Bible in 90 Days

Israel’s King Pekah

²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Judah’s King Azariah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned 20 years. ²⁸ He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser^(A) king of Assyria came and captured Ijon,^(B) Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee—all the land of Naphtali^(C)—and deported the people to Assyria.^(D)

³⁰ Then Hoshea^(E) son of Elah organized a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked him, killed him,^(F) and became king in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.

³¹ As for the rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

Judah’s King Jotham

³² In the second year of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham^(G) son of Uzziah became king of Judah. ³³ He was 25 years old when he became king^(H) and reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his father Uzziah had done.^{(I) 35} Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

Jotham built the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple.^{(J) 36} The rest^(K) of the events of Jotham’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, they are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(L) 37} In those days the Lord began sending Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.^{(M) 38} Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his ancestor David.^(N) His son Ahaz became king in his place.

Judah’s King Ahaz

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah,^(O) Ahaz^(P) son of Jotham became king of Judah. ² Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king and reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God like his ancestor David^{(Q) 3} but walked in the way of the kings of Israel.^(R) He even made his son pass through the fire,^[a] imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.^{(S) 4} He sacrificed and burned incense^(T) on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.^(U)

⁵ Then^(V) Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah came to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but were not able to conquer him.^{(W) 6} At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath.^(X) Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they live there until today.^(Y)

⁷ So Ahaz sent messengers^(Z) to Tiglath-pileser^(AA) king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the power of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” ⁸ Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a gift.^{(AB) 9} So the king of Assyria listened to him^(AC) and marched up to Damascus and captured it.^(AD) He deported its people to Kir^(AE) but put Rezin to death.

Ahaz’s Idolatry

¹⁰ King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser^(AF) king of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to Uriah the priest.^{(AG) 11} Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, Uriah the priest had completed it. ¹² When the king came back from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then he approached the altar^(AH) and ascended it. ¹³ He offered his burnt offering^(AI) and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings^(AJ) on the altar. ¹⁴ He took the bronze altar^(AK) that was before the Lord in front of the temple between his altar and the Lord’s temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.

¹⁵ Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering. Also offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance.”^{[b] 16} Uriah the priest did everything King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷ Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water carts^[c](AL) and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took the reservoir^[d](AM) from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement. ¹⁸ To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the Lord’s temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.

Ahaz’s Death

¹⁹ The rest^(AN) of the events of Ahaz’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(AO) 20} Ahaz rested with his fathers^(AP) and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.

Israel’s King Hoshea

17 In the twelfth year of Judah’s King Ahaz, Hoshea^(AQ) son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned nine years. ² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.^(AR)

³ Shalmaneser^(AS) king of Assyria attacked him,^(AT) and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute money. ⁴ But the king of Assyria discovered Hoshea’s conspiracy. He had sent envoys to So king of Egypt^(AU) and had not paid tribute money to the king of Assyria as in previous years.^[e] Therefore the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison. ⁵ Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.^(AV)

The Fall of Samaria

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea,^(AW) the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported^(AX) the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan’s river, and in the cities of the Medes.^(AY)

Why Israel Fell

⁷ This disaster happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt^(AZ) and because they had worshiped^[f] other gods.^{(BA) 8} They had lived according to the customs of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites^(BB) and the customs the kings of Israel had introduced.^{(BC) 9} The Israelites secretly did what was not right^[g] against the Lord their God. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower^(BD) to fortified city. ¹⁰ They set up for themselves sacred pillars^(BE) and Asherah poles^(BF) on every high hill and under every green tree.^{(BG) 11} They burned incense on all the high places just like those nations that the Lord had driven out before them. They did evil things, provoking the Lord. ¹² They served idols, although the Lord had told them, “You must not do this.”^{(BH) 13} Still, the Lord warned^(BI) Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commands and statutes according to all the law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through My servants the prophets.”^(BJ)

¹⁴ But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like^[h] their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God.^{(BK) 15} They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors^(BL) and the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves,^(BM) following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.^(BN)

¹⁶ They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God. They made cast images^(BO) for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole.^(BP) They worshiped the whole heavenly host^(BQ) and served Baal.^{(BR) 17} They made their sons and daughters pass through the fire^(BS) and practiced divination and interpreted omens.^(BT) They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight and provoked Him.^(BU)

