Bible in 90 Days

¹⁶ And Jehoiada made a covenant between him and between all the people and between the king that they should be the LORD’s people.

¹⁷ Then all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down and broke in pieces his altars and his images and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars.

¹⁸ Also Jehoiada ordered the offices of the house of the LORD under the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.

¹⁹ He also set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD so that there should be no way for anyone who was unclean to enter in.

²⁰ Then he took the captains of hundreds and the nobles and those that governed the people and all the people of the land and brought down the king from the house of the LORD; and they came through the high gate into the king’s house and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

²¹ And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was at rest after they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

24 ¶ Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

² And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada, the priest.

³ And Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he begat sons and daughters.

⁴ And it came to pass after this that Joash desired to repair the house of the LORD.

⁵ And he gathered together the priests and the Levites and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and be diligent in this matter. However the Levites were not diligent.

⁶ Therefore the king called for Jehoiada, the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem unto the tabernacle of the testimony the collection, according to the commandment of Moses, the slave of the LORD and of the congregation of Israel?

⁷ For the wicked woman, Athaliah, and her sons had broken up the house of God, and they had also bestowed all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD upon Baalim.

⁸ And at the king’s commandment they made an ark and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD.

⁹ And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the slave of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰ And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought in and cast into the ark until they had fulfilled their duty.

¹¹ Now it came to pass, that at what time the ark was brought unto the king’s office by the hand of the Levites and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the ark and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day and gathered money in abundance.

¹² And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those that did the work of the service of the house of the LORD and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD and also those that wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD.

¹³ So the workmen wrought, and by their hands the work was done, and they restored the house of God and strengthened it.

¹⁴ And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, of which they made vessels for the house of the LORD, vessels to minister and to offer with, and spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ ¶ But Jehoiada waxed old and was full of days when he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died.

¹⁶ And they buried him in the city of David among the kings because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward his house.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and worshipped the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.

¹⁸ And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers and served groves and idols, and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for their guilt.

¹⁹ Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them again unto the LORD, and they testified against them, but they would not give ear.

²⁰ And the Spirit of God clothed himself in Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest, who being over the people, said unto them, Thus hath God said, Why do ye transgress the commandments of the LORD? Ye shall not prosper in this; for because ye have forsaken the LORD, he shall also forsake you.

²¹ And they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.

²² Thus Joash, the king, did not remember the mercy which Jehoiada, his father, had done to him but slew his son; who said when he died, The LORD look upon it and require it.

²³ And at the end of the year, the host of Syria came up against him, and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.

²⁴ For even though the army of the Syrians had come with a small company of men, the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgments against Joash.

²⁵ And when they were departed from him (for they left him in great diseases), his own slaves conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada, the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the sepulchres of the kings.

²⁶ Those that conspired against him were Zabad, the son of Shimeath, an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad, the son of Shimrith, a Moabitess.

²⁷ Now concerning his sons, and of the multiplication that he did of the taxes and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah, his son, reigned in his stead.

25 ¶ Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

² And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.

³ For when he was confirmed in the kingdom, he slew his slaves that had killed the king, his father.

⁴ But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.

⁵ Moreover, Amaziah gathered Judah together and made them captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years old and above and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield.

⁶ He also hired one hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for one hundred talents of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came unto him, saying, O king, do not let not the army of Israel go with thee, for the LORD is not with Israel nor with all the sons of Ephraim.

⁸ But if thou wilt go, if thou wilt do it, and strengthen thyself for the battle, God shall make thee fall before the enemy; for in God is the strength, to help or to cast down.

⁹ Then Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.

¹⁰ Then Amaziah separated the army of those that had come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again; therefore, their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.

¹¹ And Amaziah strengthened himself and led forth his people and went to the valley of salt and smote of the sons of Seir, ten thousand.

¹² And the sons of Judah took another ten thousand alive, whom they took unto the top of the rock and cast them down from the top of the rock, and they were all broken in pieces.

¹³ But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Bethhoron, and smote three thousand of them and took much spoil.

¹⁴ ¶ Now after Amaziah came back from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir and set them up to be his gods and bowed down before them and burned incense unto them.

