The Second Book of the Kings

The Second Book of the Kings

{1:1} And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.{1:2} And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamberthat was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and saidunto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shallrecover of this sickness. {1:3} But the angel of Jehovah said to Elijahthe Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king ofSamaria, and say unto them, Is it because there is no God in Israel,that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? {1:4} Nowtherefore thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not come down from the bedwhither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.

{1:5} And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them,Why is it that ye are returned? {1:6} And they said unto him, Therecame up a man to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto theking that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Is it becausethere is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub,the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bedwhither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. {1:7} And he said untothem, What manner of man was he that came up to meet you, and told youthese words? {1:8} And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girtwith a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah theTishbite.

{1:9} Then [the king] sent unto him a captain of fifty with hisfifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he was sitting on the top ofthe hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, the king hath said, Comedown. {1:10} And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If Ibe a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee andthy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him andhis fifty. {1:11} And again he sent unto him another captain of fiftyand his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thushath the king said, Come down quickly. {1:12} And Elijah answered andsaid unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven,and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down fromheaven, and consumed him and his fifty. {1:13} And again he sent thecaptain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fiftywent up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besoughthim, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and thelife of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. {1:14}Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two formercaptains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be preciousin thy sight. {1:15} And the angel of Jehovah said unto Elijah, Go downwith him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with himunto the king. {1:16} And he said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah,Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, thegod of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of hisword? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou artgone up, but shalt surely die.

{1:17} So he died according to the word of Jehovah which Elijah hadspoken. And Jehoram began to reign in his stead in the second year ofJehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.{1:18} Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they notwritten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

{2:1} And it came to pass, when Jehovah would take up Elijah by awhirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. {2:2}And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hathsent me as far as Beth-el. And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth, and asthy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el.{2:3} And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth toElisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thymaster from thy head to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye yourpeace. {2:4} And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee;for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As Jehovah liveth,and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.{2:5} And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near toElisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thymaster from thy head to-day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold yeyour peace. {2:6} And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee;for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah liveth,and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.{2:7} And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood overagainst them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan. {2:8} AndElijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters,and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over ondry ground. {2:9} And it came to pass, when they were gone over, thatElijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I amtaken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion ofthy spirit be upon me. {2:10} And he said, Thou hast asked a hardthing: [nevertheless], if thou see me when I am taken from thee, itshall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. {2:11} And itcame to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, [thereappeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them bothasunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. {2:12} AndElisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots ofIsrael and the horsemen thereof!

And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, andrent them in two pieces. {2:13} He took up also the mantle of Elijahthat fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.{2:14} And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smotethe waters, and said, Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? and when healso had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither; andElisha went over.

{2:15} And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho overagainst him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest onElisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the groundbefore him. {2:16} And they said unto him, Behold now, there are withthy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thymaster, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him uponsome mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.{2:17} And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. Theysent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found himnot. {2:18} And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; andhe said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

{2:19} And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, we praythee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but thewater is bad, and the land miscarrieth. {2:20} And he said, Bring me anew cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. {2:21} Andhe went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, andsaid, Thus saith Jehovah, I have healed these waters; there shall notbe from thence any more death or miscarrying. {2:22} So the waters werehealed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spake.

{2:23} And he went up from thence unto Beth-el; and as he was goingup by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and mockedhim, and said unto him, Go up, thou baldhead; go up, thou baldhead.{2:24} And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in thename of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood,and tare forty and two lads of them. {2:25} And he went from thence tomount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

{3:1} Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel inSamaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, andreigned twelve years. {3:2} And he did that which was evil in the sightof Jehovah, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he putaway the pillar of Baal that his father had made. {3:3} Nevertheless hecleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he madeIsrael to sin; he departed not therefrom.

{3:4} Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master; and he renderedunto the king of Israel the wool of a hundred thousand lambs, and of ahundred thousand rams. {3:5} But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead,that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. {3:6} Andking Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel.{3:7} And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying,The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me againstMoab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my peopleas thy people, my horses as thy horses. {3:8} And he said, Which wayshall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.{3:9} So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the kingof Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey: and there wasno water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them. {3:10}And the king of Israel said, Alas! for Jehovah hath called these threekings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. {3:11} ButJehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah, that we mayinquire of Jehovah by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servantsanswered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured wateron the hands of Elijah. {3:12} And Jehoshaphat said, The word ofJehovah is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the kingof Edom went down to him.

{3:13} And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to dowith thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophetsof thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovahhath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand ofMoab. {3:14} And Elisha said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom Istand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphatthe king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. {3:15}But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrelplayed, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. {3:16} And he said,Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of trenches. {3:17} For thussaith Jehovah, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yetthat valley shall be filled with water, and ye shall drink, both ye andyour cattle and your beasts. {3:18} And this is but a light thing inthe sight of Jehovah: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.{3:19} And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city,and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, andmar every good piece of land with stones. {3:20} And it came to pass inthe morning, about the time of offering the oblation, that, behold,there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled withwater.

{3:21} Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come upto fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all that wereable to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border. {3:22} Andthey rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water,and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood:{3:23} and they said, This is blood; the kings are surely destroyed,and they have smitten each man his fellow: now therefore, Moab, to thespoil. {3:24} And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelitesrose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and theywent forward into the land smiting the Moabites. {3:25} And they beatdown the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every manhis stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the fountains of water,and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth [only] they leftthe stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.{3:26} And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore forhim, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to breakthrough unto the king of Edom; but they could not. {3:27} Then he tookhis eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered himfor a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great wrath againstIsrael: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

{4:1} Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons ofthe prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; andthou knowest that thy servant did fear Jehovah: and the creditor iscome to take unto him my two children to be bondmen. {4:2} And Elishasaid unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in thehouse? And she said, Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house, savea pot of oil. {4:3} Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of allthy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. {4:4} And thoushalt go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pourout into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which isfull. {4:5} So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and uponher sons; they brought [the vessels] to her, and she poured out. {4:6}And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto herson, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vesselmore. And the oil stayed. {4:7} Then she came and told the man of God.And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thysons of the rest.

{4:8} And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where wasa great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was,that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. {4:9}And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is aholy man of God, that passeth by us continually. {4:10} Let us make, Ipray thee, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there abed, and a table, and a seat, and a candlestick: and it shall be, whenhe cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. {4:11} And it fell on aday, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber and laythere. {4:12} And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite.And when he had called her, she stood before him. {4:13} And he saidunto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us withall this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken forto the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwellamong mine own people. {4:14} And he said, What then is to be done forher? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son, and her husband isold. {4:15} And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, shestood in the door. {4:16} And he said, At this season, when the timecometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord,thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid.

{4:17} And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season, whenthe time came round, as Elisha had said unto her. {4:18} And when thechild was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father tothe reapers. {4:19} And he said unto his father, My head, my head. Andhe said to his servant, Carry him to his mother. {4:20} And when he hadtaken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees tillnoon, and then died. {4:21} And she went up and laid him on the bed ofthe man of God, and shut [the door] upon him, and went out. {4:22} Andshe called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of theservants, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, andcome again. {4:23} And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day?it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.{4:24} Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and goforward; slacken me not the riding, except I bid thee. {4:25} So shewent, and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel.

And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that hesaid to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite: {4:26}run, I pray thee, now to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well withthee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And sheanswered, It is well. {4:27} And when she came to the man of God to thehill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust heraway; but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexedwithin her; and Jehovah hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.{4:28} Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Donot deceive me? {4:29} Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, andtake my staff in thy hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salutehim not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staffupon the face of the child. {4:30} And the mother of the child said, AsJehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And hearose, and followed her. {4:31} And Gehazi passed on before them, andlaid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice,nor hearing. Wherefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying,The child is not awaked.

