RISC DISC 2/RISC_DISC_2.iso/resources/etexts/bible/2kings

Text File | 1995-04-07 | 125KB | 2,712 lines

 1:1 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

1:2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that
was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto
them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall
recover of this disease.

1:3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go
up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them,
Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire
of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?  1:4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD,
Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but
shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.

1:5 And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them,
Why are ye now turned back?  1:6 And they said unto him, There came a
man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that
sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because
there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of
Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from
that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

1:7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to
meet you, and told you these words?  1:8 And they answered him, He was
an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And
he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

1:9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And
he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he
spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.

1:10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a
man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and
thy fifty.

And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

1:11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his
fifty.

And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king
said, Come down quickly.

1:12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let
fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the
fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

1:13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty.
And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees
before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I
pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be
precious in thy sight.

1:14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two
captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my
life now be precious in thy sight.

1:15 And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be
not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

1:16 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast
sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not
because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore
thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but
shalt surely die.

1:17 So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had
spoken.

And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son
of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.

1:18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?  2:1 And
it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a
whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

2:2 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD
hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth,
and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to
Bethel.

2:3 And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to
Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away
thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye
your peace.

2:4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the
LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as
thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

2:5 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha,
and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy
master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye
your peace.

2:6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD
hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

2:7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view
afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.

2:8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the
waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two
went over on dry ground.

2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said
unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from
thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit
be upon me.

2:10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou
see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if
not, it shall not be so.

2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that,
behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and
parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into
heaven.

2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the
chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more:
and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

2:13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went
back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 2:14 And he took the mantle of
Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is
the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they
parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho
saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they
came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

2:16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants
fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest
peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him
upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not
send.

2:17 And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They
sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him
not.

2:18 And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he
said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?  2:19 And the men of
the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this
city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the
ground barren.

2:20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they
brought it to him.

2:21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the
salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these
waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.

2:22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying
of Elisha which he spake.

2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by
the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked
him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the
name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood,
and tare forty and two children of them.

2:25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he
returned to Samaria.

3:1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria
the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve
years.

3:2 And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his
father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that
his father had made.

3:3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

3:4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the
king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand
rams, with the wool.

3:5 But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab
rebelled against the king of Israel.

3:6 And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered
all Israel.

3:7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The
king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against
Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people
as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.

3:8 And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way
through the wilderness of Edom.

3:9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of
Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was
no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.

3:10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called
these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!
3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD,
that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of
Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of
Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

3:12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the
king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

3:13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with
thee?  get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of
thy mother.

And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called
these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

3:14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I
stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat
the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

3:15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the
minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

3:16 And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of
ditches.

3:17 For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye
see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may
drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.

3:18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will
deliver the Moabites also into your hand.

3:19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and
shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every
good piece of land with stones.

3:20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was
offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the
country was filled with water.

3:21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to
fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour,
and upward, and stood in the border.

3:22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the
water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as
blood: 3:23 And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain,
and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

3:24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up
and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went
forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

3:25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land
cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the
wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth
left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and
smote it.

3:26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for
him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break
through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.

3:27 Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his
stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there
was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and
returned to their own land.

4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the
prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou
knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come
to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

4:2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what
hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any
thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy
neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

4:4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and
upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou
shalt set aside that which is full.

4:5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her
sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

4:6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said
unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is
not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

4:7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the
oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

4:8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a
great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that
as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

4:9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is
an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

4:10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let
us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a
candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn
in thither.

4:11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into
the chamber, and lay there.

4:12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when
he had called her, she stood before him.

4:13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been
careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee?
wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the
host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

4:14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi
answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

4:15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in
the door.

4:16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life,
thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God,
do not lie unto thine handmaid.

4:17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that
Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

4:18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out
to his father to the reapers.

4:19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a
lad, Carry him to his mother.

4:20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat
on her knees till noon, and then died.

4:21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and
shut the door upon him, and went out.

4:22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee,
one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man
of God, and come again.

4:23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither
new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

4:24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go
forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.

