\NormalFont\ShortTitle{2 Chronicles}

{\MT The Second Book of the Chronicles


\par }\ChapOne{1}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And strengthen himself doth Solomon son of David over his kingdom, and Jehovah his God [is] with him, and maketh him exceedingly great.

\VS{2}And Solomon saith to all Israel, to heads of the thousands, and of the hundreds, and to judges, and to every honourable one of all Israel, heads of the fathers,

\VS{3}and they go — Solomon, and all the assembly with him — to the high place that [is] in Gibeon, for there hath been God's tent of meeting, that Moses, servant of Jehovah, made in the wilderness,

\VS{4}but the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjath-Jearim, when David prepared for it, for he stretched out for it a tent in Jerusalem;

\VS{5}and the altar of brass that Bezaleel son of Uri, son of Hur made, he put before the tabernacle of Jehovah; and Solomon and the assembly seek to it.

\VS{6}And Solomon goeth up thither, on the altar of brass, before Jehovah, that [is] at the tent of meeting, and causeth to ascend upon it a thousand burnt-offerings.

\VS{7}In that night hath God appeared to Solomon, and saith to him, 'Ask — what do I give to thee?'

\VS{8}And Solomon saith to God, 'Thou hast done with David my father great kindness, and hast caused me to reign in his stead.

\VS{9}Now, O Jehovah God, is Thy word with David my father stedfast, for Thou hast caused me to reign over a people numerous as the dust of the earth;

\VS{10}now, wisdom and knowledge give to me, and I go out before this people, and I come in, for who doth judge this Thy great people?'

\VS{11}And God saith to Solomon, 'Because that this hath been with thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, and honour, and the life of those hating thee, and also many days hast not asked, and dost ask for thyself wisdom and knowledge, so that thou dost judge My people over which I have caused thee to reign —

\VS{12}the wisdom and the knowledge is given to thee, and riches and wealth and honour I give to thee, that there hath not been so to the kings who [are] before thee, and after thee it is not so.'

\VS{13}And Solomon cometh in [from] the high place that [is] in Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tent of meeting, and reigneth over Israel,

\VS{14}and Solomon gathereth chariots and horsemen, and he hath a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placeth them in the cities of the chariots, and with the king in Jerusalem.

\VS{15}And the king maketh the silver and the gold in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he made as sycamores that [are] in the low country, for abundance.

\VS{16}And the source of the horses that [are] to Solomon [is] from Egypt and from Keva; merchants of the king from Keva take at a price,

\VS{17}and they come up, and bring out from Egypt a chariot for six hundred silverlings, and a horse for fifty and a hundred, and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Aram — by their hand they bring out.



\par }\Chap{2}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Solomon saith to build a house for the name of Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom,

\VS{2}and Solomon numbereth seventy thousand men bearing burden, and eighty thousand men hewing in the mountain, and overseers over them — three thousand and six hundred.

\VS{3}And Solomon sendeth unto Huram king of Tyre, saying, 'When thou hast dealt with David my father, then thou dost send to him cedars to build for him a house to dwell in;

\VS{4}lo, I am building a house to the name of Jehovah my God, to sanctify [it] to Him, to make perfume before Him, perfume of spices, and a continual arrangement, and burnt-offerings at morning and at evening, at sabbaths, and at new moons, and at appointed seasons of Jehovah our God; to the age this [is] on Israel.

\VS{5}'And the house that I am building [is] great, for greater [is] our God than all gods;

\VS{6}and who doth retain strength to build to Him a house, for the heavens, even the heavens of the heavens, do not contain Him? and who [am] I that I do build to Him a house, except to make perfume before Him?

\VS{7}'And now, send to me a wise man to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and knowing to grave gravings with the wise men who [are] with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father prepared;

\VS{8}and send to me cedar-trees, firs, and algums from Lebanon, for I have known that thy servants know to cut down trees of Lebanon, and lo, my servants [are] with thy servants,

\VS{9}even to prepare for me trees in abundance, for the house that I am building [is] great and wonderful.

\VS{10}'And lo, to hewers, to those cutting the trees, I have given beaten wheat to thy servants, cors twenty thousand, and barley, cors twenty thousand, and wine, baths twenty thousand, and oil, baths twenty thousand.'

\VS{11}And Huram king of Tyre saith in writing, and sendeth unto Solomon: 'In the love of Jehovah to His people He hath given thee king over them.'

\VS{12}And Huram saith, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah, God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, knowing wisdom and understanding, who doth build a house for Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom.

\VS{13}'And now, I have sent a wise man having understanding, of Huram my father,

\VS{14}(son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father a man of Tyre), knowing to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stones, and in wood, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, and to grave any graving, and to devise any device that is given to him, with thy wise men, and the wise men of my lord David thy father.

\VS{15}'And, now, the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, as my lord said, let him send to his servants,

\VS{16}and we — we cut trees out of Lebanon, according to all thy need, and bring them in to thee — floats by sea, to Joppa, and thou dost take them up to Jerusalem.'

\VS{17}And Solomon numbereth all the men, the sojourners who [are] in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father numbered them, and they are found a hundred and fifty thousand, and three thousand, and six hundred;

\VS{18}and he maketh of them seventy thousand burden-bearers, and eighty thousand hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers, to cause the people to work.



\par }\Chap{3}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Solomon beginneth to build the house of Jehovah, in Jerusalem, in the mount of Moriah, where He appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite,

\VS{2}and he beginneth to build in the second [day], in the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

\VS{3}And [in] these hath Solomon been instructed to build the house of God: The length [in] cubits by the former measure [is] sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

\VS{4}As to the porch that [is] on the front, the length [is] by the front of the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty, and he overlayeth it within with pure gold.

\VS{5}And the large house he hath covered with fir-trees, and he doth cover it with good gold, and causeth to ascend on it palms and chains,

\VS{6}and he overlayeth the house with precious stone for beauty, and the gold [is] gold of Parvaim,

\VS{7}and he covereth the house, the beams, the thresholds, and its walls, and its doors, with gold, and hath graved cherubs on the walls.

\VS{8}And he maketh the most holy house: its length [is] by the front of the breadth of the house twenty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits, and he covereth it with good gold, to six hundred talents;

\VS{9}and the weight of the nails [is] fifty shekels of gold, and the upper chambers he hath covered with gold.

\VS{10}And he maketh in the most holy house two cherubs, image work, and he overlayeth them with gold;

\VS{11}as to the wings of the cherubs, their length [is] twenty cubits, the wing of the one [is] five cubits, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing [is] five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub.

\VS{12}And the wing of the other cherub [is] five cubits touching the wall of the house, and the other wing [is] five cubits, adhering to the wing of the other cherub.

\VS{13}The wings of these cherubs are spreading forth twenty cubits, and they are standing on their feet and their faces [are] inward.

\VS{14}And he maketh the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and causeth cherubs to go up on it.

\VS{15}And he maketh at the front of the house two pillars, thirty and five cubits in length, and the ornament that [is] on their heads five cubits.

\VS{16}And he maketh chains in the oracle, and putteth on the heads of the pillars, and maketh a hundred pomegranates, and putteth on the chains.

\VS{17}And he raiseth up the pillars on the front of the temple, one on the right, and one on the left, and calleth the name of that on the right Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.



\par }\Chap{4}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And he maketh an altar of brass, twenty cubits its length, and twenty cubits its breadth, and ten cubits its height.

\VS{2}And he maketh the molten sea; ten by the cubit, from its edge unto its edge, round in compass, and five by the cubit its height, and a line of thirty by the cubit doth compass it, round about.

\VS{3}And the likeness of oxen [is] under it, all round about encompassing it, ten in the cubit, compassing the sea round about; two rows of oxen are cast in its being cast.

\VS{4}It is standing on twelve oxen, three facing the north, and three facing the west, and three facing the south, and three facing the east, and the sea [is] upon them above, and all their hinder parts [are] within.

\VS{5}And its thickness [is] a handbreadth, and its lip as the work of the lip of a cup flowered with lilies; taking hold — baths three thousand it containeth.

\VS{6}And he maketh ten lavers, and putteth five on the right, and five on the left, to wash with them; the work of the burnt-offering they purge with them; and the sea [is] for priests to wash with.

\VS{7}And he maketh the ten candlesticks of gold, according to their ordinance, and placeth in the temple, five on the right, and five on the left.

\VS{8}And he maketh ten tables, and placeth in the temple, five on the right, and five on the left; and he maketh bowls of gold a hundred.

\VS{9}And he maketh the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and their doors he hath overlaid with brass.

\VS{10}And the sea he hath placed on the right shoulder eastward, over-against the south.

\VS{11}And Huram maketh the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls, and Huram finisheth to make the work that he made for king Solomon in the house of God;

\VS{12}two pillars, and the bowls, and the crowns on the heads of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two bowls of the crowns that [are] on the heads of the pillars;

\VS{13}and the pomegranates four hundred to the two wreaths, two rows of pomegranates to the one wreath, to cover the two bowls of the crowns that [are] on the front of the pillars.

\VS{14}And the bases he hath made; and the lavers he hath made on the bases;

\VS{15}the one sea, and the twelve oxen under it,

\VS{16}and the pots, and the shovels, and the forks, and all their vessels, hath Huram his father made for king Solomon, for the house of Jehovah, of brass purified.

\VS{17}In the circuit of the Jordan hath the king cast them, in the thick soil of the ground, between Succoth and Zeredathah.

\VS{18}And Solomon maketh all these vessels in great abundance, that the weight of the brass hath not been searched out.

\VS{19}And Solomon maketh all the vessels that [are for] the house of God, and the altar of gold, and the tables, and on them [is] bread of the presence;

\VS{20}and the candlesticks, and their lamps, for their burning according to the ordinance, before the oracle, of gold refined;

\VS{21}and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold — it [is] the perfection of gold;

\VS{22}and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and the censers, of gold refined, and the opening of the house, its innermost doors to the holy of holies, and the doors of the house to the temple, of gold.



\par }\Chap{5}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And all the work that Solomon made for the house of Jehovah is finished, and Solomon bringeth in the sanctified things of David his father, and the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels he hath put among the treasures of the house of God.

\VS{2}Then doth Solomon assemble the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, princes of the fathers of the sons of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from the city of David — it [is] Zion.

\VS{3}And assembled unto the king are all the men of Israel in the feast — it [is] the seventh month;

\VS{4}and all the elders of Israel come in, and the Levites lift up the ark,

\VS{5}and they bring up the ark, and the tent of meeting, and all the vessels of the sanctuary that [are] in the tent; brought them up have the priests, the Levites;

\VS{6}and king Solomon and all the company of Israel who are convened unto him before the ark are sacrificing sheep and oxen, that are not counted nor numbered from multitude.

\VS{7}And the priests bring in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto its place, unto the oracle of the house, unto the holy of holies, unto the place of the wings of the cherubs;

\VS{8}and the cherubs are spreading out wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubs cover over the ark, and over its staves, from above;

\VS{9}and they lengthen the staves, and the heads of the staves are seen out of the ark on the front of the oracle, and they are not seen without; and it is there unto this day.

\VS{10}There is nothing in the ark but the two tables that Moses gave in Horeb, where Jehovah covenanted with the sons of Israel, in their going out from Egypt.

\VS{11}And it cometh to pass, in the going out of the priests from the sanctuary — for all the priests who are present have sanctified themselves, there is none to watch by courses,

\VS{12}and the Levites, the singers, to all of them, to Asaph, to Heman, to Jeduthun, and to their sons, and to their brethren, clothed in white linen, with cymbals, and with psalteries, and harps, are standing on the east of the altar, and with them priests, to a hundred and twenty, blowing with trumpets —

\VS{13}yea, it cometh to pass, as one [are] trumpeters and singers, to sound — one voice — to praise and to give thanks to Jehovah, and at the lifting up of the sound with trumpets, and with cymbals, and with instruments of song, and at giving praise to Jehovah, for good, for to the age [is] His kindness, that the house is filled with a cloud — the house of Jehovah,

\VS{14}and the priests have not been able to stand to minister from the presence of the cloud, for the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of God.



\par }\Chap{6}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Then said Solomon, 'Jehovah said — to dwell in thick darkness,

\VS{2}and I — I have built a house of habitation for Thee, and a fixed place for Thy dwelling to the ages.'

\VS{3}And the king turneth round his face, and blesseth the whole assembly of Israel, and the whole assembly of Israel is standing,

\VS{4}and he saith, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath spoken with His mouth with David my father, and with His hands hath fulfilled [it], saying:

\VS{5}'From the day that I brought out My people from the land of Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of any of the tribes of Israel to build a house for my name being there, and I have not fixed on a man to be leader over My people Israel;

\VS{6}and I fix on Jerusalem for My name being there, and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.

\VS{7}'And it is with the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah God of Israel,

\VS{8}and Jehovah saith unto David my father, Because that it hath been with thy heart to build a house for My name, thou hast done well that it hath been with thy heart,

\VS{9}but thou dost not build the house, for thy son who cometh forth out from thy loins, he doth build the house for My name.

\VS{10}'And Jehovah doth establish His word that He spake, and I rise up in the stead of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah spake, and I build the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel,

\VS{11}and I place there the ark, where [is] the covenant of Jehovah that He made with the sons of Israel.'

\VS{12}And he standeth before the altar of Jehovah, over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth out his hand, —

\VS{13}for Solomon hath made a scaffold of brass, and putteth it in the midst of the court, five cubits its length, and five cubits its breadth, and three cubits its height, and he standeth upon it, and kneeleth on his knees over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth forth his hands towards the heavens —

\VS{14}and saith, 'O Jehovah God of Israel, there is not like Thee a god in the heavens and in the earth, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Thy servants who are walking before Thee with all their heart;

\VS{15}who hast kept for Thy servant David my father that which Thou didst speak to him; yea, Thou dost speak with Thy mouth, and with Thy hand hast fulfilled [it], as at this day.

\VS{16}'And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for Thy servant David my father that which Thou didst speak to him, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from before Me, sitting on the throne of Israel, only, if thy sons watch their way to walk in My law, as thou hast walked before Me.

\VS{17}'And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, is Thy word stedfast that Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, to David,

\VS{18}(for is it true? — God dwelleth with man on the earth! Lo, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens, do not contain Thee, how much less this house that I have built?)

\VS{19}'And Thou hast turned unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and unto the prayer that Thy servant is praying before Thee,

\VS{20}for Thine eyes being open towards this house by day and by night, towards the place that Thou hast said to put Thy name there, to hearken unto the prayer that Thy servant prayeth towards this place.

