1 Chronicles
Bible, King James Version
2 Kings
2Kgs.1
[
1] Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of
Ahab.
[
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, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this
disease.
[
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 inquire of
Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?
[
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.
[
5] And when the messengers turned
back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?
[
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 inquire of
Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on
which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
[
7] And he said unto
them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these
words?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
16] And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD,
Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of
Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?
therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but
shalt surely die.
[
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.
[
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?
2Kgs.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] 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
7] And fifty men of the sons of the prophets
went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
13] He
took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood
by the bank of Jordan;
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
20] And he
said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to
him.
[
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.
[
22] So
the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he
spake.
[
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.
[
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.
[
25] And he went from thence to
mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
2Kgs.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.
[
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] Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not
therefrom.
[
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.
[
5] But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the
king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
[
6] And king Jehoram
went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.
[
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.
[
8] And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered,
The way through the wilderness of Edom.
[
9] So the king of Israel
went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of
seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle
that followed them.
[
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!
[
11] But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the
LORD, that we may inquire 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
16] And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make
this valley full of ditches.
[
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.
[
18] And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD:
he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.
[
19] And 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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:
[
23] And
they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one
another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.
[
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.
[
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 Kir-haraseth left they the
stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
[
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.
[
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.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
3]
Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty
vessels; borrow not a few.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
9] And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that
this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
[
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.
[
11] And it fell on a
day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay
there.
[
12] And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite.
And when he had called her, she stood before him.
[
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.
[
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.
[
15] And
he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the
door.
[
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.
[
17] And the woman conceived, and bare a
son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of
life.
[
18] And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he
went out to his father to the reapers.
[
19] And he said unto his
father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his
mother.
[
20] And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother,
he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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:
[
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.
[
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.
[
28] Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say,
Do not deceive me?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
32] And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the
child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
[
33] He went in therefore, and
shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
[
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 he stretched himself upon the
child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
[
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.
[
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.
[
37] Then she went
in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son,
and went out.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
42] And there
came a man from Baal-shalisha, 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.
[
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.
[
44] So he set it before them, and they did eat,
and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
4] And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus
said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
9] So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and
stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
[
10] And Elisha sent a
messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh
shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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 earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a
blessing of thy servant.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
19] And
he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little
way.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
3]
And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he
answered, I will go.
[
4] So he went with them. And when they came to
Jordan, they cut down wood.
[
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] 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.
[
7] Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his
hand, and took it.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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.
[
14] Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a
great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
[
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?
[
16] And he answered, Fear
not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with
them.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
21] And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw
them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
[
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.
[
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.
[
24] And it came to pass after this, that
Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged
Samaria.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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?
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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]
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
11] And he called the porters; and they
told it to the king's house within.
[
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.
[
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.
[
14] They
took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the
Syrians, saying, Go and see.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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:
[
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.
[
20] And so it fell out unto him: for the
people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
7] And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria
was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come
hither.
[
8] And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine
hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall
I recover of this disease?
[
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 Ben-hadad king of Syria hath
sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
[
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.
[
11] And he settled
his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God
wept.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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 Jehoshaphat
king of Judah began to reign.
[
17] Thirty and two years old was he
when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
[
18]
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for
the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the
LORD.
[
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.
[
20] In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah,
and made a king over themselves.
[
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.
[
22] Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto
this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
28] And he went
with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in
Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.
[
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.
2Kgs.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 Ramoth-gilead:
[
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;
[
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.
[
4] So the young man, even the young
man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.
[
5] And when he came, behold,
the captains of the 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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] 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:
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
14] So Jehu
the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had
kept Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of
Syria.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
23] And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah,
There is treachery, O Ahaziah.
[
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.
[
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;
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
29] And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began
Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
[
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.
[
31] And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said,
Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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:
[
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.
2Kgs.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,
[
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;
[
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.
[
4] But they were
exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then
shall we stand?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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] 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.
[
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.