{4:32} And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the childwas dead, and laid upon his bed. {4:33} He went in therefore, and shutthe door upon them twain, and prayed unto Jehovah. {4:34} And he wentup, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and hiseyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretchedhimself upon him; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. {4:35} Then hereturned, and walked in the house once to and fro; and went up, andstretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and thechild opened his eyes. {4:36} And he called Gehazi, and said, Call thisShunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, hesaid, Take up thy son. {4:37} Then she went in, and fell at his feet,and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.

{4:38} And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a dearth inthe land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and hesaid unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for thesons of the prophets. {4:39} And one went out into the field to gatherherbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lapfull, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they knewthem not. {4:40} So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came topass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, andsaid, O man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eatthereof. {4:41} But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into thepot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And therewas no harm in the pot.

{4:42} And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the manof God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and freshears of grain in his sack. And he said, Give unto the people, that theymay eat. {4:43} And his servant said, What, should I set this before ahundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thussaith Jehovah, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. {4:44} So heset it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according tothe word of Jehovah.

{5:1} Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was agreat man with his master, and honorable, because by him Jehovah hadgiven victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, [but hewas] a leper. {5:2} And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and hadbrought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and shewaited on Naaman’s wife. {5:3} And she said unto her mistress, Wouldthat my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would herecover him of his leprosy. {5:4} And one went in, and told his lord,saying, Thus and thus said the maiden that is of the land of Israel.{5:5} And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter untothe king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents ofsilver, and six thousand [pieces] of gold, and ten changes of raiment.{5:6} And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And nowwhen this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have sent Naaman myservant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. {5:7} Andit came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that herent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, thatthis man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? butconsider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

{5:8} And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the kingof Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying,Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and heshall know that there is a prophet in Israel. {5:9} So Naaman came withhis horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house ofElisha. {5:10} And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go andwash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee,and thou shalt be clean. {5:11} But Naaman was wroth, and went away,and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand,and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over theplace, and recover the leper. {5:12} Are not Abanah and Pharpar, therivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I notwash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.{5:13} And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, Myfather, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thounot have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash,and be clean? {5:14} Then went he down, and dipped [himself] seventimes in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and hisflesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he wasclean.

{5:15} And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company,and came, and stood before him; and he said, Behold now, I know thatthere is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I praythee, take a present of thy servant. {5:16} But he said, As Jehovahliveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him totake it; but he refused. {5:17} And Naaman said, If not, yet, I praythee, let there be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth; forthy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrificeunto other gods, but unto Jehovah. {5:18} In this thing Jehovah pardonthy servant: when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worshipthere, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house ofRimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thyservant in this thing. {5:19} And he said unto him, Go in peace. So hedeparted from him a little way.

{5:20} But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said,Behold, my master hath spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receivingat his hands that which he brought: as Jehovah liveth, I will run afterhim, and take somewhat of him. {5:21} So Gehazi followed after Naaman.And when Naaman saw one running after him, he alighted from the chariotto meet him, and said, Is all well? {5:22} And he said, All is well. Mymaster hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there are come to me fromthe hill-country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets;give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment.{5:23} And Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he urgedhim, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes ofraiment, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare thembefore him. {5:24} And when he came to the hill, he took them fromtheir hand, and bestowed them in the house; and he let the men go, andthey departed. {5:25} But he went in, and stood before his master. AndElisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thyservant went no whither. {5:26} And he said unto him, Went not my heart[with thee], when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is it atime to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards andvineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants and maid-servants?{5:27} The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and untothy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper [as white]as snow.

{6:1} And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, theplace where we dwell before thee is too strait for us. {6:2} Let us go,we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, andlet us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Goye. {6:3} And one said, Be pleased, I pray thee, to go with thyservants. And he answered, I will go. {6:4} So he went with them. Andwhen they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood. {6:5} But as one wasfelling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water; and he cried, andsaid, Alas, my master! for it was borrowed. {6:6} And the man of Godsaid, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down astick, and cast it in thither, and made the iron to swim. {6:7} And hesaid, Take it up to thee. So he put out his hand, and took it.

{6:8} Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he tookcounsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be mycamp. {6:9} And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying,Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians arecoming down. {6:10} And the king of Israel sent to the place which theman of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, notonce nor twice. {6:11} And the heart of the king of Syria was soretroubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said untothem, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? {6:12}And one of his servants said, Nay, my lord, O king; but Elisha, theprophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words thatthou speakest in thy bedchamber. {6:13} And he said, Go and see wherehe is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying,Behold, he is in Dothan.

{6:14} Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a greathost: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. {6:15} Andwhen the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth,behold, a host with horses and chariots was round about the city. Andhis servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? {6:16} Andhe answered, Fear not; for they that are with us are more than theythat are with them. {6:17} And Elisha prayed, and said, Jehovah, I praythee, open his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes ofthe young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horsesand chariots of fire round about Elisha. {6:18} And when they came downto him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Smite this people, I praythee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to theword of Elisha. {6:19} And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way,neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the manwhom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria.

{6:20} And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, thatElisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were inthe midst of Samaria. {6:21} And the king of Israel said unto Elisha,when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?{6:22} And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smitethose whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? setbread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go totheir master. {6:23} And he prepared great provision for them; and whenthey had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to theirmaster. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

{6:24} And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syriagathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. {6:25} Andthere was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it,until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore [pieces] of silver, and thefourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five [pieces] of silver. {6:26}And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried awoman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. {6:27} And he said, IfJehovah do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of thethreshing-floor, or out of the winepress? {6:28} And the king said untoher, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Givethy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.{6:29} So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on thenext day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; and she hath hid her son.{6:30} And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman,that he rent his clothes (now he was passing by upon the wall); and thepeople looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.{6:31} Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head ofElisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.

{6:32} But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders weresitting with him; and [the king] sent a man from before him: but erethe messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this sonof a murderer hath sent to take away my head? look, when the messengercometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: is not thesound of his master’s feet behind him? {6:33} And while he was yettalking with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and hesaid, Behold, this evil is of Jehovah; why should I wait for Jehovahany longer?

{7:1} And Elisha said, Hear ye the word of Jehovah: thus saithJehovah, To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be[sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in thegate of Samaria. {7:2} Then the captain on whose hand the king leanedanswered the man of God, and said, Behold, if Jehovah should makewindows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shaltsee it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

{7:3} Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate:and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? {7:4} If wesay, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, andwe shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Nowtherefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if theysave us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.{7:5} And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of theSyrians; and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp ofthe Syrians, behold, there was no man there. {7:6} For the Lord hadmade the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noiseof horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one toanother, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of theHittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. {7:7}Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents,and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fledfor their life. {7:8} And when these lepers came to the outermost partof the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, andcarried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; andthey came back, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also,and went and hid it.

{7:9} Then they said one to another, We do not well; this day is aday of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till themorning light, punishment will overtake us; now therefore come, let usgo and tell the king’s household. {7:10} So they came and called untothe porter of the city; and they told them, saying, We came to the campof the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice ofman, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as theywere. {7:11} And he called the porters; and they told it to the king’shousehold within. {7:12} And the king arose in the night, and said untohis servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us.They know that we are hungry; therefore are they gone out of the campto hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of thecity, we shall take them alive, and get into the city. {7:13} And oneof his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five ofthe horses that remain, which are left in the city (behold, they are asall the multitude of Israel that are left in it; behold, they are asall the multitude of Israel that are consumed); and let us send andsee. {7:14} They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the kingsent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. {7:15} And theywent after them unto the Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full ofgarments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste.And the messengers returned, and told the king.