¹⁸ Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence.^(BV) Only the tribe of Judah remained.^{(BW) 19} Even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God^(BX) but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced.^{(BY) 20} So the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to plunderers until He had banished them from His presence.^(BZ)

Summary of Israel’s History

²¹ When the Lord tore^(CA) Israel from the house of David, Israel made Jeroboam son of Nebat king.^(CB) Then Jeroboam led Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit great sin. ²² The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam committed and did not turn away from them.^{(CC) 23} Finally, the Lord removed Israel from His presence just as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland until today.^(CD)

Foreign Refugees in Israel

²⁴ Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.^{(CE) 25} When they first lived there, they did not fear Yahweh. So the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.^{(CF) 26} The settlers spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Therefore He has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don’t know the requirements of the God of the land.”

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria issued a command: “Send back one of the priests you deported.^(CG) Have him go and live there so he can teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel,^(CH) and he began to teach them how they should fear Yahweh.

²⁹ But the people of each nation were still making their own gods in the cities where they lived and putting them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made.^{(CI) 30} The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire^(CJ) to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim. ³² They feared the Lord, but they also appointed from their number priests to serve them in the shrines of the high places.^{(CK) 33} They feared the Lord, but they also worshiped their own gods^(CL) according to the custom of the nations where they had been deported from.

³⁴ They are still practicing the former customs to this day. None of them fear the Lord or observe their statutes and ordinances, the law and commandments the Lord commanded the descendants of Jacob. He had renamed him Israel.^{(CM) 35} The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, “Do not fear other gods; do not bow down to them;^(CN) do not serve them; do not sacrifice to them.^{(CO) 36} Instead fear the Lord, who brought you from the land of Egypt with great power^(CP) and an outstretched arm.^(CQ) You are to bow down to Him, and you are to sacrifice to Him. ³⁷ You are to be careful always^(CR) to observe the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandments He wrote for you; do not fear other gods. ³⁸ Do not forget the covenant that I have made with you.^(CS) Do not fear other gods, ³⁹ but fear the Lord your God, and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”^(CT)

⁴⁰ However, they would not listen but continued practicing their former customs. ⁴¹ These nations feared the Lord but also served their idols. Their children and grandchildren continue doing as their fathers did until today.^(CU)

Judah’s King Hezekiah

18 In the third year of Israel’s King Hoshea^(CV) son of Elah, Hezekiah^(CW) son of Ahaz became king of Judah. ² He was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi^[i] daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestor David had done.^{(CX) 4} He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.^(CY) He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made,^(CZ) for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time. He called it Nehushtan.^[j]

⁵ Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel;^(DA) not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.^{(DB) 6} He remained faithful to Yahweh^(DC) and did not turn from following Him but kept the commands the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁷ The Lord was with him, and wherever he went he prospered.^(DD) He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.^{(DE) 8} He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders,^(DF) from watchtower^(DG) to fortified city.

Review of Israel’s Fall

⁹ In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.^{(DH) 10} The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel’s King Hoshea, Samaria was captured. ¹¹ The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan’s river, and in the cities of the Medes,^{(DI) 12} because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord their God but violated His covenant—all He had commanded Moses the servant of the Lord. They did not listen, and they did not obey.^(DJ)

Sennacherib’s Invasion

¹³ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.^{(DK) 14} So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish,^(DL) saying, “I have done wrong;^(DM) withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded 11 tons^[k] of silver and one ton^[l] of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah. ¹⁵ So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.

¹⁶ At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.^(DN)

¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan,^(DO) the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.^(DP) They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and^[m] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is by the highway to the Fuller’s Field.^{(DQ) 18} Then they called for the king, but Eliakim^(DR) son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah^(DS) the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.^(DT)

The Rabshakeh’s Speech

¹⁹ Then^(DU) the Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?^{[n](DV) 20} You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?^{(DW) 21} Look, you are now trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff^(DX) that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it.^(DY) This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him. ²² Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,^(DZ) saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem?’

²³ “So now make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! ²⁴ How then can you drive back a single officer^(EA) among the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ²⁵ Have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval?^(EB) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

²⁶ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,^(EC) since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew^[o] within earshot of the people on the wall.”