¹⁵ Therefore, the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent him a prophet who said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of a people who could not deliver their own people out of thy hand?

¹⁶ And as the prophet was speaking these things unto him, he said unto him, Art thou appointed as the king’s counsel? Forbear; why should thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare and said, I know that God has determined to destroy thee because thou hast done this and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.

¹⁷ ¶ Then Amaziah, king of Judah, took advice and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another face to face.

¹⁸ And Joash, king of Israel, sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife. And behold, the wild beasts that were in Lebanon, passed by, and trode down the thistle.

¹⁹ Thou sayest, Behold, I have smitten Edom; and with this thy heart lifts thee up to boast; abide now at home; why should thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou should fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?

²⁰ But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after the gods of Edom.

²¹ So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another face to face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Bethshemesh, which is of Judah.

²² But Judah fell before Israel, and they fled each man to his tent.

²³ And Joash, the king of Israel, took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

²⁴ And he took all the gold and the silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obededom and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ And Amaziah, the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, fifteen years.

²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish, but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there.

²⁸ And they brought him upon horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

26 ¶ Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.

² He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

⁴ And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did.

⁵ And he persisted in seeking God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and in those days that he sought the LORD, God prospered him.

⁶ For he went forth and warred against the Philistines and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod and built cities about Ashdod and among the Philistines.

⁷ And God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal and against the Mehunims.

⁸ And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah; and his name spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt, for he strengthened himself exceedingly.

⁹ Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate and at the valley gate and at the corners and fortified them.

¹⁰ He also built towers in the desert and dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the low country and in the plains, husbandmen also and vine dressers in the mountains and in Carmel, for he loved agriculture.

¹¹ Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men that went out to war in companies, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel, the scribe, and Maaseiah, the governor, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s princes.

¹² The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand six hundred.

¹³ And under their hand was an army, a host of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.

¹⁴ And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields and spears and helmets and coats of mail and bows and slings to cast stones.

¹⁵ And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks to shoot arrows and great stones with. And his name spread far abroad, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.

¹⁶ ¶ But when he was strengthened, his heart lifted itself up unto corruption, for he rebelled against the LORD his God, entering into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

¹⁷ And Azariah, the priest, went in after him, and with him eighty priests of the LORD, that were valiant men.

¹⁸ And they withstood Uzziah, the king, and said unto him, It does not pertain unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense; go out of the sanctuary, for thou hast rebelled; neither shall it be for thy glory before the LORD God.

¹⁹ Then Uzziah was angry and had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and in this his anger with the priests, the leprosy rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, next to the altar of incense.

²⁰ And Azariah, the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from there, and he also hastened to go out because the LORD had smitten him.

²¹ And Uzziah, the king, was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD; and Jotham, his son, was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last were written by Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz.

²³ So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the royal burial field, for they said, He is a leper. And Jotham, his son, reigned in his stead.

27 ¶ Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.

² And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did; however, he did not enter into the temple of the LORD. But the people corrupted themselves yet.

³ He built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

⁴ Moreover, he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.

⁵ He fought also with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the sons of Ammon gave him the same year one hundred talents of silver and ten thousand measures of wheat and ten thousand of barley. So much did the sons of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year and the third.

⁶ So Jotham became mighty because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.

⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

⁸ He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

⁹ And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Ahaz, his son, reigned in his stead.

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

² To the contrary he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made molten images unto Baalim.

³ Moreover, he burnt incense in the valley of the sons of Hinnom and burnt his sons in the fire, after the abominations of the Gentiles whom the LORD had cast out before the sons of Israel.

⁴ He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills and under every green tree.

⁵ Therefore, the LORD his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Syria, and they smote him and carried away a great multitude of them captives and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hands of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

⁶ ¶ For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, slew in Judah one hundred and twenty thousand in one day, who were all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.

⁷ And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah, the king’s son, and Azrikam, the governor of the house, and Elkanah, second after the king.

⁸ And the sons of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, in addition to taking much spoil from them, which they brought to Samaria.

⁹ But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the host that came to Samaria and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage. This reaches up unto heaven.

¹⁰ And now ye purpose to keep subject the sons of Judah and Jerusalem for menslaves and womenslaves unto you, but are ye not guilty against the LORD your God?