{7:16} And the people went out, and plundered the camp of theSyrians. So a measure of fine flour was [sold] for a shekel, and twomeasures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah.{7:17} And the king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned tohave the charge of the gate: and the people trod upon him in the gate,and he died as the man of God had said, who spake when the king camedown to him. {7:18} And it came to pass, as the man of God had spokento the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measureof fine flour for a shekel, shall be to-morrow about this time in thegate of Samaria; {7:19} and that captain answered the man of God, andsaid, Now, behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, might sucha thing be? and he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, butshalt not eat thereof: {7:20} it came to pass even so unto him; for thepeople trod upon him in the gate, and he died.

{8:1} Now Elisha had spoken unto the woman, whose son he hadrestored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, andsojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for Jehovah hath called for afamine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. {8:2} And thewoman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God; and shewent with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistinesseven years. {8:3} And it came to pass at the seven years’ end, thatthe woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she wentforth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. {8:4} Nowthe king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying,Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. {8:5}And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored tolife him that was dead, that, behold, the woman, whose son he hadrestored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. AndGehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son,whom Elisha restored to life. {8:6} And when the king asked the woman,she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying,Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since theday that she left the land, even until now.

{8:7} And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syriawas sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.{8:8} And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, andgo, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall Irecover of this sickness? {8:9} So Hazael went to meet him, and took apresent with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad kingof Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of thissickness? {8:10} And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou shaltsurely recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall surelydie. {8:11} And he settled his countenance stedfastly [upon him], untilhe was ashamed: and the man of God wept. {8:12} And Hazael said, Whyweepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thouwilt do unto the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set onfire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dashin pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child. {8:13}And Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who is but a dog, that heshould do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath showed methat thou shalt be king over Syria. {8:14} Then he departed fromElisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha tothee? And he answered, He told me that thou wouldest surely recover.{8:15} And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took the coverlet,and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: andHazael reigned in his stead.

{8:16} And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king ofIsrael, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son ofJehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. {8:17} Thirty and two yearsold was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years inJerusalem. {8:18} And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, asdid the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife; and hedid that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. {8:19} Howbeit Jehovahwould not destroy Judah, for David his servant’s sake, as he promisedhim to give unto him a lamp for his children alway.

{8:20} In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, andmade a king over themselves. {8:21} Then Joram passed over to Zair, andall his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote theEdomites that compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots;and the people fled to their tents. {8:22} So Edom revolted from underthe hand of Judah unto this day. Then did Libnah revolt at the sametime. {8:23} And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did,are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings ofJudah? {8:24} And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with hisfathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

{8:25} In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israeldid Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. {8:26} Twoand twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reignedone year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the daughterof Omri king of Israel. {8:27} And he walked in the way of the house ofAhab, and did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did thehouse of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. {8:28}And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king ofSyria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. {8:29} And kingJoram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrianshad given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria.And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram theson of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

{9:1} And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets,and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thyhand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. {9:2} And when thou comest thither, lookout there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, andmake him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an innerchamber. {9:3} Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, andsay, Thus saith Jehovah, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Thenopen the door, and flee, and tarry not. {9:4} So the young man, eventhe young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. {9:5} And when hecame, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, Ihave an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of us all?And he said, To thee, O captain. {9:6} And he arose, and went into thehouse; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saithJehovah, the God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the peopleof Jehovah, even over Israel. {9:7} And thou shalt smite the house ofAhab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants theprophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah, at the hand ofJezebel. {9:8} For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cutoff from Ahab every man-child, and him that is shut up and him that isleft at large in Israel. {9:9} And I will make the house of Ahab likethe house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baashathe son of Ahijah. {9:10} And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portionof Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened thedoor, and fled.

{9:11} Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and onesaid unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? Andhe said unto them, Ye know the man and what his talk was. {9:12} Andthey said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spakehe to me, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I have anointed thee king overIsrael. {9:13} Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, andput it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet,saying, Jehu is king.

{9:14} So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspiredagainst Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel,because of Hazael king of Syria; {9:15} but king Joram was returned tobe healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him,when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If this beyour mind, then let none escape and go forth out of the city, to go totell it in Jezreel. {9:16} So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went toJezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come downto see Joram.

{9:17} Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and hespied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. AndJoram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Isit peace? {9:18} So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said,Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to dowith peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, Themessenger came to them, but he cometh not back. {9:19} Then he sent outa second on horseback, who came to them, and said, Thus saith the king,Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turnthee behind me. {9:20} And the watchman told, saying, He came even untothem, and cometh not back: and the driving is like the driving of Jehuthe son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.

{9:21} And Joram said, Make ready. And they made ready his chariot.And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each inhis chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in theportion of Naboth the Jezreelite. {9:22} And it came to pass, whenJoram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, Whatpeace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and herwitchcrafts are so many? {9:23} And Joram turned his hands, and fled,and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. {9:24} And Jehudrew his bow with his full strength, and smote Joram between his arms;and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.{9:25} Then said [Jehu] to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him inthe portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember howthat, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, Jehovah laidthis burden upon him: {9:26} Surely I have seen yesterday the blood ofNaboth, and the blood of his sons, saith Jehovah; and I will requitethee in this plat, saith Jehovah. Now therefore take and cast him intothe plat [of ground], according to the word of Jehovah.

{9:27} But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by theway of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smitehim also in the chariot: [and they smote him] at the ascent of Gur,which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. {9:28} Andhis servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him inhis sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.

{9:29} And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab beganAhaziah to reign over Judah. {9:30} And when Jehu was come to Jezreel,Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head,and looked out at the window. {9:31} And as Jehu entered in at thegate, she said, Is it peace, thou Zimri, thy master’s murderer? {9:32}And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side?who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. {9:33} And hesaid, Throw her down. So they threw her down; and some of her blood wassprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trod her under foot.{9:34} And when he was come in, he did eat and drink; and he said, Seenow to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter.{9:35} And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her thanthe skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. {9:36} Whereforethey came back, and told him. And he said, This is the word of Jehovah,which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In theportion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel; {9:37} andthe body of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in theportion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.

{10:1} Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters,and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, andunto them that brought up [the sons of] Ahab, saying, {10:2} And now assoon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are withyou, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also,and armor; {10:3} look ye out the best and meetest of your master’ssons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’shouse. {10:4} But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, thetwo kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? {10:5} And hethat was over the household, and he that was over the city, the eldersalso, and they that brought up [the children], sent to Jehu, saying, Weare thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will notmake any man king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes. {10:6}Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be on myside, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of themen your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to-morrow thistime. Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the greatmen of the city, who brought them up. {10:7} And it came to pass, whenthe letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew them,even seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent themunto him to Jezreel. {10:8} And there came a messenger, and told him,saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said,Lay ye them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.{10:9} And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood,and said to all the people, Ye are righteous: behold, I conspiredagainst my master, and slew him; but who smote all these? {10:10} Knownow that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word ofJehovah, which Jehovah spake concerning the house of Ahab: for Jehovahhath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah. {10:11} So Jehusmote all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all hisgreat men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left himnone remaining.

{10:12} And he arose and departed, and went to Samaria. And as hewas at the shearing-house of the shepherds in the way, {10:13} Jehu metwith the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? Andthey answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah: and we go down to salutethe children of the king and the children of the queen. {10:14} And hesaid, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at thepit of the shearing-house, even two and forty men; neither left he anyof them. {10:15} And when he was departed thence, he lighted onJehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he saluted him, andsaid to him, Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? AndJehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thy hand. And he gave himhis hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. {10:16} And hesaid, Come with me, and see my zeal for Jehovah. So they made him ridein his chariot. {10:17} And when he came to Samaria, he smote all thatremained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according tothe word of Jehovah, which he spake to Elijah.