4:25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it
came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to
Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: 4:26 Run now, I
pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it
well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It
is well: 4:27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she
caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And
the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her:
and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.

4:28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do
not deceive me?  4:29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and
take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man,
salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay
my staff upon the face of the child.

4:30 And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.

4:31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the
face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore
he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not
awaked.

4:32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was
dead, and laid upon his bed.

4:33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and
prayed unto the LORD.

4:34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon
his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands:
and stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed
warm.

4:35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went
up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times,
and the child opened his eyes.

4:36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he
called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy
son.

4:37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the
ground, and took up her son, and went out.

4:38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the
land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he
said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for
the sons of the prophets.

4:39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild
vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and
shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

4:40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as
they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou
man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

4:41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he
said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no
harm in the pot.

4:42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of
God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears
of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that
they may eat.

4:43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred
men?  He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus
saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

4:44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof,
according to the word of the LORD.

5:1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great
man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given
deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was
a leper.

5:2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away
captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on
Naaman's wife.

5:3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the
prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

5:4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the
maid that is of the land of Israel.

5:5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter
unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten
talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of
raiment.

5:6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when
this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my
servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

5:7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter,
that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make
alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his
leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a
quarrel against me.

5:8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king
of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying,
Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he
shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at
the door of the house of Elisha.

5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in
Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou
shalt be clean.

5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought,
He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the
LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the
leper.

5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all
the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he
turned and went away in a rage.

5:13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My
father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou
not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash,
and be clean?  5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times
in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh
came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

5:15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and
came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there
is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee,
take a blessing of thy servant.

5:16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will
receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

5:17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to
thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will
henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods,
but unto the LORD.

5:18 In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master
goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my
hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself
in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.

5:19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a
little way.

5:20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold,
my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his
hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after
him, and take somewhat of him.

5:21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running
after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is
all well?  5:22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me,
saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two
young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a
talent of silver, and two changes of garments.

5:23 And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him,
and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of
garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them
before him.

5:24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and
bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.

5:25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto
him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no
whither.

5:26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man
turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive
money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and
sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?  5:27 The leprosy
therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for
ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

6:1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the
place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.

6:2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a
beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he
answered, Go ye.

6:3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants.
And he answered, I will go.

6:4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down
wood.

6:5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water:
and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.

6:6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the
place.

And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did
swim.

6:7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand,
and took it.

6:8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel
with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

6:9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware
that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come
down.

6:10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God
told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor
twice.

6:11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for
this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye
not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?  6:12 And one of
his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that
is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest
in thy bedchamber.

6:13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch
him.

And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

6:14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host:
and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

6:15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone
forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and
chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we
do?  6:16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more
than they that be with them.

6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes,
that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he
saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire
round about Elisha.

6:18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and
said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote
them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

6:19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this
the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But
he led them to Samaria.

6:20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that
Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And
the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in
the midst of Samaria.

6:21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My
father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?  6:22 And he answered,
Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast
taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water
before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

6:23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten
and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the
bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

6:24 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria
gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

6:25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they
besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of
silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of
silver.

6:26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there
cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.

6:27 And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help
thee?  out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?  6:28 And the
king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman
said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will
eat my son to morrow.

6:29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the
next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.

6:30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman,
that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the
people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.

6:31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of
Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.

6:32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the
king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he
said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to
take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door,
and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet
behind him?  6:33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the
messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the
LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?  7:1 Then Elisha
said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow
about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel,
and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

7:2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God,
and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this
thing be?  And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but
shalt not eat thereof.

7:3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate:
and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?  7:4 If we
say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and
we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now
therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they
save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

7:5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the
Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of
Syria, behold, there was no man there.

7:6 For the LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of
chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and
they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us
the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come
upon us.

7:7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their
tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and
fled for their life.

7:8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they
went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver,
and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and
entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid
it.

7:9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day
of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning
light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we
may go and tell the king's household.

7:10 So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they
told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold,
there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and
asses tied, and the tents as they were.

7:11 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house
within.

7:12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I
will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we
be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves
in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch
them alive, and get into the city.