\VS{21}'And Thou hast hearkened unto the supplications of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, that they pray towards this place, and Thou dost hear from the place of Thy dwelling, from the heavens, and hast hearkened, and forgiven.

\VS{22}'If a man doth sin against his neighbour, and he hath lifted up on him an oath to cause him to swear, and the oath hath come in before Thine altar in this house —

\VS{23}then Thou dost hear from the heavens, and hast done, and hast judged Thy servants, to give back to the wicked, to put his way on his head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give to him according to his righteousness.

\VS{24}'And if Thy people Israel is smitten before an enemy, because they sin against Thee, and they have turned back and confessed Thy name, and prayed and made supplication before Thee in this house —

\VS{25}then Thou dost hear from the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy people Israel, and caused them to turn back unto the ground that Thou hast given to them, and to their fathers.

\VS{26}'In the heavens being restrained, and there is no rain, because they sin against Thee, and they have prayed towards this place, and confessed Thy name — from their sin they turn back because Thou dost afflict them —

\VS{27}then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, because Thou directest them unto the good way in which they walk, and hast given rain on Thy land that Thou hast given to Thy people for an inheritance.

\VS{28}'Famine, when it is in the land, pestilence, when it is, blasting, and mildew, locust, and caterpillar, when they are, when its enemies have distressed it in the land — its gates, any plague and any sickness;

\VS{29}any prayer, any supplication that is for any man, and for all Thy people Israel, when they know each his own plague, and his own pain, and he hath spread out his hands towards this house:

\VS{30}then Thou dost hear from the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast given to each according to all his ways (because Thou knowest his heart, for Thou — Thou only — hast known the heart of the sons of men),

\VS{31}so that they fear Thee, to walk in Thy ways, all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that Thou hast given to our fathers.

\VS{32}'And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and he hath come from a land afar off for the sake of Thy great name, and Thy strong hand, and Thy stretched-out arm, and they have come in and prayed towards this house:

\VS{33}then Thou dost hear from the heavens, from the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for: so that all the peoples of the earth do know Thy name, so as to fear Thee, as Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name is called on this house that I have built.

\VS{34}'When Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemies in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Thee the way of this city that Thou hast fixed on, and the house that I have built for Thy name:

\VS{35}then Thou hast heard from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause.

\VS{36}'When they sin against Thee — for there is not a man who sinneth not — and Thou hast been angry with them, and hast given them before an enemy, and taken them captive have their captors, unto a land far off or near;

\VS{37}and they have turned [it] back unto their heart in the land whither they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication unto Thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have done wickedly;

\VS{38}yea, they have turned back unto Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, whither they have taken them captive, and they have prayed the way of their land that Thou hast given to their fathers, and of the city that Thou hast chosen, and of the house that I have built for Thy name:

\VS{39}then Thou hast heard from the heavens, from the settled place of Thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplications, and hast maintained their cause, and forgiven Thy people who have sinned against Thee.

\VS{40}'Now, my God, let, I beseech Thee, Thine eyes be open, and Thine ears attentive, to the prayer of this place:

\VS{41}and now, rise, O Jehovah God, to Thy rest, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength; Thy priests, O Jehovah God, are clothed with salvation, and Thy saints rejoice in the goodness,

\VS{42}O Jehovah God, turn not back the face of Thine anointed, be mindful of the kind acts of David Thy servant.'



\par }\Chap{7}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And at Solomon's finishing to pray, then the fire hath come down from the heavens, and consumeth the burnt-offering and the sacrifices, and the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house,

\VS{2}and the priests have not been able to go in unto the house of Jehovah, because the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.

\VS{3}And all the sons of Israel are looking on the descending of the fire, and the honour of Jehovah on the house, and they bow — faces to the earth — on the pavement, and do obeisance, and give thanks to Jehovah, for good, for to the age [is] His kindness.

\VS{4}And the king and all the people are sacrificing a sacrifice before Jehovah,

\VS{5}and king Solomon sacrificeth the sacrifice of the herd, twenty and two thousand, and of the flock, a hundred and twenty thousand, and the king and all the people dedicate the house of God.

\VS{6}And the priests over their charges are standing, and the Levites with instruments of the song of Jehovah — that David the king made, to give thanks to Jehovah, for to the age [is] His kindness, in David's praising by their hand — and the priests are blowing trumpets over-against them, and all Israel are standing.

\VS{7}And Solomon sanctifieth the middle of the court that [is] before the house of Jehovah, for he hath made there the burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings: for the altar of brass that Solomon made hath not been able to contain the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat.

\VS{8}And solomon maketh the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him — a very great assembly — from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt.

\VS{9}And they make on the eighth day a restraint, because the dedication of the altar they have made seven days, and the feast seven days.

\VS{10}And on the twenty and third day of the seventh month he hath sent the people to their tents, rejoicing, and glad in heart, for the goodness that Jehovah hath done to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel His people.

\VS{11}And Solomon finisheth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king; and all that hath come on the heart of Solomon to do in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he hath caused to prosper.

\VS{12}And Jehovah appeareth unto Solomon by night, and saith to him, 'I have heard thy prayer, and have fixed on this place to Me for a house of sacrifice.

\VS{13}If I restrain the heavens and there is no rain, and if I lay charge on the locust to consume the land, and if I send pestilence among My people —

\VS{14}and My people on whom My name is called be humbled, and pray, and seek My face, and turn back from their evil ways, then I — I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.

\VS{15}'Now, Mine eyes are open, and Mine ears attentive, to the prayer of this place;

\VS{16}and now, I have chosen and sanctified this house for My name being there unto the age; yea, Mine eyes and My heart have been there all the days.

\VS{17}'And thou, if thou dost walk before Me as David thy father walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and My statutes and My judgments dost keep —

\VS{18}then I have established the throne of thy kingdom, as I covenanted with David thy father, saying, There is not cut off a man to thee — a ruler in Israel;

\VS{19}and if ye turn back — ye — and have forsaken My statutes, and My commands, that I have placed before you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them — then I have plucked them from off My ground that I have given to them,

\VS{20}and this house that I have sanctified for My name, I cast from before My face, and make it for a proverb, and for a byword, among all the peoples.

\VS{21}'And this house that hath been high, to every one passing by it, is an astonishment, and he hath said, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this land, and to this house?

\VS{22}and they have said, Because that they have forsaken Jehovah, God of their fathers, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and lay hold on other gods, and bow themselves to them, and serve them, therefore He hath brought upon them all this evil.'



\par }\Chap{8}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And it cometh to pass, at the end of twenty years, that Solomon hath built the house of Jehovah, and his own house.

\VS{2}As to the cities that Huram hath given to Solomon, Solomon hath built them, and there he causeth the sons of Israel to dwell.

\VS{3}And Solomon goeth to Hamath-Zobah, and layeth hold upon it;

\VS{4}and he buildeth Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the cities of store that he hath built in Hamath.

\VS{5}And he buildeth Beth-Horon the upper, and Beth-Horon the lower — cities of defence, with walls, two-leaved doors, and bar —

\VS{6}and Baalath, and all the cities of store that Solomon had, and all the cities of the chariot, and the cities of the horsemen, and all the desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

\VS{7}All the people who are left of the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, who are not of Israel —

\VS{8}of their sons who have been left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel consumed not — doth Solomon lift up a tribute unto this day.

\VS{9}And none of the sons of Israel hath Solomon made servants for his work, but they [are] men of war, and heads of his captains, and heads of his charioteers, and of his horsemen;

\VS{10}and these [are] heads of the officers whom king Solomon hath, two hundred and fifty who are rulers among the people.

\VS{11}And the daughter of Pharaoh hath Solomon brought up from the city of David to the house that he built for her, for he said, 'My wife doth not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, for they are holy unto whom hath come the ark of Jehovah.'

\VS{12}Then hath Solomon caused to ascend burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of Jehovah that he built before the porch,

\VS{13}even by the matter of a day in its day, to cause to ascend according to the command of Moses, on sabbaths, and on new moons, and on appointed seasons, three times in a year — in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths.

\VS{14}And he establisheth, according to the ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests over their service, and of the Levites over their charges, to praise and to minister over-against the priests, according to the matter of a day in its day, and the gatekeepers in their courses at gate and gate, for so [is] the command of David the man of God.

\VS{15}And they have not turned aside [from] the command of the king concerning the priests and the Levites, in reference to any matter, and to the treasures.

\VS{16}And all the work of Solomon is prepared till the day of the foundation of the house of Jehovah, and till its completion; perfect is the house of Jehovah.

\VS{17}Then hath Solomon gone to Ezion-Geber, and unto Elath, on the border of the sea, in the land of Edom;

\VS{18}and Huram sendeth to him, by the hand of his servants, ships and servants knowing the sea, and they go with servants of Solomon to Ophir, and take thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and bring in unto king Solomon.



\par }\Chap{9}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And the queen of Sheba hath heard of the fame of Solomon, and cometh in to try Solomon with acute sayings, to Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stone; and she cometh in unto Solomon, and speaketh with him all that hath been with her heart,

\VS{2}and Solomon declareth to her all her matters, and there hath not been hid a thing from Solomon that he hath not declared to her.

\VS{3}And the queen of Sheba seeth the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he hath built,

\VS{4}and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his stewards, and their clothing, an his burnt-offering that he offered up in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been any more spirit in her.

\VS{5}And she saith unto the king, 'True [is] the word that I heard in my land concerning thy matters and concerning thy wisdom,

\VS{6}and I have given no credence to their words, till that I have come, and mine eyes see, and lo, there hath not been declared to me the half of the abundance of thy wisdom — thou hast added unto the report that I heard.

\VS{7}'O the happiness of thy men, and the happiness of thy servants — these — who are standing before thee continually, and hearing thy wisdom.

\VS{8}Let Jehovah thy God be blessed who hath delighted in thee, to put thee on His throne for king for Jehovah thy God; in the love of thy God to Israel, to establish it to the age, He hath put thee over them for king, to do judgment and righteousness.'

\VS{9}And she giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stone; and there hath not been any such spice as the queen of Sheba hath given to king Solomon.

\VS{10}And also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone.

\VS{11}And the king maketh the algum-trees staircases for the house of Jehovah, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; and there have been none seen like these before in the land of Judah.

\VS{12}And king Solomon hath given to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which she had brought unto the king, and she turneth and goeth to her land, she and her servants.

\VS{13}And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold,

\VS{14}apart from [what] the tourists, and the merchants, are bringing in; and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land, are bringing in gold and silver to Solomon.

\VS{15}And king Solomon maketh two hundred targets of alloyed gold, six hundred [shekels] of alloyed gold he causeth to go up on the one target;

\VS{16}and three hundred shields of alloyed gold, three hundred [shekels] of gold he causeth to go up on the one shield, and the king putteth them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

\VS{17}And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth it with pure gold;

\VS{18}and six steps [are] to the throne, and a footstool of gold, to the throne they are fastened, and hands [are] on this [side] and on that on the place of the sitting, and two lions are standing near the hands,

\VS{19}and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this [side], and on that: it hath not been made so for any kingdom.

\VS{20}And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon [are] of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon [are] of refined gold — silver is not reckoned in the days of Solomon for anything;

\VS{21}for ships of the king are going to Tarshish, with servants of Huram: once in three years come do the ships of Tarshish bearing gold, and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

\VS{22}And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom;

\VS{23}and all the kings of the earth are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God hath put in his heart,

\VS{24}and they are bringing in each his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

\VS{25}And there are to Solomon four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in cities of the chariot, and with the king in Jerusalem.

\VS{26}And he is ruling over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt.

\VS{27}And the king maketh the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he hath made as sycamores, that [are] in the low country, for abundance,

\VS{28}and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.

\VS{29}And the rest of the matters of Solomon, the first and the last, are they not written beside the matters of Nathan the prophet, and beside the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and with the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?

\VS{30}And Solomon reigneth in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years,

\VS{31}and Solomon lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David his father, and reign doth Rehoboam his son in his stead.



\par }\Chap{10}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Rehoboam goeth to Shechem, for [to] Shechem have all Israel come to cause him to reign.

\VS{2}And it cometh to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat's — who [is] in Egypt because he hath fled from the face of Solomon the king — hearing, that Jeroboam turneth back out of Egypt;

\VS{3}and they send and call for him, and Jeroboam cometh in, and all Israel, and speak unto Rehoboam, saying,

\VS{4}'Thy father made our yoke sharp, and now, make light [somewhat] of the sharp service of thy father, and of his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we serve thee.'

\VS{5}And he saith unto them, 'Yet three days — then return ye unto me;' and the people go.

\VS{6}And king Rehoboam consulteth with the aged men who have been standing before Solomon his father in his being alive, saying, 'How are ye counselling to answer this people?'

\VS{7}And they speak unto him, saying, 'If thou dost become good to this people, and hast been pleased with them, and spoken unto them good words, then they have been to thee servants all the days.'

\VS{8}And he forsaketh the counsel of the aged men that they counselled him, and consulteth with the lads who have grown up with him, those standing before him,

\VS{9}and he saith unto them, 'What are ye counselling, and we answer this people that have spoken unto me, saying, Make light [somewhat] of the yoke that thy father put upon us?'

\VS{10}And the lads who have grown up with him, speak with him, saying, 'Thus dost thou say to the people who have spoken unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and thou, make light [somewhat] of our yoke; thus dost thou say unto them, My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father;

\VS{11}and now, my father laid on you a heavy yoke, and I — I add unto your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I — with scorpions.'

\VS{12}And Jeroboam cometh in, and all the people, unto Rehoboam on the third day, as the king spake, saying, 'Return unto me on the third day.'

\VS{13}And the king answereth them sharply, and king Rehoboam forsaketh the counsel of the aged men,

\VS{14}and speaketh unto them according to the counsel of the lads, saying, 'My father made your yoke heavy, and I — I add unto it; my father chastised you with whips, and I — with scorpions.'

\VS{15}And the king hath not hearkened unto the people, for the revolution hath been from God, for the sake of Jehovah's establishing His word that He spake by the hand of Abijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam son of Nebat.

\VS{16}And all Israel have seen that the king hath not hearkened to them, and the people send back [to] the king, saying, 'What portion have we in David? yea, there is no inheritance in a son of Jesse; each to thy tents, O Israel; now, see thy house — David,' and all Israel go to their tents.

\VS{17}As to the sons of Israel who are dwelling in the cities of Judah — Rehoboam reigneth over them.

