2 kings

1 ¶ Then Moab ^a rebelled against Israel ^b after the death of Ahab.

2 And ^cAhaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was injured. And he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of ^dBaalzebub the god of ^eEkron whether I will recover from this injury.”

3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you go to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?’”

4 “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, ‘You will not come down from the bed on which you have gone up, but will surely die.’” And Elijah departed.

5 ¶ Now when the messengers turned back to him he said to them, “Why have you returned?”

6 And they said to him, “There came a man up to meet us. And he said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Is it not because there is no God in Israel that you send to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not come down from that bed on which you have gone up, but will surely die.’”’”

7 Then he said to them, “What manner of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these words?”

8 And they answered him, ^f“He was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.” And he said, ^g“It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him. And behold, he sat on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him, “You man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down.’”

10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then ^hlet fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” And there came down fire from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

11 So again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly.’”

12 And Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13 ¶ Then he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah. And he begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours ⁱbe precious in your sight.

14 “Behold, there came fire down from heaven and burned up the two captains of the former fifty with their fifties. Therefore, let my life now be precious in your sight.”

15 So the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.” And he arose and went down with him to the king.

16 Then he said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Forasmuch as you have sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore, you will not come down off the bed on which you have gone up. But you will surely die.’”

17 ¶ So he died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, ^jJehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

1 ¶ Now it came to pass when the LORD would ^atake up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with ^bElisha from Gilgal.

2 And Elijah said to Elisha, ^c“Please wait here, for the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” And Elisha said to him, “As the LORD lives and ^das your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

3 And the ^esons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know. Hold your peace.”

4 ¶ Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please wait here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” And he said, “As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.

5 And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know. Hold your peace.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please wait here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” And the two went on.

7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to look at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan.

8 And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together. And he struck the waters, and ^fthey were divided here and there so that the two of them went over on dry ^gground.

9 ¶ Now it came to pass when they had gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I will do for you before I am taken away from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be on me.”

10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be so for you. But if not, it will not be so.”

11 Now it came to pass as they continued on and talked, that behold, there appeared a ^hchariot of fire and horses of fire that separated the two of them. And Elijah ⁱwent up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it and he cried out, ^j“My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen.” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

13 ¶ He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters. And he said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he had smitten the waters, ^kthey divided here and there. And Elisha went over.

15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were ^lfrom Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

16 And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and search for your master, ^mlest perhaps the spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You will not send anyone.”

17 But when they urged him until he was ⁿembarrassed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men, and they searched three days but did not find him.

18 Now when they came again to him while he waited at Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

19 ¶ And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please behold that the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees. But the water is bad and the ground barren.”

20 And he said, “Bring me a new jar and put salt in it.” And they brought it to him.

21 And he went out to the spring of the waters and ^ocast the salt in it and said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘I have healed these waters. There will not be from here any more death or barren land.’”

22 So the waters were ^phealed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha that he spoke.

23 ¶ Then he went up from there to Bethel. And as he was going up by the way, there came young men out of the city. And they mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you bald head. Go up, you bald head.”

24 And he looked back and saw them, and ^qcursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two female bears out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the youths.

25 Then he went from there to ^rMount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

1 ¶ Now ^aJehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. And he reigned twelve years.

2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and like his mother. For he put away the image of Baal ^bthat his father had made.

3 Nevertheless, he clung to the ^csins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel sin. He did not depart from them.

4 ¶ And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster, and ^dregularly paid the king of Israel 100,000 ^elambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

5 But it came to pass when ^fAhab was dead that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

6 ¶ And King Jehoram went out of Samaria at the same time and mustered all Israel.

7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against Moab to battle?” And he said, “I will go up. ^gI am as you are, my people as your people, and my horses as your horses.”

8 And he said, “Which way will we go up?” And he answered, “The way through the wilderness of Edom.”

9 So the king of Israel went and the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And they marched on that roundabout route for seven days. And there was no water for the army and for the cattle that followed them.

10 Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab!”

11 But ^hJehoshaphat said, “Is there not here a prophet of the LORD so that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat who ⁱpoured water on the hands of Elijah.”

12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom, ^jwent down to him.

13 ¶ And Elisha said to the king of Israel, ^k“What have I to do with you? ^lGo to the ^mprophets of your father and to the ⁿprophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

14 And Elisha said, ^o“As the LORD of armies lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you nor see you.

15 “But now bring me a ^pmusician.” And it came to pass when the musician ^qplayed, that the ^rhand of the LORD came on him.

16 And he said, “Thus says the LORD, ^s‘Make this valley full of ditches.’

17 “For thus says the LORD, ‘You will not see wind, nor will you see rain; yet this valley will be filled with water so that you may drink, both you and your cattle and your livestock.

18 ‘And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD. He will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.

19 ‘And you will smite every fortified city and every choice city. And you will cut down every good tree and stop all wells of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones.’”

20 ¶ Now it came to pass in the morning when the ^tgrain offering was offered, that behold, there came water by the way of Edom and the country was filled with water.

21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered all who were able to put on armour, and older, and stood at the border.

22 When they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, then the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood.

23 Then they said, “This is blood. The kings are surely slain and they have smitten one another. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.”

24 Now when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites so that they fled before them. So they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land every man cast his stone and filled it. And they stopped all the wells of water and cut down all the good trees. Only in ^uKir Haraseth they left its stones. However, the slingers went around it and struck it.

26 ¶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him 700 men who drew swords in order to break through even to the king of Edom. But they could not.

27 Then ^vhe took his oldest son who should have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel. ^wAnd they departed from him and returned to their own land.

1 ¶ Now a certain woman of the wives of the ^asons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor has come ^bto take my two sons to be his slaves.”

2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a pot of oil.”

3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everyone for yourself, from all your neighbors. ^cDo not borrow a few.”

4 “And when you have come in, you will shut the door behind you and your sons. And you will pour out into all these vessels, and you will set aside that which is full.”

5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons who brought the vessels to her, and she poured.

6 Now it came to pass when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel left.” And the oil stopped.

7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

The Shunammite’s Son

8 ¶ Now it happened one day that Elisha passed to ^dShunem, where there was a great woman. And she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as often as he passed by he turned in there to eat bread.

9 And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God who passes by us continually.

10 “Please, let us make a little walled upper room and let us make a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand. And it will be when he comes to us that he will turn in there.”

11 Now it happened one day that he came there and he turned into the room and lay down there.

12 And he said to ^eGehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him.

13 Then he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What is to be done for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf before the king, or to the captain of the army?’” And she answered, “I dwell among my own people.”

14 Then he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Truly she has no child and her husband is old.”

15 Then he said, “Call her.” And when he had called her she stood in the doorway.

16 Then he said, “About this time next year you will embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God. ^fDo not lie to your maidservant.”

17 But the woman conceived and bore a son at that time the next year as Elisha had said to her.

18 ¶ And when the child was grown, it happened one day that he went out to his father to the reapers.

19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.”

20 Now when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon. And then he died.

21 Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door on him and went out.

22 Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys so that I may run to the man of God and return.”

23 But he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither ^gnew moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.”

24 Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant, “Drive and go forward. Do not slow down the pace for me unless I tell you.”

25 So she went and came to the man of God at ^hMount Carmel. Now it came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off that he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, there is the Shunammite.