7:13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray
thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city,
(behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it:
behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites
that are consumed:) and let us send and see.

7:14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after
the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.

7:15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was
full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their
haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.

7:16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So
a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of
barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

7:17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have
the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and
he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down
to him.

7:18 And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king,
saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine
flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of
Samaria: 7:19 And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now,
behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing
be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt
not eat thereof.

7:20 And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the
gate, and he died.

8:1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to
life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn
wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine;
and it shall also come upon the land seven years.

8:2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God:
and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the
Philistines seven years.

8:3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman
returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry
unto the king for her house and for her land.

8:4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God,
saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath
done.

8:5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had
restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he
had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her
land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is
her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

8:6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king
appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was
hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the
land, even until now.

8:7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was
sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.

8:8 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and
go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall
I recover of this disease?  8:9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a
present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels'
burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king
of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this
disease?  8:10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest
certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall
surely die.

8:11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed:
and the man of God wept.

8:12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I
know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their
strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay
with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women
with child.

8:13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should
do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that
thou shalt be king over Syria.

8:14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to
him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou
shouldest surely recover.

8:15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth,
and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died:
and Hazael reigned in his stead.

8:16 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel,
Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Je hoshaphat
king of Judah began to reign.

8:17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he
reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

8:18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house
of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the
sight of the LORD.

8:19 Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant's
sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his
children.

8:20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made
a king over themselves.

8:21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he
rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and
the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.

8:22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day.
Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

8:23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  8:24
And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in
the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

8:25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did
Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.

8:26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and
he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah,
the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

8:27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in
the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in
law of the house of Ahab.

8:28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael
king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

8:29 And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds
which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against
Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah
went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was
sick.

9:1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets,
and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in
thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead: 9:2 And when thou comest thither,
look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go
in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an
inner chamber; 9:3 Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head,
and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel.
Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

9:4 So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to
Ramothgilead.

9:5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting;
and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto
which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain.

9:6 And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on
his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have
anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel.

9:7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may
avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the
servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.

9:8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from
Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and
left in Israel: 9:9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of
Ahijah: 9:10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel,
and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

9:11 Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said
unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he
said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.

9:12 And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and
thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee
king over Israel.

9:13 Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it
under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying,
Jehu is king.

9:14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired
against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel,
because of Hazael king of Syria.

9:15 But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds
which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of
Syria.)  And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth
nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.

9:16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay
there.

And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.

9:17 And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied
the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram
said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it
peace?  9:18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said,
Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do
with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The
messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.

9:19 Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and
said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast
thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

9:20 And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh
not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of
Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.

9:21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And
Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his
chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of
Naboth the Jezreelite.

9:22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it
peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of
thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?  9:23 And Joram
turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O
Ahaziah.

9:24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram
between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk
down in his chariot.

9:25 Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in
the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how
that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD
laid this burden upon him; 9:26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood
of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will
requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast
him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.

9:27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way
of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him
also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is
by Ibleam.

And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.

9:28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and
buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.

9:29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah
to reign over Judah.

9:30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she
painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.

9:31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace,
who slew his master?  9:32 And he lifted up his face to the window,
and said, Who is on my side?  who? And there looked out to him two or
three eunuchs.

9:33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of
her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode
her under foot.

9:34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see
now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter.

9:35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the
skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.

9:36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the
word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite,
saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:
9:37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the
field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is
Jezebel.

10:1 And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and
sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to
them that brought up Ahab's children, saying, 10:2 Now as soon as this
letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and
there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and
armour; 10:3 Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons,
and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.

10:4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings
stood not before him: how then shall we stand?  10:5 And he that was
over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and
the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy
servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any
king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.

10:6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be
mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the
men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this
time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great
men of the city, which brought them up.

10:7 And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took
the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in
baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.

10:8 And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have
brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two
heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.

10:9 And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood,
and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired
against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?  10:10 Know
now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the
LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD
hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.

10:11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel,
and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he
left him none remaining.