\VS{18}And king Rehoboam sendeth Hadoram, who [is] over the tribute, and the sons of Israel cast at him stones, and he dieth; and king Rehoboam hath strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem;

\VS{19}and Israel transgress against the house of David unto this day.



\par }\Chap{11}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Rehoboam cometh in to Jerusalem, and assembleth the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight with Israel, to bring back the kingdom to Rehoboam.

\VS{2}And a word of Jehovah is unto Shemaiah, a man of God, saying,

\VS{3}'Speak unto Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, and unto all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

\VS{4}Thus said Jehovah, Ye do not go up nor fight with your brethren, turn back each to his house, for from Me hath this thing been;' and they hear the words of Jehovah, and turn back from going against Jeroboam.

\VS{5}And Rehoboam dwelleth in Jerusalem, and buildeth cities for a bulwark in Judah,

\VS{6}yea, he buildeth Beth-Lehem and Etam, and Tekoa,

\VS{7}and Beth-Zur, and Shocho, and Adullam,

\VS{8}and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

\VS{9}and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,

\VS{10}and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, that [are] in Judah and in Benjamin, cities of bulwarks.

\VS{11}And he strengtheneth the bulwarks, and putteth in them leaders, and treasures of food, and oil, and wine,

\VS{12}and in every city and city targets and spears, and strengtheneth them very greatly; and he hath Judah and Benjamin.

\VS{13}And the priests, and the Levites, that [are] in all Israel, have stationed themselves by him, out of all their border,

\VS{14}for the Levites have left their suburbs and their possession, and they come to Judah and to Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons have cast them off from acting as priests to Jehovah,

\VS{15}and he establisheth to him priests for high places, and for goats, and for calves, that he made —

\VS{16}and after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, those giving their heart to seek Jehovah, God of Israel, have come in to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Jehovah, God of their father.

\VS{17}And they strengthen the kingdom of Judah, and strengthen Rehoboam son of Solomon, for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

\VS{18}And Rehoboam taketh to him a wife, Mahalath, child of Jerimoth son of David, [and] Abigail daughter of Eliab, son of Jesse.

\VS{19}And she beareth to him sons, Jeush, and Shamaria, and Zaham.

\VS{20}And after her he hath taken Maachah daughter of Absalom, and she beareth to him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

\VS{21}And Rehoboam loveth Maachah daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines — for eighteen wives he hath taken, and sixty concubines — and he begetteth twenty and eight sons, and sixty daughters.

\VS{22}And Rehoboam appointeth for head Abijah son of Maachah, for leader among his brethren, for to cause him to reign.

\VS{23}And he hath understanding, and spreadeth out of all his sons to all lands of Judah and Benjamin, to all cities of the bulwarks, and giveth to them provision in abundance; and he asketh a multitude of wives.



\par }\Chap{12}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And it cometh to pass, at the establishing of the kingdom of Rehoboam, and at his strengthening himself, he hath forsaken the law of Jehovah, and all Israel with him.

\VS{2}And it cometh to pass, in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, come up hath Shishak king of Egypt against Jerusalem — because they trespassed against Jehovah —

\VS{3}with a thousand and two hundred chariots, and with sixty thousand horsemen, and there is no number to the people who have come with him out of Egypt — Lubim, Sukkiim, and Cushim —

\VS{4}and he captureth the cities of the bulwarks that [are] to Judah, and cometh in unto Jerusalem.

\VS{5}And Shemaiah the prophet hath come in unto Rehoboam and the heads of Judah who have been gathered unto Jerusalem from the presence of Shishak, and saith to them, 'Thus said Jehovah, Ye have forsaken Me, and also, I have left you in the hand of Shishak;'

\VS{6}and the heads of Israel are humbled, and the king, and they say, 'Righteous [is] Jehovah.'

\VS{7}And when Jehovah seeth that they have been humbled, a word of Jehovah hath been unto Shemaiah, saying, 'They have been humbled; I do not destroy them, and I have given to them as a little thing for an escape, and I pour not out My fury in Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak;

\VS{8}but they become servants to him, and they know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the lands.'

\VS{9}And Shishak king of Egypt cometh up against Jerusalem, and taketh the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the house of the king — the whole he hath taken — and he taketh the shields of gold that Solomon had made;

\VS{10}and king Rehoboam maketh in their stead shields of brass, and hath given [them] a charge on the hand of the heads of the runners who are keeping the opening of the house of the king;

\VS{11}and it cometh to pass, from the time of the going in of the king to the house of Jehovah, the runners have come in and lifted them up, and brought them back unto the chamber of the runners.

\VS{12}And in his being humbled, turned back from him hath the wrath of Jehovah, so as not to destroy to completion; and also, in Judah there have been good things.

\VS{13}And king Rehoboam strengtheneth himself in Jerusalem, and reigneth; for a son of forty and two years [is] Rehoboam in his reigning, and seventeen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah hath chosen to put His name there, out of all the tribes of Israel, and the name of his mother [is] Naamah the Ammonitess,

\VS{14}and he doth the evil thing, for he hath not prepared his heart to seek Jehovah.

\VS{15}And the matters of Rehoboam, the first and the last, are they not written among the matters of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer, concerning genealogy? And the wars of Rehoboam and Jeroboam [are] all the days;

\VS{16}and Rehoboam lieth with his fathers, and is buried in the city of David, and reign doth Abijah his son in his stead.



\par }\Chap{13}{\PP \VerseOne{1}In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam — Abijah reigneth over Judah;

\VS{2}three years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, (and the name of his mother [is] Michaiah daughter of Uriel, from Gibeah,) and war hath been between Abijah and Jeroboam.

\VS{3}And Abijah directeth the war with a force of mighty men of war, four hundred thousand chosen men, and Jeroboam hath set in array with him battle, with eight hundred thousand chosen men, mighty of valour.

\VS{4}And Abijah riseth up on the hill of Zemaraim that [is] in the hill-country of Ephraim, and saith, 'Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel!

\VS{5}Is it not for you to know that Jehovah, God of Israel, hath given the kingdom to David over Israel to the age, to him and to his sons — a covenant of salt?

\VS{6}and rise up doth Jeroboam, son of Nebat, servant of Solomon son of David, and rebelleth against his lord!

\VS{7}'And there are gathered unto him vain men, sons of worthlessness, and they strengthen themselves against Rehoboam son of Solomon, and Rehoboam was a youth, and tender of heart, and hath not strengthened himself against them.

\VS{8}'And now, ye are saying to strengthen yourselves before the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David, and ye [are] a numerous multitude, and with you calves of gold that Jeroboam hath made to you for gods.

\VS{9}'Have ye not cast out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make to you priests like the peoples of the lands? every one who hath come to fill his hand with a bullock, a son of the herd, and seven rams, even he hath been a priest to No-gods!

\VS{10}'As for us, Jehovah [is] our God, and we have not forsaken Him, and priests are ministering to Jehovah, sons of Aaron and the Levites, in the work,

\VS{11}and are making perfume to Jehovah, burnt-offerings morning by morning, and evening by evening, and perfume of spices, and the arrangement of bread [is] on the pure table, and the candlestick of gold, and its lamps, to burn evening by evening, for we are keeping the charge of Jehovah our God, and ye — ye have forsaken Him.

\VS{12}'And lo, with us — at [our] head — [is] God, and His priests and trumpets of shouting to shout against you; O sons of Israel, do not fight with Jehovah, God of your fathers, for ye do not prosper.'

\VS{13}And Jeroboam hath brought round the ambush to come in from behind them, and they are before Judah, and the ambush [is] behind them.

\VS{14}And Judah turneth, and lo, against them [is] the battle, before and behind, and they cry to Jehovah, and the priests are blowing with trumpets,

\VS{15}and the men of Judah shout — and it cometh to pass, at the shouting of the men of Judah, that God hath smitten Jeroboam, and all Israel, before Abijah and Judah.

\VS{16}And the sons of Israel flee from the face of Judah, and God giveth them into their hand,

\VS{17}and Abijah and his people smite among them a great smiting, and there fall wounded of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

\VS{18}And the sons of Israel are humbled at that time, and the sons of Judah are strong, for they have leant on Jehovah, God of their fathers.

\VS{19}And Abijah pursueth after Jeroboam, and captureth from him cities, Beth-El and its small towns, and Jeshanah and its small towns, and Ephraim and its small towns.

\VS{20}And Jeroboam hath not retained power any more in the days of Abijah, and Jehovah smiteth him, and he dieth.

\VS{21}And Abijah strengtheneth himself, and taketh to him fourteen wives, and begetteth twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters,

\VS{22}and the rest of the matters of Abijah, and his ways, and his words, are written in the 'Inquiry' of the prophet Iddo.



\par }\Chap{14}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Abijah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Asa his son in his stead: in his days was the land quiet ten years.

\VS{2}And Asa doth that which is good, and that which is right, in the eyes of Jehovah his God,

\VS{3}and turneth aside the altars of the stranger, and the high places, and breaketh the standing-pillars, and cutteth down the shrines,

\VS{4}and saith to Judah to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, and to do the law and the command;

\VS{5}and he turneth aside out of all cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom is quiet before him.

\VS{6}And he buildeth cities of bulwarks in Judah, for the land hath quiet, and there is no war with him in these years, because Jehovah hath given rest to him.

\VS{7}And he saith to Judah, 'Let us build these cities, and compass [them] with wall, and towers, two-leaved doors, and bars, while the land [is] before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God, we have sought, and He giveth rest to us round about;' and they build and prosper.

\VS{8}And there is to Asa a force bearing target and spear, out of Judah three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin, bearing shield and treading bow, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these [are] mighty of valour.

\VS{9}And come out unto them doth Zerah the Cushite with a force of a thousand thousand, and chariots three hundred, and he cometh in unto Mareshah,

\VS{10}and Asa goeth out before him, and they set battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

\VS{11}And Asa calleth unto Jehovah his God, and saith, 'Jehovah! it is nothing with Thee to help, between the mighty and those who have no power; help us, O Jehovah, our God, for on Thee we have leant, and in Thy name we have come against this multitude; O Jehovah, our God thou [art]; let him not prevail with Thee — mortal man!

\VS{12}And Jehovah smiteth the Cushim before Asa, and before Judah, and the Cushim flee,

\VS{13}and Asa and the people who [are] with him pursue them even to Gerar, and there fall of the Cushim, for they have no preserving, because they have been broken before Jehovah, and before His camp; and they bear away very much spoil,

\VS{14}and smite all the cities round about Gerar, for a fear of Jehovah hath been upon them, and they spoil all the cities, for abundant spoil hath been in them;

\VS{15}and also tents of cattle they have smitten, and they capture sheep in abundance, and camels, and turn back to Jerusalem.



\par }\Chap{15}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And upon Azariah son of Oded hath been the Spirit of God,

\VS{2}and he goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, 'Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah [is] with you — in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you;

\VS{3}and many days [are] to Israel without a true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law,

\VS{4}and it turneth back in its distress unto Jehovah, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found of them,

\VS{5}and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles [are] on all the inhabitants of the lands,

\VS{6}and they have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God hath troubled them with every adversity;

\VS{7}and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.'

\VS{8}And at Asa's hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he hath strengthened himself, and doth cause the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he hath captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and reneweth the altar of Jehovah that [is] before the porch of Jehovah,

\VS{9}and gathereth all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon — for they have fallen unto him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that Jehovah his God [is] with him.

\VS{10}And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,

\VS{11}and sacrifice to Jehovah on that day from the spoil they have brought in — oxen seven hundred, and sheep seven thousand,

\VS{12}and they enter into a covenant to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul,

\VS{13}and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman.

\VS{14}And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets,

\VS{15}and rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about.

\VS{16}And also Maachah, mother of Asa the king — he hath removed her from [being] mistress, in that she hath made for a shrine a horrible thing, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and beateth [it] small, and burneth [it] by the brook Kidron:

\VS{17}yet the high places have not turned aside from Israel; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect all his days.

\VS{18}And he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels.

\VS{19}And war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa.



\par }\Chap{16}{\PP \VerseOne{1}In the thirty and sixth year of the reign of Asa, come up hath Baasha king of Israel, against Judah, and buildeth Ramah, so as not to permit any going out and coming in to Asa king of Judah.

\VS{2}And Asa bringeth out silver and gold from the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the house of the king, and sendeth unto Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who is dwelling in Damascus, saying,

\VS{3}'A covenant [is] between me and thee, and between my father and thy father, lo, I have sent to thee silver and gold; go, break thy covenant with Baasha king of Israel, and he doth go up from off me.'

\VS{4}And Ben-Hadad hearkeneth unto king Asa, and sendeth the heads of the forces that he hath unto cities of Israel, and they smite Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Maim, and all the stores, cities of Naphtali.

\VS{5}And it cometh to pass, at Baasha's hearing, that he ceaseth from building Ramah, and letteth his work rest;

\VS{6}and Asa the king hath taken all Judah, and they bear away the stones of Ramah, and its wood, that Baasha hath built, and he buildeth with them Geba and Mizpah.

\VS{7}And at that time hath Hanani the seer come in unto Asa king of Judah, and saith unto him, 'Because of thy leaning on the king of Aram, and thou hast not leaned on Jehovah thy God, therefore hath the force of the king of Aram escaped from thy hand.

\VS{8}Did not the Cushim and the Lubim become a very great force for multitude, for chariot, and for horsemen? and in thy leaning on Jehovah He gave them into thy hand,

\VS{9}for Jehovah — His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong [for] a people whose heart [is] perfect towards Him; thou hast been foolish concerning this, because — henceforth there are with thee wars.'

\VS{10}And Asa is angry at the seer, and giveth him to the house of torture, for [he is] in a rage with him for this; and Asa oppresseth [some] of the people at that time.

\VS{11}And lo, the matters of Asa, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

\VS{12}And Asa is diseased — in the thirty and ninth year of his reign — in his feet, till his disease is excessive, and also in his disease he hath not sought Jehovah, but among physicians.

\VS{13}And Asa lieth with his fathers, and dieth in the forty and first year of his reign,

\VS{14}and they bury him in [one of] his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that [one] hath filled [with] spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning — very great.



\par }\Chap{17}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Jehoshaphat his son reigneth in his stead, and he strengtheneth himself against Israel,

\VS{2}and putteth a force in all the fenced cities of Judah, and putteth garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured.

\VS{3}And Jehovah is with Jehoshaphat, for he hath walked in the first ways of David his father, and hath not sought to Baalim,

\VS{4}for to the God of his father he hath sought, and in His commands he hath walked, and not according to the work of Israel.