[
12] And he arose and
departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the
way,
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
16] And he said, Come with me,
and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his
chariot.
[
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.
[
18] And Jehu gathered all the people
together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve
him much.
[
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.
[
20] And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And
they proclaimed it.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
26] And they brought forth the
images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.
[
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.
[
28] Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of
Israel.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
32] In those days the LORD began to cut
Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;
[
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.
[
34] Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did,
and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel?
[
35] And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried
him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.
[
36] And
the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight
years.
2Kgs.11
[
1] And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her
son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
[
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.
[
3] And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years.
And Athaliah did reign over the land.
[
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.
[
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;
[
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.
[
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.
[
8] And ye shall
compass the king around 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.
[
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.
[
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] 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
19] And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and
the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from
the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the
king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.
[
20] And all the
people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah
with the sword beside the king's house.
[
21] Seven years old was
Jehoash when he began to reign.
2Kgs.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
Beer-sheba.
[
2] And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of
the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
[
3]
But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt
incense in the high places.
[
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,
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
8] And the priests consented to receive no
more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the
house.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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] 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.
[
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:
[
14]
But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the
LORD.
[
15] Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand
they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt
faithfully.
[
16] The trespass money and sin money was not brought into
the house of the LORD: it was the priests'.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
20] And his
servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo,
which goeth down to Silla.
[
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.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
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 Ben-hadad the son of Hazael,
all their days.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.)
[
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.
[
8] Now the rest of the acts of
Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
[
9] And Jehoahaz slept with
his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his
stead.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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] And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat
upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of
Israel.
[
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.
[
15] And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he
took unto him bow and arrows.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
20] And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of
the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
[
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.
[
22] But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of
Jehoahaz.
[
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.
[
24] So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned
in his stead.
[
25] And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of
the hand of Ben-hadad 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.
2Kgs.14
[
1] In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of
Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah.
[
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.
[
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.
[
4] Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet
the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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 Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah.
[
12] And Judah was put to
the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents.
[
13]
And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the
son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall
of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred
cubits.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
17] And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the
death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.
[
18]
And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?
[
19] Now they made a conspiracy
against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to
Lachish, and slew him there.
[
20] And they brought him on horses: and
he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.
[
21]
And all the people of Judah took Azariah, which was sixteen years old, and made
him king instead of his father Amaziah.
[
22] He built Elath, and
restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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 Gath-hepher.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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?
[
29]
And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and
Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.
2Kgs.15
[
1] In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of
Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.
[
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.
[
3] And he did that which was right in the sight of the
LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done;
[
4] Save that
the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still
on the high places.
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
10] And Shallum the son of
Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and
reigned in his stead.
[
11] And the rest of the acts of Zachariah,
behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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] 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
21] And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel?
[
22] And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son
reigned in his stead.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
27] In the two and fiftieth year
of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in
Samaria, and reigned twenty years.
[
28] And he did that which was evil
in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
[
29] In the days of Pekah king of
Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and
Abel-beth-maachah, and Jonoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee,
all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
[
30]
And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah,
and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of
Jotham the son of Uzziah.
[
31] 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.
[
32] In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah
king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to
reign.
[
33] Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign,
and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha,
the daughter of Zadok.
[
34] And he did that which was right in the
sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had
done.
[
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.
[
36] Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and
all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Judah?
[
37] In those days the LORD began to send against Judah
Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.
[
38] And
Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of
David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
2Kgs.16
[
1] In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah
Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
[
2] Twenty years
old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and
did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his
father.
[
3] But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, 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.
[
4] And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places,
and on the hills, and under every green tree.
[
5] Then Rezin king of
Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and
they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
[
6] At that time Rezin
king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the
Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.
[
7] So Ahaz sent
messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy
son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the
hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
[
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.
[
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.
[
10] And king Ahaz went to Damascus to
meet Tiglath-pileser 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.
[
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.
[
12]
And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king
approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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 inquire by.
[
16] Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all
that king Ahaz commanded.