10:12 And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at
the shearing house in the way, 10:13 Jehu met with the brethren of
Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are
the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the
king and the children of the queen.

10:14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew
them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither
left he any of them.

10:15 And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son
of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is
thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab
answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his
hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.

10:16 And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they
made him ride in his chariot.

10:17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab
in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the
LORD, which he spake to Elijah.

10:18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them,
Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.

10:19 Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his
servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great
sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not
live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy
the worshippers of Baal.

10:20 And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they
proclaimed it.

10:21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of
Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they
came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one
end to another.

10:22 And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth
vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth
vestments.

10:23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house
of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that
there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the
worshippers of Baal only.

10:24 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings,
Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom
I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his
life shall be for the life of him.

10:25 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering
the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains,
Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with
the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out,
and went to the city of the house of Baal.

10:26 And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and
burned them.

10:27 And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house
of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.

10:28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

10:29 Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden
calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

10:30 And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in
executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the
house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of
the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.

10:31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of
Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of
Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.

10:32 In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael
smote them in all the coasts of Israel; 10:33 From Jordan eastward,
all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the
Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and
Bashan.

10:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all
his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel?  10:35 And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they
buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.

10:36 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty
and eight years.

11:1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was
dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.

11:2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah,
took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's
sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in
the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.

11:3 And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And
Athaliah did reign over the land.

11:4 And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over
hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him
into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an
oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king's son.

11:5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall
do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be
keepers of the watch of the king's house; 11:6 And a third part shall
be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard:
so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.

11:7 And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they
shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.

11:8 And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his
weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be
slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.

11:9 And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things
that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men
that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on
the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.

11:10 And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king
David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD.

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

11:12 And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him,
and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him;
and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.

11:13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the
people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD.

11:14 And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the
manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all
the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah
rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.

11:15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds,
the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without
the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the
priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.

11:16 And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which
the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain.

11:17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and
the people, that they should be the LORD's people; between the king
also and the people.

11:18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and
brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces
thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And
the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.

11:19 And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the
guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king
from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the
guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.

11:20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in
quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house.

11:21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.

12:1 In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty
years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of
Beersheba.

12:2 And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all
his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

12:3 But the high places were not taken away: the people still
sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

12:4 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated
things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of
every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set
at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into
the house of the LORD, 12:5 Let the priests take it to them, every man
of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house,
wheresoever any breach shall be found.

12:6 But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king
Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.

12:7 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other
priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the
house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but
deliver it for the breaches of the house.

12:8 And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people,
neither to repair the breaches of the house.

12:9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid
of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh
into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put
therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.

12:10 And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the
chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they
put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the
LORD.

12:11 And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that
did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and
they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the
house of the LORD, 12:12 And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to
buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the
LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

12:13 Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of
silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of
silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD:
12:14 But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the
house of the LORD.

12:15 Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they
delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt
faithfully.

12:16 The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house
of the LORD: it was the priests'.

12:17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and
took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

12:18 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that
Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah,
had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was
found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king's
house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from
Jerusalem.

12:19 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
12:20 And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in
the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla.

12:21 For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of
Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with
his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his
stead.

13:1 In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king
of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in
Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.

13:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and
followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to
sin; he departed not therefrom.

13:3 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he
delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the
hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days.

13:4 And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him:
for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria
oppressed them.

13:5 (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from
under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in
their tents, as beforetime.

13:6 Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of
Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained
the grove also in Samaria.)  13:7 Neither did he leave of the people
to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand
footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them
like the dust by threshing.

13:8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and
his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel?  13:9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they
buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

13:10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began
Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and
reigned sixteen years.

13:11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he
departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel sin: but he walked therein.

13:12 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his
might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?  13:13
And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne:
and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

13:14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And
Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face,
and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the
horsemen thereof.

13:15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto
him bow and arrows.

13:16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow.
And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's
hands.

13:17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then
Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD's
deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt
smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

13:18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto
the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and
stayed.

13:19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest
have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till
thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

13:20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the
Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

13:21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold,
they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of
Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of
Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

13:22 But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of
Jehoahaz.