26 “Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ And she answered, “It is well.”

27 Now when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet. But Gehazi came near to push her away. And the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her. And the LORD has hid it from me and has not told me.”

28 Then she said, “Did I desire a son of my lord? ⁱDid I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

29 Then he said to Gehazi, ^j“Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, ^kdo not greet him. And if any greet you, do not answer him again. And ^llay my staff on the face of the child.”

30 Then the mother of the child said, ^m“As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not ⁿleave you.” And he arose and followed her.

31 And Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore, he went again to meet him and told him, saying, “The child is ^onot awake.”

32 ¶ Then when Elisha came into the house, behold, the child was dead and laid on his bed.

33 He ^pwent in, therefore, and shut the door on them both and ^qprayed to the LORD.

34 Then he went up and lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands. And he ^rstretched himself on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm.

35 Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro, and went up and ^sstretched himself on him. And the ^tchild sneezed seven times and the child opened his eyes.

36 Then he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Take up your son.”

37 Then she went in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground. And she ^utook up her son and went out.

Death in the Pot

38 ¶ And Elisha came again to ^vGilgal. And there was a ^wfamine in the land, and the sons of the prophets were ^xsitting before him. And he said to his servant, “Put on the great pot and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.”

39 Then one went out into the field to gather herbs. And he found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds. And he came and shred them into the pot of pottage, for they did not know what they were.

40 So they poured out for the men to eat. Now it came to pass as they were eating of the pottage that they cried out and said, “O man of God, there is ^ydeath in the pot.” And they could not eat from it.

41 But he said, “Then bring flour.” And ^zhe put it into the pot and said, “Pour out for the people so that they may eat.” And there was no harm in the pot.

Feeding of the Multitude

42 ¶ Now there came a man from ^aBaal Shalisha. And ^bhe brought the man of God bread from the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh grain in his sack. And he said, “Give to the people so that they may eat.”

43 And his servant said, ^c“What? Should I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give to the people so that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ^d‘They will eat and have some left over.’”

44 So he set it before them and they ate and ^ehad some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

1 ¶ Now ^aNaaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a ^bgreat man with his master and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given deliverance to Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper.

2 And the Syrians had gone out ^cwith raiding parties and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel, and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

3 Now she said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, for he would cure him of his leprosy.”

4 Then one went in and told his lord, saying, “Thus and thus said the maid who is from the land of Israel.”

5 ¶ So the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” And he departed and ^dtook with him ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothes.

6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “Now when this letter has come to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

7 Now it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I ^eGod, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me a man to cure his leprosy? Please consider now and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”

8 ¶ Now it happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

10 Then Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and ^fwash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will come again to you, and you will be clean.”

11 But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place and cure the leprosy.

12 Are not Abanah and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 Then his ^gservants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?”

14 Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan according to the saying of the man of God, and his ^hflesh came again like the flesh of a little child, and ⁱhe was clean.

15 ¶ Then 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 that there is ^jno God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, please take ^ka gift from your servant.”

16 But he said, “^lAs the LORD lives, before whom I stand, ^mI will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

17 Then Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant at least be given two mule-loads of soil, for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.

18 In this one thing may the LORD pardon your servant, that when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and ⁿhe leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD pardon your servant in this thing.”

19 Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a little way.

20 ¶ But ^oGehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. But as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”

21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”

22 And he said, “All is ^pwell. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, even now there have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.’”

23 And Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothes, and laid them on two of his servants, and they bore them before him.

24 Now when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he let the men go, and they departed.

25 But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”

26 And he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned again from his chariot to meet you? Is it a ^qtime to receive money and to receive clothes and oliveyards and vineyards and sheep and oxen and menservants and maidservants?

27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman ^rwill cleave to you and to your seed forever.” And he went out from his presence a ^sleper as white as snow.

1 ¶ And ^athe sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place where we dwell with you is too limited for us.

2 “Please let us go to the Jordan. Let each of us take there a beam, and let us make a place there where we may dwell.” And he answered, “Go.”

3 Then one said, ^b“Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.”

4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood.

5 But as one was cutting down a beam, the ax head fell into the water. And he cried, and said, “Alas, master! For it was ^cborrowed.”

6 And the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. Then ^dhe cut down a stick and cast it there and the iron floated.

7 Then he said, “Take it up for yourself.” And he put out his hand and took it.

The Trapped Syrians

8 ¶ Then the ^eking of Syria warred against Israel. And he took counsel with his servants, saying, “In such and such a place will be my camp.”

9 Then the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for there the Syrians have come down.”

10 And the king of Israel sent to the place that the man of God told him and warned him. And he guarded himself there, not once nor twice.

11 Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was outraged over this thing. And he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”

12 Then one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king. But Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, is telling the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

13 ¶ So he said, “Go and spy where he is so that I may send and fetch him.” And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in ^fDothan.”

14 Therefore, he sent there horses and chariots and a great army. And they came by night and surrounded the city.

15 Now when the servant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army surrounded the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What will we do?”

16 Then he answered, ^g“Do not fear, for ^hthose who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 So Elisha prayed and said, “Please, LORD, open his eyes so that he may see.” And the LORD ⁱopened the eyes of the young man and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of ^jhorses and chariots of fire around Elisha.

18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please smite this people with blindness.” And ^kHe struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

19 ¶ Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria.

20 Now it came to pass when they had come into Samaria that Elisha said, “LORD, open the eyes of these men so that they may see.” And the LORD opened their eyes and they saw. And behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.

21 Then the king of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, ^l“My father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them?”

22 And he answered, “You will not smite them. Would you smite those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? ^mSet bread and water before them so that they may eat and drink, then go to their master.”

23 So he prepared great provisions for them. And when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away. And they went to their master. So the ⁿraiding parties of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

Famine in Samaria

24 ¶ Now it came to pass after this that ^oBen-hadad, king of Syria, gathered all his army. And he went up and besieged Samaria.

25 Now there was a great ^pfamine in Samaria. And behold, they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.

26 And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him saying, “Help, my lord, O king.”

27 Then he said, “If the LORD does not help you, how will I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress?”

28 Then the king said to her, “What is your problem?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him today and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

29 “So ^qwe boiled my son and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him.’ And she has hidden her son.”

30 ¶ Now it came to pass when the king heard the words of the woman that he ^rtore his clothes. And he passed by on the wall and the people looked. And behold, he had sackcloth underneath on his body.

31 Then he said, ^s“God do so and more also to me if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, will remain on him this day.”

32 But Elisha sat in his house and the ^telders sat with him. And the king sent a man from his presence. But before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, ^u“See how this son of a ^vmurderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”

33 And while he still spoke with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. And he said, “Behold, this evil is from the LORD. ^wWhy should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

1 ¶ Then Elisha spoke to the woman ^awhose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise, and you and your household go and sojourn wherever you can sojourn, for the LORD ^bhas called for a ^cfamine, and it will also come on the land for seven years.”

2 Then the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God. And she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

3 Now it came to pass at the end of seven years that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines. And she went out to appeal to the king for her house and for her land.