\VS{5}And Jehovah doth establish the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah give a present to Jehoshaphat, and he hath riches and honour in abundance,

\VS{6}and his heart is high in the ways of Jehovah, and again he hath turned aside the high places and the shrines out of Judah.

\VS{7}And in the third year of his reign he hath sent for his heads, for Ben-Hail, and for Obadiah, and for Zechariah, and for Nethaneel, and for Michaiah, to teach in cities of Judah,

\VS{8}and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijath, and Tob-Adonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.

\VS{9}And they teach in Judah, and with them [is] the Book of the Law of Jehovah, and they go round about into all cities of Judah, and teach among the people.

\VS{10}And here is a fear of Jehovah on all kingdoms of the lands that [are] round about Judah, and they have not fought with Jehoshaphat;

\VS{11}and of the Philistines they are bringing in to Jehoshaphat a present, and tribute silver; also, the Arabians are bringing to him a flock, rams seven thousand an seven hundred, and he-goats seven thousand and seven hundred.

\VS{12}And Jehoshaphat is going on and becoming very great, and he buildeth in Judah palaces and cities of store,

\VS{13}and he hath much work in cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty of valour, [are] in Jerusalem.

\VS{14}And these [are] their numbers, for the house of their fathers: Of Judah, heads of thousands, Adnah the head, and with him mighty ones of valour, three hundred chiefs.

\VS{15}And at his hand [is] Jehohanan the head, and with him two hundred and eighty chiefs.

\VS{16}And at his hand [is] Amasiah son of Zichri, who is willingly offering himself to Jehovah, and with him two hundred chiefs, mighty of valour.

\VS{17}And of Benjamin: mighty of valour, Eliada, and with him, armed with bow and shield, two hundred chiefs.

\VS{18}And at his hand [is] Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty chiefs, armed ones of the host.

\VS{19}These [are] those serving the king, apart from those whom the king put in the cities of fortress, in all Judah.



\par }\Chap{18}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Jehoshaphat hath riches and honour in abundance, and joineth affinity to Ahab,

\VS{2}and goeth down at the end of [certain] years unto Ahab to Samaria, and Ahab sacrificeth for him sheep and oxen in abundance, and for the people who [are] with him, and persuadeth him to go up unto Ramoth-Gilead.

\VS{3}And Ahab king of Israel saith unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, 'Dost thou go with me [to] Ramoth-Gilead?' And he saith to him, 'As I — so thou, and as thy people — my people, even with thee in battle.'

\VS{4}And Jehoshaphat saith unto the king of Israel, 'Seek, I pray thee, this day, the word of Jehovah.'

\VS{5}And the king of Israel gathereth the prophets, four hundred men, and saith unto them, 'Do we go unto Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or do I forbear?' And they say, 'Go up, and God doth give [it] into the hand of the king.'

\VS{6}And Jehoshaphat saith, 'Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah still, and we seek from him?'

\VS{7}And the king of Israel saith unto Jehoshaphat, 'Still — one man to seek Jehovah from him, and I — I have hated him, for he is not prophesying concerning me of good, but all his days of evil, he [is] Micaiah son of Imlah;' and Jehoshaphat saith, 'Let not the king say so.'

\VS{8}And the king of Israel calleth unto a certain officer, and saith, 'Hasten Micaiah son of Imlah.'

\VS{9}And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah are sitting, each on his throne, clothed with garments, and they are sitting in a threshing-floor at the opening of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets are prophesying before them.

\VS{10}And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah maketh for himself horns of iron, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah,

\VS{11}With these thou dost push Aram till thou hast consumed them.' And all the prophets are prophesying so, saying, 'Go up [to] Ramath-Gilead and prosper, and Jehovah hath given [it] into the hand of the king.'

\VS{12}And the messenger who hath gone to call for Micaiah hath spoken unto him, saying, 'Lo, the words of the prophets — one mouth — [are] good towards the king, and let, I pray thee, thy word be like one of theirs: and thou hast spoken good.'

\VS{13}And Micaiah saith 'Jehovah liveth, surely that which my God saith, it I speak.'

\VS{14}And he cometh in unto the king, and the king saith unto him, 'Micaiah, do we go unto Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or do I forbear?' And he saith, 'Go ye up, and prosper, and they are given into your hand.'

\VS{15}And the king saith unto him, 'How many times am I adjuring thee, that thou speak unto me only truth in the name of Jehovah?'

\VS{16}And he saith, 'I have seen all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd, and Jehovah saith, There are no masters to these, they turn back each to his house in peace.'

\VS{17}And the king of Israel saith unto Jehoshaphat, 'Did I not say unto thee, He doth not prophesy concerning me good, but rather of evil?'

\VS{18}And he saith, 'Therefore, hear ye a word of Jehovah: I have seen Jehovah sitting on His throne, and all the host of the heavens standing on His right and His left;

\VS{19}and Jehovah saith, Who doth entice Ahab king of Israel, and he doth go up and fall in Ramoth-Gilead? And this speaker saith thus, and that speaker thus.

\VS{20}And go out doth the spirit, and stand before Jehovah, and saith, I do entice him; and Jehovah saith unto him, With what?

\VS{21}and he saith, I go out, and have become a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets. And He saith, Thou dost entice, and also, thou art able; go out and do so.

\VS{22}And, now, lo, Jehovah hath put a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of these thy prophets, and Jehovah hath spoken concerning thee — evil.'

\VS{23}And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah cometh nigh, and smiteth Micaiah on the cheek, and saith, 'Where [is] this — the way the Spirit of Jehovah passed over from me to speak with thee?'

\VS{24}And Micaiah saith, 'Lo, thou dost see in that day, that thou dost enter into the innermost chamber to be hidden.'

\VS{25}And the king of Israel saith, 'Take ye Micaiah, and turn him back unto Amon head of the city, and unto Joash son of the king,

\VS{26}and ye have said, Thus said the king, Put ye this [one] in the house of restraint, and cause him to eat bread of oppression, and water of oppression, till my return in peace.'

\VS{27}And Micaiah saith, 'If thou dost certainly return in peace, Jehovah hath not spoken by me;' and he saith, 'Hear ye, O peoples, all of them!'

\VS{28}And the king of Israel goeth up, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, unto Ramoth-Gilead;

\VS{29}and the king of Israel saith unto Jehoshaphat to disguise himself, and to go into battle, 'And thou, put on thy garments.' And the king of Israel disguiseth himself, and they go into battle.

\VS{30}And the king of Aram hath commanded the heads of the charioteers whom he hath, saying, 'Ye do not fight with small or with great, except with the king of Israel by himself.'

\VS{31}And it cometh to pass at the heads of the charioteers seeing Jehoshaphat, that they have said, 'The king of Israel he is,' and they turn round against him to fight, and Jehoshaphat crieth out, and Jehovah hath helped him, and God enticeth them from him,

\VS{32}yea, it cometh to pass, at the heads of the charioteers seeing that it hath not been the king of Israel — they turn back from after him.

\VS{33}And a man hath drawn with a bow, in his simplicity, and smiteth the king of Israel between the joinings and the coat of mail, and he saith to the charioteer, 'Turn thy hand, and thou hast brought me out of the camp, for I have become sick.'

\VS{34}And the battle increaseth on that day, and the king of Israel hath been stayed up in the chariot over-against Aram till the evening, and he dieth at the time of the going in of the sun.



\par }\Chap{19}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Jehoshaphat king of Judah turneth back unto his house in peace to Jerusalem,

\VS{2}and go out unto his presence doth Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, and saith unto king Jehoshaphat, 'To give help to the wicked, and to those hating Jehovah, dost thou love? and for this against thee [is] wrath from before Jehovah,

\VS{3}but good things have been found with thee, for thou hast put away the shrines out of the land, and hast prepared thy heart to seek God.'

\VS{4}And Jehoshaphat dwelleth in Jerusalem, and he turneth back and goeth out among the people from Beer-Sheba unto the hill-country of Ephraim, and bringeth them back unto Jehovah, God of their fathers.

\VS{5}And he establisheth judges in the land, in all the fenced cities of Judah, for every city,

\VS{6}and saith unto the judges, 'See what ye are doing — for not for man do ye judge, but for Jehovah, who [is] with you in the matter of judgment;

\VS{7}and now, let fear of Jehovah be upon you, observe and do, for there is not with Jehovah our God perverseness, and acceptance of faces, and taking of a bribe.'

\VS{8}And also in Jerusalem hath Jehoshaphat appointed of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the heads of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of Jehovah, and for strife; and they turn back to Jerusalem,

\VS{9}and he layeth a charge upon them, saying, 'Thus do ye do in the fear of Jehovah, in faithfulness, and with a perfect heart,

\VS{10}and any strife that cometh in unto you of your brethren who are dwelling in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and command, statutes, and judgments, then ye have warned them and they become not guilty before Jehovah, and wrath hath not been on you and on your brethren; thus do ye do, and ye are not guilty.

\VS{11}'And, lo, Amariah the head priest [is] over you for every matter of Jehovah, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the house of Judah, [is] for every matter of the king, and officers the Levites [are] before you; be strong and do, and Jehovah is with the good.'



\par }\Chap{20}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And it cometh to pass after this, the sons of Moab have come in, and the sons of Ammon, and with them of the peoples, against Jehoshaphat to battle.

\VS{2}And they come in and declare to Jehoshaphat, saying, 'Come against thee hath a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram, and lo, they [are] in Hazezon-Tamar — it [is] En-Gedi.'

\VS{3}And Jehoshaphat feareth, and setteth his face to seek to Jehovah, and proclaimeth a fast over all Judah;

\VS{4}and Judah is gathered to inquire of Jehovah; also, from all the cities of Judah they have come in to seek Jehovah.

\VS{5}And Jehoshaphat standeth in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, at the front of the new court,

\VS{6}and saith, 'O Jehovah, God of our fathers, art not Thou — God in the heavens? yea, Thou art ruling over all kingdoms of the nations, and in Thy hand [is] power and might, and there is none with Thee to station himself.

\VS{7}'Art not Thou our God? Thou hast dispossessed the inhabitants of this land from before Thy people Israel, and dost give it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend to the age,

\VS{8}and they dwell in it, and build to Thee in it a sanctuary for Thy name, saying,

\VS{9}If evil doth come upon us — sword, judgment, and pestilence, and famine — we stand before this house, and before Thee, for Thy name [is] in this house, and cry unto Thee out of our distress, and Thou dost hear and save.

\VS{10}'And now, lo, sons of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, whom Thou didst not grant to Israel to go in against in their coming out of the land of Egypt, for they turned aside from off them and destroyed them not,

\VS{11}and lo, they are recompensing to us — to come in to drive us out of Thy possession, that Thou hast caused us to possess.

\VS{12}'O our God, dost Thou not execute judgment upon them? for there is no power in us before this great multitude that hath come against us, and we know not what we do, but on Thee [are] our eyes.'

\VS{13}And all Judah are standing before Jehovah, also their infants, their wives, and their sons.

\VS{14}And upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, hath the Spirit of Jehovah been, in the midst of the assembly,

\VS{15}and he saith, 'Attend, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and O king Jehoshaphat, Thus said Jehovah to you, Ye fear not, nor are afraid of the face of this great multitude, for not for you [is] the battle, but for God.

\VS{16}To-morrow, go ye down against them, lo, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and ye have found them in the end of the valley, the front of the wilderness of Jeruel.

\VS{17}Not for you to fight in this; station yourselves, stand, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem — be not afraid nor fear ye — to-morrow go out before them, and Jehovah [is] with you.'

\VS{18}And Jehoshaphat boweth — face to the earth — and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have fallen before Jehovah, to bow themselves to Jehovah.

\VS{19}And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites, and of the sons of the Korhites, rise to give praise to Jehovah, God of Israel, with a loud voice on high.

\VS{20}And they rise early in the morning, and go out to the wilderness of Tekoa, and in their going out Jehoshaphat hath stood and saith, 'Hear me, O Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, remain stedfast in Jehovah your God, and be stedfast; remain stedfast in His prophets, and prosper.'

\VS{21}And he taketh counsel with the people, and appointeth singers to Jehovah, and those giving praise to the honour of holiness, in the going out before the armed [men], and saying, 'Give ye thanks to Jehovah, for to the age [is] His kindness.'

\VS{22}And at the time they have begun with singing and praise, Jehovah hath put ambushments against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who are coming in to Judah, and they are smitten,

\VS{23}and the sons of Ammon stand up, and Moab, against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to devote and to destroy, and at their finishing with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped, a man against his neighbour, to destroy.

\VS{24}And Judah hath come in unto the watch-tower, to the wilderness, and they look unto the multitude, and lo, they [are] carcases fallen to the earth, and there is none escaped,

\VS{25}and Jehoshaphat cometh in, and his people, to seize their spoil, and they find among them, in abundance, both goods and carcases, and desirable vessels, and they take spoil to themselves without prohibition, and they are three days seizing the spoil, for it [is] abundant.

\VS{26}And on the fourth day they have been assembled at the valley of Blessing, for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore they have called the name of that place, 'Valley of Blessing,' unto this day.

\VS{27}And they turn back, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to go back unto Jerusalem with joy, for Jehovah hath made them rejoice over their enemies.

\VS{28}And they come in to Jerusalem with psalteries, and with harps, and with trumpets, unto the house of Jehovah.

\VS{29}And there is a fear of God on all kingdoms of the lands in their hearing that Jehovah hath fought with the enemies of Israel,

\VS{30}and the kingdom of Jehoshaphat is quiet, and his God giveth rest to him round about.

\VS{31}And Jehoshaphat reigneth over Judah, a son of thirty and five years in his reigning, and twenty and five years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

\VS{32}And he walketh in the way of his father Asa, and hath not turned aside from it, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah.

\VS{33}Only, the high places have not turned aside, and still the people have not prepared their heart for the God of their fathers.

\VS{34}And the rest of the matters of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, lo, they are written among the matters of Jehu son of Hanani, who hath been mentioned on the book of the kings of Israel.

\VS{35}And after this hath Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, (he did wickedly in [so] doing),

\VS{36}and he joineth him with himself to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they make ships in Ezion-Geber,

\VS{37}and prophesy doth Eliezer son of Dodavah, of Mareshah, against Jehoshaphat, saying, 'For thy joining thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath broken up thy works;' and the ships are broken, and have not retained [power] to go unto Tarshish.