13:23 And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them,
and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them
from his presence as yet.

13:24 So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in
his stead.

13:25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of
Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the
hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him,
and recovered the cities of Israel.

14:1 In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel
reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah.

14:2 He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and
reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

14:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not
like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his
father did.

14:4 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people
did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.

14:5 And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his
hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father.

14:6 But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto
that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the
LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the
children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every
man shall be put to death for his own sin.

14:7 He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took
Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.

14:8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son
of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the
face.

14:9 And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah,
saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in
Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed
by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

14:10 Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee
up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to
thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?
14:11 But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel
went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the
face at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah.

14:12 And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled
every man to their tents.

14:13 And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son
of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and came to Jerusalem,
and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the
corner gate, four hundred cubits.

14:14 And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that
were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the
king's house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

14:15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might,
and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?  14:16 And Jehoash
slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of
Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead.

14:17 And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death
of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.

14:18 And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  14:19 Now they made a
conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they
sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there.

14:20 And they brought him on horses: and he was buried at Jerusalem
with his fathers in the city of David.

14:21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, which was sixteen
years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.

14:22 He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king
slept with his fathers.

14:23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah
Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria,
and reigned forty and one years.

14:24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he
departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin.

14:25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto
the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel,
which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai,
the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.

14:26 For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very
bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper
for Israel.

14:27 And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel
from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son
of Joash.

14:28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and
his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath,
which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?  14:29 And Jeroboam slept
with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son
reigned in his stead.

15:1 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began
Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.

15:2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned
two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah
of Jerusalem.

15:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that his father Amaziah had done; 15:4 Save that the
high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense
still on the high places.

15:5 And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day
of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son
was over the house, judging the people of the land.

15:6 And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
15:7 So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his
fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

15:8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did
Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.

15:9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his
fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

15:10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote
him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

15:11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written
in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

15:12 This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying,
Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation.
And so it came to pass.

15:13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and
thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in
Samaria.

15:14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to
Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him,
and reigned in his stead.

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

15:16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the
coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore
he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped
up.

15:17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began
Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in
Samaria.

15:18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he
departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
who made Israel to sin.

15:19 And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem
gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him
to confirm the kingdom in his hand.

15:20 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty
men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the
king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not
there in the land.

15:21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
15:22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned
in his stead.

15:23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son
of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two
years.

15:24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he
departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin.

15:25 But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired
against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's
house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites:
and he killed him, and reigned in his room.

15:26 And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did,
behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel.

15:27 In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the
son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned
twenty years.

15:28 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he
departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin.

15:29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of
Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh,
and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and
carried them captive to Assyria.

15:30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the
son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his
stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

15:31 And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold,
they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

15:32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel
began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign.

15:33 Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he
reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha,
the daughter of Zadok.

15:34 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: he did
according to all that his father Uzziah had done.

15:35 Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed
and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate
of the house of the LORD.

15:36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
15:37 In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the
king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.

15:38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in
his stead.

16:1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son
of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.

16:2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the
sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.

16:3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made
his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the
heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.

16:4 And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on
the hills, and under every green tree.

16:5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel
came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not
overcome him.

16:6 At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and
drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt
there unto this day.

16:7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria,
saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the
hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel,
which rise up against me.

16:8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of
the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a
present to the king of Assyria.

16:9 And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of
Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people
of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

16:10 And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of
Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to
Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it,
according to all the workmanship thereof.

16:11 And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king
Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king
Ahaz came from Damascus.

16:12 And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the
altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.

16:13 And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and
poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace
offerings, upon the altar.

16:14 And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD,
from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house
of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

16:15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the
great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat
offering, and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with
the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat
offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the
blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and
the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.

16:16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz
commanded.

16:17 And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the
laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen
that were under it, and put it upon the pavement of stones.

16:18 And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house,
and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for
the king of Assyria.

16:19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  16:20
And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in
the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

17:1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of
Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.

17:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not
as the kings of Israel that were before him.

17:3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea
became his servant, and gave him presents.

17:4 And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had
sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the
king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of
Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.

17:5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and
went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.

