Bible in 90 Days

²⁷ In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. ²⁸ And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria. ³⁰ And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, 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.

³² In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. ³³ Five and twenty years old was he 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 eyes of Jehovah; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ Howbeit the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah. 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 Jehovah began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. ³⁸ And 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 stead.

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

⁵ Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. ⁶ At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from ^[a]Elath; and the ^[b]Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there, unto this day.

⁷ So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of 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 took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. ⁹ And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

¹⁰ And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. ¹¹ And Urijah the priest built an altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus. ¹² And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king drew near unto the altar, and ^[c]offered thereon. ¹³ And he burnt his burnt-offering and his meal-offering, and poured his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of ^[d]his peace-offerings, upon the altar. ¹⁴ And the brazen altar, which was before Jehovah, he brought from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house of Jehovah, and put it on the north side of his altar. ¹⁵ And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt-offering, and the evening meal-offering, and the king’s burnt-offering, and his meal-offering, with the burnt-offering of all the people of the land, and their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt-offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: but the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire by. ¹⁶ Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷ And king Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stone. ¹⁸ And the ^[e]covered way for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry without, turned he ^[f]unto the house of Jehovah, because of the king of Assyria. ¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which 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 was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years. ² And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, yet not as the kings of Israel that were before him. ³ Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. ⁴ And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. ⁵ Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinned against Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, ⁸ and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they ^[g]made. ⁹ And the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against Jehovah their God: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city; ¹⁰ and they set them up ^[h]pillars and Asherim upon every high hill, and under every green tree; ¹¹ and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom Jehovah carried away before them; and they wrought wicked things to provoke Jehovah to anger; ¹² and they served idols, whereof Jehovah had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. ¹³ Yet Jehovah testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. ¹⁴ Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah their God. ¹⁵ And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom Jehovah had charged them that they should not do like them. ¹⁶ And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. ¹⁷ And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. ¹⁸ Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

¹⁹ Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they ^[i]made. ²⁰ And Jehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. ²¹ For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam ^[j]drove Israel from following Jehovah, and made them sin a great sin. ²² And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; ²³ until Jehovah removed Israel out of his sight, as he spake by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

²⁴ And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. ²⁵ And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not Jehovah: therefore Jehovah sent lions among them, which killed some of them. ²⁶ Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the law of the god of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the law of the god of the land.

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land. ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear Jehovah. ²⁹ Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. ³⁰ And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the ^[k]gods of Sepharvaim. ³² So they feared Jehovah, and made unto them from among themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. ³³ They feared Jehovah, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

³⁴ Unto this day they do after the former manner: they fear not Jehovah, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law or after the commandment which Jehovah commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; ³⁵ with whom Jehovah had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: ³⁶ but Jehovah, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, him shall ye fear, and unto him shall ye bow yourselves, and to him shall ye sacrifice: ³⁷ and the statutes and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods: ³⁸ and the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods: ³⁹ but Jehovah your God shall ye fear; and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. ⁴⁰ Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. ⁴¹ So these nations feared Jehovah, and served their graven images; their children likewise, and their children’s children, as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.

18 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. ² Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ³ And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done. ⁴ He removed the high places, and brake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah: and he brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made; for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it; and ^[l]he called it ^[m]Nehushtan. ⁵ He trusted in Jehovah, the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were before him. ⁶ For he clave to Jehovah; he departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses. ⁷ And Jehovah was with him; whithersoever he went forth he prospered: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. ⁸ He smote the Philistines unto Gaza and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

⁹ And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, 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, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. ¹¹ And the king of Assyria carried Israel away unto Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they obeyed not the voice of Jehovah their God, but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded, and would not hear it, nor do it.

¹³ Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did ^[n]Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them. ¹⁴ And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king’s house. ¹⁶ At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of Jehovah, and from the ^[o]pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. ¹⁷ And the king of Assyria sent ^[p]Tartan and ^[q]Rab-saris and ^[r]Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army unto Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field. ¹⁸ And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the ^[s]scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the ^[t]recorder.

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

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

³⁶ But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not. ³⁷ Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

19 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah. ² And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. ³ And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. ⁴ It may be Jehovah thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, ^[y]whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. ⁵ So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶ And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ⁷ Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall 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 warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. ⁹ And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee, he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. ¹¹ Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by ^[z]destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? ¹² Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that were in Telassar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?

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

²⁰ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard thee. ²¹ This is the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head ^[ab]at thee. ²² Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. ²³ By thy messengers thou hast defied the Lord, and hast said, With the ^[ac]multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice ^[ad]fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into his farthest lodging-place, the forest of his fruitful field. ²⁴ I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of ^[ae]Egypt.