\par }\Chap{21}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Jehoshaphat lieth with his fathers, and is buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son reigneth in his stead.

\VS{2}And he hath brethren, sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these [are] sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel,

\VS{3}and their father giveth to them many gifts of silver and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah, and the kingdom he hath given to Jehoram, for He [is] the first-born.

\VS{4}And Jehoram riseth up over the kingdom of his father, and strengtheneth himself, and slayeth all his brethren with the sword, and also — of the heads of Israel.

\VS{5}A son of thirty and two years [is] Jehoram in his reigning, and eight years he hath reigned in Jerusalem,

\VS{6}and he walketh in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for a daughter of Ahab hath been to him for a wife, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah,

\VS{7}and Jehovah hath not been willing to destroy the house of David, for the sake of the covenant that He made with David, and as He had said to give to him a lamp, and to his sons — all the days.

\VS{8}In his days hath Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and cause a king to reign over them;

\VS{9}and Jehoram passeth over with his heads, and all the chariots with him, and it cometh to pass, he hath risen by night and smiteth the Edomites who are coming round against him, and the princes of the chariots,

\VS{10}and Edom revolteth from under the hand of Judah unto this day; then doth Libnah revolt at that time from under his hand, because he hath forsaken Jehovah, God of his fathers,

\VS{11}also, he hath made high places in the mountains of Judah, and causeth the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit whoredom, and compelleth Judah.

\VS{12}And there cometh in unto him a writing from Elijah the prophet, saying, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of David thy father, Because that thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, and in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

\VS{13}and thou dost walk in the way of the kings of Israel, and dost cause Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit whoredom like the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also thy brethren, the house of thy father, who are better than thyself, thou hast slain;

\VS{14}lo, Jehovah is smiting — a great smiting — among thy people, and among thy sons, and among thy wives, and among all thy goods —

\VS{15}and thou, with many sicknesses, with disease of thy bowels, till thy bowels come out, by the sickness, day by day.'

\VS{16}And Jehovah waketh up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, who [are] beside the Cushim,

\VS{17}and they come up into Judah, and rend it, and take captive all the substance that is found at the house of the king, and also his sons, and his wives, and there hath not been left to him a son except Jehoahaz the youngest of his sons.

\VS{18}And after all this hath Jehovah plagued him in his bowels by a disease for which there is no healing,

\VS{19}and it cometh to pass, from days to days, and at the time of the going out of the end of two years, his bowels have gone out with his sickness, and he dieth of sore diseases, and his people have not made for him a burning like the burning of his fathers.

\VS{20}A son of thirty and two [years] was he in his reigning, and eight years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he goeth without desire, and they bury him in the city of David, and not in the graves of the kings.



\par }\Chap{22}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And the inhabitants of Jerusalem cause Ahaziah his youngest son to reign in his stead, (for all the elder had the troop slain that came in with the Arabians to the camp,) and Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah reigneth.

\VS{2}A son of twenty and two years [is] Ahaziah in his reigning, and one year he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Athaliah daughter of Omri;

\VS{3}he also hath walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother hath been his counsellor to do wickedly.

\VS{4}And he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, like the house of Ahab, for they have been his counsellors, after the death of his father, for destruction to him.

\VS{5}Also, in their counsel he hath walked, and goeth with Jehoram son of Ahab king of Israel to battle against Hazael king of Aram, in Ramoth-Gilead, and they of Ramah smite Joram;

\VS{6}and he turneth back to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds with which they had smitten him in Ramah, in his fighting with Hazael king of Aram. And Azariah son of Jehoram king of Judah hath gone down to see Jehoram son of Ahab, in Jezreel, for he [is] sick;

\VS{7}and from God hath been the destruction of Ahaziah, to come unto Joram: and in his coming he hath gone out with Jehoram unto Jehu son of Nimshi, whom Jehovah anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

\VS{8}And it cometh to pass, in Jehu's executing judgment with the house of Ahab, that he findeth the heads of Judah and sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, ministers of Ahaziah, and slayeth them.

\VS{9}And he seeketh Ahaziah, and they capture him, (and he is hiding himself in Samaria), and bring him in unto Jehu, and put him to death, and bury him, for they said, 'He [is] son of Jehoshaphat, who sought Jehovah with all his heart;' and there is none to the house of Ahaziah to retain power for the kingdom.

\VS{10}And Athaliah mother of Ahaziah hath seen that her son is dead, and she riseth and destroyeth the whole seed of the kingdom of the house of Judah.

\VS{11}And Jehoshabeath daughter of the king taketh Joash son of Ahaziah, and stealeth him from the midst of the sons of the king who are put to death, and putteth him and his nurse into the inner part of the bed-chambers, and Jehoshabeath daughter of king Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she hath been sister of Ahaziah, hideth him from the face of Athaliah, and she hath not put him to death.

\VS{12}And he is with them in the house of God hiding himself six years, and Athaliah is reigning over the land.



\par }\Chap{23}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And in the seventh year hath Jehoiada strengthened himself, and taketh the heads of the hundreds, even Azariah son of Jeroham, and Ishmael son of Jehohanan, and Azariah son of Obed, and Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri, with him into covenant.

\VS{2}And they go round about in Judah, and gather the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and heads of the fathers of Israel, and come in unto Jerusalem,

\VS{3}and all the assembly make a covenant in the house of God with the king, and he saith to them, 'Lo, the son of the king doth reign, as Jehovah spake concerning the sons of David.

\VS{4}'This [is] the thing that ye do: The third of you, going in on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, [are] for gatekeepers of the thresholds,

\VS{5}and the third [are] at the house of the king, and the third at the gate of the foundation, and all the people [are] in the courts of the house of Jehovah.

\VS{6}'And none doth enter the house of Jehovah except the priests, and those ministering of the Levites (they go in for they [are] holy), and all the people keep the watch of Jehovah:

\VS{7}and the Levites have compassed the king round about, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who hath gone in unto the house is put to death; and be ye with the king in his coming in and in his going out.'

\VS{8}And the Levites and all Judah do according to all that Jehoiada the priest hath commanded, and take each his men going in on the sabbath, with those going out on the sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest hath not let away the courses.

\VS{9}And Jehoiada the priest giveth to the heads of the hundreds the spears, and the shields, and the bucklers that [are] king David's, that [are] in the house of God;

\VS{10}and he stationeth the whole of the people, and each his dart in his hand, from the right shoulder of the house unto the left shoulder of the house, at the altar, and at the house, by the king, round about.

\VS{11}And they bring out the son of the king, and put upon him the crown, and the testimony, and cause him to reign; and Jehoiada and his sons anoint him, and say, 'Let the king live!'

\VS{12}And Athaliah heareth the voice of the people who are running, and who are praising the king, and she cometh in unto the people in the house of Jehovah,

\VS{13}and seeth, and lo, the king is standing by his pillar in the entrance, and the heads, and the trumpets [are] by the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and shouting with trumpets, and the singers with instruments of song, and the teachers, to praise, and Athaliah rendeth her garments, and saith, 'Conspiracy, conspiracy.'

\VS{14}And Jehoiada the priest bringeth out the heads of the hundreds, inspectors of the force, and saith unto them, 'Take her out from within the rows, and he who hath gone after her is put to death by the sword;' for the priest said, 'Put her not to death [in] the house of Jehovah.'

\VS{15}And they make for her sides, and she cometh in unto the entrance of the gate of the horses at the house of the king, and they put her to death there.

\VS{16}And Jehoiada maketh a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, to be for a people to Jehovah;

\VS{17}and all the people enter the house of Baal, and break it down, yea, his altars and his images they have broken, and Mattan priest of Baal they have slain before the altars.

\VS{18}And Jehoiada putteth the offices of the house of Jehovah into the hand of the priests the Levites whom David had apportioned over the house of Jehovah, to cause to ascend the burnt-offerings of Jehovah, as written in the law of Moses, with joy, and with singing, by the hands of David;

\VS{19}and he stationeth the gatekeepers over the gates of the house of Jehovah, and the unclean in anything doth not go in.

\VS{20}And he taketh the heads of the hundreds, and the honourable ones, and the rulers among the people, and all the people of the land, and bringeth down the king from the house of Jehovah, and they come in through the high gate to the house of the king, and cause the king to sit on the throne of the kingdom.

\VS{21}And all the people of the land rejoice, and the city hath been quiet, and Athaliah they have put to death by the sword.



\par }\Chap{24}{\PP \VerseOne{1}A son of seven years [is] Joash in his reigning, and forty years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Zibiah of Beer-Sheba.

\VS{2}And Joash doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

\VS{3}And Jehoiada taketh for him two wives, and he begetteth sons and daughters.

\VS{4}And it cometh to pass after this, it hath been with the heart of Joash to renew the house of Jehovah,

\VS{5}and he gathereth the priests and the Levites, and saith to them, 'Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to strengthen the house of your God sufficiently year by year, and ye, ye do haste to the matter;' and the Levites have not hasted.

\VS{6}And the king calleth for Jehoiada the head, and saith to him, 'Wherefore hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tribute of Moses, servant of Jehovah, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent of the testimony?

\VS{7}for sons of Athaliah, the wicked one, have broken up the house of God, and also, all the holy things of the house of Jehovah they have prepared for Baalim.'

\VS{8}And the king speaketh, and they make one chest, and put it at the gate of the house of Jehovah without,

\VS{9}and give an intimation in Judah and in Jerusalem to bring in to Jehovah the tribute of Moses, servant of God, [laid] on Israel in the wilderness.

\VS{10}And all the heads, and all the people rejoice, and they bring in, and cast into the chest, unto completion.

\VS{11}And it cometh to pass, at the time one bringeth in the chest for the inspection of the king by the hand of the Levites, and at their seeing that the money [is] abundant, that a scribe of the king hath come in, and an officer of the head-priest, and they empty the chest, and take it up and turn it back unto its place; thus they have done day by day, and gather money in abundance.

\VS{12}And the king and Jehoiada give it unto the doers of the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and they are hiring hewers and artificers to renew the house of Jehovah, and also — to artificers in iron and brass to strengthen the house of Jehovah.

\VS{13}And those doing the business work, and there goeth up lengthening to the work by their hand, and they establish the house of God, by its proper measure, and strengthen it.

\VS{14}And at their completing [it], they have brought in before the king and Jehoiada the rest of the money, and they make it vessels for the house of Jehovah, vessels of serving, and of offering up, and spoons, even vessels of gold and silver; and they are causing burnt-offerings to ascend in the house of Jehovah continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

\VS{15}And Jehoiada is aged and satisfied with days, and dieth — a son of a hundred and thirty years in his death,

\VS{16}and they bury him in the city of David, with the kings, for he hath done good in Israel, and with God, and his house.

\VS{17}And after the death of Jehoiada come in have heads of Judah, and bow themselves to the king; then hath the king hearkened unto them,

\VS{18}and they forsake the house of Jehovah, God of their fathers, and serve the shrines and the idols, and there is wrath upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.

\VS{19}And He sendeth among them prophets, to bring them back unto Jehovah, and they testify against them, and they have not given ear;

\VS{20}and the Spirit of God hath clothed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and he standeth over-against the people, and saith to them, 'Thus said God, Why are ye transgressing the commands of Jehovah, and prosper not? because ye have forsaken Jehovah — He doth forsake you.'

\VS{21}And they conspire against him, and stone him with stones by the command of the king, in the court of the house of Jehovah,

\VS{22}and Joash the king hath not remembered the kindness that Jehoiada his father did with him, and slayeth his son, and in his death he said, 'Jehovah doth see, and require.'

\VS{23}And it cometh to pass, at the turn of the year, come up hath the force of Aram against him, and they come in unto Judah and Jerusalem, and destroy all the heads of the people from the people, and all their spoil they have sent to the king of Damascus,

\VS{24}for with few men have the force of Aram come in, and Jehovah hath given into their hand a mighty force for multitude, because they have forsaken Jehovah, God of their fathers; and with Joash they have executed judgments.

\VS{25}And in their going from him — for they left him with many diseases — his servants themselves have conspired against him, for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slay him on his bed, and he dieth; and they bury him in the city of David, and have not buried him in the graves of the kings.

\VS{26}And these [are] those conspiring against him, Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

\VS{27}As to his sons, and the greatness of the burden upon him, and the foundation of the house of God, lo, they are written on the 'Inquiry' of the book of the Kings; and reign doth Amaziah his son in his stead.



\par }\Chap{25}{\PP \VerseOne{1}A son of twenty and five years hath Amaziah reigned, and twenty and nine years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Jehoaddan of Jerusalem,

\VS{2}and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah — only, not with a perfect heart.

\VS{3}And it cometh to pass, when the kingdom hath been strong upon him, that he slayeth his servants, those smiting the king his father,

\VS{4}and their sons he hath not put to death, but [did] as is written in the law, in the book of Moses, whom Jehovah commanded, saying, 'Fathers do not die for sons, and sons die not for fathers, but each for his own sin they die.'

\VS{5}And Amaziah gathereth Judah, and appointeth them, according to the house of the fathers, for heads of the thousands, and for heads of the hundreds, for all Judah and Benjamin; and he inspecteth them from a son of twenty years and upward, and findeth them three hundred thousand chosen ones, going forth to the host, holding spear and target.

\VS{6}And he hireth out of Israel a hundred thousand mighty ones of valour, with a hundred talents of silver;

\VS{7}and a man of God hath come in unto him, saying, 'O king, the host of Israel doth not go with thee; for Jehovah is not with Israel — all the sons of Ephraim;

\VS{8}but if thou art going — do [it], be strong for battle, God doth cause thee to stumble before an enemy, for there is power in God to help, and to cause to stumble.'

\VS{9}And Amaziah saith to the man of God, 'And what — to do for the hundred talents that I have given to the troop of Israel?' And the man of God saith, 'Jehovah hath more to give to thee than this.'

\VS{10}And Amaziah separateth them — for the troop that hath come in unto him from Ephraim to go to their own place, and their anger doth burn mightily against Judah, and they turn back to their place in the heat of anger.

\VS{11}And Amaziah hath strengthened himself, and leadeth his people, and goeth to the Valley of Salt, and smiteth the sons of Seir — ten thousand.

\VS{12}And ten thousand alive have the sons of Judah taken captive, and they bring them to the top of the rock, and cast them from the top of the rock, and all of them have been broken.

\VS{13}And the sons of the troop that Amaziah hath sent back from going with him to battle — they rush against cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-Horon, and smite of them three thousand, and seize much prey.