{10:18} And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said untothem, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu will serve him much. {10:19}Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all hisworshippers, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have agreat sacrifice [to do] to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shallnot live. But Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he mightdestroy the worshippers of Baal. {10:20} And Jehu said, Sanctify asolemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it. {10:21} And Jehu sentthrough all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that therewas not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal;and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another. {10:22} Andhe said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments forall the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.{10:23} And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the houseof Baal; and he said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and lookthat there be here with you none of the servants of Jehovah, but theworshippers of Baal only. {10:24} And they went in to offer sacrificesand burnt-offerings. Now Jehu had appointed him fourscore men without,and said, If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, [hethat letteth him go], his life shall be for the life of him.

{10:25} And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end ofoffering the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to thecaptains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smotethem with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains castthem out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. {10:26} And theybrought forth the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burnedthem. {10:27} And they brake down the pillar of Baal, and brake downthe house of Baal, and made it a draught-house, unto this day. {10:28}Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

{10:29} Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,wherewith he made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, [towit], the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan.{10:30} And Jehovah said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well inexecuting that which is right in mine eyes, [and] hast done unto thehouse of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy sons of thefourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. {10:31} But Jehutook no heed to walk in the law of Jehovah, the God of Israel, with allhis heart: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he madeIsrael to sin.

{10:32} In those days Jehovah began to cut off from Israel: andHazael smote them in all the borders of Israel; {10:33} from the Jordaneastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, andthe Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, evenGilead and Bashan. {10:34} Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and allthat he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of thechronicles of the kings of Israel? {10:35} And Jehu slept with hisfathers; and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reignedin his stead. {10:36} And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel inSamaria was twenty and eight years.

{11:1} Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son wasdead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. {11:2} But Jehosheba,the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son ofAhaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons that were slain,even him and his nurse, [and put them] in the bedchamber; and they hidhim from Athaliah, so that he was not slain; {11:3} And he was with herhid in the house of Jehovah six years. And Athaliah reigned over theland.

{11:4} And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched thecaptains over hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and broughtthem to him into the house of Jehovah; and he made a covenant withthem, and took an oath of them in the house of Jehovah, and showed themthe king’s son. {11:5} And he commanded them, saying, This is the thingthat ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath,shall be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; {11:6} And a thirdpart shall be at the gate Sur; and a third part at the gate behind theguard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, and be a barrier.{11:7} And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on thesabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the king.{11:8} And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with hisweapons in his hand; and he that cometh within the ranks, let him beslain: and be ye with the king when he goeth out, and when he cometh in.

{11:9} And the captains over hundreds did according to all thatJehoiada the priest commanded; and they took every man his men, thosethat were to come in on the sabbath, with those that were to go out onthe sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. {11:10} And the priestdelivered to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that hadbeen king David’s, which were in the house of Jehovah. {11:11} And theguard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the rightside of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar andthe house, by the king round about. {11:12} Then he brought out theking’s son, and put the crown upon him, and [gave him] the testimony;and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands,and said, [Long] live the king.

{11:13} And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard [and of] thepeople, she came to the people into the house of Jehovah: {11:14} andshe looked, and, behold, the king stood by the pillar, as the mannerwas, and the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the peopleof the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah rent herclothes, and cried, Treason! treason! {11:15} And Jehoiada the priestcommanded the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, andsaid unto them, Have her forth between the ranks; and him thatfolloweth her slay with the sword. For the priest said, Let her not beslain in the house of Jehovah. {11:16} So they made way for her; andshe went by the way of the horses’ entry to the king’s house: and therewas she slain.

{11:17} And Jehoiada made a covenant between Jehovah and the kingand the people, that they should be Jehovah’s people; between the kingalso and the people. {11:18} And all the people of the land went to thehouse of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake theyin pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before thealtars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of Jehovah.{11:19} And he took the captains over hundreds, and the Carites, andthe guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down theking from the house of Jehovah, and came by the way of the gate of theguard unto the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.{11:20} So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet.And Athaliah they had slain with the sword at the king’s house. {11:21}Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.

{12:1} In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and hereigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Zibiah ofBeer-sheba. {12:2} And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes ofJehovah all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. {12:3}Howbeit the high places were not taken away; the people stillsacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

{12:4} And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of thehallowed things that is brought into the house of Jehovah, in currentmoney, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all themoney that it cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house ofJehovah, {12:5} let the priests take it to them, every man from hisacquaintance; and they shall repair the breaches of the house,wheresoever any breach shall be found. {12:6} But it was so, that inthe three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had notrepaired the breaches of the house. {12:7} Then king Jehoash called forJehoiada the priest, and for the [other] priests, and said unto them,Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore take no[more] money from your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches ofthe house. {12:8} And the priests consented that they should take no[more] money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house.

{12:9} But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in thelid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comethinto the house of Jehovah: and the priests that kept the threshold puttherein all the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah.{12:10} And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in thechest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they putup in bags and counted the money that was found in the house ofJehovah. {12:11} And they gave the money that was weighed out into thehands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house ofJehovah: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, thatwrought upon the house of Jehovah, {12:12} and to the masons and thehewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair thebreaches of the house of Jehovah, and for all that was laid out for thehouse to repair it. {12:13} But there were not made for the house ofJehovah cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels ofgold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into thehouse of Jehovah; {12:14} for they gave that to them that did the work,and repaired therewith the house of Jehovah. {12:15} Moreover theyreckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money togive to them that did the work; for they dealt faithfully. {12:16} Themoney for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings,was not brought into the house of Jehovah: it was the priests’.

{12:17} Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath,and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. {12:18} AndJehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat andJehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, andhis own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in thetreasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the king’s house, and sent itto Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.

{12:19} Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, arethey not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?{12:20} And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and smote Joashat the house of Millo, [on the way] that goeth down to Silla. {12:21}For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, hisservants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathersin the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

{13:1} In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah,king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel inSamaria, [and reigned] seventeen years. {13:2} And he did that whichwas evil in the sight of Jehovah, and followed the sins of Jeroboam theson of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed nottherefrom. {13:3} And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel,and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and intothe hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, continually. {13:4} AndJehoahaz besought Jehovah, and Jehovah hearkened unto him; for he sawthe oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed them.{13:5} (And Jehovah gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out fromunder the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt intheir tents as beforetime. {13:6} Nevertheless they departed not fromthe sins of the house of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel to sin, butwalked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.) {13:7}For he left not to Jehoahaz of the people save fifty horsemen, and tenchariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria destroyedthem, and made them like the dust in threshing. {13:8} Now the rest ofthe acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they notwritten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? {13:9}And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria:and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

{13:10} In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah beganJehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, [andreigned] sixteen years. {13:11} And he did that which was evil in thesight of Jehovah; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the sonof Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; but he walked therein.{13:12} Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and hismight wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they notwritten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? {13:13}And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: andJoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

{13:14} Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died:and Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over him, andsaid, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsementhereof! {13:15} And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows; and hetook unto him bow and arrows. {13:16} And he said to the king ofIsrael, Put thy hand upon the bow; and he put his hand [upon it]. AndElisha laid his hands upon the king’s hands. {13:17} And he said, Openthe window eastward; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot; and heshot. And he said, Jehovah’s arrow of victory, even the arrow ofvictory over Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, tillthou have consumed them. {13:18} And he said, Take the arrows; and hetook them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground;and he smote thrice, and stayed. {13:19} And the man of God was wrothwith him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times: thenhadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it, whereas now thoushalt smite Syria but thrice.

