~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ Now Moab revolted against Israel after the death of Ahab. And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber, which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will live from this sickness.” But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ “Now therefore thus says Yahweh, ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” Then Elijah departed. So the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’” And he said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” And they said to him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle girded about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” Then the king sent to him a commander of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” And Elijah answered and spoke to the commander of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent to him another commander of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and spoke to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.’” And Elijah answered and spoke to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent the commander of a third fifty with his fifty. Then the third commander of fifty went up and came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and he begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. “Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two commanders of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.” Then the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. Then he spoke to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’” So Ahaziah died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ Now it happened when Yahweh was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, for Yahweh has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” So they went down to Bethel. Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be silent.” And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for Yahweh has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” So they came to Jericho. Then the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from over you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.” Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” So the two of them went on. Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, but the two of them stood by the Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. Now it happened when they crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and it separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. And Elisha was seeing this and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” Indeed, he himself also struck the waters, and they were divided here and there! And Elisha crossed over. Then the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him and said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty excellent men, please let them go and search for your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him. So they returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?” Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the habitat of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. And he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or barrenness any longer.’” So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young boys came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” Then he looked behind him and saw them. And he cursed them in the name of Yahweh. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, though not like his father and his mother; and he took away the sacred pillar of Baal which his father had made. Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin; he did not turn away from them. Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder and used to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. But it happened that when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. And King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” And he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.” So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom; and they went around on a seven days’ journey, and there was no water for the camp or for the cattle that followed them. Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! For Yahweh has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of Yahweh here, that we may inquire of Yahweh by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of Yahweh is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No, for Yahweh has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.” And Elisha said, “As Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. “So now bring me a musician.” And it came about, when the musician played, that the hand of Yahweh came upon him. And he said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ “For thus says Yahweh, ‘You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your livestock and your cattle. ‘And this is but a light thing in the sight of Yahweh; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. ‘Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.’” Then it happened in the morning about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And they summoned all who were able to put on armor and older, and they stood on the border. Then they rose early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. Then they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought together, and they have struck down one another. So now, Moab, to the spoil!” So they came to the camp of Israel. And the Israelites arose and struck the Moabites. So they fled before them; and they went forward into the land, striking down the Moabites. Thus they tore down the cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. And they stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth they let its stones remain; however, the slingers went about it and struck it. Then the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him, so he took with him 700 men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. So he took his oldest son, who was to reign in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they set out from him and returned to their own land.

~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared Yahweh; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant-woman has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, ask for vessels for yourself, from those outside, from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. “And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured. Now it happened that when the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.” And the oil stopped. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she prevailed upon him to eat food. Now it happened, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. “Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it will be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.” Now it happened that one day he came there and turned in to the upper chamber, and there he lay down. Then he said to Gehazi his young man, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the commander of the army?’” And she answered, “I live among my own people.” So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Truly she has no son, and her husband is old.” And he said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. Then he said, “At this season next year you will embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your servant-woman.” Then the woman conceived and bore a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had said to her. Then the child was grown. And the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to his young man, “Carry him to his mother.” Then he carried him and brought him to his mother, and he sat on her knees until noon, and then died. Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. And she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return.” And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It is well.” Then she saddled a donkey and said to her young man, “Drive and go; do not hold back the pace of the ride for me unless I tell you.” So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. Now it happened that when the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his young man, “Behold, there is the Shunammite. “Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” And she answered, “It is well.” Then she came to the man of God to the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is bitter within her; and Yahweh has hidden it from me and has not told me.” Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?” Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go; if you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; and lay my staff on the boy’s face.” But the mother of the boy said, “As Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” And he arose and followed her. Now Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he returned to meet him and told him, saying, “The boy has not awakened.” Then Elisha came into the house, and behold, the boy was dead and laid on his bed. So he entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to Yahweh. And he went up and lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm. Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up and stretched himself on him; and the boy sneezed seven times and the boy opened his eyes. Then he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. Then she came in to him, and he said, “Take up your son.” Then she came in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground, and she took up her son and went out. Now Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his young man, “Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” Then one went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine and gathered from it wild gourds filling his cloak and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, for they did not know what they were. So they poured it out for the men to eat. And it happened that as they were eating of the stew, they cried out and said, “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” And they were unable to eat. But he said, “Now bring flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was no harm in the pot. Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat.” And his attendant said, “What, will I give this before one hundred men?” But he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says Yahweh, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” So he gave it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of Yahweh.
	