¹¹ Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren; for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.

¹² Then certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah, the son of Johanan, Berechiah, the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah, the son of Shallum, and Amasa, the son of Hadlai, stood up against those that came from the war

¹³ and said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives here, for the sin against the LORD shall be upon us. Ye intend to add more to our sins and to our guilt, for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.

¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.

¹⁵ And the men which were expressed by name rose up and took the captives, and, with the spoil, clothed all that were naked among them and arrayed them and shod them and gave them to eat and to drink and anointed them and carried all the feeble of them upon asses and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren; then they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶ ¶ At that time King Ahaz sent unto the kings of Assyria to help him.

¹⁷ For in addition to this, the Edomites had come and smitten Judah and carried away captives.

¹⁸ The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country and towards the Negev of Judah and had taken Bethshemesh and Ajalon and Gederoth and Shocho with its villages and Timnah with its villages, Gimzo also and its villages, and they dwelt in them.

¹⁹ For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah naked and had completely rebelled against the LORD.

²⁰ And Tilgathpilneser, king of Assyria, came unto him, and distressed him but did not strengthen him.

²¹ For even though Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD and out of the house of the king and of the princes and gave it unto the king of Assyria, he did not help him.

²² Furthermore, king Ahaz in the time of his distress trespassed even more against the LORD,

²³ for he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, who had smitten him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them; therefore, I will also sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.

²⁴ And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.

²⁵ And in all the cities of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers.

²⁶ Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷ And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel; and Hezekiah, his son, reigned in his stead.

29 ¶ Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

² And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David, his father, had done.

³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them.

⁴ And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them together into the east plaza

⁵ and said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and ye shall sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness out of the sanctuary.

⁶ For our fathers have rebelled and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, for they have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD and turned their backs.

⁷ They even shut up the doors of the porch and put out the lamps and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the sanctuary unto the God of Israel.

⁸ Therefore, the wrath of the LORD has come upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

⁹ For, behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

¹⁰ Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.

¹¹ My sons, do not deceive yourselves, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should be his ministers and burn incense unto him.

¹² ¶ Then the Levites arose, Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah, of the sons of Kohath; and of the sons of Merari, Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehalelel; and of the sons of Gershon; Joah, the son of Zimmah, and Eden, the son of Joah;

¹³ and of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah and Mattaniah;

¹⁴ and of the sons of Heman; Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵ And they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves and entered in, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.

¹⁶ And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the Brook Kidron.

¹⁷ Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of the LORD; and they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

¹⁸ Then they went in to Hezekiah, the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD and the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and the showbread table with all its vessels.

¹⁹ Likewise we have prepared and sanctified all the vessels, which King Ahaz in his reign cast away in his transgression, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.

²⁰ ¶ Then Hezekiah, the king, rose early and gathered the rulers of the city and went up to the house of the LORD.

²¹ And they offered seven bullocks and seven rams and seven lambs and seven he goats, for the sin of the kingdom and of the sanctuary and of Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

²² So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar; they also killed the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.

²³ And they brought forth the he goats of the sin before the king and the congregation, and they laid their hands upon them;

²⁴ and the priests killed them, and they removed the sin with their blood upon the altar, to reconcile all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the atonement for sin should be offered for all Israel.

²⁵ And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad, the king’s seer, and of Nathan, the prophet, for that commandment was by the hand of the LORD, by the hand of his prophets.

²⁶ And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets and with the instruments of David, king of Israel.

²⁸ And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpets sounded; and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

²⁹ And when they had finished offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped.

³⁰ Moreover, Hezekiah, the king, and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph, the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshipped.

³¹ Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and praises in the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and praises, and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.

³² And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was seventy bullocks, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for the burnt offering of the LORD.

³³ And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.

³⁴ But the priests were too few so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings; therefore, their brethren, the Levites, helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.

³⁵ And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.

³⁶ And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people, for the thing was done suddenly.

30 ¶ And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel.

² For the king had taken counsel with his princes and with all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.

³ For they could not keep it at that time, because there were not enough priests sanctified, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.

⁴ And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation.

⁵ So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem because for a long time they had not done it as it is written.

⁶ So the posts went with the letters from the hand of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye sons of Israel, return unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.