{13:20} And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of theMoabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. {13:21} And itcame to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied aband; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and as soonas the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on hisfeet.

{13:22} And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days ofJehoahaz. {13:23} But Jehovah was gracious unto them, and hadcompassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenantwith Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neithercast he them from his presence as yet. {13:24} And Hazael king of Syriadied; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. {13:25} And Jehoashthe son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son ofHazael the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz hisfather by war. Three times did Joash smite him, and recovered thecities of Israel.

{14:1} In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israelbegan Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah to reign. {14:2} He wastwenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twentyand nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jehoaddin ofJerusalem. {14:3} And he did that which was right in the eyes ofJehovah, yet not like David his father: he did according to all thatJoash his father had done. {14:4} Howbeit the high places were nottaken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the highplaces. {14:5} And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom wasestablished in his hand, that he slew his servants who had slain theking his father: {14:6} but the children of the murderers he put not todeath; according to that which is written in the book of the law ofMoses, as Jehovah commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put todeath for the children, nor the children be put to death for thefathers; but every man shall die for his own sin. {14:7} He slew ofEdom in the Valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Sela by war, andcalled the name of it Joktheel, unto this day.

{14:8} Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahazson of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another inthe face. {14:9} And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king ofJudah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar thatwas in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and therepassed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle.{14:10} Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thy heart hath lifted theeup: glory thereof, and abide at home; for why shouldest thou meddle to[thy] hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?

{14:11} But Amaziah would not hear. So Jehoash king of Israel wentup; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face atBeth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. {14:12} And Judah was put tothe worse before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent. {14:13}And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son ofJehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, andbrake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto thecorner gate, four hundred cubits. {14:14} And he took all the gold andsilver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of Jehovah,and in the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, andreturned to Samaria.

{14:15} Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and hismight, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they notwritten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? {14:16}And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with thekings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead.

{14:17} And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after thedeath of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. {14:18}Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the bookof the chronicles of the kings of Judah? {14:19} And they made aconspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but theysent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. {14:20} And they broughthim upon horses; and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in thecity of David. {14:21} And all the people of Judah took Azariah, whowas sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his fatherAmaziah. {14:22} He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after thatthe king slept with his fathers.

{14:23} In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king ofJudah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign inSamaria, [and reigned] forty and one years. {14:24} And he did thatwhich was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from all thesins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.{14:25} He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamathunto the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Jehovah, the Godof Israel, which he spake by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, theprophet, who was of Gath-hepher. {14:26} For Jehovah saw the afflictionof Israel, that it was very bitter; for there was none shut up nor leftat large, neither was there any helper for Israel. {14:27} And Jehovahsaid not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven;but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

{14:28} Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did,and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, andHamath, [which had belonged] to Judah, for Israel, are they not writtenin the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? {14:29} AndJeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; andZechariah his son reigned in his stead.

{15:1} In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israelbegan Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. {15:2} Sixteenyears old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned two and fiftyyears in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.{15:3} And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah,according to all that his father Amaziah had done. {15:4} Howbeit thehigh places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burntincense in the high places. {15:5} And Jehovah smote the king, so thathe was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a separatehouse. And Jotham the king’s son was over the household, judging thepeople of the land. {15:6} Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and allthat he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of thekings of Judah? {15:7} And Azariah slept with his fathers; and theyburied him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his sonreigned in his stead.

{15:8} In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah didZechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.{15:9} And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as hisfathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son ofNebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. {15:10} And Shallum the son ofJabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slewhim, and reigned in his stead. {15:11} Now the rest of the acts ofZechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles ofthe kings of Israel. {15:12} This was the word of Jehovah which hespake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons to the fourth generation shall situpon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass.

{15:13} Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine andthirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned the space of amonth in Samaria. {15:14} And Menahem the son of Gadi went up fromTirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh inSamaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. {15:15} Now the restof the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, theyare written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.{15:16} Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and theborders thereof, from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, thereforehe smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he rippedup.

{15:17} In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judahbegan Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, [and reigned] tenyears in Samaria. {15:18} And he did that which was evil in the sightof Jehovah: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam theson of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. {15:19} There cameagainst the land Pul the king of Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul athousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirmthe kingdom in his hand. {15:20} And Menahem exacted the money ofIsrael, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekelsof silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyriaturned back, and stayed not there in the land. {15:21} Now the rest ofthe acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in thebook of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? {15:22} And Menahemslept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.

{15:23} In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah theson of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] twoyears. {15:24} And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah:he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewithhe made Israel to sin. {15:25} And Pekah the son of Remaliah, hiscaptain, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castleof the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty menof the Gileadites: and he slew him, and reigned in his stead. {15:26}Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, theyare written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

{15:27} In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahthe son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [andreigned] twenty years. {15:28} And he did that which was evil in thesight of Jehovah: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son ofNebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

{15:29} In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileserking of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, andKedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali;and he carried them captive to Assyria. {15:30} And Hoshea the son ofElah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smotehim, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year ofJotham the son of Uzziah. {15:31} Now the rest of the acts of Pekah,and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of thechronicles of the kings of Israel.

{15:32} In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king ofIsrael began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. {15:33}Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign; and he reignedsixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jerusha thedaughter of Zadok. {15:34} And he did that which was right in the eyesof Jehovah; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.{15:35} Howbeit the high places were not taken away: the people stillsacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the uppergate of the house of Jehovah. {15:36} Now the rest of the acts ofJotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of thechronicles of the kings of Judah? {15:37} In those days Jehovah beganto send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son ofRemaliah. {15:38} And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buriedwith his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his sonreigned in his stead.

{16:1} In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz theson of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. {16:2} Twenty years old wasAhaz when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem:and he did not that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah his God,like David his father. {16:3} But he walked in the way of the kings ofIsrael, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according tothe abominations of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before thechildren of Israel. {16:4} And he sacrificed and burnt incense in thehigh places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

{16:5} Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king ofIsrael came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but couldnot overcome him. {16:6} At that time Rezin king of Syria recoveredElath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians came toElath, and dwelt there, unto this day.

{16:7} So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria,saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of thehand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel,who rise up against me. {16:8} And Ahaz took the silver and gold thatwas found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king’shouse, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. {16:9} And theking of Assyria hearkened unto him; and the king of Assyria went upagainst Damascus, and took it, and carried [the people of] it captiveto Kir, and slew Rezin.

{16:10} And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser kingof Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sentto Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it,according to all the workmanship thereof. {16:11} And Urijah the priestbuilt an altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus,so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz fromDamascus. {16:12} And when the king was come from Damascus, the kingsaw the altar: and the king drew near unto the altar, and offeredthereon. {16:13} And he burnt his burnt-offering and his meal-offering,and poured his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of hispeace-offerings, upon the altar. {16:14} And the brazen altar, whichwas before Jehovah, he brought from the forefront of the house, frombetween his altar and the house of Jehovah, and put it on the northside of his altar. {16:15} And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest,saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt-offering, and theevening meal-offering, and the king’s burnt-offering, and hismeal-offering, with the burnt-offering of all the people of the land,and their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings; and sprinkle uponit all the blood of the burnt-offering, and all the blood of thesacrifice: but the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire by. {16:16}Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.

{16:17} And king Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and removedthe laver from off them, and took down the sea from off the brazen oxenthat were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stone. {16:18} Andthe covered way for the sabbath that they had built in the house, andthe king’s entry without, turned he unto the house of Jehovah, becauseof the king of Assyria. {16:19} Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz whichhe did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kingsof Judah? {16:20} And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried withhis fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in hisstead.