²⁷ But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”^(ED)

²⁸ The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew.^[p] Then he spoke: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive^(EE) you; he can’t deliver you from my hand.^{(EF) 30} Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’^(EG)

³¹ “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace^[q] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,^(EH) and every one may drink water from his own cistern ³² until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey^(EI)—so that you may live^(EJ) and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. ³³ Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered^(EK) his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?^[r] Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?^{(EL) 35} Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem?’”^(EM)

³⁶ But the people kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” ³⁷ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,^(EN) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn^(EO) and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel

19 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,^(EP) and went into the Lord’s temple.^{(EQ) 2} Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,^(ER) and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth,^(ES) to the prophet Isaiah^(ET) son of Amoz. ³ They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth,^(EU) but there is no strength to deliver them. ⁴ Perhaps Yahweh your God^(EV) will hear^(EW) all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke^(EX) him for the words that Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”^(EY)

⁵ So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, ⁶ who said to them, “Tell your master this, ‘The Lord says: Don’t be afraid^(EZ) because of the words you have heard, that the king of Assyria’s attendants^(FA) have blasphemed^(FB) Me with. ⁷ I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land^(FC) where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”^(FD)

Sennacherib’s Departing Threat

⁸ When^(FE) the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,^(FF) he returned and found him fighting against Libnah.^{(FG) 9} The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, whom you trust,^(FH) deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.^{(FI) 11} Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? ¹² Did the gods of the nations^(FJ) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—nations such as Gozan,^(FK) Haran,^(FL) Rezeph, and the Edenites^(FM) in Telassar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”^(FN)

Hezekiah’s Prayer

¹⁴ Hezekiah took^(FO) the letter^(FP) from the hand of the messengers, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord.^{(FQ) 15} Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:

God’s Answer through Isaiah

²⁰ Then^(FY) Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer^(FZ) to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria.’^{(GA) 21} This is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

²⁹ “This will be the sign^(GN) for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ³⁰ The surviving remnant^(GO) of the house of Israel will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. ³¹ For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem and survivors, from Mount Zion.^(GP) The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.^(GQ)

Defeat and Death of Sennacherib

³⁵ That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!^{(GT) 36} So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.^(GU)

³⁷ One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech^(GV) and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.^(GW) Then his son Esar-haddon^(GX) became king in his place.

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

20 In those days^(GY) Hezekiah became terminally ill.^(GZ) The prophet Isaiah^(HA) son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your affairs in order,^[x] for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”^(HB)

² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall^(HC) and prayed to the Lord, ³ “Please Lord, remember^(HD) how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.”^[y](HE) And Hezekiah wept bitterly.^(HF)

⁴ Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of the Lord came to him: ⁵ “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader^(HG) of My people, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer;^(HH) I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Lord’s temple. ⁶ I will add 15 years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”^(HI)

⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Bring a lump of pressed figs.” So they brought it and applied it to his infected skin, and he recovered.^(HJ)

⁸ Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is the sign^(HK) that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple on the third day?”

⁹ Isaiah said, “This is the sign^(HL) to you from the Lord that He will do what He has promised: Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps?”

¹⁰ Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen 10 steps. No, let the shadow go back 10 steps.” ¹¹ So Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow^[z] back the 10 steps it had descended on Ahaz’s stairway.^[aa](HM)

Hezekiah’s Folly

¹² At that time^(HN) Merodach-baladan^[ab] son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick. ¹³ Hezekiah gave them a hearing and showed them his whole treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.^(HO)

¹⁴ Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from a distant country, from Babylon.”

¹⁵ Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?”

Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷ ‘The time will certainly come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’^(HP) says the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘Some of your descendants who come from you will be taken away,^(HQ) and they will become eunuchs^[ac] in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”^(HR)

¹⁹ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,”^(HS) for he thought: Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?

Hezekiah’s Death

²⁰ The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, along with all his might and how he made the pool^(HT) and the tunnel and brought water into the city,^(HU) are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(HV) 21} Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.^(HW)

Judah’s King Manasseh

21 Manasseh^(HX) was 12 years old when he became king and reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.^{(HY) 2} He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight,^(HZ) imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.^{(IA) 3} He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed^(IB) and reestablished the altars for Baal. He made an Asherah,^(IC) as King Ahab of Israel had done;^(ID) he also worshiped the whole heavenly host^(IE) and served them. ⁴ He built altars in the Lord’s temple,^(IF) where the Lord had said, “Jerusalem is where I will put My name.”^{(IG) 5} He built altars to the whole heavenly host^(IH) in both courtyards of the Lord’s temple.^{(II) 6} He made his son pass through the fire,^(IJ) practiced witchcraft and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists.^(IK) He did a great amount of evil in the Lord’s sight, provoking Him.^(IL)