~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him Yahweh had given salvation to Aram. The man was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Now the Arameans had gone out in marauding bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were before the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” Then Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went and took in his hand ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “So now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” Now it happened that when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to put to death and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But know now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.” Now it happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ “Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in wrath. Then his servants approached and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet spoken with you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God with all his camp, and came and stood before him, and said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so now please take a blessing from your servant.” But he said, “As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. So Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules’ load of earth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh. “In this matter may Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Yahweh pardon your servant in this matter.” And he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went from him some distance. Then Gehazi, the young man of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. And Naaman saw one running after him, so he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all at peace?” And he said, “All is at peace. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.’” Then Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.” And he urged him and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his young men; and they carried them before him. So he came to the hill, and he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house. Then he sent the men away, and they departed. But he came in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.” Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female slaves? “Thus the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your seed forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. “Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” So he said, “Go.” Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I shall go.” So he went with them; and they came to the Jordan and cut down trees. Now it happened that as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.” Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. And he said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he sent forth his hand and took it. Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” And the man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.” And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice. Then the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” So he sent horses and chariots and a heavy military force there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. Then the attendant of the man of God arose early and went out, and behold, a military force with horses and chariots was all around the city. And his young man said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he said, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Yahweh, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city; walk after me and I will walk you over to the man whom you seek.” And he walked them over to Samaria. Now it happened that when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So Yahweh opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” And he said, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and walk back to their master.” So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel. Now it happened afterwards, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his military camp and went up and besieged Samaria. Now there was a great famine in Samaria. And behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Save, my lord, O king!” He said, “If Yahweh does not save you, from where shall I save you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ “So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body. Then he said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today.” Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” While he was still speaking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “Behold, this evil is from Yahweh; why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”

~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of Yahweh; thus says Yahweh, ‘About this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’” And the royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.” Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. So now come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they put us to death, we will die.” So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. Then they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, but behold, there was no one there. Now the Lord had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great military force, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.” Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and forsook their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life. So these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp and entered one tent and ate and drank. Then they carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and they went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also and went and hid them. Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. So now, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were.” And the gatekeepers called and told it within the king’s household. Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.’” And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let some men take five of the remaining horses, which remain in the city. Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who remain in it; behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already come to an end, so let us send and see.” They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the camp of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.” Then they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and told the king. So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh. Now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had spoken, who spoke when the king came down to him. So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel and a seah of fine flour for a shekel will be sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria.” And the royal officer had answered the man of God and said, “Now behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.” And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ Now Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years.” So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. Now it happened at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to cry out to the king for her house and for her field. Now the king was speaking with Gehazi, the young man of the man of God, saying, “Please recount to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” Now it happened as he was recounting to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life was crying out to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” Then the king asked the woman, and she recounted it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.” Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told to him, saying, “The man of God has come here.” And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’” So Hazael went to meet him and took a present in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’” Then Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will surely be restored to life,’ but Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die.” And he fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. Then Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he said, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their fortifications you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their infants you will dash in pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip up.” Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” So he went from Elisha and came to his master. And he said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he said, “He said to me that you would surely be restored to life.” Now it happened that on the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face; so he died. And Hazael became king in his place. Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab became his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. However, Yahweh was not willing to make Judah a ruin, for the sake of David His servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always. In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves. Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots; but his army fled to their tents. So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. Now 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? So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son became king in his place. In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah became king. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab. Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war with Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans struck Joram. So King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had caused by striking him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.

~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead. “And you will come there and look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi. And you will come in and bid him arise from among his brothers. And you will cause him to come in to an inner room. “Then you will take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.” So the young man—the young man of the prophet—went to Ramoth-gilead. Then he came, and behold, the commanders of the military were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O commander.” And he arose and came into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I have anointed you king over the people of Yahweh, even over Israel. ‘And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My slaves the prophets, and the blood of all the slaves of Yahweh, at the hand of Jezebel. ‘For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person both bond and free in Israel. ‘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. ‘And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the property of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’” Then he opened the door and fled. Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his talk.” And they said, “It is a lie, declare it to us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ” Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!” So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram with all Israel was guarding Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram, but King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had struck him with when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one escape or leave the city to go declare it in Jezreel.” Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” So a horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” And the watchman declared saying, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.” Then he sent out a second horseman. And he came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” And the watchman declared saying, “He came up to them, but he did not return; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives in madness.” Then Joram said, “Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him in the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. Now it happened that when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?” So Joram turned about and fled and said to Ahaziah, “There is deception, O Ahaziah!” And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went through his heart and he crouched down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Lift him up and cast him into the property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that Yahweh lifted up this oracle against him: ‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says Yahweh, ‘and I will repay you in this property,’ says Yahweh. So now, lift him up and cast him into the property, according to the word of Yahweh.” And Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this and fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “Strike him down too, in the chariot.” So they struck him down at the ascent of Gur, which is at Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there. Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David. Now in the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah. Then Jehu came to Jezreel, and Jezebel heard of it and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, Zimri, your master’s killer?” Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three officials looked down at him. 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 trampled her under foot. Then he came in and ate and drank. And he said, “Take care now of this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. Therefore they returned and declared it to him. And he said, “This is the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.” ’ ”
	