4 And the king talked with ^dGehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.”

5 Now it came to pass as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that behold, the woman, whose son he had ^erestored to life, appealed to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”

6 Now when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.”

Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

7 ¶ Then Elisha came to Damascus. And ^fBen-hadad, the king of Syria, was sick. And it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”

8 Then the king said to ^gHazael, ^h“Take a present in your hand and go, meet the man of God and ⁱinquire of the LORD through him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this disease?’”

9 So ^jHazael went to meet him and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels loaded. And he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad, king of Syria, has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this disease?’”

10 And Elisha said to him, “Go. Say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’ However, the LORD has showed me that ^khe will surely die.”

11 Then he fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed. And the man of God ^lwept.

12 Then Hazael said, “Why do you weep my lord?” And he answered, “Because I know ^mthe evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire and you will slay their young men with the sword. And you ⁿwill dash their children and rip up their women with child.”

13 Then Hazael said, “But what is ^oyour servant, but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, ^p“The LORD has showed me that you will be king over Syria.”

14 So he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you will surely recover.”

15 Now it came to pass on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water. And he spread it on his face so that he died. And Hazael reigned in his place.

Jehoram Reigns in Judah

16 ¶ Now in the ^qfifth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, ^rJehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign.

17 He was ^sthirty-two years old when he began to reign. And he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel as did the house of Ahab, for the ^tdaughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

19 However, the LORD would not destroy Judah for the sake of David, his servant, ^uas He promised to him and to his sons to give him always a light.

20 In his days ^vEdom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and ^wmade a king over themselves.

21 So Joram went over to Zair and all the chariots with him. And he rose by night and killed the Edomites who surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots. And the people fled to their tents.

22 However, Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah to this day. ^xThen Libnah rebelled at the same time.

23 Now 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 of Judah?

24 Then Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And ^yAhaziah his son reigned in his place.

25 ¶ In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign.

26 Ahaziah was ^ztwenty-two years old when he began to reign. And he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, king of Israel.

27 ^aNow he walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

28 ¶ And he went ^bwith Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael, king of Syria, at ^cRamoth Gilead. Now the Syrians wounded Joram.

29 So ^dKing Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And ^eAhaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

Jehu Reigns in Israel

1 ¶ Then Elisha the prophet called one of the ^asons of the prophets and said to him, ^b“Gird up your loins and take this flask of oil in your hand and ^cgo to Ramoth Gilead.

2 “And when you arrive there, look for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in and make him rise up from ^damong his brethren and carry him to an inner chamber.

3 “Then ^etake the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee. Do not tarry.”

4 ¶ So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead.

5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting. And he said, “I have a message for you, O captain.” And Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O captain.”

6 Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head and said to him, ^f“Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel.

7 ‘And you will smite the house of Ahab your master so that I may ^gavenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD ^hat the hand of Jezebel.

8 ‘For the whole house of Ahab will perish. And ⁱI will cut off from Ahab ^jevery male person in Israel, both ^kbond and free.

9 ‘And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of ^lJeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of ^mBaasha the son of Ahijah.

10 ⁿ‘And the dogs will eat Jezebel on the property of Jezreel and there will be no one to bury her.’” Then he opened the door and fled.

11 ¶ Then Jehu came out to the servants of his lord. And someone said to him, “Is all well? Why did ^othis mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his talk.”

12 And they said, “It is false. Tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, I have anointed you king over Israel.’”

13 Then they hurried and every man ^ptook his garment and put it under him on the top of the stairs. And they blew with trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king.”

Jehu Murders Joram & Ahaziah

14 ¶ So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against ^qJoram. Now Joram had kept Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.

15 But ^rKing Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one go out or escape out of the city to go tell it in Jezreel.”

16 So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was laid up there. And ^sAhaziah, king of Judah, had come down to see Joram.

17 ¶ Now there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the company of Jehu as he came. And he said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send to meet them. And let him say, ‘Is it peace?’”

18 So there went one on horseback to meet him. And he said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Follow behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.”

19 Then he sent out a second on horseback who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” Then Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Follow behind me.”

20 And the watchman reported, saying, “He came even to them and did not return. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he is driving furiously.”

21 ¶ Then Joram said, “Make ready.” And his chariot was made ready. And ^tJoram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, went out, each in his chariot. And they went out to meet Jehu. And they met him ^uon the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.

22 Now it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?”

23 Then Joram turned around and fled. And he said to Ahaziah, “There is treachery, O Ahaziah.”

24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength and killed Jehoram between his arms. And the arrow went out at his heart and he sunk down in his chariot.

25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Take him and cast him on the property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember that when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, ^vthe LORD laid this burden on him.

26 ‘Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD. ‘And ^xI will repay you on this property,’ says the LORD. Now, therefore, take and cast him on the property, according to the word of the LORD.”

27 ¶ But when Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him and said, “Smite him also in the chariot.” And they did so at the ascent to Gur that is by Ibleam. And he fled to ^yMegiddo and died there.

28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.

Death of Jezebel

29 Now in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

30 ¶ And when Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And ^zshe painted her face and adorned her head, and looked out from a window.

31 Now as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, ^a“Is it peace, Zimri, your master’s murderer?”

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, then three eunuchs.

33 Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood was splattered on the wall and on the horses. And he trampled her under foot.

34 And when he came in he ate and drank and said, “Go. See to this cursed woman and bury her, for ^bshe was a king’s daughter.”

35 So they went to bury her. But they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.

36 Therefore, they came again and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD that He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ^c‘On the property of Jezreel the dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel.

37 ‘And the corpse of Jezebel will be ^das refuse on the face of the field on the property of Jezreel so that they will not say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

Death of Ahab’s Heirs

1 ¶ Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders and to those who brought up Ahab’s sons, saying,

2 “Now as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also and armor,

3 “choose the best and fittest of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne and fight for your master’s house.”

4 But they were terrified and said, “Behold, ^atwo kings did not stand before him. How then will we stand?”

5 Now he who was over the house, and he who was over the city, the elders also and the guardians of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants and will do all that you ask of us. We will not make any king. Do that which is good in your sight.”

6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, “If you are on my side, and you will hearken to my voice, take the heads of the men your master’s sons and come to me to Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city who brought them up.

7 ¶ Now it came to pass when the letter came to them that they took the king’s sons and ^bkilled seventy persons. And they put their heads in baskets and sent them to him to Jezreel.

8 Then there came a messenger and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.”

9 ¶ Now it came to pass in the morning that he went out and stood. And he said to all the people, “You are innocent. Behold, ^cI conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?

10 “Know now that there will ^dfall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD that the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done that which He spoke ^eby His servant Elijah.”

11 So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left none remaining.

12 ¶ Then he arose and departed and came to Samaria. And on the way while he was at the shearing house of the shepherds,

13 ^fJehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah, king of Judah. And he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the brethren of Ahaziah, and we are going down to greet the sons of the king and the children of the queen.”

14 And he said, “Take them alive.” And they took them alive and ^gkilled them at the pit of the shearing house, even forty-two men. And he left none of them alive.

15 ¶ Now when he had departed from there he met ^hJehonadab the son of ⁱRechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” “If it is, then ^jgive me your hand.” And he gave him his hand. And he brought him up to him into the chariot.

16 Then he said, “Come with me and see my ^kzeal for the LORD.” So they made him ride in his chariot.

17 Now when he came to Samaria ^lhe killed all who remained of Ahab in Samaria until he had destroyed him according to the saying of the LORD ^mthat He spoke to Elijah.