17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and
carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in
Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

17:7 For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the
LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt,
from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other
gods, 17:8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD
cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of
Israel, which they had made.

17:9 And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were
not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places
in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced
city.

17:10 And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and
under every green tree: 17:11 And there they burnt incense in all the
high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before
them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: 17:12
For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall
not do this thing.

17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all
the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil
ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the
law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my
servants the prophets.

17:14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks,
like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD
their God.

17:15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made
with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against
them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the
heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had
charged them, that they should not do like them.

17:16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and
made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and
worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

17:17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through
the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to
do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

17:18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them
out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

17:19 Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but
walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.

17:20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted
them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast
them out of his sight.

17:21 For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made
Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from
following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.

17:22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam
which he did; they departed not from them; 17:23 Until the LORD
removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants
the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to
Assyria unto this day.

17:24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from
Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed
them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and
they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

17:25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that
they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them,
which slew some of them.

17:26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations
which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not
the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among
them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of
the God of the land.

17:27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of
the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell
there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.

17:28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria
came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the
LORD.

17:29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the
houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation
in their cities wherein they dwelt.

17:30 And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth
made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, 17:31 And the Avites
made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in
fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

17:32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest
of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the
houses of the high places.

17:33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the
manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

17:34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not
the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their
ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded
the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; 17:35 With whom the LORD
had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other
gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to
them: 17:36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him
shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.

17:37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the
commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for
evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.

17:38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget;
neither shall ye fear other gods.

17:39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you
out of the hand of all your enemies.

17:40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former
manner.

17:41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven
images, both their children, and their children's children: as did
their fathers, so do they unto this day.

18:1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king
of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

18:2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he
reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was
Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.

18:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that David his father did.

18:4 He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down
the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had
made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to
it: and he called it Nehushtan.

18:5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none
like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

18:6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him,
but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

18:7 And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went
forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him
not.

18:8 He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders
thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

18:9 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which
was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that
Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.

18:10 And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth
year of Hezekiah, that is in the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel,
Samaria was taken.

18:11 And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and
put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the
cities of the Medes: 18:12 Because they obeyed not the voice of the
LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the
servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them.

18:13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king
of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took
them.

18:14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to
Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou
puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto
Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty
talents of gold.

18:15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house
of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house.

18:16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the
temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah
had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

18:17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh
from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And
they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they
came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the
highway of the fuller's field.

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

18:19 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus
saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this
wherein thou trustest?  18:20 Thou sayest, (but they are but vain
words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou
trust, that thou rebellest against me?  18:21 Now, behold, thou
trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on
which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is
Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.

18:22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that
he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and
hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar
in Jerusalem?  18:23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my
lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses,
if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.

18:24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the
least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots
and for horsemen?  18:25 Am I now come up without the LORD against
this place to destroy it?  The LORD said to me, Go up against this
land, and destroy it.

18:26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto
Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language;
for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in
the ears of the people that are on the wall.

18:27 But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy
master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the
men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink
their own piss with you?  18:28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a
loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of
the great king, the king of Assyria: 18:29 Thus saith the king, Let
not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out
of his hand: 18:30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD,
saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be
delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

18:31 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria,
Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then
eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and
drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: 18:32 Until I come and
take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a
land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye
may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he
persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.

18:33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land
out of the hand of the king of Assyria?  18:34 Where are the gods of
Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and
Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?  18:35 Who are
they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their
country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out
of mine hand?  18:36 But the people held their peace, and answered him
not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

18:37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the
household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the
recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words
of Rabshakeh.

19:1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent
his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the
house of the LORD.

19:2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the
scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to
Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

19:3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of
trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children are come to
the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

19:4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh,
whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living
God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard:
wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

19:5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

19:6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus
saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with
which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

19:7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour,
and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the
sword in his own land.

19:8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring
against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.

19:9 And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is
come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto
Hezekiah, saying, 19:10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah,
saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying,
Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

19:11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to
all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?
19:12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers
have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of
Eden which were in Thelasar?  19:13 Where is the king of Hamath, and
the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena,
and Ivah?  19:14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the
messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the
LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of
Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even
thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven
and earth.