{17:1} In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea theson of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, [and reigned] nine years.{17:2} And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, yet notas the kings of Israel that were before him. {17:3} Against him came upShalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and broughthim tribute. {17:4} And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea;for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tributeto the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the kingof Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. {17:5} Then the kingof Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, andbesieged it three years. {17:6} In the ninth year of Hoshea the king ofAssyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placedthem in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the citiesof the Medes.

{17:7} And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinnedagainst Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egyptfrom under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared othergods, {17:8} and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Jehovahcast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings ofIsrael, which they made. {17:9} And the children of Israel did secretlythings that were not right against Jehovah their God: and they builtthem high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen tothe fortified city; {17:10} and they set them up pillars and Asherimupon every high hill, and under every green tree; {17:11} and therethey burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whomJehovah carried away before them; and they wrought wicked things toprovoke Jehovah to anger; {17:12} and they served idols, whereofJehovah had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. {17:13} YetJehovah testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet, andevery seer, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep mycommandments and my statutes, according to all the law which Icommanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants theprophets. {17:14} Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardenedtheir neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not inJehovah their God. {17:15} And they rejected his statutes, and hiscovenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which hetestified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and[went] after the nations that were round about them, concerning whomJehovah had charged them that they should not do like them. {17:16} Andthey forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made themmolten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped allthe host of heaven, and served Baal. {17:17} And they caused their sonsand their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination andenchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in thesight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. {17:18} Therefore Jehovahwas very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: therewas none left but the tribe of Judah only.

{17:19} Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their God,but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. {17:20} AndJehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, anddelivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out ofhis sight. {17:21} For he rent Israel from the house of David; and theymade Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel fromfollowing Jehovah, and made them sin a great sin. {17:22} And thechildren of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did;they departed not from them; {17:23} until Jehovah removed Israel outof his sight, as he spake by all his servants the prophets. So Israelwas carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

{17:24} And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and fromCuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed themin the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and theypossessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. {17:25} And so itwas, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared notJehovah: therefore Jehovah sent lions among them, which killed some ofthem. {17:26} Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, Thenations which thou hast carried away, and placed in the cities ofSamaria, know not the law of the god of the land: therefore he hathsent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they knownot the law of the god of the land.

{17:27} Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thitherone of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go anddwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land.{17:28} So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samariacame and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fearJehovah. {17:29} Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and putthem in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made,every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. {17:30} And the men ofBabylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and themen of Hamath made Ashima, {17:31} and the Avvites made Nibhaz andTartak; and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire toAdrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. {17:32} So theyfeared Jehovah, and made unto them from among themselves priests of thehigh places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.{17:33} They feared Jehovah, and served their own gods, after themanner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

{17:34} Unto this day they do after the former manner: they fear notJehovah, neither do they after their statutes, or after theirordinances, or after the law or after the commandment which Jehovahcommanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; {17:35} withwhom Jehovah had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shallnot fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, norsacrifice to them: {17:36} but Jehovah, who brought you up out of theland of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, him shallye fear, and unto him shall ye bow yourselves, and to him shall yesacrifice: {17:37} and the statutes and the ordinances, and the law andthe commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do forevermore; and ye shall not fear other gods: {17:38} and the covenantthat I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fearother gods: {17:39} but Jehovah your God shall ye fear; and he willdeliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. {17:40} Howbeit theydid not hearken, but they did after their former manner. {17:41} Sothese nations feared Jehovah, and served their graven images; theirchildren likewise, and their children’s children, as did their fathers,so do they unto this day.

{18:1} Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elahking of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began toreign. {18:2} Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign;and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’sname was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. {18:3} And he did that whichwas right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David hisfather had done. {18:4} He removed the high places, and brake thepillars, and cut down the Asherah: and he brake in pieces the brazenserpent that Moses had made; for unto those days the children of Israeldid burn incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan. {18:5} He trustedin Jehovah, the God of Israel; so that after him was none like himamong all the kings of Judah, nor [among them] that were before him.{18:6} For he clave to Jehovah; he departed not from following him, butkept his commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses. {18:7} AndJehovah was with him; whithersoever he went forth he prospered: and herebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. {18:8} Hesmote the Philistines unto Gaza and the borders thereof, from the towerof the watchmen to the fortified city.

{18:9} And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah,which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, thatShalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.{18:10} And at the end of three years they took it: in the sixth yearof Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samariawas taken. {18:11} And the king of Assyria carried Israel away untoAssyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan,and in the cities of the Medes, {18:12} because they obeyed not thevoice of Jehovah their God, but transgressed his covenant, even allthat Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded, and would not hear it, nordo it.

{18:13} Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacheribking of Assyria come up against all the fortified cities of Judah, andtook them. {18:14} And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king ofAssyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that whichthou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed untoHezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirtytalents of gold. {18:15} And Hezekiah gave [him] all the silver thatwas found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king’shouse. {18:16} At that time did Hezekiah cut off [the gold from] thedoors of the temple of Jehovah, and [from] the pillars which Hezekiahking of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. {18:17}And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh fromLachish to king Hezekiah with a great army unto Jerusalem. And theywent up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they cameand stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway ofthe fuller’s field. {18:18} And when they had called to the king, therecame out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over thehousehold, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph therecorder.

{18:19} And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thussaith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is thiswherein thou trustest? {18:20} Thou sayest (but they are but vainwords), [There is] counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dostthou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me? {18:21} Now, behold,thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt;whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so isPharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. {18:22} But if ye sayunto me, We trust in Jehovah our God; is not that he, whose high placesand whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah andto Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? {18:23}Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my master the king ofAssyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able onthy part to set riders upon them. {18:24} How then canst thou turn awaythe face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and putthy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? {18:25} Am I now comeup without Jehovah against this place to destroy it? Jehovah said untome, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

{18:26} Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah,unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrianlanguage; for we understand it: and speak not with us in the Jews’language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall. {18:27} ButRabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and tothee, to speak these words? [hath he] not [sent me] to the men that siton the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own water withyou? {18:28} Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in theJews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear ye the word of the great king,the king of Assyria. {18:29} Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiahdeceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand:{18:30} neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovahwill surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the handof the king of Assyria. {18:31} Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saiththe king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; andeat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drinkye every one the waters of his own cistern; {18:32} Until I come andtake you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and newwine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive-trees and ofhoney, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah,when he persuadeth you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. {18:33} Hathany of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the handof the king of Assyria? {18:34} Where are the gods of Hamath, and ofArpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? have theydelivered Samaria out of my hand? {18:35} Who are they among all thegods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of myhand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

{18:36} But the people held their peace, and answered him not aword; for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not. {18:37}Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, andShebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiahwith their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

{19:1} And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that herent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into thehouse of Jehovah. {19:2} And he sent Eliakim, who was over thehousehold, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests,covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. {19:3}And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day oftrouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come tothe birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. {19:4} It may beJehovah thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king ofAssyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebukethe words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thyprayer for the remnant that is left. {19:5} So the servants of kingHezekiah came to Isaiah. {19:6} And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shallye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the wordsthat thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyriahave blasphemed me. {19:7} Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and heshall hear tidings, and shall return to his own land; and I will causehim to fall by the sword in his own land. {19:8} So Rabshakeh returned,and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heardthat he was departed from Lachish. {19:9} And when he heard say ofTirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight againstthee, he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, {19:10} Thusshall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God inwhom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be giveninto the hand of the king of Assyria. {19:11} Behold, thou hast heardwhat the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying themutterly: and shalt thou be delivered? {19:12} Have the gods of thenations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, andHaran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that were in Telassar?{19:13} Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and theking of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?