Execution of Baal Prophets

18 ¶ Then Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them, ⁿ“Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much.

19 “Now therefore call to me all ^othe prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever is missing, he will not live.” But Jehu did it as a trick, to the intent that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal.

20 Then Jehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” And they proclaimed it.

21 And Jehu sent throughout all Israel. And all the worshipers of Baal came so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they came into the house of Baal, and the ^phouse of Baal was full from one end to the other.

22 Then he said to him who was over the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshipers of Baal.” And he brought them out garments.

23 And Jehu went with Jehonadab the son of Rechab into the house of Baal. And he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that there are here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but only the worshipers of Baal.”

24 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed eighty men outside. And he said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, ^qhis life will be for his life.”

25 Now it came to pass as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and slay them. Let none come out.” And they killed them with the edge of the sword. And the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.

26 And they brought forth the ^rimages out of the house of Baal and burned them.

27 And they broke down the image of Baal and broke down the house of Baal, and ^smade it a refuse dump to this day.

28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

29 ¶ However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, Jehu did not depart from following after them, even from the ^tgolden calves that were in Bethel and that were in Dan.

30 Then the LORD ^usaid to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing that which is right in My eyes and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, ^vyour sons to the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel.”

31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart. For he did not depart from the ^wsins of Jeroboam who made Israel sin.

32 ¶ In those days the LORD began to cut off portions from Israel. And ^xHazael killed them in all the borders of Israel,

33 from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from ^yAroer that is by the River Arnon, even ^zGilead and Bashan.

34 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

35 And Jehu slept with his fathers. And they buried him in Samaria. And ^aJehoahaz his son reigned in his place.

36 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Reigns of Athaliah & Joash

1 ¶ Now when ^aAthaliah the ^bmother of Ahaziah saw that her son was ^cdead, she arose and destroyed all the royal seed.

2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of ^dAhaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain. And they hid him from Athaliah, him and his nurse, in the bedchamber so that he was not slain.

3 Now he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah reigned over the land.

4 ¶ Now in the ^eseventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard. And he brought them to him into the house of the LORD. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son.

5 Then he commanded them, saying, “This is the thing that you will do. A third of you who enter in ^fon the Sabbath will be keepers of the watch of the king’s house,

6 “and a third will be at the gate of Sur, and a third at the gate behind the guard. So you will keep the watch of the house so that it not be broken down.

7 “And two companies of you who go forth on the Sabbath, even they will keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king.

8 “Then you will surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. And he who comes within the ranks, let him be slain. And you stay with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.”

9 ¶ ^gAnd the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And every man took his men who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.

10 Then the priest delivered to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that had been King David’s ^hthat were in the temple of the LORD.

11 And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, around the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.

12 And he brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him. And he gave him the ⁱtestimony. Then they made him king and anointed him. And they clapped their hands and said, ^j“Long live the king.”

13 ¶ ^kNow when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD.

14 And when she looked, behold, the king stood by ^la pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew with trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason, Treason.”

15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks. Whoever follows her, kill with the sword.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be slain in the house of the LORD.”

16 Then they laid hands on her, and she went by way of the horses’ entrance into the king’s house. And there she was slain.

17 ¶ ^mThen Jehoiada ⁿmade a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people, also ^obetween the king and the people.

18 And all the people of the land went into the ^phouse of Baal and broke it down, its altars and its images they ^qbroke in pieces thoroughly. And they ^rkilled Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the ^spriest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.

19 And he took the rulers over hundreds and the captains and the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.

20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they killed Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house.

21 Jehoash was ^tseven years old when he became king.

Joash Repairs the Temple

1 ¶ In the seventh year of Jehu, ^aJehoash began to reign. And he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

2 Now Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein ^bJehoiada the priest instructed him.

3 But the ^chigh places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

4 ¶ Then Jehoash said to the priests, ^d“All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even ^ein current money, ^fthe money of the persons for whom each man is assessed, and all ^gthe money that any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD,

5 “let the priests collect it, every man from his constituency. And let them repair the damages of the house wherever any damages may be found.”

6 But it was so by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash that ^hthe priests had not repaired the damages of the house.

7 ⁱThen King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests. And he said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the house? Now, therefore, take no more money from your constituency, but pay it for the damages of the house.”

8 Then the priests agreed to receive no more money from the people, nor to repair the damages of the house.

9 ¶ But Jehoiada the priest took ^ja chest and bored a hole in its lid. And he set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the LORD. And the priests who kept the door put in it ^kall the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.

10 And it was so that when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s ^lscribe and the high priest came up and they put it in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD.

11 And they gave the money that was counted into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD. And they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the LORD,

12 and to masons and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to ^mrepair the damages of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

13 But ⁿthere were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver from the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.

14 But they gave that to those who did the work and repaired the house of the LORD.

15 Moreover, ^othey did not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be given to the workmen, for they dealt faithfully.

16 ^pThe trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD. ^qIt belonged to the priests.

17 ¶ Then ^rHazael, king of Syria, went up and fought against Gath and took it. And ^sHazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

18 And Jehoash, king of Judah, ^ttook all the sacred things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things, and all the gold that was found in the treasury of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria. And he went away from Jerusalem.

19 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

20 And ^uhis servants arose and made a conspiracy. And they killed Joash in the house of Millo that goes down to Silla.

21 For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And ^vAmaziah his son reigned in his place.

Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

1 ¶ In the twenty-third year of ^aJoash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, ^bJehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria. And he reigned seventeen years.

2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. And he followed the ^csins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel sin. He did not turn from them.

3 Then the ^danger of the LORD was kindled against Israel and He delivered them all their days into the hand of ^eHazael, king of Syria, and into the hand of ^fBen-hadad the son of Hazael.

4 And Jehoahaz ^gbegged the LORD and the LORD hearkened to him, for ^hHe saw the oppression of Israel because the king of Syria oppressed them.

5 ⁱAnd the LORD gave Israel a savior so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians. And the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.

6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam who made Israel sin. They walked in them. And there remained also ^jthe Asherah in Samaria.

7 For he left of the army of Jehoahaz only fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and ^khad made them ^llike the dust in threshing.

8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

9 Then Jehoahaz slept with his fathers and they buried him in Samaria. And Joash his son reigned in his place.

Jehoash Reigns in Israel

10 ¶ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash, king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria. And he reigned sixteen years.

11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. But he walked in them.

12 ^mNow the rest of the acts of Joash and ⁿall that he did, and ^ohis might by which he fought against Amaziah, king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

13 Then Joash ^pslept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 ¶ Now Elisha became sick of an illness by which he was to die. And Joash, the king of Israel, came down to him. And he wept over his face and said, “O my father, my father, ^qthe chariots of Israel and its horsemen.”

15 Then Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows.

16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it. Then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17 Then he said, “Open the window eastward.” And he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot.” And he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria. For you will smite the Syrians in ^rAphek until you have consumed them.”

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows.” And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.” And he struck it three times and stopped.

19 But the man of God was angry with him. And he said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Syria until you would have destroyed it. ^sBut now you will strike Syria only three times.”

20 ¶ Now Elisha died and they buried him. And the ^traiding parties of the Moabites invaded the land in the spring of the year.