[
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 a pavement of
stones.
[
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.
[
19] Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he
did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah?
[
20] And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
3] Against him came up Shalmaneser king
of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.
[
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.
[
5] Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land,
and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
[
6] In the ninth
year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into
Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the
cities of the Medes.
[
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 Pharoah king of Egypt, and had feared other
gods,
[
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.
[
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.
[
10] And they set them up images and groves in every high hill,
and under every green tree:
[
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:
[
12] For they
served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this
thing.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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] 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.
[
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.
[
19] Also Judah kept not the commandments of the
LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they
made.
[
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.
[
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.
[
22] For the
children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they
departed not from them;
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
29] Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them
in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in
their cities wherein they dwelt.
[
30] And the men of Babylon made
Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made
Ashima,
[
31] And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the
Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods
of Sepharvaim.
[
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.
[
33] They feared the LORD, and served
their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from
thence.
[
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;
[
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:
[
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.
[
37] And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and
the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore;
and ye shall not fear other gods.
[
38] And the covenant that I have
made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other
gods.
[
39] But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver
you out of the hand of all your enemies.
[
40] Howbeit they did not
hearken, but they did after their former manner.
[
41] So these nations
feared 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.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
3] And he did that which was right in
the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.
[
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.
[
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.
[
6] For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following
him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.
[
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.
[
8] He smote
the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the
watchmen to the fenced city.
[
9] And it came to pass in the fourth
year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of
Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged
it.
[
10] And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth
year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was
taken.
[
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:
[
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.
[
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.
[
14] And
Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have
offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the
king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of
silver and thirty talents of gold.
[
15] And Hezekiah gave him all the
silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the
king's house.
[
16] At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the
doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of
Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
[
17] And the
king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh 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] 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.
[
19] And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye
now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence
is this wherein thou trustest?
[
20] Thou sayest, (but they are but
vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou
trust, that thou rebellest against me?
[
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 Pharoah king of Egypt unto all that
trust on him.
[
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?
[
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.
[
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?
[
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.
[
26] Then said Eliakim the son of
Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, 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.
[
27] But Rab-shakeh 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.
[
28] Then Rab-shakeh 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:
[
29] Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive
you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
[
30]
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely
deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of
Assyria.
[
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:
[
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.
[
33] Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land
out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
[
34] Where are the gods of
Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have
they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?
[
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?
[
36] But the
people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment
was, saying, Answer him not.
[
37] Then came Eliakim the son of
Hilkiah, 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 Rab-shakeh.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
4] It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of
Rab-shakeh, 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.
[
5] So the servants
of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
[
6] And Isaiah said unto them, Thus
shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words
which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have
blasphemed me.
[
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.
[
8] So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the
king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed
from Lachish.
[
9] And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia,
Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto
Hezekiah, saying,
[
10] Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah,
saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem
shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
[
11]
Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by
destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?
[
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?
[
13] Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and
the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
17] Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria
have destroyed the nations and their lands,
[
18] And have cast their
gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and
stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
[
19] Now therefore, O 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
23] By the 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
26] Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were
dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green
herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown
up.
[
27] But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in,
and thy rage against me.
[
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.
[
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.
[
30] And the remnant that is
escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit
upward.
[
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.
[
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.
[
33] By the way
that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city,
saith the LORD.
[
34] For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine
own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
[
35] And it came to pass
that night, that the angel of 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.
[
36] So Sennacherib
king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at
Nineveh.
[
37] And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house
of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the
sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esar-haddon his son
reigned in his stead.
2Kgs.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.
[
2]
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
saying,
[
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.
[
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,
[
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.
[
6] And I will add unto thy
days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the
king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my
servant David's sake.
[
7] And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And
they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
[
8] And Hezekiah
said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I
shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?
[
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 forth ten degrees, or go back ten
degrees?
[
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.
[
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.
[
12] At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king
of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that
Hezekiah had been sick.
[
13] And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and
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.
