Beginning

20 In those days Hezekiah was sick unto the death; and Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him, The Lord God saith these things, Command to thine house, that is, make thy (last will and) testament/Dispose to thine house (Put thy house in order), for thou shalt die, and thou shalt not live.

² And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and worshipped the Lord, and said,

³ I beseech, Lord, have mind, how I have gone before thee in truth, and in a perfect heart, and I did that, that was pleasant before thee. Then Hezekiah wept with a great weeping. (I beseech thee, Lord, remember, how I have gone before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and I did what was pleasing before thee. Then Hezekiah wept with a great weeping.)

⁴ And before that Isaiah went out half the part of the court(yard), the word of the Lord was made to Isaiah, and said,

⁵ Turn thou again, and say to Hezekiah, the duke of my people (Return thou, and say to Hezekiah, the leader, or the ruler, of my people), The Lord, (the) God of David, thy father, saith these things, I have heard thy prayer, and I saw thy tears, and lo! I have healed thee. In the third day thou shalt go up into the temple of the Lord,

⁶ and I shall add fifteen years to thy days; but also I shall deliver thee and this city from the hand of the king of Assyrians, and I shall defend this city for me, and for David, my servant (and I shall defend this city for my sake, and for the sake of my servant David).

⁷ And Isaiah said, Bring ye to me a gobbet of figs. And when they had brought it, and had put (it) on his botch/and had put it on the botch of Hezekiah, he was healed.

⁸ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign, that the Lord shall heal me, and also that in the third day I shall go up into the temple of the Lord?

⁹ To whom Isaiah said, This shall be a sign of the Lord, that the Lord shall do the word which he spake; wilt thou, that the shadow (of the sun) go further by ten lines, either turn again by so many degrees? (To whom Isaiah said, This shall be the sign from the Lord, that the Lord shall do the thing which he spoke; wilt thou, that the sun’s shadow go forward by ten degrees, or turn back by as many degrees?)

¹⁰ And Hezekiah said, It is light, or easy, that the shadow increase by ten lines, neither I will that this be done, but that it turn again backward by ten degrees. (And Hezekiah said, It is easy for the shadow to increase by ten degrees, so I do not desire that this be done, but rather, that it go backward by ten degrees.)

¹¹ Then Isaiah, the prophet, called inwardly (upon) the Lord, and brought again backward by ten degrees the shadow by the same lines, by which it had gone down then in the horologe of Ahaz. (Then the prophet Isaiah inwardly called to the Lord, and brought the shadow backward by ten degrees, by the same lines by which it had gone forward on Ahaz’s sundial.)

¹² In that time, Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick, and had recovered. (Now at that time, Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.)

¹³ And Hezekiah was glad in the coming of them (And Hezekiah welcomed the messengers), and he showed to them the house of spiceries, and (the) gold, and silver, and diverse pigments, (and) also (the) ointments, and the house of his vessels, and all (the) things that he might have in his treasures; there was not any word, or thing, in his house, and in all his power, that Hezekiah showed not to them.

¹⁴ Soothly Isaiah, the prophet, came to king Hezekiah, and said to him, What said these men, either from whence came they to thee? (And the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, What did these men say to thee, and from where did they come?) To whom Hezekiah said, They came to me from a far land, from Babylon.

¹⁵ And he answered, What have they seen in thine house? Hezekiah said, They have seen all things, whatever things be in mine house; nothing is in my treasures, which I showed not to them. (And Isaiah asked, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah said, They have seen everything that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures, which I have not shown them.)

¹⁶ Therefore Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear thou the word of the Lord.

¹⁷ Lo! days (shall) come, and all things that be in thine house, and which things thy fathers made till into this day, shall be taken away into Babylon; not anything shall (still) dwell, saith the Lord (nothing shall be left, saith the Lord).

¹⁸ But also of thy sons, that shall go out of thee, which thou shalt beget, shall be taken [away], and they shall be geldings in the palace of the king of Babylon (and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon).

¹⁹ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord, which he spake, is good; only peace and truth be in my days. (And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord, which thou spoke, is good; let there be only peace and truth in my days.)

²⁰ Forsooth the residue of [the] words of Hezekiah, and all his strength, and how he made a cistern, and a water conduit, and brought water into the city, whether these be not written in the book of [the] words of [the] days of the kings of Judah?

²¹ And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh, his son, reigned for him.

21 Manasseh was of twelve years, when he began to reign, and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Hephzibah.

² And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, after the evils of heathen men, the which men the Lord did away from the face of the sons of Israel.

³ And he was turned, and builded [up] (again the) high things, which Hezekiah, his father (had) destroyed; and he raised up altars of Baal, and he made maumet woods, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done; and he worshipped withoutforth all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s), and worshipped it in heart. (And he rebuilt the hill shrines, which his father Hezekiah had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and he made idol groves, or a sacred pole, like Ahab, the king of Israel, had done; and he worshipped withoutforth all the host of heaven, and also worshipped them with his heart.)