~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying, “So now, when this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons, look for the best and fittest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.” But they feared exceedingly greatly and said, “Behold, the two kings did not stand before him; how then can we stand?” And the one who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, all that you say to us we will do, we will not make any man king; do what is good in your sight.” Then he wrote a letter to them a second time saying, “If you are on my side, and you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me about this time tomorrow at Jezreel.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. Now it happened that when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel. Then the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” So he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.” Now it happened in the morning that he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are righteous; behold, I conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? “Know then that nothing from the word of Yahweh, which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab, shall fall to the earth. Indeed, Yahweh has done what He spoke by the hand of His servant Elijah.” So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until there was no survivor remaining for him. Then he arose and came out and went to Samaria. On the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds, Jehu found the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they said, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” Then he said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them. Then he went from there and found Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he blessed him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. Then he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for Yahweh.” So he made him ride in his chariot. And he came to Samaria and struck down all who were left to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of Yahweh which He spoke to Elijah. Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. “So now, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his slaves and all his priests; let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it in cunning, so that he might cause the slaves of Baal to perish. And Jehu said, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” And they summoned them. Then Jehu sent throughout Israel, and all the slaves of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. Then he said to the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the slaves of Baal.” So he brought out garments for them. And Jehu came into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the slaves of Baal, “Search and see lest there be here with you any of the slaves of Yahweh, but only the slaves of Baal.” Then they came in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had placed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, “The one who permits any of the men whom I cause to come into your hands to escape, shall give up his life in exchange.” Now it happened that as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the royal officers, “Come in, strike them down; let none come out.” And they struck them down with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw them out and went to the inner room of the house of Baal. And they brought out the sacred pillars of the house of Baal and burned them. They also broke down the sacred pillar of Baal and broke down the house of Baal and made it a latrine to this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. And Yahweh said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin. In those days Yahweh began to cut off portions from Israel; and Hazael struck them throughout the territory of Israel: from the Jordan to the east toward the sunrise, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. 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? And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. Now the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ Now Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son had died. So she rose and caused all the royal seed to perish. 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 who were being put to death, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death. So he was hidden away with her in the house of Yahweh six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land. Now in the seventh year Jehoiada sent for and took the commanders of hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him in the house of Yahweh. Then he cut a covenant with them and had them swear in the house of Yahweh, and showed them the king’s son. And he commanded them, saying, “This is the thing that you shall do: one-third of you, who come in on the sabbath and keep watch over the king’s house (one-third also shall be at the gate Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the guards), shall keep watch over the house for defense. “And two parts of you, even all who go out on the sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of Yahweh for the king. “And you shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within the ranks shall be put to death. And be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.” So the commanders of hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. Then the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds the spears and small shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of Yahweh. And the guards stood each with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. Then he brought the king’s son out and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony; and they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!” Then Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, and she came to the people in the house of Yahweh. And she looked, and behold, the king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, with the commanders and the trumpeters beside the king; and all the people of the land were glad and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” And Jehoiada the priest commanded the commanders of hundreds who were appointed over the military force and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever follows her put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of Yahweh.” So they laid hands on her, and she arrived at the horses’ entrance of the king’s house and was put to death there. Then Jehoiada cut a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that they would be the people of Yahweh, also between the king and the people. And all the people of the land came to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed overseers over the house of Yahweh. And he took the commanders of hundreds and the Carites and the guards and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of Yahweh, and came by the way of the gate of the guards to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. So all the people of the land were glad, and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword at the king’s house. Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.