⁷ Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that the Lord had spoken about to David and his son Solomon, “I will establish My name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.^{(IM) 8} I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land I gave to their ancestors if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them—the whole law that My servant Moses commanded them.”^{(IN) 9} But they did not listen; Manasseh caused them to stray so that they did greater evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.^(IO)

¹⁰ The Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, ¹¹ “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these detestable things^(IP)—greater evil than the Amorites^(IQ) who preceded him had done—and by means of his idols has also caused Judah to sin, ¹² this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I am about to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that everyone who hears about it will shudder.^{(IR) 13} I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used on Samaria and the mason’s level used on the house of Ahab,^(IS) and I will wipe^(IT) Jerusalem clean as one wipes a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down. ¹⁴ I will abandon the remnant^(IU) of My inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies, ¹⁵ because they have done what is evil in My sight and have provoked Me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.’”^(IV)

¹⁶ Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another.^(IW) This was in addition to his sin that he caused Judah to commit. Consequently, they did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.

Manasseh’s Death

¹⁷ The rest^(IX) of the events of Manasseh’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(IY) 18} Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, the garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.

Judah’s King Amon

¹⁹ Amon was 22 years old when he became king^(IZ) and reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. ²⁰ He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight as his father Manasseh had done.^{(JA) 21} He walked in all the ways his father had walked; he served the idols his father had served, and he worshiped them.^{(JB) 22} He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors^(JC) and did not walk in the way of the Lord.^(JD)

²³ Amon’s servants conspired against the king and killed him in his own house.^{(JE) 24} Then the common people^[ad] executed^(JF) all those who had conspired against King Amon and made his son Josiah^(JG) king in his place.

²⁵ The rest of the events of Amon’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. ²⁶ He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.

Judah’s King Josiah

22 Josiah^(JH) was eight years old when he became king and reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.^{(JI) 2} He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David;^(JJ) he did not turn to the right or the left.^(JK)

Josiah Repairs the Temple

³ In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple,^(JL) saying, ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest so that he may total up the money brought into the Lord’s temple—the money the doorkeepers have collected from the people.^{(JM) 5} It is to be put into the hands of those doing the work—those who oversee the Lord’s temple. They in turn are to give it to the workmen in the Lord’s temple to repair the damage.^{(JN) 6} They are to give it to the carpenters, builders, and masons to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the temple.^{(JO) 7} But no accounting is to be required from them for the money put into their hands since they work with integrity.”^(JP)

The Book of the Law Found

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest told Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the book of the law^(JQ) in the Lord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

⁹ Then Shaphan the court secretary went to the king and reported,^[ae] “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hand of those doing the work—those who oversee the Lord’s temple.” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book,” and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.^(JR)

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.^{(JS) 12} Then he commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam^(JT) son of Shaphan, Achbor^(JU) son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah: ¹³ “Go and inquire of the Lord for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”^(JV)

Huldah’s Prophecy of Judgment

¹⁴ So^(JW) Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess^(JX) Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah,^(JY) son of Harhas,^[af] keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District.^(JZ) They spoke with her.

¹⁵ She said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘Say to the man who sent you to Me: ¹⁶ This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read,^{(KA) 17} because they have abandoned Me and burned incense to other gods in order to provoke Me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.^{(KB) 18} Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord: This is what the Lord God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,^{(KC) 19} because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord^(KD) when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse,^(KE) and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you—this is the Lord’s declaration— ²⁰ therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace.^(KF) Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’”

Then they reported^[ag] to the king.