\VS{14}And it cometh to pass, after the coming in of Amaziah from smiting the Edomites, that he bringeth in the gods of the sons of Seir, and establisheth them to him for gods, and before them doth bow himself, and to them he maketh perfume.

\VS{15}And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Amaziah, and He sendeth unto him a prophet, and he saith unto him, 'Why hast thou sought the gods of the people that have not delivered their people out of thy hand?'

\VS{16}And it cometh to pass, in his speaking unto him, that he saith to him, 'For a counsellor to the king have we appointed thee? cease for thee; why do they smite thee?' And the prophet ceaseth, and saith, 'I have known that God hath counselled to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel.'

\VS{17}And Amaziah king of Judah taketh counsel, and sendeth unto Joash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying,

\VS{18}'Come, we look one another in the face.' And Joash king of Israel sendeth unto Amaziah king of Judah, saying, 'The thorn that [is] in Lebanon hath sent unto the cedar that [is] in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife; and pass by doth a beast of the field that [is] in Lebanon, and treadeth down the thorn.

\VS{19}Thou hast said, Lo, I have smitten Edom; and thy heart hath lifted thee up to boast; now, abide in thy house, why dost thou stir thyself up in evil, that thou hast fallen, thou, and Judah with thee?'

\VS{20}And Amaziah hath not hearkened, for from God it [is] in order to give them into hand, because they have sought the gods of Edom;

\VS{21}and go up doth Joash king of Israel, and they look one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, in Beth-Shemesh, that [is] Judah's,

\VS{22}and Judah is smitten before Israel, and they flee — each to his tents.

\VS{23}And Amaziah king of Judah, son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, hath Joash king of Israel caught in Beth-Shemesh, and bringeth him in to Jerusalem, and breaketh down in the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the gate of the corner, four hundred cubits,

\VS{24}and [taketh] all the gold, and the silver, and all the vessels that are found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, and the treasures of the house of the king, and the sons of the pledges, and turneth back to Samaria.

\VS{25}And Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, liveth after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, fifteen years;

\VS{26}and the rest of the matters of Amaziah, the first and the last, lo, are they not written on the books of the kings of Judah and Israel?

\VS{27}And from the time that Amaziah hath turned aside from after Jehovah — they make a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fleeth to Lachish, and they send after him to Lachish, and put him to death there,

\VS{28}and lift him up on the horses, and bury him with his fathers in the city of Judah.



\par }\Chap{26}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And all the people of Judah take Uzziah (and he [is] a son of sixteen years), and cause him to reign instead of his father Amaziah.

\VS{2}He hath built Eloth, and restoreth it to Judah after the king's lying with his fathers.

\VS{3}A son of sixteen years [is] Uzziah in his reigning, and fifty and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Jecholiah of Jerusalem.

\VS{4}And he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Amaziah his father did,

\VS{5}and he is as one seeking God in the days of Zechariah who hath understanding in visions of God: and in the days of his seeking Jehovah, God hath caused him to prosper.

\VS{6}And he goeth forth, and fighteth with the Philistines, and breaketh down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and buildeth cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines.

\VS{7}And God helpeth him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who are dwelling in Gur-Baal and the Mehunim.

\VS{8}And the Ammonites give a present to Uzziah, and his name goeth unto the entering in of Egypt, for he strengthened himself greatly.

\VS{9}And Uzziah buildeth towers in Jerusalem, by the gate of the corner, and by the gate of the valley, and by the angle, and strengtheneth them;

\VS{10}and he buildeth towers in the wilderness, and diggeth many wells, for he had much cattle, both in the low country and in the plain, husbandmen and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel; for he was a lover of the ground.

\VS{11}And Uzziah hath a force, making war, going forth to the host, by troops, in the number of their reckoning by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Masseiah the officer, by the hand of Hananiah [one] of the heads of the king.

\VS{12}The whole number of heads of the fathers of the mighty ones of valour [is] two thousand and six hundred;

\VS{13}and by their hand [is] the force of the host, three hundred thousand, and seven thousand, and five hundred warriors, with mighty power to give help to the king against the enemy.

\VS{14}And Uzziah prepareth for them, for all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, even to stones of the slings.

\VS{15}And he maketh in Jerusalem inventions — a device of an inventor — to be on the towers, and on the corners, to shoot with arrows and with great stones, and his name goeth out unto a distance, for he hath been wonderfully helped till that he hath been strong.

\VS{16}And at his being strong his heart hath been high unto destruction, and he trespasseth against Jehovah his God, and goeth in unto the temple of Jehovah to make perfume upon the altar of perfume.

\VS{17}And Azariah the priest goeth in after him, and with him priests of Jehovah eighty, sons of valour,

\VS{18}and they stand up against Uzziah the king, and say to him, 'Not for thee, O Uzziah, to make perfume to Jehovah, but for priests, sons of Aaron, who are sanctified to make perfume; go forth from the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed, and [it is] not to thee for honour from Jehovah God.'

\VS{19}And Uzziah is wroth, and in his hand [is] a censer to make perfume, and in his being wroth with the priests — the leprosy hath risen in his forehead, before the priests, in the house of Jehovah, from beside the altar of perfume.

\VS{20}And Azariah the head priest looketh unto him, and all the priests, and lo, he [is] leprous in his forehead, and they hasten him thence, and also he himself hath hastened to go out, for Jehovah hath plagued him.

\VS{21}And Uzziah the king is a leper unto the day of his death, and inhabiteth a separate house — a leper, for he hath been cut off from the house of Jehovah, and Jotham his son [is] over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.

\VS{22}And the rest of the matters of Uzziah, the first and the last, hath Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet written;

\VS{23}and Uzziah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him with his fathers, in the field of the burying-place that the kings have, for they said, 'He [is] a leper;' and reign doth Jotham his son in his stead.



\par }\Chap{27}{\PP \VerseOne{1}A son of twenty and five years [is] Jotham in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Jerushah daughter of Zadok.

\VS{2}And he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Uzziah his father did; only, he hath not come in unto the temple of Jehovah; and again are the people doing corruptly.

\VS{3}He hath built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and in the wall of Ophel he hath built abundantly;

\VS{4}and cities he hath built in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he hath built palaces and towers.

\VS{5}And he hath fought with the king of the sons of Ammon, and prevaileth over them, and the sons of Ammon give to him in that year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand cors of wheat, and of barley ten thousand; this have the sons of Ammon returned to him both in the second year, and in the third.

\VS{6}And Jotham doth strengthen himself, for he hath prepared his ways before Jehovah his God.

\VS{7}And the rest of the matters of Jotham, and all his battles, and his ways, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

\VS{8}A son of twenty and five years was he in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem;

\VS{9}and Jotham lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Ahaz his son in his stead.



\par }\Chap{28}{\PP \VerseOne{1}A son of twenty years [is] Ahaz in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he hath not done that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, as David his father,

\VS{2}and walketh in the ways of the kings of Israel, and also, molten images hath made for Baalim,

\VS{3}and himself hath made perfume in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burneth his sons with fire according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel,

\VS{4}and sacrificeth and maketh perfume in high places, and on the heights, and under every green tree.

\VS{5}And Jehovah his God giveth him into the hand of the king of Aram, and they smite him, and take captive from him a great captivity, and bring [them] in to Damascus, and also into the hand of the king of Israel he hath been given, and he smiteth him — a great smiting.

\VS{6}And Pekah son of Remaliah slayeth in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day (the whole [are] sons of valour), because of their forsaking Jehovah, God of their fathers.

\VS{7}And Zichri, a mighty one of Ephraim, slayeth Maaseiah son of the king, and Azrikam leader of the house, and Elkanah second to the king.

\VS{8}And the sons of Israel take captive of their brethren, two hundred thousand, wives, sons and daughters, and also much spoil they have seized from them, and they bring in the spoil to Samaria.

\VS{9}And there hath been there a prophet of Jehovah (Oded [is] his name), and he goeth out before the host that hath come in to Samaria, and saith to them, 'Lo, in the fury of Jehovah God of your fathers against Judah, He hath given them into your hand, and ye slay among them in rage — unto the heavens it hath come;

\VS{10}and now, sons of Judah and Jerusalem ye are saying to subdue for men-servants and for maid-servants to you; but are there not with you causes of guilt before Jehovah your God?

\VS{11}and now, hear me, and send back the captives whom ye have taken captive of your brethren, for the heat of the anger of Jehovah [is] upon you.'

\VS{12}And certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim (Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai), rise up against those coming in from the host,

\VS{13}and say to them, 'Ye do not bring in the captives hither, for, to guilt against Jehovah on us, ye are saying to add unto our sin and unto our guilt? for abundant [is] the guilt we have, and the fierceness of anger on Israel.'

\VS{14}And the armed men leave the captives and the prey before the heads and all the assembly;

\VS{15}and the men who have been expressed by name rise and take hold on the captives, and all their naked ones they have clothed from the spoil, yea, they clothe them, and shoe them, and cause them to eat and drink, and anoint them, and lead them on asses, even every feeble one, and bring them in to Jericho, the city of palms, near their brethren, and turn back to Samaria.

\VS{16}At that time hath king Ahaz sent unto the king of Asshur to give help to him;

\VS{17}and again the Edomites have come, and smite in Judah, and take captive a captivity.

\VS{18}And the Philistines have rushed against the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and capture Beth-Shemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho and its villages, and Timnah and its villages, and Gimzo and its villages, and dwell there,

\VS{19}for Jehovah hath humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made free with Judah, even to commit a trespass against Jehovah.

\VS{20}And Tilgath-Pilneser king of Asshur cometh in unto him, and doth distress him, and hath not strengthened him,

\VS{21}though Ahaz hath taken a portion [out] of the house of Jehovah, and [out] of the house of the king, and of the princes, and giveth to the king of Asshur, yet it is no help to him.

\VS{22}And in the time of his distress — he addeth to trespass against Jehovah, (this king Ahaz),

\VS{23}and he sacrificeth to the gods of Damascus — those smiting him, and saith, 'Because the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, to them I sacrifice, and they help me,' and they have been to him to cause him to stumble, and to all Israel.

\VS{24}And Ahaz gathereth the vessels of the house of God, and cutteth in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shutteth the doors of the house of Jehovah, and maketh to himself altars in every corner in Jerusalem.

\VS{25}And in every city and city of Judah he hath made high places to make perfume to other gods, and provoketh Jehovah, God of his fathers.

\VS{26}And the rest of his matters, and all his ways, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

\VS{27}And Ahaz lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city, in Jerusalem, but have not brought him in to the graves of the kings of Israel, and reign doth Hezekiah his son in his stead.



\par }\Chap{29}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Hezekiah hath reigned — a son of twenty and five years, and twenty and nine years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Abijah daughter of Zechariah;

\VS{2}and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father did.

\VS{3}He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, hath opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and strengtheneth them,

\VS{4}and bringeth in the priests and the Levites, and gathereth them to the broad place to the east.

\VS{5}And he saith to them, 'Hear me, O Levites, now, sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, God of your fathers, and bring out the impurity from the sanctuary,

\VS{6}for our fathers have trespassed, and done that which is evil in the eyes of Jehovah our God, and forsake him, and turn round their faces from the tabernacle of Jehovah, and give the neck.

\VS{7}'Also — they have shut the doors of the porch, and quench the lamps, and perfume they have not made, and burnt-offering have not caused to ascend in the sanctuary to the God of Israel,

\VS{8}and the wrath of Jehovah is on Judah and Jerusalem, and He giveth them for a trembling, for an astonishment, and for a hissing, as ye are seeing with your eyes.

\VS{9}And lo, fallen have our fathers by the sword, and our sons, and our daughters, and our wives [are] in captivity for this.

\VS{10}'Now — with my heart — to make a covenant before Jehovah, God of Israel, and the fierceness of His anger doth turn back from us.

\VS{11}My sons, be not now at rest, for on you hath Jehovah fixed to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be to Him ministering and making perfume.'

\VS{12}And the Levites rise — Mahath son of Amasai, and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathite; and of the sons of Merari: Kish son of Abdi, and Azariah son of Jehalelel; and of the Gershonite: Joah son of Zimmah, and Eden son of Joah;

\VS{13}and of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri, and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;

\VS{14}and of the sons of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel —

\VS{15}and they gather their brethren, and sanctify themselves, and come in, according to the command of the king in the matters of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah,

\VS{16}and the priests come in to the inner part of the house of Jehovah to cleanse [it], and bring out all the uncleanness that they have found in the temple of Jehovah to the court of the house of Jehovah, and the Levites receive [it], to take [it] out to the brook Kidron without.

\VS{17}And they begin on the first of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month they have come to the porch of Jehovah, and they sanctify the house of Jehovah in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they have finished.

\VS{18}And they come in within unto Hezekiah the king, and say, 'We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of the burnt-offering, and all its vessels, and the table of the arrangement, and all its vessels,

\VS{19}and all the vessels that king Ahaz cast away in his reign — in his trespass — we have prepared and sanctified, and lo, they [are] before the altar of Jehovah.'

\VS{20}And Hezekiah the king riseth early, and gathereth the heads of the city, and goeth up to the house of Jehovah;

\VS{21}and they bring in seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven young he-goats, for a sin-offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah; and he saith to sons of Aaron, the priests, to cause [them] to ascend on the altar of Jehovah.

\VS{22}And they slaughter the oxen, and the priests receive the blood, and sprinkle on the altar; and they slaughter the rams, and sprinkle the blood on the altar; and they slaughter the lambs, and sprinkle the blood on the altar;

\VS{23}and they bring nigh the he-goats of the sin-offering before the king and the assembly, and they lay their hands upon them;

\VS{24}and the priests slaughter them, and make a sin-offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel, for 'For all Israel,' said the king, '[is] the burnt-offering and the sin-offering.'

\VS{25}And he appointeth the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, by the command of David, and of Gad, seer of the king, and of Nathan the prophet, for by the hand of Jehovah [is] the command, by the hand of His prophets;

\VS{26}and the Levites stand with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

\VS{27}And Hezekiah saith to cause the burnt-offering to ascend on the altar; and at the time the burnt-offering began — began the song of Jehovah, and the trumpets, even by the hands of the instruments of David king of Israel.

\VS{28}And all the assembly are doing obeisance, and the singers singing, and the trumpeters blowing; the whole [is] till the completion of the burnt-offering.

\VS{29}And at the completion of the offering up bowed have the king and all those found with him, and do obeisance.