⁷ Do not be like your fathers, and like your brethren, who rebelled against the LORD God of their fathers and he gave them over to desolation, as ye see.

⁸ Therefore, do not be stiffnecked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD and enter into his sanctuary, which he has sanctified for ever and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.

⁹ For if ye return unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find mercy before those that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you if ye return unto him.

¹⁰ So the posts passed from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.

¹¹ Nevertheless, some men of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

¹² Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, according to the word of the LORD.

¹³ ¶ And many people assembled at Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation.

¹⁴ And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they also took away all the altars for incense and cast them into the brook Kidron.

¹⁵ Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month, and the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves with shame and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD.

¹⁶ And they put themselves in order according to the ordinance, according to the law of Moses, the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hands of the Levites.

¹⁷ For there were yet many in the congregation that were not sanctified; therefore, the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for each one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD.

¹⁸ For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, and they ate the passover not as it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon each one

¹⁹ that has prepared his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, even though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

²⁰ And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ ¶ Thus, the sons of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the solemnity of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD, day by day, with instruments of strength unto the LORD.

²² And Hezekiah spoke unto the heart of all the Levites that had good understanding to serve the LORD, and they ate the sacrifices of the feast for seven days, offering sacrifices of peace and giving thanks unto the LORD God of their fathers.

²³ And the whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days, and they kept another seven days with gladness.

²⁴ For Hezekiah, king of Judah, had given to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep, and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep, and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.

²⁵ And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.

²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.

²⁷ Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to the dwelling place of his sanctuary, unto heaven.

31 ¶ Now when all this was finished, all Israel went out, those that were present, to the cities of Judah and broke the images in pieces and cut down the groves and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned, each man to his possession, into their own cities.

² And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD.

³ The king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings was the morning and evening burnt offerings and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths and for the new moons and for the solemn feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD.

⁴ Moreover, he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD.

⁵ And as soon as the commandment burst forth and multiplied, an abundance of firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field was multiplied unto the sons of Israel; and likewise, they brought in the tithe, of all things in abundance.

⁶ Also the sons of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, gave in the same manner the tithe of the cows and the sheep, and the tithe of that which was sanctified of the things which had been promised unto the LORD their God, and laid them in heaps.

⁷ In the third month they began to found those heaps, and they finished them in the seventh month.

⁸ And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and his people Israel.

⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

¹⁰ And Azariah, the high priest of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have eaten and been satisfied and have had an abundance left over; for the LORD has blessed his people, and that which is left is this great store.

¹¹ ¶ Then Hezekiah commanded that they prepare chambers in the house of the LORD, and they prepared them

¹² and brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully, over which Cononiah, the Levite, was ruler and Shimei, his brother, was second.

¹³ And Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah, the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.

¹⁴ And Kore, the son of Imnah, the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the offerings of the LORD and the most holy things.

¹⁵ And at his hand were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests, to faithfully give their brethren their parts according to their courses, to the great the same as to the small.

¹⁶ Besides that which is counted for the males from three years old and upward, unto all that entered into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their ministry in their charges according to their courses;

¹⁷ both to those numbered among the priests by the house of their fathers and among the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses;

¹⁸ and likewise unto those of their generation with all their little ones, their wives, and their sons and daughters, through all the congregation, for in their faithfulness they sanctified themselves in holiness.

¹⁹ Likewise, to the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in all the cities, the men that were expressed by name, gave portions to all the males among the priests and to all the lineage of the Levites.

²⁰ And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah and wrought that which was good and right and true before the LORD his God.

²¹ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God and in the law and in the commandments, he sought God and he did it with all his heart and was prospered.

32 ¶ After these things and after this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities and thought to break them up.

² And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,

³ he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were outside the city, and they helped him.

⁴ So many people gathered together, and they stopped up all the fountains and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?

⁵ Also he strengthened himself and built up all the wall that was broken and caused the towers to be raised up, and another wall outside, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made swords and shields in abundance.

⁶ And he set captains of war over the people and gathered them together to him in the plaza of the gate of the city and spoke unto their heart, saying,

⁷ Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria nor for all the multitude that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

⁸ With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people were upheld by the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

⁹ ¶ After this Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent his slaves to Jerusalem (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,

¹⁰ Thus hath said Sennacherib, king of Assyria, In whom do ye trust that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem?