Covenant Renewal

23 So the king sent messengers,^(KG) and they gathered all the elders^(KH) of Jerusalem and Judah to him. ² Then the king went to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people from the youngest to the oldest. As they listened, he read all the words of the book of the covenant^(KI) that had been found in the Lord’s temple.^{(KJ) 3} Next, the king stood by the pillar^[ah](KK) and made a covenant^(KL) in the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord and to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his mind and with all his heart,^(KM) and to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to^[ai] the covenant.^(KN)

Josiah’s Reforms

⁴ Then the king commanded Hilkiah^(KO) the high priest and the priests of the second rank^(KP) and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and the whole heavenly host.^(KQ) He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.^{(KR) 5} Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places^(KS) in the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and the whole heavenly host.^{(KT) 6} He brought out the Asherah pole^(KU) from the Lord’s temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley,^(KV) beat it to dust,^(KW) and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.^{[aj](KX) 7} He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes^(KY) that were in the Lord’s temple, in which the women were weaving tapestries^[ak] for Asherah.^(KZ)

⁸ Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places^(LA) from Geba^(LB) to Beer-sheba,^(LC) where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate). ⁹ The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.^(LD)

¹⁰ He defiled Topheth,^(LE) which is in the Valley of Hinnom,^(LF) so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through the fire^(LG) to Molech.^{(LH) 11} He did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They had been at the entrance of the Lord’s temple in the precincts by the chamber of Nathan-melech the court official, and he burned up the chariots of the sun.^(LI)

¹² The king tore down the altars that were on the roof^(LJ)—Ahaz’s upper chamber^(LK) that the kings of Judah had made—and the altars that Manasseh had made^(LL) in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. Then he smashed them^[al] there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. ¹³ The king also defiled the high places that were across from Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the detestable idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab; and for Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.^{(LM) 14} He broke the sacred pillars into pieces,^(LN) cut down the Asherah poles,^(LO) then filled their places with human bones.

¹⁵ He even tore down the altar at Bethel^(LP) and the high place^(LQ) that Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made. Then he burned the high place, crushed it to dust, and burned the Asherah.^{(LR) 16} As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar.^(LS) He defiled it according to the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God^[am] who proclaimed these things.^{(LT) 17} Then he said, “What is this monument I see?”

The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar at Bethel.”^(LU)

¹⁸ So he said, “Let him rest. Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.^(LV)

¹⁹ Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord.^(LW) Josiah did the same things to them that he had done at Bethel. ²⁰ He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high places^(LX) who were there, and he burned human bones on the altars.^(LY) Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Passover Observed

²¹ The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover of the Lord your God as written in the book of the covenant.”^{(LZ) 22} No such Passover had ever been kept from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem.^(MA)

Further Zeal for the Lord

²⁴ In addition, Josiah removed the mediums, the spiritists,^(MB) household idols,^(MC) images, and all the detestable things^(MD) that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this in order to carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the Lord’s temple.^{(ME) 25} Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his mind and with all his heart and with all his strength^(MF) according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.^(MG)

²⁶ In spite of all that, the Lord did not turn from the fury of His great burning anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had provoked Him with.^{(MH) 27} For the Lord had said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight just as I have removed Israel.^(MI) I will reject this city Jerusalem, that I have chosen, and the temple about which I said, ‘My name will be there.’”^(MJ)

Josiah’s Death

²⁸ The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign,^(MK) along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. ²⁹ During his reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt^(ML) marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to confront him, and at Megiddo^(MM) when Neco saw him he killed him. ³⁰ From Megiddo his servants carried his dead body in a chariot, brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb.^(MN) Then the common people^[an] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.^(MO)

Judah’s King Jehoahaz

³¹ Jehoahaz^(MP) was^(MQ) 23 years old when he became king and reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(MR) daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. ³² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.^{(MS) 33} Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah^(MT) in the land of Hamath^(MU) to keep him from reigning in Jerusalem, and he imposed on the land a fine of 7,500 pounds^[ao] of silver and 75 pounds^[ap] of gold.

Judah’s King Jehoiakim

³⁴ Then^(MV) Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim^(MW) son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.^(MX) But Neco took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.^{(MY) 35} So Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but at Pharaoh’s command he taxed the land to give the money. He exacted the silver and the gold from the common people,^[aq] each man according to his assessment,^(MZ) to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

³⁶ Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah. ³⁷ He did what was evil^(NA) in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

Jehoiakim’s Rebellion and Death

24 During^(NB) Jehoiakim’s reign,^(NC) Nebuchadnezzar^(ND) king of Babylon^(NE) attacked.^(NF) Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him. ² The Lord sent Chaldean, Aramean,^(NG) Moabite,^(NH) and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord He had spoken through His servants the prophets.^{(NI) 3} Indeed, this happened to Judah at the Lord’s command to remove them from His sight.^(NJ) It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,^{(NK) 4} and also because of all the innocent blood he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,^(NL) and the Lord would not forgive.