21 Now it came to pass as they were burying a man, that they saw a raiding party of men. And they cast the man into the tomb of Elisha. And when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up on his feet.

22 ¶ But ^uHazael, king of Syria, oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

23 And the LORD was ^vgracious to them and had compassion on them. And ^wHe had respect for them ^xbecause of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And He would not yet destroy them, nor cast them from His presence.

24 ¶ So Hazael, king of Syria, died. And Ben-hadad his son reigned in his place.

25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again the cities out of the hand of Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael, that he had taken by war out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father. Joash defeated him ^ythree times and recovered the cities of Israel.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

1 ¶ In the ^asecond year of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, ^bAmaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, reigned.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

3 Now he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not as David his father. He did according to all things that Joash ^chis father had done.

4 ^dHowever, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

5 ¶ Now it came to pass as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand that he killed his servants ^ewho had slain the king his father.

6 But he did not kill the sons of the murderers, according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, ^f“The fathers will not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers. But every man will be put to death for his own sin.”

7 ^gHe killed 10,000 of Edom in the ^hvalley of salt and took Selah by war. ⁱAnd he called the name of it Joktheel to this day.

8 ¶ ^jThen Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come. Let us look one another in the face.”

9 And Jehoash, the king of Israel, sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, ^k“The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the ^lcedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ But there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon. And he trampled down the thistle.”

10 “You have indeed smitten Edom and your heart has lifted you up. Glory in this and stay at home. For why should you meddle to your own harm, that you should fall, even you and Judah with you?”

11 But Amaziah would not listen. Therefore, Jehoash, king of Israel, went up. And he and Amaziah, king of Judah, looked one another in the face at ⁿBeth-shemesh, that belongs to Judah.

12 Then Judah was put to the worse before Israel. And every man fled to his tent.

13 And Jehoash, king of Israel, took Amaziah, king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. And he came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the ^ogate of Ephraim unto the ^pcorner gate, 400 cubits.

14 Then he took all the ^qgold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

15 ^rNow the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah, king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

16 Then Jehoash slept with his fathers. And he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

17 ¶ ^sAnd Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.

18 And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

19 Now ^tthey made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to ^uLachish and killed him there.

20 And they brought him back on horses. And he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.

21 ¶ And all the people of Judah took ^vAzariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.

22 He built ^wElath and restored it to Judah. After that the king slept with his fathers.

Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel

23 ¶ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria. And he reigned forty-one years.

24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the ^xsins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin.

25 He ^yrestored the borders of Israel ^zfrom the entrance of Hamath to ^athe sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel that He spoke by the hand of His servant ^bJonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from ^cGath Hepher.

26 For the LORD ^dsaw the bitter affliction of Israel, for there was neither bond nor free, and there ^ewas none left to help Israel.

27 ^fAnd the LORD did not say 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.

28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered ^gDamascus and Hamath ^hthat belonged to Judah for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel. And ⁱZechariah his son reigned in his place.

Azariah Reigns in Judah

1 ¶ In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, ^aAzariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, ^bbegan to reign.

2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign. And he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.

3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done,

4 ^cexcept the high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

5 So the LORD ^dstruck the king so that he was a leper to the day of his ^edeath. And he ^fdwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land.

6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

7 So Azariah slept with his fathers. And ^gthey buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Zechariah Reigns in Israel

8 ¶ In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah, king of Judah, ^hZechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months.

9 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD ⁱas his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin.

10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him. And he ^jstruck him before the people and killed him. And he reigned in his place.

11 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

12 This was the word of the LORD that He spoke to Jehu, saying, ^k“Your sons will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.

Shallum Reigns in Israel

13 ¶ Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah, king of Judah. And he reigned a full month in Samaria.

14 And Menahem the son of Gadi went up from ^lTirzah and came to Samaria. And he struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him. And he reigned in his place.

15 Now the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy that he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

16 Then from Tirzah, Menahem struck ^mTiphsah and all who were within it. Because they did not surrender, he struck it and all the ⁿwomen in it who were with child he ripped up.

Menahem Reigns in Israel

17 ¶ In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel. And he reigned ten years in Samaria.

18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin.

19 And ^oPul, the king of Assyria, came against the land. And Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to ^pestablish the kingdom in his hand.

20 And Menahem ^qexacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not remain in the land.

21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

22 And Menahem slept with his fathers. And Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.

Pekahiah Reigns in Israel

23 ¶ In the fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria. And he reigned two years.

24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin.

25 But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him. And he struck him in Samaria, in the ^rcitadel of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites. And he killed him and reigned in his place.

26 Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

Pekah Reigns in Israel

27 ¶ In the fifty-second year of Azariah, king of Judah, ^sPekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria. And he reigned twenty years.

28 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin.

29 In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria ^tcame and took ^uIjon, and Abelbeth-maachah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and ^vcarried them captive to Assyria.

30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah. And he struck him and killed him, and wreigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

31 Now the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

Jotham Reigns in Judah

32 ¶ In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, ^xJotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign.

33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

34 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD. He did ^yaccording to all that his father Uzziah had done.

35 ^zHowever, the high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ^aHe built the Higher Gate of the house of the LORD.

36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

37 In those days the LORD began to send against Judah, ^bRezin the king of Syria, and ^cPekah the son of Remaliah.

38And Jotham slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

1 ¶ In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign.

2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign. And he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem and did not do that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.

3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even ^amade his son pass through the fire according to the ^babominations of the nations that the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.

4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the ^chigh places and ^don the hills and under every green tree.

5 ¶ ^eThen Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war. And they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.

6 At that time Rezin, king of Syria, ^frecovered Elath for Syria. And he drove the Jews from Elath. And the Edomites came to Elath and dwelt there to this day.

7 ¶ So Ahaz sent messengers to ^gTiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.”

8 And Ahaz ^htook the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasury of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.

9 And the king of Assyria hearkened to him, for the king of Assyria went up against ⁱDamascus and ^jtook it. And he carried its people captive to ^kKir and killed Rezin.

10 ¶ And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria. And he saw an altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar, and its model, according to all its workmanship.

11 And ^lUrijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came from Damascus.

12 And when the king had come from Damascus, the king saw the altar. And ^mthe king approached the altar and offered on it.

13 And he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering and poured his drink offering. And he sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.

14 And he brought also the ⁿbronze altar that was before the LORD, from the front of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD. And he put it on the north side of the altar.

15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the ^omorning burnt offering and the evening grain offering and the king’s burnt sacrifice and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering, and their drink offerings. And sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar will be for me to inquire by.”

16 Thus Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

17 ¶ ^pAnd King Ahaz cut off the ^qpanels of the bases and removed the laver from them. And he took down the ^rsea from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a pavement of stones.

18 And the covered pavilion for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s outer entrance, he removed from the house of the LORD because of the king of Assyria.

19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers and ^swas buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

1 ¶ In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, ^aHoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years.

2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him.

3 ^bAgainst him came up Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. And Hoshea ^cbecame his vassal and gave him tribute.

4 And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt. And he did not bring tribute to the king of Assyria as he had done year after year. Therefore, the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.

5 ¶ Then the ^dking of Assyria came up throughout all the land. And he went up to Samaria and besieged it three years.