\VS{30}And Hezekiah the king saith, and the princes, to the Levites to give praise to Jehovah in the words of David, and of Asaph the seer, and they praise — unto joy, and they bow, and do obeisance.

\VS{31}And Hezekiah answereth and saith, 'Now ye have filled your hand to Jehovah, come nigh, and bring in sacrifices and thank-offerings to the house of Jehovah;' and the assembly bring in sacrifices and thank-offerings, and every willing-hearted one — burnt-offerings.

\VS{32}And the number of the burnt-offerings that the assembly have brought in, is seventy oxen, a hundred rams, lambs two hundred; for a burnt-offering to Jehovah [are] all these.

\VS{33}And the sanctified things [are] oxen six hundred, and sheep three thousand.

\VS{34}Only, the priests have become few, and have not been able to strip the whole of the burnt-offerings, and their brethren the Levites strengthen them till the completion of the work, and till the priests sanctify themselves, for the Levites [are] more upright of heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.

\VS{35}And also, burnt-offerings [are] in abundance, with fat of the peace-offerings, and with oblations for the burnt-offering; and the service of the house of Jehovah is established,

\VS{36}and rejoice doth Hezekiah and all the people, because of God's giving preparation to the people, for the thing hath been suddenly.



\par }\Chap{30}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Hezekiah sendeth unto all Israel and Judah, and also letters he hath written unto Ephraim and Manasseh, to come in to the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, to make a passover to Jehovah, God of Israel.

\VS{2}And the king taketh counsel, and his heads, and all the assembly in Jerusalem, to make the passover in the second month,

\VS{3}for they have not been able to make it at that time, for the priests have not sanctified themselves sufficiently, and the people have not been gathered to Jerusalem.

\VS{4}And the thing is right in the eyes of the king, and in the eyes of all the assembly,

\VS{5}and they establish the thing, to cause to pass over an intimation into all Israel, from Beer-Sheba even unto Dan, to come in to make a passover to Jehovah, God of Israel, in Jerusalem, for not for a long time had they done as it is written.

\VS{6}And the runners go with letters from the hand of the king and his heads, into all Israel and Judah, even according to the command of the king, saying, 'O sons of Israel, turn back unto Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He doth turn back unto the escaped part that is left of you from the hand of the kings of Asshur;

\VS{7}and do not be like your fathers, and like your brethren, who trespassed against Jehovah, God of their fathers, and He giveth them to desolation, as ye do see.

\VS{8}'Now, harden not your neck like your fathers, give a hand to Jehovah, and come in to His sanctuary, that He hath sanctified to the age, and serve Jehovah your God, and the fierceness of His anger doth turn back from you;

\VS{9}for in your turning back unto Jehovah, your brethren and your sons have mercies before their captors, even to return to this land, for gracious and merciful [is] Jehovah your God, and He doth not turn aside the face from you, if ye turn back unto Him.'

\VS{10}And the runners are passing over from city to city, in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun: and they are laughing at them, and mocking at them,

\VS{11}only, certain from Asher, and Manasseh, and from Zebulun, have been humbled, and come in to Jerusalem.

\VS{12}Also, in Judah hath the hand of God been to give to them one heart to do the command of the king and of the heads, in the matter of Jehovah;

\VS{13}and much people are gathered to Jerusalem, to make the feast of unleavened things in the second month — a mighty assembly for multitude.

\VS{14}And they arise and turn aside the altars that [are] in Jerusalem, and all the perfume altars they have turned aside, and cast [them] to the brook Kidron;

\VS{15}and they slaughter the passover-offering on the fourteenth of the second month, and the priests and the Levites have been ashamed, and sanctify themselves, and bring in burnt-offerings to the house of Jehovah.

\VS{16}And they stand on their station according to their ordinance; according to the law of Moses the man of God the priests are sprinkling the blood out of the hand of the Levites,

\VS{17}for many [are] in the assembly who have not sanctified themselves, and the Levites [are] over the slaughtering of the passover-offerings for every one not clean, to sanctify [him] to Jehovah:

\VS{18}for a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, have not been cleansed, but have eaten the passover otherwise than it is written; but Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 'Jehovah, who [is] good, doth receive atonement for every one

\VS{19}who hath prepared his heart to seek God — Jehovah, God of his fathers — yet not according to the cleansing of the sanctuary;'

\VS{20}and Jehovah hearkeneth unto Hezekiah, and healeth the people.

\VS{21}And the sons of Israel, those found in Jerusalem, make the feast of unleavened things seven days with great joy; and giving praise to Jehovah day by day are the Levites and the priests, with instruments of praise before Jehovah.

\VS{22}And Hezekiah speaketh unto the heart of all the Levites, those giving good understanding concerning Jehovah, and they eat the appointed thing seven days; sacrificing sacrifices of peace-offerings, and making confession to Jehovah, God of their fathers.

\VS{23}And all the assembly take counsel to keep other seven days, and they keep seven days [with] joy;

\VS{24}for Hezekiah king of Judah hath presented to the assembly a thousand bullocks, and seven thousand sheep; and the heads have presented to the assembly bullocks a thousand, and sheep ten thousand; and priests sanctify themselves in abundance.

\VS{25}And all the assembly of Judah rejoice, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the assembly, those coming in from Israel, and the sojourners, those coming in from the land of Israel, and those dwelling in Judah,

\VS{26}and there is great joy in Jerusalem; for from the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there is not like this in Jerusalem,

\VS{27}and the priests, the Levites, rise and bless the people, and their voice is heard, and their prayer cometh in to His holy habitation, to the heavens.



\par }\Chap{31}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And at the completion of all this, gone out have all Israel who are found present to the cities of Judah, and break the standing-pillars, and cut down the shrines, and break down the high places and the altars, out of all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, even to completion, and all the sons of Israel turn back, each to his Possession, to their cities.

\VS{2}And Hezekiah appointeth the courses of the priests, and of the Levites, by their courses, each according to his service, of the priests and of the Levites, for burnt-offering, and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to give praise in the gates of the camps of Jehovah.

\VS{3}And a portion of the king, from his substance, [is] for burnt-offerings, for burnt-offerings of the morning, and of the evening, and the burnt-offerings of sabbaths, and of new moons, and of appointed seasons, as it is written in the law of Jehovah.

\VS{4}And he saith to the people, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to give the portion of the priests, and of the Levites, so that they are strengthened in the law of Jehovah;

\VS{5}and at the spreading forth of the thing have the sons of Israel multiplied the first-fruit of corn, new wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field, and the tithe of the whole in abundance they have brought in.

\VS{6}And the sons of Israel and Judah, those dwelling in cities of Judah, they also a tithe of herd and flock, and a tithe of the holy things that are sanctified to Jehovah their God, have brought in, and they give — heaps, heaps;

\VS{7}in the third month they have begun to lay the foundation of the heaps, and in the seventh month they have finished.

\VS{8}And Hezekiah and the heads come in and see the heaps, and bless Jehovah and His people Israel,

\VS{9}and Hezekiah inquireth at the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps,

\VS{10}and Azariah the head priest, of the house of Zadok, speaketh unto him, and saith, 'From the beginning of the bringing of the heave-offering to the house of Jehovah, [there is] to eat, and to be satisfied, and to leave abundantly, for Jehovah hath blessed His people, and that left [is] this store.'

\VS{11}And Hezekiah saith to prepare chambers in the house of Jehovah, and they prepare,

\VS{12}and they bring in the heave-offering, and the tithe, and the holy things faithfully; and over them is a leader, Conaniah the Levite, and Shimei his brother [is] second;

\VS{13}and Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, [are] inspectors under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah leader of the house of God.

\VS{14}And Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the gatekeeper at the east, [is] over the willing-offerings of God, to give the heave-offering of Jehovah, and the most holy things.

\VS{15}And by his hand [are] Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shechaniah, in cities of the priests, faithfully to give to their brethren in courses, as the great so the small,

\VS{16}apart from their genealogy, to males from a son of three years and upward, to every one who hath gone in to the house of Jehovah, by the matter of a day in its day, for their service in their charges, according to their courses;

\VS{17}and the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and of the Levites, from a son of twenty years and upward, in their charges, in their courses;

\VS{18}and to the genealogy among all their infants, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters to all the congregation, for in their faithfulness they sanctify themselves in holiness.

\VS{19}And to sons of Aaron, the priests, in the fields of the suburb of their cities, in every city and city, [are] men who have been defined by name, to give portions to every male among the priests, and to every one who reckoned himself by genealogy among the Levites.

\VS{20}And Hezekiah doth thus in all Judah, and doth that which is good, and that which is right, and that which is true, before Jehovah his God;

\VS{21}and in every work that he hath begun for the service of the house of God, and for the law, and for the command, to seek to his God, with all his heart he hath wrought and prospered.



\par }\Chap{32}{\PP \VerseOne{1}After these things and this truth, come hath Sennacherib king of Asshur, yea, he cometh in to Judah, and encampeth against the cities of the bulwarks, and saith to rend them unto himself.

\VS{2}And Hezekiah seeth that Sennacherib hath come, and his face [is] to the battle against Jerusalem,

\VS{3}and he taketh counsel with his heads and his mighty ones, to stop the waters of the fountains that [are] at the outside of the city — and they help him,

\VS{4}and much people are gathered, and they stop all the fountains and the brook that is rushing into the midst of the land, saying, 'Why do the kings of Asshur come, and have found much water?'

\VS{5}And he strengtheneth himself, and buildeth the whole of the wall that is broken, and causeth [it] to ascend unto the towers, and at the outside of the wall another, and strengtheneth Millo, [in] the city of David, and maketh darts in abundance, and shields.

\VS{6}And he putteth heads of war over the people, and gathereth them unto him, unto the broad place of a gate of the city, and speaketh unto their heart, saying,

\VS{7}'Be strong and courageous, be not afraid, nor be cast down from the face of the king of Asshur, and from the face of all the multitude that [is] with him, for with us [are] more than with him.

\VS{8}With him [is] an arm of flesh, and with us [is] Jehovah our God, to help us, and to fight our battles;' and the people are supported by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

\VS{9}After this hath Sennacherib king of Asshur sent his servants to Jerusalem — and he [is] by Lachish, and all his power with him — against Hezekiah king of Judah, and against all Judah, who [are] in Jerusalem, saying,

\VS{10}'Thus said Sennacherib king of Asshur, On what are ye trusting and abiding in the bulwark, in Jerusalem?

\VS{11}'Is not Hezekiah persuading you, to give you up to die by famine, and by thirst, saying, Jehovah our God doth deliver us from the hand of the king of Asshur?

\VS{12}Hath not Hezekiah himself turned aside His high places, and His altars, and speaketh to Judah and to Jerusalem, saying, Before one altar ye bow yourselves, and on it ye make perfume?

\VS{13}'Do ye not know what I have done — I and my fathers — to all peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands at all able to deliver their land out of my hand?

\VS{14}Who among all the gods of these nations whom my fathers have devoted to destruction [is] he who hath been able to deliver his people out of my hand, that your God is able to deliver you out of my hand?

\VS{15}'And, now, let not Hezekiah lift you up, nor persuade you thus, nor give credence to him, for no god of any nation and kingdom is able to deliver his people from my hand, and from the hand of my fathers: also, surely your God doth not deliver you from my hand!'

\VS{16}And again have his servants spoken against Jehovah God, and against Hezekiah His servant,

\VS{17}and letters he hath written to give reproach to Jehovah, God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, 'As the gods of the nations of the lands that have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah doth not deliver His people from my hand.'

\VS{18}And they call with a great voice [in] Jewish, against the people of Jerusalem who [are] on the wall, to frighten them, and to trouble them, that they may capture the city,

\VS{19}and they speak against the God of Jerusalem as against the gods of the peoples of the land — work of the hands of man.

\VS{20}And Hezekiah the king prayeth, and Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet, concerning this, and they cry to the heavens,

\VS{21}and Jehovah sendeth a messenger, and cutteth off every mighty one of valour — both leader and head — in the camp of the king of Asshur, and he turneth back with shame of face to his land, and entereth the house of his god, and those coming out of his bowels have caused him to fall there by the sword.

\VS{22}And Jehovah saveth Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Asshur, and from the hand of all, and He leadeth them round about;

\VS{23}and many are bringing in an offering to Jehovah, to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, and he is lifted up before the eyes of all the nations after this.

\VS{24}In those days hath Hezekiah been sick even unto death, and he prayeth unto Jehovah, and He speaketh to him, and a wonder hath appointed for him;

\VS{25}and Hezekiah hath not returned according to the deed [done] unto him, for his heart hath been lofty, and there is wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem;

\VS{26}and Hezekiah is humbled for the loftiness of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the wrath of Jehovah hath not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

\VS{27}And Hezekiah hath riches and honour very much, and treasures he hath made to himself of silver, and of gold, and of precious stone, and of spices, and of shields, and of all [kinds] of desirable vessels,

\VS{28}and storehouses for the increase of corn, and new wine, and oil, and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and herds for stalls;

\VS{29}and cities he hath made for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance, for God hath given to him very much substance.

\VS{30}And Hezekiah himself hath stopped the upper source of the waters of Gihon, and directeth them beneath to the west of the city of David, and Hezekiah prospereth in all his work;

\VS{31}and so with the ambassadors of the heads of Babylon, those sending unto him to inquire of the wonder that hath been in the land, God hath left him to try him, to know all in his heart,

\VS{32}And the rest of the matters of Hezekiah, and his kind acts, lo, they are written in the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet, on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

\VS{33}And Hezekiah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the uppermost of the graves of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have done honour to him at his death, and reign doth Manasseh his son in his stead.



\par }\Chap{33}{\PP \VerseOne{1}A son of twelve years is Manasseh in his reigning, and fifty and five years he hath reigned in Jerusalem;

\VS{2}and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, like the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel,

\VS{3}and he turneth and buildeth the high places that Hezekiah his father hath broken down, and raiseth altars for Baalim, and maketh shrines, and boweth himself to all the host of the heavens, and serveth them.

\VS{4}And he hath built altars in the house of Jehovah of which Jehovah had said, 'In Jerusalem is My name to the age.'

\VS{5}And he buildeth altars to all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of Jehovah.

\VS{6}And he hath caused his sons to pass over through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and observed clouds and used enchantments and witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and a wizard; he hath multiplied to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.

\VS{7}And he placeth the graven image of the idol that he made in the house of God, of which God said unto David, and unto Solomon his son, 'In this house, and in Jerusalem that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I put My name to the age,

\VS{8}and I add not to turn aside the foot of Israel from off the ground that I appointed to your fathers, only, if they watch to do all that I have commanded them — to all the law, and the statutes, and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.'