⁵ The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.^{(NM) 6} Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.^(NN)

⁷ Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again,^(NO) for the king of Babylon took everything that belonged to the king of Egypt,^(NP) from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.^(NQ)

Judah’s King Jehoiachin

⁸ Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king and reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem.^{(NR) 9} He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight as his father had done.

Deportations to Babylon

¹⁰ At that time^(NS) the servants of Nebuchadnezzar^(NT) king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. ¹¹ Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. ¹² Jehoiachin king of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the king of Babylon.^(NU)

So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. ¹³ He also carried off from there all the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king’s palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made^(NV) for the Lord’s sanctuary, just as God had predicted.^{(NW) 14} Then he deported all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the fighting men,^(NX) 10,000 captives,^(NY) and all the craftsmen and metalsmiths.^(NZ) Except for the poorest people of the land,^(OA) no one remained.

¹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. Also, he took the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.^{(OB) 16} The king of Babylon also brought captive into Babylon all 7,000 fighting men and 1,000 craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for war. ¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s^[ar] uncle,^[as] king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.^(OC)

Judah’s King Zedekiah

¹⁸ Zedekiah^(OD) was 21 years old when he became king^(OE) and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(OF) daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. ¹⁹ Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done.^{(OG) 20} Because of the Lord’s anger,^(OH) it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that He finally banished them from His presence.^(OI) Then, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.^(OJ)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Siege of Jerusalem

25 In the ninth year^(OK) of Zedekiah’s reign,^(OL) on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army.^(OM) They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around.^{(ON) 2} The city was under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

³ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the people of the land had no food.^{(OO) 4} Then the city was broken into,^(OP) and all the warriors fled^(OQ) by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden,^(OR) even though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. As the king made his way along the route to the Arabah,^{(OS) 5} the Chaldean army pursued him and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah’s entire army was scattered from him.^{(OT) 6} The Chaldeans seized the king^(OU) and brought him up to the king of Babylon^(OV) at Riblah,^(OW) and they passed sentence on him. ⁷ They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes. Finally, the king of Babylon blinded Zedekiah, bound him in bronze chains, and took him to Babylon.^(OX)

Jerusalem Destroyed

⁸ On^(OY) the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.^{(OZ) 9} He burned the Lord’s temple,^(PA) the king’s palace,^(PB) and all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned down^(PC) all the great houses. ¹⁰ The whole Chaldean army with the commander of the guards tore down the walls^(PD) surrounding Jerusalem. ¹¹ Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.^{(PE) 12} But the commander of the guards left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.^(PF)

¹³ Now^(PG) the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars^(PH) of the Lord’s temple, the water carts, and the bronze reservoir,^(PI) which were in the Lord’s temple, and carried the bronze to Babylon.^{(PJ) 14} They also took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the dishes, and all the bronze articles used in temple service.^{(PK) 15} The commander of the guards took away the firepans and the sprinkling basins—whatever was gold or silver.^(PL)

¹⁶ As for the two pillars, the one reservoir, and the water carts that Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.^{(PM) 17} One pillar was 27 feet^[at] tall and had a bronze capital on top of it. The capital, encircled by a grating and pomegranates of bronze, stood five feet^[au] high. The second pillar was the same, with its own grating.^(PN)

¹⁸ The commander of the guards^(PO) also took away Seraiah^(PP) the chief priest, Zephaniah^(PQ) the priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁹ He took a court official who had been appointed over the warriors from the city; five trusted royal aides^[av](PR) found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and 60 men from the common people^[aw] who were found within the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.^{(PS) 21} The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.^(PT)

Gedaliah Made Governor

²² Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah^(PU) son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over the rest of the people he left in the land of Judah.^{(PV) 23} When all the commanders of the armies—they and their men—heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.^(PW) The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.^{(PX) 24} Gedaliah swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”^(PY)

²⁵ In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with 10 men and struck down Gedaliah, and he died. Also, they killed the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.^{(PZ) 26} Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, and the commanders of the army, left and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.^(QA)

Jehoiachin Pardoned

²⁷ On^(QB) the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he pardoned King Jehoiachin^(QC) of Judah and released him from prison.^{(QD) 28} He spoke kindly^(QE) to him and set his throne over the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.^{(QF) 29} So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life.^{(QG) 30} As for his allowance, a regular allowance^(QH) was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, for the rest of his life.