⁴ And he builded altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, I shall set my name in Jerusalem. (And he built altars in the House of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, I shall set my name in Jerusalem there.)

⁵ And he builded altars to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s) in the two large places of the temple of the Lord; (And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two large courtyards of the Temple of the Lord;)

⁶ and he led over his son through the fire; and he used false divinings in altars, on which sacrifice was made to fiends, and he kept false divinings by chittering of birds; and he made men to have evil spirits speaking in the womb, and he multiplied false diviners in entrails of beasts sacrificed to fiends, that he should do evil before the Lord, and stir him to ire. (and he burned, or sacrificed, his own son in the fire; and he practiced false divinings at altars on which sacrifice was made to fiends, and he did false divinings by the twittering of birds; and he made men to have evil spirits speaking in their wombs, and he increased the number of false diviners of the entrails of beasts sacrificed to fiends, and he did evil before the Lord, and stirred him to anger.)

⁷ And he set an idol of wood, that he had made, in the temple of the Lord, of which temple the Lord spake to David, and to Solomon, his son, saying, I shall set my name without end in this temple, and in Jerusalem, which I chose (out) of all the lineages of Israel. (And he set up a wooden idol, that he had made, in the Temple of the Lord, of which Temple the Lord spoke to David, and to his son Solomon, saying, I shall set my name without end in this Temple, and in Jerusalem, which I chose out of all the tribes of Israel.)

⁸ And I shall no more make the foot of Israel to be moved from the land which I gave to the fathers of them; so nevertheless if they keep in work all things that I have commanded to them, and all the law that Moses, my servant, commanded to them.

⁹ Soothly they heard not, but were deceived of Manasseh, that they did evil over heathen men, which the Lord all-brake from the face of the sons of Israel. (But they would not listen, and were deceived by Manasseh, and they did more evil than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.)

¹⁰ And the Lord spake in the hand of his servants (the) prophets, and said, (And the Lord spoke by his servants the prophets, and said,)

¹¹ For Manasseh, king of Judah, did these worst abominations over all things which (the) Amorites did before him, and made also the people of Judah to do sin in his uncleannesses (and also made the people of Judah to do sin with his idols);

¹² therefore the Lord God of Israel saith these things, Lo! I shall bring in evils upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever heareth (of it), both his ears [shall] tingle, or ring;

¹³ and I shall hold forth upon Jerusalem the cord of Samaria, and the burden of the house of Ahab, and I shall do away Jerusalem, as tables be wont to be done away; and I shall do (it) away and overturn it, and I shall lead full oft a pointel upon the face thereof. (and I shall hold forth upon Jerusalem the cord of Samaria, and the plummet, or the plumb-line, of the house of Ahab; and I shall wipe Jerusalem clean like dishes be wont to be wiped clean, and turned upside-down; and I shall do it away and overturn it, and I shall scratch a stylus over its face.)

¹⁴ Forsooth I shall leave [the] remnants of mine heritage, and I shall betake them into the hand of enemies thereof; and they shall be in destroying, and in raven to all their adversaries; (And I shall abandon the remnants of my inheritance, and I shall deliver them into the hands of their enemies; and they shall be destroyed, and become spoils for all their adversaries;)

¹⁵ for they did evil before me, and they continued in stirring me to ire, from the day in which their fathers went out of the land of Egypt, unto this day.

¹⁶ Furthermore also Manasseh shedded full much innocent blood, till he filled Jerusalem unto the mouth, without his sins by which he made Judah to do sin, to do evil before the Lord. (And furthermore Manasseh shed a great deal of innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem up to the mouth, and this is besides his sins by which he made Judah to do sin, yea, to do evil before the Lord.)

¹⁷ Forsooth the residue of the words of Manasseh, and all things that he did, and his sin that he sinned, whether these be not written in the book of [the] words of [the] days of the kings of Judah?

¹⁸ And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza; and Amon, his son, reigned for him.

¹⁹ Amon was of two and twenty years, when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

²⁰ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh, his father, had done.

²¹ And he went in all the way, by which his father had gone, and he served to [the] uncleannesses, that is, (the) idols, to which his father had served, and he worshipped those;

²² and he forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and he went not in the way of the Lord.

²³ And his servants setted treasons to him, and killed the king in his house. (And his servants set treason against him, and killed the king in his own house.)

²⁴ Soothly the people of the Lord smote all the men, that had conspired against king Amon, and they ordained to them a king, Josiah, his son, for him. (And the people of the Lord struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they ordained for themselves Josiah, Amon’s son, to be king in his place.)

²⁵ Forsooth the residue of [the] words of Amon, (and all the things) which he did, whether these be not written in the book of [the] words of [the] days of the kings of Judah?

²⁶ And he slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the sepulchre in the garden of Uzza; and Josiah, his son, reigned for him.