19:16 LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and
see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to
reproach the living God.

19:17 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the
nations and their lands, 19:18 And have cast their gods into the fire:
for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone:
therefore they have destroyed them.

19:19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out
of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art
the LORD God, even thou only.

19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith
the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against
Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

19:21 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The
virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to
scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

19:22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast
thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against
the Holy One of Israel.

19:23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the LORD, and hast said,
With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the
mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar
trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into
the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.

19:24 I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my
feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.

19:25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient
times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou
shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.

19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were
dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as
the green herb, as the grass on the house tops, and as corn blasted
before it be grown up.

19:27 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and
thy rage against me.

19:28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine
ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy
lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

19:29 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such
things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which
springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and
plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.

19:30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet
again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

19:31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that
escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.

19:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He
shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come
before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

19:33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall
not come into this city, saith the LORD.

19:34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and
for my servant David's sake.

19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went
out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and
five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they
were all dead corpses.

19:36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned,
and dwelt at Nineveh.

19:37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of
Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with
the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon
his son reigned in his stead.

20:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet
Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the
LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

20:2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
saying, 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked
before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that
which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

20:4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle
court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 20:5 Turn again,
and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the
God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy
tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up
unto the house of the LORD.

20:6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver
thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will
defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

20:7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it
on the boil, and he recovered.

20:8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the
LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD
the third day?  20:9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the
LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the
shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?  20:10 And
Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten
degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

20:11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the
shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of
Ahaz.

20:12 At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of
Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard
that Hezekiah had been sick.

20:13 And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house
of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and
the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that
was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all
his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.

20:14 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto
him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And
Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.

20:15 And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah
answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there
is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.

20:16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.

20:17 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that
which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be
carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

20:18 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt
beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace
of the king of Babylon.

20:19 Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD
which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and
truth be in my days?  20:20 And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and
all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought
water into the city, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?  20:21 And Hezekiah slept with his
fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned
fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Hephzibah.

21:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after
the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the
children of Israel.

21:3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father
had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as
did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and
served them.

21:4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD
said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.

21:5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts
of the house of the LORD.

21:6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times,
and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he
wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to
anger.

21:7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the
house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In
this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of
Israel, will I put my name for ever: 21:8 Neither will I make the feet
of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers;
only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded
them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded
them.

21:9 But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil
than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of
Israel.

21:10 And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, 21:11
Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath
done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him,
and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: 21:12 Therefore thus
saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon
Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall
tingle.

21:13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the
plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man
wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

21:14 And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver
them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and
a spoil to all their enemies; 21:15 Because they have done that which
was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day
their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.

21:16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had
filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he
made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the
LORD.

21:17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and
his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?  21:18 And Manasseh slept with his
fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden
of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

21:19 Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

21:20 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his
father Manasseh did.

21:21 And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and
served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them: 21:22
And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way
of the LORD.

21:23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the
king in his own house.

21:24 And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired
against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king
in his stead.

21:25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  21:26
And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah
his son reigned in his stead.

22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah,
the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

22:2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and
walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the
right hand or to the left.

22:3 And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that
the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the
scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying, 22:4 Go up to Hilkiah the
high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the
house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the
people: 22:5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the
work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them
give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to
repair the breaches of the house, 22:6 Unto carpenters, and builders,
and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

22:7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that
was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.

22:8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have
found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave
the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

22:9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king
word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was
found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that
do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.

22:10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the
priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

22:11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the
book of the law, that he rent his clothes.

22:12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of
Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and
Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying, 22:13 Go ye, enquire of the
LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the
words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD
that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened
unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is
written concerning us.

22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and
Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son
of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt
in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.

22:15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell
the man that sent you to me, 22:16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will
bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all
the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: 22:17 Because
they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that
they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands;
therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not
be quenched.

22:18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD,
thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As
touching the words which thou hast heard; 22:19 Because thine heart
was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou
heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants
thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast
rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith
the LORD.