¹¹ Does not Hezekiah deceive you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

¹² Has not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar and burn incense upon it?

¹³ Have ye not known what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? Could peradventure the gods of the Gentiles of those lands deliver their lands out of my hand?

¹⁴ Who was there among all the gods of those Gentiles that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people out of my hands? Why should your God be able to deliver you out of my hand?

¹⁵ Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you nor persuade you in this matter neither believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hands and out of the hands of my fathers; how much less shall your God deliver you out of my hand?

¹⁶ And his slaves spoke yet more against the LORD God and against his slave Hezekiah.

¹⁷ In addition to this, he wrote letters that blasphemed the LORD God of Israel and spoke against him, saying, As the gods of the Gentiles of other lands could not deliver their people out of my hand, neither shall the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of my hand.

¹⁸ Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to make them afraid and to trouble them, that they might take the city.

¹⁹ And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem as against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.

²⁰ And for this cause Hezekiah, the king, and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.

²¹ And the LORD sent an angel who cut off all the mighty men of valour and the captains and the princes in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And as he entered into the house of his god, those that had come forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.

²² Thus, the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hands of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and from the hands of all others and guided them concerning everything.

²³ And many brought a present unto the LORD to Jerusalem and precious gifts unto Hezekiah, king of Judah, so that he was magnified in the sight of all the Gentiles from then on.

²⁴ ¶ In those days Hezekiah was sick unto the death and prayed to the LORD, who responded to him and gave him a sign.

²⁵ But Hezekiah did not render again according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart lifted itself up; therefore there was wrath against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁶ Notwithstanding, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ And Hezekiah had exceedingly great riches and honour, and he made himself treasures of silver and of gold and of precious stones and of spices and of shields and of all manner of pleasant vessels,

²⁸ storehouses also for the increase of grain and wine and oil and stalls for all manner of beasts and places for cattle.

²⁹ Moreover, he made himself cities and possessions of sheep and cows in abundance, for God had given him great substance.

³⁰ This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah was prospered in all that he did.

³¹ However, because of the ambassadors {Heb. scorners} of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his mercy, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

³³ And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh, his son, reigned in his stead.

33 ¶ Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

² And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the Gentiles, whom the LORD had cast out before the sons of Israel.

³ For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah, his father, had broken down, and he raised up altars for the Baalim and made groves and worshipped all the host of the heavens and served them.

⁴ He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.

⁵ He likewise built altars for all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

⁶ And he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of the sons of Hinnom; he also observed times, used enchantments, and was given over to witchcraft, consulting with spiritists and with diviners; he multiplied in doing much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

⁷ In addition to this, he set a graven image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen over all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever;

⁸ neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers under the condition that they take, keep, and do all that I have commanded them, the whole law, the statutes and the rights by the hand of Moses.

⁹ So Manasseh deceived Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to do more evil than the Gentiles, whom the LORD had destroyed before the sons of Israel.

¹⁰ And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not hearken.

¹¹ ¶ Therefore, the LORD brought upon them the princes of the host of the king of Assyria who took Manasseh and bound him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon.

¹² And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

¹³ and when he prayed unto him, he was heard; for he heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

¹⁴ Now after this he built the wall outside the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, and at the entrance of the fish gate, and fenced Ophel and raised it up to a very great height and put captains of the army in all the fenced cities of Judah.

¹⁵ Likewise, he took away the strange gods and the idol out of the house of the LORD and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem and cast them out of the city.

¹⁶ And he repaired the altar of the LORD and sacrificed upon it sacrifices of peace and of praise and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.

¹⁷ Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the acts of the kings of Israel.

¹⁹ His prayer also and how he was heard, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places upon which he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he humbled himself; behold, these things are written among the words of the seers.

²⁰ So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house; and Amon, his son, reigned in his stead.

²¹ ¶ Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign and reigned two years in Jerusalem.

²² But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done, for Amon sacrificed unto all the graven images which Manasseh, his father, had made, and served them.