6 ^eIn the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria. And he ^fcarried Israel away into Assyria and ^gplaced them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 ¶ ^hFor so it was because the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And they had ⁱfeared other gods,

8 and ^jwalked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel that they had made.

9 And the children of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God those things that were not right. And they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from the ^ktower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

10 ^lAnd they set up for themselves ^mimages and the ⁿAsherah on every high hill and under every green tree.

11 And there they burned incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger.

12 For they served idols, concerning ^owhich the LORD had said to them, ^p“You will not do this thing.”

13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah by all the ^qprophets and by ^rall the seers, ^ssaying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law that I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.”

14 However, they would not hear, but ^tstiffened their necks like to the neck of their fathers who ^udid not believe in the LORD their God.

15 And they ^vrejected His statutes and ^wHis covenant that He made with their fathers, and His testimonies that He testified against them. And they followed ^xvanity and ^ybecame vain, and went after the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should ^znot do like them.

16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God and ^amade for themselves molten images, even two calves. And they ^bmade an Asherah and worshiped all the ^chosts of heaven and ^dserved Baal.

17 ^eAnd they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire. And they ^fpracticed divination and enchantments, and ^gsold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

18 Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight. There was none left ^hbut the tribe of Judah.

19 ¶ Also ⁱJudah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes that Israel had introduced.

20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them. And He ^jdelivered them into the hand of plunderers until He had cast them out of His ^ksight.

21 For ^lHe tore Israel from the house of David, and ^mthey made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them sin a great sin.

22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam that he did. They did not depart from them

23 until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight ⁿas He had said by all His servants the prophets. ^oSo Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

24 ¶ ^pAnd the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon and from Cuthah and from ^qAva and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. And they possessed Samaria and dwelt in its cities.

25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they did not fear the LORD. Therefore, the LORD sent lions among them that killed some of them.

26 Therefore, they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land. Therefore, he has sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them because they do not know the custom of the God of the land.”

27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Carry there one of the priests whom you brought from there. And let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the custom of the God of the land.”

28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel. And he taught them how they should fear the LORD.

29 ¶ However, every nation made gods of their own and put them ^rin the houses of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they dwelt.

30 And the men of ^sBabylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,

31 ^tand the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites ^uburned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

32 So they feared the LORD and ^vmade for themselves priests of the lowest of them for the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.

33 ^wThey feared the LORD and served their own gods after the customs of the nations whom they carried away from there.

34 To this day they do according to the former customs. They do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances or the law, and the commandments that the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, ^xwhom He named Israel;

35 with whom the LORD had made a covenant and charged them, saying, ^y“You will not fear other gods, nor ^zbow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them.

36 “But the LORD who ^abrought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and an ^boutstretched arm, ^cHim you will fear, and Him you will worship, and to Him you will sacrifice.

37 “And the statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment that He wrote for you, ^dyou will observe to do forever. And you will not fear other gods.

38 “And the covenant that I have made with you, ^eyou will not forget. Neither will you fear other gods.

39 “But you will fear the LORD your God. And He will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.”

40 However, they did not hearken, but they did according their former custom.

41 ^fSo these nations feared the LORD yet served their graven images, both their children and their children’s children. As did their fathers, so do they to this day.

1 ¶ Now it came to pass in the third year of ^aHoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, that ^bHezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was ^cAbi, the daughter of Zechariah.

3 Now he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

4 ¶ ^dHe removed the high places and broke the images and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the ^ebronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it. And it was called Nehushtan.

5 He ^ftrusted in the LORD God of Israel, ^gso that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any who were before him.

6 For he ^hclung to the LORD and did not depart from following Him. But he kept His commandments that the LORD commanded Moses.

7 So the LORD ⁱwas with him. And he ^jprospered wherever he went. And he ^krebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

8 ^lHe defeated the Philistines, even to Gaza and its borders, from the ^mtower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

9 ¶ Now ⁿit came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, that was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came up against Samaria and besieged it.

10 And at the end of three years they took it, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ^oninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria was taken.

11 ^pAnd the king of Assyria carried away Israel to Assyria and put them in ^qHalah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes,

12 because they ^rdid not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, for they would not hear them nor do them.

13 ¶ Now in the ^sfourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.

14 Then Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, “I have offended. Return from me. That which you demand of me I will bear.” And the king of Assyria appointed to Hezekiah, king of Judah, three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

15 And Hezekiah ^tgave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasury of the king’s house.

16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD and from the pillars that Hezekiah, king of Judah, had overlaid. And he gave it to the king of Assyria.

17 ¶ Then the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great army against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they had come up, they came and stood by the ^uaqueduct of the upper pool, ^vthat is in the highway of the fuller’s field.

18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them ^wEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

19 Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Speak now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, ^x“What confidence is this in which you trust?

20 “You say, (but they are only empty words), ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me?

21 ^y“Now, behold, you rely on the staff of this bruised reed, even on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who trust in him.

22 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is not He whose high places and ^zwhose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You will worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?

23 “Now therefore, please give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria and I will give you 2,000 horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

24 “How then will you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

25 “Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”

26 ¶ ^aThen Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in the ^bAramaic, for we understand it. And do not talk with us in the Jews’ language in the ears of the people who are on the wall.”

27 But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you, to speak these words? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall so that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried out with a loud voice in the Jews’ language. And he spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.

29 “Thus says the king, ^c‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand.

30 ‘Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us and this city will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’

31 ‘Do not hearken to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, “Make your peace with me, and come out to me, and then eat each of you from his own dvine and each one from his fig tree, and each one of you drink the waters from his cistern,

32 “until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, ^ea land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and of honey, so that you may live and not die.” And do not hearken to Hezekiah when he persuades you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.”

33 ^f‘Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

34 ‘Where are the gods of ^gHamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and ^hIvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

35 ‘Who are they among all the gods of the countries who have delivered their country out of my hand, ⁱthat the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

36 ¶ But the people held their peace and did not answer him a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer.”

37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came to Hezekiah ^jwith their clothes torn. And they told him the words of Rabshakeh.

1 ¶ Now it came to pass ^awhen King Hezekiah heard it that he tore his clothes. And he covered himself with ^bsackcloth and went into the house of the LORD.

2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of trouble and of rebuke and blasphemy, for the children have come to birth and there is no strength to bring forth.

4 ^c‘It may be the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to ^dreproach the living God, and will ^erebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

5 ¶ So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6 ^fAnd Isaiah said to them, “Thus will you say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Do not be ^gafraid of the words you have heard with which the ^hservants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

7 “Behold, I will send a ⁱspirit in him and he will hear a rumor. And he will return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

8 ¶ So Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed ^jfrom Lachish.

9 And when ^khe heard what they said of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,

10 “Thus you will speak to Hezekiah, king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God ^lin whom you are trusting deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

11 ‘Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by utterly destroying them. So will you be delivered?

12 ^m‘Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the children of ⁿEden who were in Thelasar?

13 ^o‘Where is the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena and Ivah?’”

14 ¶ ^pThen Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. And Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD.

15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, “O LORD God of Israel ^qwho dwells between the cherubims, ^rYou are the God, even You alone of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

16 ^s“LORD, bow down Your ear and hear. ^tOpen, LORD, Your eyes and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib ^uthat he has sent to reproach the living God.

17 “Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands.