[
14] Then came Isaiah the
prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from
whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country,
even from Babylon.
[
15] And he said, What have they seen in 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.
[
16] And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the
LORD.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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] 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?
[
21]
And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his
stead.
2Kgs.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
Hephzi-bah.
[
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.
[
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.
[
4] And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of
which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
[
5] And he built
altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the
LORD.
[
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.
[
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:
[
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.
[
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.
[
10] And the LORD spake by
his servants the prophets, saying,
[
11] Because Manasseh king of Judah
hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites
did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his
idols:
[
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.
[
13] And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line
of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a
man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
[
14] And I
will 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;
[
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.
[
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.
[
17] Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all
that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?
[
18] And Manasseh slept with his
fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza:
and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
[
19] Amon was twenty and two
years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his
mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
[
20]
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh
did.
[
21] And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and
served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
[
22] And
he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the
LORD.
[
23] And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew
the king in his own house.
[
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.
[
25] Now the rest of the acts of
Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Judah?
[
26] And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden
of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
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,
[
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:
[
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,
[
6] Unto carpenters, and
builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the
house.
[
7] Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money
that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.
[
8]
And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book
of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and
he read it.
[
9] And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought
the king word again, and said, Thy servants have 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.
[
10] And
Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me
a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
[
11] And it came to pass,
when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his
clothes.
[
12] And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam
the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and
Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying,
[
13] Go ye, inquire of the
LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this
book that is found: for great is 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.
[
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.
[
15] And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD
God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,
[
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:
[
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.
[
18] But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of
the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As
touching the words which thou hast heard;
[
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.
[
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.
2Kgs.23
[
1] And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the
elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
[
2] And the king went up into the
house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and
great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which
was found in the house of the LORD.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
8] And he brought all
the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the
priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba, and 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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 Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the
suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
[
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.
[
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.
[
14] And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the
groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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] But in the eighteenth year of
king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in
Jerusalem.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
28] Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah?
[
29] In his days Pharaoh-nechoh 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.
[
30] And his
servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to
Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took
Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's
stead.
[
31] Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to
reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
[
32] And he did that
which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had
done.
[
33] And Pharaoh-nechoh 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.
[
34] And
Pharaoh-nechoh 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.
[
35] And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold
to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment
of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of
every one according to his taxation, to give it unto
Pharaoh-nechoh.
[
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.
[
37] And he did that
which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had
done.
2Kgs.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.
[
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.
[
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;
[
4] And
also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent
blood; which the LORD would not pardon.
[
5] Now the rest of the acts
of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?
[
6] So Jehoiakim slept with his
fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
[
7] And the king
of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had
taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the
king of Egypt.
[
8] Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was
Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
[
9] And he did that
which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had
done.
[
10] At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
[
11] And
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did
besiege it.
[
12] And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king
of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his
officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his
reign.
[
13] And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house
of 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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
17] And the king of Babylon made
Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to
Zedekiah.
[
18] Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
[
19] And he did that
which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had
done.
[
20] For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in
Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah
rebelled against the king of Babylon.
2Kgs.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.
[
2] And the city was
besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
6] So they took the king, and
brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon
him.
[
7] And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put
out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him
to Babylon.
[
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
Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto
Jerusalem:
[
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.
[
10] And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the
captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round
about.
[
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 Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away.
[
12]
But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and
husbandmen.
[
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.
[
14] And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the
spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they
away.
[
15] And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of
gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took
away.
[
16] The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had
made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without
weight.
[
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.
[
18] And the
captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second
priest, and the three keepers of the door:
[
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:
[
20] And Nebuzar-adan
captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to
Riblah:
[
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.
[
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.
[
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 Nethahiah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth
the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their
men.
[
24] And Gedaliah 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] 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.
[
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.
[
27] And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of
the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven
and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the year
that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of
prison;
[
28] And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the
throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;
[
29] And changed
his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of
his life.
[
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.