²³ But he never humbled himself before the LORD as Manasseh, his father, humbled himself; to the contrary Amon multiplied the guilt.

²⁴ And his slaves conspired against him and slew him in his own house.

²⁵ But the people of the land slew all those that had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah, his son, king in his stead.

34 ¶ Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.

² And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD and walked in the ways of David, his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

³ For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David, his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places and the groves and the graven images and the molten images.

⁴ And they broke down the altars of the Baalim in his presence; and the images of the sun, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves and the graven images and the molten images, he broke in pieces and made dust of them and scattered it upon the graves of those that had sacrificed unto them.

⁵ And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶ He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their swords round about.

⁷ And when he had broken down the altars and the groves and had beaten the graven images into powder and cut down all the idols of the sun throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

⁸ ¶ Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, the writer of chronicles, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

⁹ And they went to Hilkiah, the high priest, and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim and of all the remnant of Israel and of all Judah and Benjamin, having then returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁰ And they put it in the hand of those that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and restore the house.

¹¹ They also gave to the craftsmen and builders, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and for the woodwork of the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

¹² And the men did the work faithfully, and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of Kohath, to set it forward; and others of the Levites, all those with understanding in instruments of music.

¹³ Also they were over the bearers of burdens and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service; and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.

¹⁴ ¶ And when they brought out the money that had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah, the priest, found the book of the law of the LORD given by the hand of Moses.

¹⁵ And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan, the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶ And Shaphan carried the book to the king and brought the king word back again, saying, Thy slaves have fulfilled all that was committed unto them to do.

¹⁷ And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD and have delivered it into the hand of those who were commissioned and to the hand of the workmen.

¹⁸ Then Shaphan, the scribe, told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest, has given me a book. And Shaphan read in it before the king.

¹⁹ And when the king heard the words of the law, he rent his clothes.

²⁰ And the king commanded Hilkiah and Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Abdon, the son of Micah, and Shaphan, the scribe, and Asaiah, a slave of the king’s, saying,

²¹ Go, enquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant of Israel and of Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found, for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all the things that are written in this book.

²² Then Hilkiah and those of the king went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the house of doctrine); and they spoke to her to that effect.

²³ And she answered them, The LORD God of Israel hath said thus, Tell the man that sent you to me,

²⁴ that thus hath the LORD said, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place and upon its inhabitants all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah

²⁵ because they have forsaken me and have sacrificed unto other gods, provoking me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore, my wrath shall be poured out upon this place and shall not be quenched.

²⁶ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said, Because thou hast heard the words of the book,

²⁷ and thy heart became tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, hearing his words against this place and against its inhabitants and didst humble thyself before me and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me, I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.

²⁸ Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace; neither shall thy eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.

²⁹ ¶ Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

³⁰ And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites and all the people, great and small; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD.

³¹ And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and that they would keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and with all their soul to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.

³² And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

³³ And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the lands that pertained to the sons of Israel and made all that were present in Israel serve the LORD their God only. And all his days they did not depart from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

35 ¶ Moreover, Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

² And he set the priests in their charges and confirmed them in the ministry of the house of the LORD

³ and said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, who were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, built, that ye not carry it any longer upon your shoulders; serve now the LORD your God and his people Israel

⁴ and prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David, king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon, his son.

⁵ And stand in the sanctuary according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren, the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites.

⁶ So kill the passover and sanctify yourselves and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

⁷ And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks; these were of the king’s substance.

⁸ And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand six hundred sheep and three hundred oxen.

⁹ Conaniah, likewise, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, princes of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for the sacrifices of the passover five thousand sheep, and five hundred oxen.

¹⁰ So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites, likewise, in their courses, according to the king’s commandment.

¹¹ And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood taken from the hands of the Levites who flayed them.

¹² And they took away part of the animals that they had for the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, for them to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And they did, likewise, with the oxen.

¹³ And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance, but that which had been sanctified, they cooked in pots and in caldrons and in pans and divided them speedily among all the people.

¹⁴ And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were occupied in the sacrifice of the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore, the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

¹⁵ Likewise, the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place, according to the commandment of David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, the king’s seer; and the porters waited at every gate; it was not necessary for them to depart from their ministry, for their brethren, the Levites, prepared for them.