22:20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou
shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not
see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought
the king word again.

23:1 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of
Judah and of Jerusalem.

23:2 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men
of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the
priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great:
and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant
which was found in the house of the LORD.

23:3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the
LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his
testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul,
to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book.
And all the people stood to the covenant.

23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests
of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out
of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and
for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them
without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of
them unto Bethel.

23:5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah
had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of
Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned
incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets,
and to all the host of heaven.

23:6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without
Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron,
and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the
graves of the children of the people.

23:7 And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the
house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.

23:8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and
defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from
Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that
were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the
city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.

23:9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the
altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened
bread among their brethren.

23:10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children
of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass
through the fire to Molech.

23:11 And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to
the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber
of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned
the chariots of the sun with fire.

23:12 And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of
Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh
had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat
down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into
the brook Kidron.

23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on
the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of
Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and
for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the
abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

23:14 And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and
filled their places with the bones of men.

23:15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that
altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and
stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.

23:16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were
there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the
sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according
to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who
proclaimed these words.

23:17 Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the
city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from
Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the
altar of Bethel.

23:18 And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they
let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of
Samaria.

23:19 And all the houses also of the high places that were in the
cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the
Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the
acts that he had done in Bethel.

23:20 And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there
upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to
Jerusalem.

23:21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover
unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.

23:22 Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the
judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel,
nor of the kings of Judah; 23:23 But in the eighteenth year of king
Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.

23:24 Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and
the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in
the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might
perform the words of the law which were written in the book that
Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

23:25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to
the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his
might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose
there any like him.

23:26 Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his
great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of
all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.

23:27 And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as
I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I
have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

23:28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
23:29 In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against the king
of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him;
and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.

23:30 And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and
brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the
people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him,
and made him king in his father's stead.

23:31 Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

23:32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that his fathers had done.

23:33 And Pharaohnechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of
Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a
tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

23:34 And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the
room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took
Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there.

23:35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he
taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of
Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land,
of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaohnechoh.

23:36 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

23:37 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that his fathers had done.

24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim
became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against
him.

24:2 And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of
the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of
Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the
word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets.

24:3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to
remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to
all that he did; 24:4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed:
for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not
pardon.

24:5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
24:6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son
reigned in his stead.

24:7 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land:
for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the
river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta,
the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

24:9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that his father had done.

24:10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came
up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

24:11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and
his servants did besiege it.

24:12 And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of
Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and
his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of
his reign.

24:13 And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the
LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the
vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of
the LORD, as the LORD had said.

24:14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all
the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the
craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the
people of the land.

24:15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's
mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the
land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

24:16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and
smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the
king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

24:17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king
in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

24:18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

24:19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

24:20 For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem
and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah
rebelled against the king of Babylon.

25:1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth
month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched
against it; and they built forts against it round about.

25:2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king
Zedekiah.

25:3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in
the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

25:4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night
by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's
garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the
king went the way toward the plain.

25:5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook
him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from
him.

25:6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon
to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.

25:7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out
the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried
him to Babylon.

25:8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is
the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came
Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon,
unto Jerusalem: 25:9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the
king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's
house burnt he with fire.

25:10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of
the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

25:11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the
fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of
the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.

25:12 But the captain of the guard left of the door of the poor of the
land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

25:13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and
the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did
the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to
Babylon.

25:14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons,
and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they
away.

25:15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of
gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took
away.

25:16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made
for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without
weight.

25:17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the
chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three
cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter
round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar
with wreathen work.

25:18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and
Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: 25:19
And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of
war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were
found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which
mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of
the land that were found in the city: 25:20 And Nebuzaradan captain of
the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to
Riblah: 25:21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at
Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their
land.

25:22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.

25:23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men,
heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came
to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan
the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite,
and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.

25:24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto
them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land,
and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.

25:25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son
of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten
men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the
Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.

25:26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of
the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the
Chaldees.

25:27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the
captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the
seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of
Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of
Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; 25:28 And he spake kindly to
him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with
him in Babylon; 25:29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat
bread continually before him all the days of his life.

25:30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the
king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.