{19:14} And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of themessengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house ofJehovah, and spread it before Jehovah. {19:15} And Hezekiah prayedbefore Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, that sittest[above] the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all thekingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. {19:16} Inclinethine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see;and hear the words of Sennacherib, wherewith he hath sent him to defythe living God. {19:17} Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria havelaid waste the nations and their lands, {19:18} and have cast theirgods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands,wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them. {19:19} Nowtherefore, O Jehovah our God, save thou us, I beseech thee, out of hishand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou Jehovah artGod alone.

{19:20} Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thussaith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to meagainst Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard [thee]. {19:21} Thisis the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgindaughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; thedaughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. {19:22} Whom hastthou defied and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thyvoice and lifted up thine eyes on high? [even] against the Holy One ofIsrael. {19:23} By thy messengers thou hast defied the Lord, and hastsaid, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height ofthe mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut downthe tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I willenter into his farthest lodging-place, the forest of his fruitfulfield. {19:24} I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with thesole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.

{19:25} Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formedit of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should bethine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps. {19:26}Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed andconfounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb,as the grass on the housetops, and as grain blasted before it is grownup. {19:27} But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thycoming in, and thy raging against me. {19:28} Because of thy ragingagainst me, and because thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears,therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips,and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

{19:29} And this shall be the sign unto thee: Ye shall eat this yearthat which groweth of itself, and in the second year that whichspringeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, andplant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. {19:30} And the remnantthat is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward,and bear fruit upward. {19:31} For out of Jerusalem shall go forth aremnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape: the zeal ofJehovah shall perform this. {19:32} Therefore thus saith Jehovahconcerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, norshoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, norcast up a mound against it. {19:33} By the way that he came, by thesame shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saithJehovah. {19:34} For I will defend this city to save it, for mine ownsake, and for my servant David’s sake.

{19:35} And it came to pass that night, that the angel of Jehovahwent forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscoreand five thousand: and when men arose early in the morning, behold,these were all dead bodies. {19:36} So Sennacherib king of Assyriadeparted, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. {19:37} And itcame to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god,that Adrammelech and Sharezer smote him with the sword: and theyescaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in hisstead.

{20:1} In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah theprophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saithJehovah, Set thy house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.{20:2} Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah,saying, {20:3} Remember now, O Jehovah, I beseech thee, how I havewalked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have donethat which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. {20:4} And itcame to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of thecity, that the word of Jehovah came to him, saying, {20:5} Turn back,and say to Hezekiah the prince of my people, Thus saith Jehovah, theGod of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thytears: behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up untothe house of Jehovah. {20:6} And I will add unto thy days fifteenyears; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of theking of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and formy servant David’s sake. {20:7} And Isaiah said, Take a cake of figs.And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

{20:8} And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign thatJehovah will heal me, and that I shall go up unto the house of Jehovahthe third day? {20:9} And Isaiah said, This shall be the sign unto theefrom Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing that he hath spoken: shallthe shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps? {20:10} AndHezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline tensteps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps. {20:11} AndIsaiah the prophet cried unto Jehovah; and he brought the shadow tensteps backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.

{20:12} At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king ofBabylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heardthat Hezekiah had been sick. {20:13} And Hezekiah hearkened unto them,and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, andthe gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of hisarmor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing inhis house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.{20:14} Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said untohim, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? AndHezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.{20:15} And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiahanswered, All that is in my house have they seen: there is nothingamong my treasures that I have not showed them.

{20:16} And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of Jehovah.{20:17} Behold, the days come, that all that is in thy house, and thatwhich thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carriedto Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah. {20:18} And of thysons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they takeaway; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.{20:19} Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovahwhich thou hast spoken. He said moreover, Is it not so, if peace andtruth shall be in my days? {20:20} Now the rest of the acts ofHezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit,and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book ofthe chronicles of the kings of Judah? {20:21} And Hezekiah slept withhis fathers; and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

{21:1} Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and hereigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name wasHephzibah. {21:2} And he did that which was evil in the sight ofJehovah, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast outbefore the children of Israel. {21:3} For he built again the highplaces which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altarsfor Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, andworshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. {21:4} And he builtaltars in the house of Jehovah, whereof Jehovah said, In Jerusalem willI put my name. {21:5} And he built altars for all the host of heaven inthe two courts of the house of Jehovah. {21:6} And he made his son topass through the fire, and practised augury, and used enchantments, anddealt with them that had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wroughtmuch evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. {21:7} Andhe set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house ofwhich Jehovah said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, andin Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, willI put my name for ever; {21:8} neither will I cause the feet of Israelto wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if onlythey will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them,and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.{21:9} But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do thatwhich is evil more than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed beforethe children of Israel.

{21:10} And Jehovah spake by his servants the prophets, saying,{21:11} Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations,and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, that werebefore him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols; {21:12}therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Behold, I bring suchevil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both hisears shall tingle. {21:13} And I will stretch over Jerusalem the lineof Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipeJerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.{21:14} And I will cast off the remnant of mine inheritance, anddeliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become aprey and a spoil to all their enemies; {21:15} because they have donethat which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, sincethe day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.

{21:16} Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he hadfilled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin wherewith hemade Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight ofJehovah. {21:17} Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that hedid, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book ofthe chronicles of the kings of Judah? {21:18} And Manasseh slept withhis fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in thegarden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

{21:19} Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign;and he reigned two years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name wasMeshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. {21:20} And he did thatwhich was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did Manasseh his father.{21:21} And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, andserved the idols that his father served, and worshipped them: {21:22}and he forsook Jehovah, the God of his fathers, and walked not in theway of Jehovah. {21:23} And the servants of Amon conspired against him,and put the king to death in his own house. {21:24} But the people ofthe land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and thepeople of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead. {21:25} Nowthe rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in thebook of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? {21:26} And he was buriedin his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned inhis stead.

{22:1} Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and hereigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name wasJedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. {22:2} And he did that whichwas right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of Davidhis father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

{22:3} And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah,that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam,the scribe, to the house of Jehovah, saying, {22:4} Go up to Hilkiahthe high priest, that he may sum the money which is brought into thehouse of Jehovah, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered ofthe people: {22:5} and let them deliver it into the hand of the workmenthat have the oversight of the house of Jehovah; and let them give itto the workmen that are in the house of Jehovah, to repair the breachesof the house, {22:6} unto the carpenters, and to the builders, and tothe masons, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house.{22:7} Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money thatwas delivered into their hand; for they dealt faithfully.

{22:8} And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, Ihave found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkiahdelivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it. {22:9} And Shaphan thescribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thyservants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, andhave delivered it into the hand of the workmen that have the oversightof the house of Jehovah. {22:10} And Shaphan the scribe told the king,saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan readit before the king. {22:11} And it came to pass, when the king hadheard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.{22:12} And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the sonof Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, andAsaiah the king’s servant, saying, {22:13} Go ye, inquire of Jehovahfor me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words ofthis book that is found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that iskindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto thewords of this book, to do according unto all that which is writtenconcerning us.

{22:14} So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan,and Asaiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum theson of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dweltin Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they communed with her.{22:15} And she said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel:Tell ye the man that sent you unto me, {22:16} Thus saith Jehovah,Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitantsthereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hathread. {22:17} Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incenseunto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the workof their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place,and it shall not be quenched. {22:18} But unto the king of Judah, whosent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saithJehovah, the God of Israel: As touching the words which thou hastheard, {22:19} because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humblethyself before Jehovah, when thou heardest what I spake against thisplace, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become adesolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me;I also have heard thee, saith Jehovah. {22:20} Therefore, behold, Iwill gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thygrave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil which I willbring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.