18 “And they have cast their gods into the fire, for they were ^vnot gods, but ^wthe work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore, they have destroyed them.

19 “Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech You, save us out of his hand so that ^xall the kingdoms of the earth may ^yknow that You are the LORD God, even You only.”

20 ¶ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ^z‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib, king of Assyria, ^aI have heard.’

21 “This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, ^bthe daughter of Zion, has despised you. She has laughed you to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem ^chas shaken her head at you.

22 ¶ ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against ^dthe Holy One of Israel!

23 ^e‘By your messengers you have reproached the Lord and have said, ^f“With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down its tall cedar trees, and its choice fir trees. And I will enter into his farthest lodging-place, the forest of his fruitful field.

24 “I have dug and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet I have ^gdried up all the rivers of besieged places.”

25 ¶ ‘Have you not heard long ago how ^hI have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? Now I have brought it to pass so that ⁱyou should lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

26 ‘Therefore, their inhabitants were of small power. They were dismayed and confounded. They were as the grass of the field and as the green herb, as ^jthe grass on the house tops, and as grain scorched before it is grown up.

27 ¶ ‘But ^kI know your dwelling place and your going out and your coming in and your rage against Me.

28 ‘Because of your rage against Me, and your tumult has come up into My ears, therefore, ^lI will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips. And I will turn you back ^mby the way by which you came.

29 ¶ ‘And this will be a ⁿsign to you. You will eat this year the things that grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springs from the same. And in the third year, sow and reap, and plant vineyards and eat their fruits.

30 ^o‘And the remnant that has escaped from the house of Judah will yet again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

31 ‘For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and they who escape out of Mount Zion. ^pThe zeal of the LORD will do this.

32 ¶ ‘Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, “He will not ^qcome into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

33 “By the way that he came, by the same he will return. And he will not come into this city,”’ says the LORD.

34 ‘For ^rI will ^sdefend this city, to save it for My own sake and ^tfor My servant David’s sake.’”

35 ¶ Now ^uit came to pass that night that the angel of the LORD went out and killed 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead bodies.

36 So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed and went. And he returned and dwelt at ^vNineveh.

37 Now it came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god that ^wAdrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, ^xstruck him with the sword. Then they escaped into the land of Armenia. And ^yEsarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

1 ¶ In a those days Hezekiah was sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order for you will die and not live.’”

2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,

3 ^b“I beseech You, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart. And I have done that which is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Now it came to pass before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

5 “Turn again and tell Hezekiah ^cthe captain of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, ^d“I have heard your prayer. I have seen ^eyour tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you will go up to the house of the LORD.

6 “And I will add to your days fifteen years. And I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. And ^fI will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”’”

7 And ^gIsaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

8 ¶ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ^h“What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I will go up into the house of the LORD the third day?”

9 And Isaiah said, ⁱ“This sign you will have from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that He has spoken: will the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?”

10 Then Hezekiah answered, “It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten steps. No, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

11 And Isaiah the prophet cried to the LORD. And ^jHe brought the shadow ten steps backward by which it had gone down in the sundial of Ahaz.

12 ¶ ^kAt that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

13 And ^lHezekiah hearkened to them and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasury. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 ¶ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, even from Babylon.”

15 Then he said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, ^m“They have seen all the things that are in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD.

17 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and that which your fathers have laid up in store to this day ⁿwill be carried into Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the LORD.

18 ‘And of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, ^othey will be taken away. And ^pthey will be ^qeunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ^r“Good is the word of the LORD that you have spoken.” And he said, “Is it not good if peace and truth be in my days?”

20 ¶ ^sAnd the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might and how ^the made a pool and ^ua tunnel and ^vbrought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

21 Then ^wHezekiah slept with his fathers. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

1 ¶ Manasseh was a twelve years old when he began to reign. And he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah.

2 Now he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD ^bafter the abominations of the nations whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

3 For he built again the high places ^cthat Hezekiah his father had destroyed. And he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, ^das did Ahab, king of Israel. And he ^eworshiped all the hosts of heaven and served them.

4 ^fAnd he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, ^g“In Jerusalem I will put My name.”

5 And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the ^htwo courts of the house of the LORD.

6 ⁱAnd he made his son pass through the fire. And he ^jpracticed witchcraft and used enchantments, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He worked much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

7 And he set a graven image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, ^k“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.

8 ^lNeither will I cause the feet of Israel to move anymore out of the land that I gave their fathers, only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

9 But they did not hearken. And Manasseh ^mseduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

10 ¶ And the LORD spoke ⁿby His servants the prophets, saying,

11 ^o“Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has done these abominations and ^phas done wickedly above all that the ^qAmorites did who were before him, and ^rhas made Judah sin with his idols,

12 therefore, thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, so that whoever hears of it, both ^shis ears will tingle.

13 ‘And I will stretch over Jerusalem ^tthe measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab. And ^uI will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping and turning it upside down.

14 ‘And I will forsake the ^vremnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies. And they will become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies,

15 ‘because they have done that which was evil in My sight and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’”

16 ^wMoreover, Manasseh shed much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to the other, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.

17 Now the ^xrest of the acts of ^yManasseh and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

18 And ^zManasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon Reigns in Judah

19 ¶ ^aAmon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

20 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, ^bas did his father Manasseh.

21 And he walked in all the ways in which his father walked. And he served the idols that his father served and worshiped them.

22 And ^che forsook the LORD God of his fathers and did not walk in the way of the LORD.

23 ¶ ^dAnd the servants of Amon ^econspired against him and killed the king in his own house.

24 And the people of the land ^fkilled all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

25 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Amon that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. And Josiah his son reigned in his place.

1 ¶ Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of ^bBoscath.

2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD. And he walked in all the ways of David his father and ^cdid not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

3 ¶ ^dNow 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 the LORD, saying,

4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest so that he may count the silver that is ^ebrought into the house of the LORD, which the ^fkeepers of the door have gathered from the people.

5 “And let them ^gdeliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD. And let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the LORD, to repair the damages of the house,

6 ‘to carpenters and builders and masons, and to buy timber and cut stone to repair the house.

7 “However, ^hthere was no accounting made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand because they dealt faithfully.”

8 ¶ Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, ⁱ“I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it.

9 Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought the king word again and said, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight over the house of the LORD.”

10 And Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has delivered me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

11 Now it came to pass when the king had heard the words of the book of the law that he tore his clothes.

12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest and ^jAhikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah and Shaphan the scribe and Asahiah the king’s servant, saying,

13 “Go. Inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that is found, for great is ^kthe wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

14 ¶ So Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Asahiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^lTikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. (Now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter.) And they communed with her.

15 Then she said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me,

16 ‘thus says the LORD, “Behold, ^mI will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read.

17 ⁿ“Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods so that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore My wrath will be kindled against this place and will not be quenched.”’

18 “But to the ^oking of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus you will say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel, “Concerning the words that you have heard,

19 “because your ^pheart was tender and you have ^qhumbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a ^rdesolation and a ^scurse, and have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you, says the LORD.

20 “Behold therefore, I will gather you to your fathers and you ^twill be gathered into your grave in peace. And your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place.”’” And they brought the king word again.

1 ¶ Then the ^aking sent and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

2 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he ^bread in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant ^cthat was found in the house of the LORD.