22 Josiah was of eight years, when he began to reign, and he reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

² And he did that, that was pleasant before the Lord, and he went by all the ways of David, his father; he bowed not, neither to the right side, nor of the left side. (And he did what was pleasing before the Lord, and he went in all the ways of his forefather David; he turned not, neither to the right, nor to the left.)

³ Forsooth in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, [the] scribe, either doctor, of the temple of the Lord (to the Temple of the Lord), and said to him,

⁴ Go thou to Hilkiah, the great priest, (and command) that the money, which is borne into the temple of the Lord, be molten together, which money the porters of the temple have gathered of the people; (Go thou to the High Priest Hilkiah, and command that the money, which is brought into the Temple of the Lord, be melted down, which money the guards, or the door-keepers, of the Temple have gathered from the people;)

⁵ and that it be given to craftsmen by the sovereigns of the house of the Lord; which also parted that money to them that work in the temple of the Lord, to repair the roofs of the temple of the Lord, (and that it be given to the craftsmen by the foremen of the House of the Lord; and they deal out that money to those who work in the Temple of the Lord, to make the needed repairs to the Temple of the Lord,)

⁶ that is, to carpenters, and to masons, and to them that make [together] broken things (and to those who put together broken things), and (also) that timber and stones of quarriers be bought, to repair the temple of the Lord;

⁷ nevertheless the silver, which they take/that the workmen take, be not reckoned to them, but have they it in (their own) power, and in faith (but trust them to have it under their own power, or control).

⁸ And Hilkiah, the bishop, said to Shaphan, the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, the scribe, which also read it. (And the High Priest Hilkiah said to Shaphan, the writer, I have found The Book of the Law in the House of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, the writer, and he read it.)

⁹ Also Shaphan, the scribe, came to the king, and told to him those things, which Hilkiah had commanded, and he said, Thy servants have spended the money, that was found in the house of the Lord, and they have given, that it should be parted to [the] craftsmen of the sovereigns of [the] works of the temple of the Lord. (And Shaphan, the writer, came to the king, and reported to the king about those things which he had commanded, and he said, Thy servants have spent the money that was found in the House of the Lord, and they have ordained that it be dealt out to the craftsmen by the foremen of the repairs to the Temple of the Lord.)

¹⁰ Also Shaphan, the scribe, told to the king, and said, Hilkiah, the priest of God, hath given to me a book; and when Shaphan had read that book before the king,

¹¹ and the king had heard the words of the book of the law of the Lord, he rent his clothes. (and the king had heard the words of The Book of the Law of the Lord, he tore his clothes.)

¹² And he commanded to Hilkiah, the priest, and to Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and to Achbor, the son of Michaiah, and to Shaphan the scribe, and to Asahiah, (a) servant of the king, and said,

¹³ Go ye, and ask, or counsel ye, the Lord on me, and on the people, and on all Judah, of the words of this book, that is found; for (the) great ire of the Lord is kindled against us, for our fathers heard not the words of this book, to do all thing which is written to us. (Go ye, and ask ye the Lord’s counsel for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, about the words of this book, that is found; for great is the Lord’s anger that is kindled against us, for our forefathers did not listen to the words of this book, to do all the things which be written to us.)

¹⁴ Therefore Hilkiah, the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the clothes, the which Huldah dwelled in Jerusalem, in the second dwelling/in the second environing of the wall (in the second quarter); and they spake to her.

¹⁵ And she answered to them, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Say ye to the man, that sent you to me,

¹⁶ The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Lo! I shall bring evils upon this place, and upon the dwellers thereof (and upon its inhabitants), and I shall fulfill all the words [of the law], which the king of Judah read;

¹⁷ for they forsook me, and made sacrifice to alien gods, and stirred me to ire in all the works of their hands; and mine indignation shall be kindled in this place, and shall not be quenched. (for they deserted me, and made sacrifice to foreign, or other, gods, and stirred me to anger with all the works of their hands; and my indignation shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.)

¹⁸ Soothly to the king of Judah, that sent you, that ye shall counsel (with) the Lord/that ye shall ask the Lord(’s) counsel, ye shall say thus, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, For thou heardest the words of the book,

¹⁹ and thine heart was afeared, and thou were made meek before the Lord, when his words were heard against this place, and against the dwellers thereof, that is, that they should be made into wondering, and into cursing, and thou rentest thy clothes, and weptest before me, and I heard, saith the Lord; (and that thy heart was afraid, and thou were humbled before the Lord, when his words were heard against this place, and against its inhabitants, that is, that they should be made into wondering, and into cursing, and that thou torest thy clothes, and weptest before me, and for thou hath done all these things, I have heard thee, saith the Lord;)

²⁰ therefore I shall gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy sepulchre in peace; (so) that thine eyes see not all the evils, which I shall bring in upon this place. And they told to the king that, that she said (And they told the king what she said);