\VS{9}And Manasseh maketh Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, to do evil above the nations that Jehovah destroyed from the presence of the sons of Israel.

\VS{10}And Jehovah speaketh unto Manasseh and unto his people, and they have not attended,

\VS{11}and Jehovah bringeth in against them the heads of the host that the king of Asshur hath, and they capture Manasseh among the thickets, and bind him with brazen fetters, and cause him to go to Babylon.

\VS{12}And when he is in distress he hath appeased the face of Jehovah his God, and is humbled exceedingly before the God of his fathers,

\VS{13}and prayeth unto Him, and He is entreated of him, and heareth his supplication, and bringeth him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom, and Manasseh knoweth that Jehovah — He [is] God.

\VS{14}And after this he hath built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west of Gihon, in the valley, and at the entering in at the fish-gate, and it hath gone round to the tower, and he maketh it exceeding high, and he putteth heads of the force in all the cities of the bulwarks in Judah.

\VS{15}And he turneth aside the gods of the stranger, and the idol, out of the house of Jehovah, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of Jehovah and in Jerusalem, and casteth [them] to the outside of the city.

\VS{16}And he buildeth the altar of Jehovah, and sacrificeth upon it sacrifices of peace-offerings and thank-offering, and saith to Judah to serve Jehovah, God of Israel;

\VS{17}but still the people are sacrificing in high places, only — to Jehovah their God.

\VS{18}And the rest of the matters of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the matters of the seers, those speaking unto him in the name of Jehovah, God of Israel, lo, they are [on the book of] the matters of the kings of Israel;

\VS{19}and his prayer, and his entreaty, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places in which he had built high places, and established the shrines and the graven images before his being humbled, lo, they are written beside the matters of Hozai.

\VS{20}And Manasseh lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in his own house, and reign doth Amon his son in his stead.

\VS{21}A son of twenty and two years [is] Amon in his reigning, and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem,

\VS{22}and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, as did Manasseh his father, and to all the graven images that Manasseh his father had made hath Amon sacrificed, and serveth them,

\VS{23}and hath not been humbled before Jehovah, like the humbling of Manasseh his father, for Amon himself hath multiplied guilt.

\VS{24}And his servants conspire against him, and put him to death in his own house,

\VS{25}and the people of the land smite all those conspiring against king Amon, and the people of the land cause Josiah his son to reign in his stead.



\par }\Chap{34}{\PP \VerseOne{1}A son of eight years [is] Josiah in his reigning, and thirty and one years he hath reigned in Jerusalem,

\VS{2}and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walketh in the ways of David his father, and hath not turned aside — right or left.

\VS{3}And in the eighth year of his reign (and he yet a youth), he hath begun to seek to the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he hath begun to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the shrines, and the graven images, and the molten images.

\VS{4}And they break down before him the altars of the Baalim, and the images that [are] on high above them he hath cut down, and the shrines, and the graven images, and the molten images, he hath broken and beaten small, and streweth on the surface of the graves of those sacrificing to them,

\VS{5}and the bones of the priests he hath burnt on their altars, and cleanseth Judah and Jerusalem,

\VS{6}and in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their tools, round about.

\VS{7}And he breaketh down the altars and the shrines, and the graven images he hath beaten down very small, and all the images he hath cut down in all the land of Israel, and turneth back to Jerusalem.

\VS{8}And in the eighteenth year of his reign, to purify the land and the house he hath sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah head of the city, and Joah son of Johaz the remembrancer, to strengthen the house of Jehovah his God.

\VS{9}And they come in unto Hilkiah the high priest, and they give the money that is brought in to the house of God, that the Levites, keeping the threshold, have gathered from the hand of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

\VS{10}and they give [it] into the hand of the workmen, those appointed over the house of Jehovah, and they give it [to] the workmen who are working in the house of Jehovah, to repair and to strengthen the house;

\VS{11}and they give [it] to artificers, and to builders, to buy hewn stones, and wood for couplings and for beams to the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed.

\VS{12}And the men are working faithfully in the business, and over them are appointed Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathite, to overlook; and of the Levites, every one understanding about instruments of song,

\VS{13}and over the burden-bearers, and overseers of every one doing work for service and service; and of the Levites [are] scribes, and officers, and gatekeepers.

\VS{14}And in their bringing out the money that is brought in to the house of Jehovah, hath Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah by the hand of Moses,

\VS{15}and Hilkiah answereth and saith unto Shaphan the scribe, 'A book of the law I have found in the house of Jehovah;' and Hilkiah giveth the book unto Shaphan,

\VS{16}and Shaphan bringeth in the book unto the king, and bringeth the king back word again, saying, 'All that hath been given into the hand of thy servants they are doing,

\VS{17}and they pour out the money that is found in the house of Jehovah, and give it into the hand of those appointed, and into the hands of those doing the work.'

\VS{18}And Shaphan the scribe declareth to the king, saying, 'A book hath Hilkiah the priest given to me;' and Shaphan readeth in it before the king.

\VS{19}And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the words of the law, that he rendeth his garments,

\VS{20}and the king commandeth Hilkiah, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Abdon son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, servant of the king, saying,

\VS{21}'Go, seek Jehovah for me, and for him who is left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found, for great [is] the fury of Jehovah that is poured on us, because that our fathers kept not the word of Jehovah, to do according to all that is written on this book.'

\VS{22}And Hilkiah goeth, and they of the king, unto Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum son of Tikvath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the garments, and she is dwelling in Jerusalem in the Second, and they speak unto her thus.

\VS{23}And she saith to them, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Say to the man who hath sent you unto me,

\VS{24}Thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am bringing in evil on this place, and on its inhabitants, all the execrations that are written on the book that they read before the king of Judah;

\VS{25}because that they have forsaken Me, and make perfume to other gods, so as to provoke Me with all the works of their hands, and poured out is My fury upon this place, and it is not quenched.

\VS{26}'And unto the king of Judah, who is sending you to inquire of Jehovah, thus do ye say unto him: Thus said Jehovah God of Israel, whose words thou hast heard:

\VS{27}Because thy heart [is] tender, and thou art humbled before God in thy hearing His words concerning this place, and concerning its inhabitants, and art humbled before Me, and dost rend thy garments, and weep before Me: even I also have heard — the affirmation of Jehovah.

\VS{28}Lo, I am gathering thee unto thy fathers, and thou hast been gathered unto thy graves in peace, and thine eyes do not look on all the evil that I am bringing upon this place, and upon its inhabitants;' and they bring the king back word.

\VS{29}And the king sendeth and gathereth all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem,

\VS{30}and the king goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and every man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, even all the people, from great even unto small, and he readeth in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that is found in the house of Jehovah.

\VS{31}And the king standeth on his station, and maketh the covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep His commands, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that are written on this book.

\VS{32}And he presenteth every one who is found in Jerusalem and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem do according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

\VS{33}And Josiah turneth aside all the abominations out of all the lands that the sons of Israel have, and causeth every one who is found in Israel to serve, to serve Jehovah their God; all his days they turned not aside from after Jehovah, God of their fathers.



\par }\Chap{35}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Josiah maketh in Jerusalem a passover to Jehovah, and they slaughter the passover-offering on the fourteenth of the first month,

\VS{2}and he stationeth the priests over their charges, and strengtheneth them for the service of the house of Jehovah,

\VS{3}and saith to the Levites — who are teaching all Israel — who are sanctified to Jehovah, 'Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon son of David king of Israel built; it is not to you a burden on the shoulder. 'Now, serve Jehovah your God, and His people Israel,

\VS{4}and prepare, by the house of your fathers, according to your courses, by the writing of David king of Israel, and by the writing of Solomon his son,

\VS{5}and stand in the sanctuary, by the divisions of the house of the fathers of your brethren, sons of the people, and the portion of the house of a father of the Levites,

\VS{6}and slaughter the passover-offering and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, to do according to the word of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.'

\VS{7}And Josiah lifteth up to the sons of the people a flock of lambs and young goats, the whole for passover-offerings, for every one who is found, to the number of thirty thousand, and oxen three thousand: these [are] from the substance of the king.

\VS{8}And his heads, for a willing-offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites, have lifted up; Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders in the house of God, to the priests have given for passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred, and oxen three hundred;

\VS{9}and Conaniah, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, heads of the Levites, have lifted up to the Levites, for passover-offerings, five thousand, and oxen five hundred.

\VS{10}And the service is prepared, and the priests stand on their station, and the Levites on their courses, according to the command of the king,

\VS{11}and they slaughter the passover-offering, and the priests sprinkle out of their hand, and the Levites are striping;

\VS{12}and they turn aside the burnt-offering, to put them by the divisions of the house of the fathers of the sons of the people, to bring near to Jehovah, as it is written in the book of Moses — and so to the oxen.

\VS{13}And they cook the passover with fire, according to the ordinance, and the sanctified things they have cooked in pots, and in kettles, and in pans — for all the sons of the people.

\VS{14}And afterward they have prepared for themselves, and for the priests: for the priests, sons of Aaron, [are] in the offering up of the burnt-offering and of the fat till night; and the Levites have prepared for themselves, and for the priests, sons of Aaron.

\VS{15}And the singers, sons of Asaph, [are] on their station, according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun seer of the king, and the gate keepers [are] at gate and gate; it is not for them to turn aside from off their service, for their brethren the Levites have prepared for them.

\VS{16}And all the service of Jehovah is prepared on that day, to keep the passover, and to cause to ascend burnt-offering upon the altar of Jehovah, according to the command of king Josiah.

\VS{17}And the sons of Israel who are found make the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened things, seven days.

\VS{18}And there hath not been made a passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, and none of the kings of Israel made such a passover as Josiah hath made, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who are found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

\VS{19}In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah hath this passover been made.

\VS{20}After all this, when Josiah hath prepared the house, come up hath Necho king of Egypt, to fight against Carchemish by Phrat, and Josiah goeth forth to meet him;

\VS{21}and he sendeth unto him messengers, saying, 'What — to me and to thee, O king of Judah? not against thee do I come to-day, but unto the house with which I have war, and God said to haste me; cease for thee from God who [is] with me, and He doth not destroy thee.'

\VS{22}And Josiah hath not turned round his face from him, but to fight against him hath disguised himself, and hath not hearkened unto the words of Necho, from the mouth of God, and cometh in to fight in the valley of Megiddo;

\VS{23}and the archers shoot at king Josiah, and the king saith to his servants, 'Remove me, for I have become very sick.'

\VS{24}And his servants remove him from the chariot, and cause him to ride on the second chariot that he hath, and cause him to go to Jerusalem, and he dieth, and is buried in the graves of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem are mourning for Josiah,

\VS{25}and Jeremiah lamenteth for Josiah, and all the singers and the songstresses speak in their lamentations of Josiah unto this day, and set them for a statute on Israel, and lo, they are written beside the lamentations.

\VS{26}And the rest of the matters of Josiah, and his kind acts, according as it is written in the law of Jehovah,

\VS{27}even his matters, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.



\par }\Chap{36}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And the people of the land take Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and cause him to reign instead of his father in Jerusalem.

\VS{2}A son of three and twenty years [is] Jehoahaz in his reigning, and three months he hath reigned in Jerusalem,

\VS{3}and turn him aside doth the king of Egypt in Jerusalem, and fineth the land a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold;

\VS{4}and the king of Egypt causeth Eliakim his brother to reign over Judah and Jerusalem, and turneth his name to Jehoiakim; and Jehoahaz his brother hath Necho taken, and bringeth him in to Egypt.

\VS{5}A son of twenty and five years [is] Jehoiakim in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah his God;

\VS{6}against him hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon come up, and bindeth him in brazen fetters to take him away to Babylon.

\VS{7}And of the vessels of the house of Jehovah hath Nebuchadnezzar brought in to Babylon, and putteth them in his temple in Babylon.

\VS{8}And the rest of the matters of Jehoiakim, and his abominations that he hath done, and that which is found against him, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, and reign doth Jehoiachin his son in his stead.

\VS{9}A son of eight years is Jehoiachin in his reigning, and three months and ten days he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah;

\VS{10}and at the turn of the year hath king Nebuchadnezzar sent and bringeth him in to Babylon, with the desirable vessels of the house of Jehovah, and causeth Zedekiah his brother to reign over Judah and Jerusalem.

\VS{11}A son of twenty and one years [is] Zedekiah in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem;

\VS{12}and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah his God, he hath not been humbled before Jeremiah the prophet [speaking] from the mouth of Jehovah;

\VS{13}and also, against king Nebuchadnezzar he hath rebelled, who had caused him to swear by God, and he hardeneth his neck, and strengtheneth his heart, against turning back unto Jehovah, God of Israel.

\VS{14}Also, all the heads of the priests, and the people, having multiplied to commit a trespass according to all the abominations of the nations, and they defile the house of Jehovah that He hath sanctified in Jerusalem.

\VS{15}And Jehovah, God of their fathers, sendeth unto them by the hand of His messengers — rising early and sending — for He hath had pity on His people, and on His habitation,

\VS{16}and they are mocking at the messengers of God, and despising His words, and acting deceitfully with His prophets, till the going up of the fury of Jehovah against His people — till there is no healing.

\VS{17}And He causeth to go up against them the king of the Chaldeans, and he slayeth their chosen ones by the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and hath had no pity on young man and virgin, old man and very aged — the whole He hath given into his hand.

\VS{18}And all the vessels of the house of God, the great and the small, and the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king and of his princes — the whole he hath brought in to Babylon.

\VS{19}And they burn the house of God, and break down the wall of Jerusalem, and all its palaces they have burnt with fire, and all its desirable vessels — to destruction.

\VS{20}And he removeth those left of the sword unto Babylon, and they are to him and to his sons for servants, till the reigning of the kingdom of Persia,

\VS{21}to fulfil the word of Jehovah in the mouth of Jeremiah, till the land hath enjoyed its sabbaths; all the days of the desolation it kept sabbath — to the fulness of seventy years.

\VS{22}And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, at the completion of the word of Jehovah in the mouth of Jeremiah, hath Jehovah waked up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he causeth an intimation to pass over into all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying,

\VS{23}'Thus said Cyrus king of Persia, All kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, God of the heavens, given to me, and He hath laid a charge on me to build to Him a house in Jerusalem, that [is] in Judah; who is among you of all His people? Jehovah his God [is] with him, and he doth go up.'


\par }