3 ¶ Then the king ^dstood by a pillar and made a ^ecovenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people committed to the covenant.

4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the ^fpriests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring ^gout of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the hosts of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron. Then he carried their ashes to Bethel.

5 Then he put down the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places around Jerusalem, those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the planets, and to ^hall the hosts of heaven.

6 Then he brought out the ⁱAsherah from the house of the LORD outside Jerusalem, to the Brook Kidron. And he burned it at the Brook Kidron and beat it into ^jpowder. And he cast the powder on the ^kgraves of the sons of the people.

7 ¶ Then he broke down the houses ^lof the sodomites that were by the house of the LORD, ^mwhere the ⁿwomen wove curtains for the Asherah.

8 Then he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from ^oGeba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city that were on one’s left at the city gate.

9 ^pNevertheless, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, ^qbut they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

10 Then he defiled ^rTopheth that is in the ^svalley of the children of Hinnom ^tso that no man might make his son or his daughter ^upass through the fire to Molech.

11 Then he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD by the chamber of Nathanmelech the assistant that was in the court. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12 And the altars that were ^von the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, that the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that ^wManasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down. And he smashed them and cast their dust into the Brook Kidron.

13 And the high places that were east of Jerusalem, that were on the south of the mountain of corruption that ^xSolomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, the king defiled.

14 Then he ^ybroke in pieces the images and cut down the Asherah. And he filled their places with the bones of men.

15 ¶ Furthermore, the altar that was at Bethel and the high place ^zthat Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down. And he burned the high place and beat it to powder and burned the Asherah.

16 And as Josiah turned himself, he saw the tombs that were there in the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar. And he defiled it according to the ^aword of the LORD that the man of God proclaimed who proclaimed these words.

17 Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the ^btomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel.”

18 Then he said, “Let him alone. Let no man move his bones.” So they left his bones alone, with the bones of the ^cprophet that came out of Samaria.

19 And all the houses also of the high places that were ^din the cities of Samaria that the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away. And he did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.

20 ^eAnd he ^fkilled all the priests of the high places who were there on the altars. And he ^gburned men’s bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

21 ¶ Then the king commanded all the people, saying, ^h“Keep the Passover to the LORD your God ⁱas it is written in the book of this covenant.”

22 ^jSurely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah.

23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was observed to the LORD in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover, the mediums with familiar spirits and the wizards, and the images and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah put away so that he might perform the words of the ^klaw that were written in the book ^lthat Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

25 ^mBefore him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses. Neither after him arose there any like him.

26 ¶ However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger was kindled against Judah ⁿbecause of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.

27 And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also out of My sight as ^oI have removed Israel. And I will cast off this city Jerusalem that I have chosen and the house of which I said, ^p‘My name will be there.’”

28 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

29 ^qIn his days Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, went up against the king of Assyria to the River Euphrates. And King Josiah went against him. And when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at ^rMegiddo when he ^sconfronted him.

30 ^tThen his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo. And they brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And ^uthe people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and anointed him and made him king in his father’s place.

31 ¶ ^vJehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign. And he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was ^wHamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.

33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds ^xat Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem. And he subjected the land to tribute for a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

34 Then ^yPharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father. And he ^zchanged his name to ^aJehoiakim and took Jehoahaz away. ^bAnd he came to Egypt and died there.

35 ¶ Then Jehoiakim gave ^cthe silver and the gold to Pharaoh. But he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold from the people of the land, from everyone according to his taxation, in order to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 ¶ ^dJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

37 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.

1 ¶ In ^ahis days Nebuchadnezzar, king of ^bBabylon, came up and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 ^cThen the LORD sent against him raiding parties of the Chaldeans and of the Syrians and of the Moabites and of the children of Ammon. And He sent them against Judah to destroy it ^daccording to the word of the LORD that He spoke by His servants the prophets.

3 Surely at the command of the LORD it came upon Judah to remove her out of His sight ^ebecause of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done.

4 ^fAnd also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood that the LORD would not pardon.

5 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

6 ^gSo Jehoiakim slept with his fathers and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

7 And the ^hking of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the ⁱking of Babylon had taken from the River of Egypt to the River Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

8 ¶ ^jJehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

10 ¶ ^kAt that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against Jerusalem and the city was besieged.

11 And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against the city and his servants besieged it.

12 ^lAnd Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his princes and his officers. And the king of Babylon took him in the ^meighth year of his reign.

13 ¶ ⁿAnd he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house. And he ^ocut in pieces all the vessels of gold that Solomon, king of Israel, had made in the temple of the LORD, ^pas the LORD had said.

14 And he ^qcarried away all Jerusalem and all the princes and all the mighty men of valor, even ^r10,000 captives, and ^sall the craftsmen and smiths. No one remained except the ^tpoorest of the people of the land.

15 And ^uhe carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officers and the mighty of the land, he carried them into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 ^vAnd all the men of might, even 7,000, and a thousand craftsmen and smiths, all who were strong and fit for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

17 And the ^wking of Babylon made Mattaniah ^xhis father’s brother king in his place. And he ^ychanged his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

18 ¶ ^zZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was ^aHamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

19 ^bAnd he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20 For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, ^cthat Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

1 ¶ Now it came to pass ^ain the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem. And they built forts against it all around.

2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

3 And on the ninth day of the ^bfourth month the famine prevailed in the city and there was no bread for the people of the land.

4 ¶ Then ^cthe city was broken up and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls that is by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ^dthe king went the way toward the plain.

5 And the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. And all his army were scattered from him.

6 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon ^eto Riblah. And they gave judgment upon him.

7 Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and ^fput out the eyes of Zedekiah. And they bound him with fetters of bronze and carried him to Babylon.

8 ¶ Then in the fifth month, ^gon the seventh day of the month, that is the ^hnineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ⁱNebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

9 ^jAnd he burned the house of the LORD and ^kthe king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and ^lhe burned with fire every great house.

10 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^mbroke down the walls around Jerusalem.

11 ¶ Now the ⁿrest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives who fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away.

12 But the captain of the guard ^oleft some of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

13 ^pAnd the ^qpillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and ^rthe bases and the ^sbronze sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and ^tcarried the bronze to Babylon.

14 And ^uthe pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the spoons, and all the vessels of bronze with which they ministered, they took away.

15 And the firepans and the bowls and things that were of gold, in gold and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.

16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the ^vbronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.

17 ^wThe height of one pillar was eighteen cubits and the capital on it was bronze. And the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network.

18 ¶ ^xThe captain of the guard took ^ySeraiah the chief priest, and ^zZephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door.

19 From the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war, and ^afive men of those who were in the king’s presence, who were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.

20 And Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.

21 And the king of Babylon struck them. And he killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^bSo Judah was carried away out of their land.

22 ¶ And as for the ^cpeople who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of ^dAhikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.

23 And when all the ^ecaptains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.

24 And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men. And he said to them, “Do not fear to be the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”

25 ¶ But ^fit came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came with ten men and struck Gedaliah so that he died, as well as the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah.

26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and ^gcame to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

27 ¶ ^hNow it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign ⁱreleased Jehoiachin, king of Judah, out of prison.

28 And he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon.

29 And he changed his prison garments. And he ^jate bread continually before him all the days of his life.

30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him by the king, a daily ration for every day, all the days of his life.