ Amon lived in the same way his father had lived. He worshiped the idols his father had worshiped. And he bowed down before them. ²² Amon rejected the Lord, the God of his ancestors. He did not follow the ways of the Lord.

²³ Amon’s officers made plans against him and killed him in his palace. ²⁴ Then the people of Judah killed all those who had made plans to kill King Amon. And they made his son Josiah king in his place.

²⁵ Everything else Amon did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. ²⁶ He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza. And his son Josiah became king in his place.

Josiah King of Judah

22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah. Adaiah was from Bozkath. ² Josiah did what the Lord said was right. He did good things as his ancestor David had done. Josiah did not stop doing what was right.

³ In Josiah’s eighteenth year as king, he sent Shaphan to the Temple of the Lord. Shaphan was the son of Azaliah, who was the son of Meshullam. Shaphan was the royal assistant. Josiah said, ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest. Have him empty out the money the gatekeepers have gathered from the people. This is the money they have brought into the Temple of the Lord. ⁵ Have him give the money to the supervisors of the work on the Temple. They must pay the men who work to repair the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ The workers are carpenters, builders and stoneworkers. Also use the money to buy timber and cut stone to repair the Temple. ⁷ They do not need to report how they use the money given to them. They are working honestly.”

The Book of the Law Is Found

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the royal assistant, “I’ve found the Book of the Teachings. It was in the Temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.

⁹ Then Shaphan the royal assistant went to the king and reported to Josiah, “Your officers have paid out the money that was in the Temple of the Lord. They have given it to the workers and supervisors at the Temple.” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the royal assistant told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from the book to the king.

¹¹ The king heard the words of the Book of the Teachings. Then he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. ¹² He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam son of Shaphan. He also gave them to Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan and Asaiah. Shaphan was the royal assistant. And Asaiah was the king’s servant. These were the orders: ¹³ “Go and ask the Lord about the words in the book that has been found. Ask for me and for all the people and for all Judah. The Lord’s anger is burning against us because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book. They did not do all the things written for us to do!”

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah left. They went to talk to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas. Harhas took care of the king’s clothes. Huldah lived in Jerusalem, in the new area of the city.

¹⁵ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says: I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here. It is in the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ The people of Judah have left me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me angry by all the idols they have made. My anger burns against this place like a fire. It will not be put out.’ ¹⁸ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard: ¹⁹ You heard my words against this place and its people. You became sorry in the Lord’s presence for what you had done. I said they would become cursed and would be destroyed. Then you tore your clothes to show how upset you were. And you cried in my presence. This is why I have heard you, says the Lord. ²⁰ So I will cause you to die. You will be buried in peace. You won’t see all the trouble I will bring to this place.’”

So they took her message back to the king.