²⁵ Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be thine to 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 the grass on the housetops, and as grain blasted before it is grown up. ²⁷ But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me. ²⁸ Because of thy raging against me, and because ^[af]thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

²⁹ And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. ³⁰ And ^[ag]the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. ³¹ For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape: the zeal of ^[ah]Jehovah shall perform this. ³² Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it. ³³ By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith Jehovah. ³⁴ For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

³⁵ And it came to pass that night, that the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. ³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. ³⁷ And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that ^[ai]Adrammelech and Sharezer smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

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

⁸ And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that Jehovah will heal me, and that I shall go up unto the house of Jehovah the third day? ⁹ And Isaiah said, This shall be the sign unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing that he hath spoken: ^[am]shall the shadow go forward ten ^[an]steps, or go back ten steps? ¹⁰ And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps. ¹¹ And Isaiah the prophet cried unto Jehovah; and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the ^[ao]dial of Ahaz.

¹² At that time ^[ap]Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his ^[aq]precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and ^[ar]the house of his ^[as]armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. ¹⁴ Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. ¹⁵ And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them.

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

21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. ² And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel. ³ For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. ⁴ And he built altars in the house of Jehovah, whereof Jehovah said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah. ⁶ And he made his son to pass through the fire, and practised augury, and used enchantments, and ^[at]dealt with them that had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. ⁷ And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which Jehovah said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever; ⁸ neither will I cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only 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 hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed before the children of Israel.

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

¹⁶ Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. ¹⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, 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 Manasseh 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 stead.

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

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

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

⁸ And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it. ⁹ And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have ^[au]emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen that have the oversight of the house of Jehovah. ¹⁰ And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. ¹¹ And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. ¹² And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ¹³ Go ye, inquire of Jehovah for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is ^[av]written concerning us.

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

23 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. ² And the king went up to the house of Jehovah, 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 read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah. ³ And the king stood ^[ay]by the pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to ^[az]confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant.

⁴ And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el. ⁵ And he put down the ^[ba]idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the ^[bb]planets, and to all the host of heaven. ⁶ And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Jehovah, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast the dust thereof upon the graves of the ^[bc]common people. ⁷ And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of Jehovah, where the women wove ^[bd]hangings for the Asherah. ⁸ And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he brake down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city. ⁹ Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened bread among their brethren. ¹⁰ And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the ^[be]children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. ¹¹ And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. ¹² And the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, did the king break down, and ^[bf]beat them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. ¹³ And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of ^[bg]corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. ¹⁴ And he brake in pieces the ^[bh]pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.

¹⁵ Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he brake down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah. ¹⁶ And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount; and he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Jehovah which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. ¹⁷ Then he said, What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth-el. ¹⁸ And he said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria. ¹⁹ And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Jehovah to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el. ²⁰ And he ^[bi]slew all the priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them; and he returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto Jehovah your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant. ²² Surely there was not kept such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, ^[bj]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 was this passover kept to Jehovah in Jerusalem.

²⁴ Moreover them that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might ^[bk]confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah. ²⁵ And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to Jehovah 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 Notwithstanding, Jehovah turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations wherewith Manasseh had provoked him. ²⁷ And Jehovah said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall 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 In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh-necoh slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him. ³⁰ And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.

³¹ Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done. ³³ And Pharaoh-necoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, ^[bl]that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a ^[bm]tribute of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. ³⁴ And Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim: but he took Jehoahaz away; and he came to Egypt, and died there. ³⁵ And Jehoiakim gave the 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 of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh-necoh.

³⁶ Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷ And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.

24 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. ² And Jehovah sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by his servants the prophets. ³ Surely at the commandment of Jehovah came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did, ⁴ and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Jehovah 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 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. ⁷ And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

⁸ Jehoiachin 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 Jehovah, according to all that his father had done.

¹⁰ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came unto the city, while his servants were besieging it; ¹² and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his ^[bn]officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. ¹³ And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had said. ¹⁴ And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. ¹⁵ And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his ^[bo]officers, and the ^[bp]chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. ¹⁷ And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was ^[bq]Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.

And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 25 ¹ And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. ² So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. ⁴ Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and the king went by the way of the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. ⁶ Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they ^[br]gave judgment upon him. ⁷ And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

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

¹³ And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. ¹⁴ And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. ¹⁵ And the firepans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. ¹⁶ The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah, the brass of all these vessels was without weight. ¹⁷ The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with network.

¹⁸ And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold: ¹⁹ and out of the city he took an ^[bs]officer that was set over the men of war; and five men of them that saw the king’s face, who were found in the city; and the ^[bt]scribe, the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the city. ²⁰ And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. ²¹ And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.

²² And as for the people that were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor. ²³ Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. ²⁴ And Gedaliah sware to them and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not because of the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. ²⁵ But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶ And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

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