{23:1} And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the eldersof Judah and of Jerusalem. {23:2} And the king went up to the house ofJehovah, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalemwith him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, bothsmall and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book ofthe covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah. {23:3} And theking stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walkafter Jehovah, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, andhis statutes, with all [his] heart, and all [his] soul, to confirm thewords of this covenant that were written in this book: and all thepeople stood to the covenant.

{23:4} And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and thepriests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bringforth out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that were made forBaal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven, and heburned them without Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carriedthe ashes of them unto Beth-el. {23:5} And he put down the idolatrouspriests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in thehigh places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round aboutJerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and tothe moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. {23:6} Andhe brought out the Asherah from the house of Jehovah, withoutJerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron,and beat it to dust, and cast the dust thereof upon the graves of thecommon people. {23:7} And he brake down the houses of the sodomites,that were in the house of Jehovah, where the women wove hangings forthe Asherah. {23:8} And he brought all the priests out of the cities ofJudah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burnedincense, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he brake down the high places ofthe gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governorof the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city.{23:9} Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to thealtar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened bread amongtheir brethren. {23:10} And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valleyof the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or hisdaughter to pass through the fire to Molech. {23:11} And he took awaythe horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at theentrance of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-melech thechamberlain, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots ofthe sun with fire. {23:12} And the altars that were on the roof of theupper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and thealtars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house ofJehovah, did the king break down, and beat [them] down from thence, andcast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. {23:13} And the highplaces that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of themount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded forAshtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh theabomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children ofAmmon, did the king defile. {23:14} And he brake in pieces the pillars,and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.

{23:15} Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high placewhich Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, eventhat altar and the high place he brake down; and he burned the highplace and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah. {23:16} And asJosiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in themount; and he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, andburned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word ofJehovah which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.{23:17} Then he said, What monument is that which I see? And the men ofthe city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came fromJudah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against thealtar of Beth-el. {23:18} And he said, Let him be; let no man move hisbones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet thatcame out of Samaria. {23:19} And all the houses also of the high placesthat were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had madeto provoke [Jehovah] to anger, Josiah took away, and did to themaccording to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el. {23:20} And heslew all the priests of the high places that were there, upon thealtars, and burned men’s bones upon them; and he returned to Jerusalem.

{23:21} And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep thepassover unto Jehovah your God, as it is written in this book of thecovenant. {23:22} Surely there was not kept such a passover from thedays of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kingsof Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; {23:23} but in the eighteenthyear of king Josiah was this passover kept to Jehovah in Jerusalem.

{23:24} Moreover them that had familiar spirits, and the wizards,and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that wereseen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, thathe might confirm the words of the law which were written in the bookthat Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah. {23:25} And likeunto him was there no king before him, that turned to Jehovah with allhis heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according toall the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

{23:26} Notwithstanding, Jehovah turned not from the fierceness ofhis great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, becauseof all the provocations wherewith Manasseh had provoked him. {23:27}And Jehovah said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I haveremoved Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, evenJerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

{23:28} Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, arethey not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?{23:29} In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against theking of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went againsthim; and [Pharaoh-necoh] slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.{23:30} And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo,and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. Andthe people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointedhim, and made him king in his father’s stead.

{23:31} Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began toreign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother’s namewas Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. {23:32} And he did thatwhich was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that hisfathers had done. {23:33} And Pharaoh-necoh put him in bonds at Riblahin the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and putthe land to a tribute of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent ofgold. {23:34} And Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king inthe room of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim: buthe took Jehoahaz away; and he came to Egypt, and died there. {23:35}And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed theland to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: heexacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every oneaccording to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh-necoh.

{23:36} Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began toreign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s namewas Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. {23:37} And he did thatwhich was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that hisfathers had done.

{24:1} In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, andJehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelledagainst him. {24:2} And Jehovah sent against him bands of theChaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, andbands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroyit, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by his servantsthe prophets. {24:3} Surely at the commandment of Jehovah came thisupon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh,according to all that he did, {24:4} and also for the innocent bloodthat he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Jehovahwould not pardon. {24:5} Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and allthat he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of thekings of Judah? {24:6} So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; andJehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. {24:7} And the king of Egyptcame not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon hadtaken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all thatpertained to the king of Egypt.

{24:8} Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; andhe reigned in Jerusalem three months: and his mother’s name wasNehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. {24:9} And he did thatwhich was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that hisfather had done.

{24:10} At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babyloncame up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. {24:11} AndNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came unto the city, while his servantswere besieging it; {24:12} and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out tothe king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and hisprinces, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in theeighth year of his reign. {24:13} And he carried out thence all thetreasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king’shouse, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king ofIsrael had made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had said. {24:14}And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all themighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmenand the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people ofthe land. {24:15} And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and theking’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the chiefmen of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.{24:16} And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and thecraftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt forwar, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. {24:17}And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, [Jehoiachin’s] father’sbrother, king is his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

{24:18} Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began toreign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s namewas Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. {24:19} And he did thatwhich was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakimhad done. {24:20} For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to passin Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

{25:1} And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in thetenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encampedagainst it; and they built forts against it round about. {25:2} So thecity was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. {25:3} Onthe ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was sore in the city, sothat there was no bread for the people of the land. {25:4} Then abreach was made in the city, and all the men of war [fled] by night bythe way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’sgarden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and [theking] went by the way of the Arabah. {25:5} But the army of theChaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains ofJericho; and all his army was scattered from him. {25:6} Then they tookthe king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah; andthey gave judgment upon him. {25:7} And they slew the sons of Zedekiahbefore his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him infetters, and carried him to Babylon.

{25:8} Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month,which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king ofBabylon, unto Jerusalem. {25:9} And he burnt the house of Jehovah, andthe king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every greathouse, burnt he with fire. {25:10} And all the army of the Chaldeans,that were [with] the captain of the guard, brake down the walls ofJerusalem round about. {25:11} And the residue of the people that wereleft in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king ofBabylon, and the residue of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captainof the guard carry away captive. {25:12} But the captain of the guardleft of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

{25:13} And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah,and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, didthe Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them toBabylon. {25:14} And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, andthe spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered,took they away. {25:15} And the firepans, and the basins, that whichwas of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, thecaptain of the guard took away. {25:16} The two pillars, the one sea,and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah, thebrass of all these vessels was without weight. {25:17} The height ofthe one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was upon it;and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network andpomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and like untothese had the second pillar with network.

{25:18} And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest,and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of thethreshold: {25:19} and out of the city he took an officer that was setover the men of war; and five men of them that saw the king’s face, whowere found in the city; and the scribe, the captain of the host, whomustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people ofthe land, that were found in the city. {25:20} And Nebuzaradan thecaptain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylonto Riblah. {25:21} And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them todeath at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried awaycaptive out of his land.

{25:22} And as for the people that were left in the land of Judah,whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he madeGedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor. {25:23} Nowwhen all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that theking of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah toMizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son ofKareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, andJaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. {25:24} AndGedaliah sware to them and to their men, and said unto them, Fear notbecause of the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and servethe king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. {25:25} But it cameto pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, theson of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, andsmote Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans thatwere with him at Mizpah. {25:26} And all the people, both small andgreat, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt; forthey were afraid of the Chaldeans.

{25:27} And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of thecaptivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on theseven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king ofBabylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head ofJehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; {25:28} and he spake kindly tohim, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were withhim in Babylon, {25:29} and changed his prison garments. And[Jehoiachin] did eat bread before him continually all the days of hislife: {25:30} and for his allowance, there was a continual allowancegiven him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.

---

The American Standard Version of the Holy Bible is now in the Public Domain. Feel free to copy it for your friends, give it away, sell it,and publish it. http://www.ebible.org/bible/asv