~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Jehoash did what was right in the sight of Yahweh all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Then Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the sacred things which is brought into the house of Yahweh, both the money for each numbered man—the money from each person’s assessment in the census—and all the money which any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of Yahweh, let the priests take it for themselves, each from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the damages of the house wherever any damage may be found.” Now it happened that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had not repaired the damages of the house. Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests and said to them, “Why do you not repair the damages of the house? So now, take no more money from your acquaintances, but give it over to pay for the damages of the house.” So the priests agreed that they would take no more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the house. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid and put it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh; and the priests who kept watch over the threshold put in it all the money which was brought into the house of Yahweh. Now it happened that when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up and tied it in bags and counted the money which was found in the house of Yahweh. And they gave the money, which was weighed out, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of Yahweh; and they paid it out to the craftsmen of wood and the builders who worked on the house of Yahweh; and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the damages to the house of Yahweh, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. But there were not made for the house of Yahweh silver cups, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver from the money which was brought into the house of Yahweh; for they gave that to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of Yahweh. Moreover, they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they paid the money in order to pay those who did the work, for they were doing it faithfully. The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of Yahweh; it was for the priests. Then Hazael king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and captured it, and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Jehoash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had set apart as holy, and his own holy things and all the gold that was found among the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and of the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Aram. Then he went away from Jerusalem. Now 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? And his servants arose and made a conspiracy and struck down Joash at the house of Millo as he was going down to Silla. Now Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amaziah his son became king in his place.

~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them. So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. Then Jehoahaz entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. And Yahweh gave Israel a savior, so that they came out from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly. Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. For he did not leave to Jehoahaz any people for the army except 50 horsemen and 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had caused them to perish and made them like the dust at threshing. 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? And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Joash his son became king in his place. In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned sixteen years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin, but he walked in them. Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die. So Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And he said, “Yahweh’s arrow of salvation, even the arrow of salvation over Aram; for you will strike the Arameans at Aphek until you have consumed them.” Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stood still. So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have consumed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.” And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the marauding bands of the Moabites would enter into the land in the spring of the year. Now it happened that they were burying a man, and behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he became alive and stood up on his feet. Now Hazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. But Yahweh was gracious to them and had compassion on them and turned to them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not bring them to ruin or cast them from His presence until now. Then Hazael king of Aram died, and Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of Jehoahaz his father. Three times Joash struck him and recovered the cities of Israel.

~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, yet not like David his father; he did according to all that Joash his father had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Now it happened as soon as the kingdom was strong in his hand, that he struck down his servants who had struck down the king his father. But the sons of those who struck him down he did not put to death, according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses, which Yahweh commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor sons be put to death for their fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.” He struck down 10,000 of Edom in the Valley of Salt and seized Sela by war and named it Joktheel to this day. Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face each other.” And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thorn bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ But a beast of the field that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush. “You have indeed struck down Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Enjoy your glory and stay at home; for why should you provoke calamity so that you, even you, would fall, and Judah with you?” But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. And Judah was defeated by Israel, and they fled each to his tent. Then Jehoash king of Israel seized Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, 400 cubits. And he took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria. 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? So Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son became king in his place. And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. Then they carried him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. He built Elath and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria and reigned forty-one years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. For Yahweh saw the affliction of Israel, which was very bitter; for there was neither bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel. But Yahweh did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son became king in his place.

~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Then Yahweh smote the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, while Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land. Now 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? And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son became king in his place. In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria for six months. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him before the people and put him to death and became king in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. This is the word of Yahweh which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” And so it was. Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samaria. Then Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and struck Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and put him to death and became king in his place. Now 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. Then Menahem struck Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, because they did not open to him; therefore he struck it and ripped up all its pregnant women. In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. Pul, king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom in his hand. Then Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of valor, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land. Now 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? And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son became king in his place. In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned two years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. Then Pekah son of Remaliah, his officer, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria, in the castle of the king’s house with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites, and he put him to death and became king in his place. Now 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. In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned twenty years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he took them away into exile to Assyria. And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah and struck him and put him to death and became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. Now the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh. 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? In those days Yahweh began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son became king in his place.
		
~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of Yahweh his God, as David his father had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel. He also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Aram restored Elath for Aram and cleared the Judeans out of Elath entirely; and the Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a gift to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and seized it and took the people of it away into exile to Kir, and put Rezin to death. Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria and saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the likeness of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made it, before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus. So the king came from Damascus, and the king saw the altar; then the king drew near the altar and made offerings on it, and offered his burnt offering and his meal offering up in smoke, and poured his drink offering and splashed the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. Now as for the bronze altar, which was before Yahweh, he drew it away from the front of the house, from between his altar and the house of Yahweh, and he put it on the north side of his altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar offer up in smoke the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their grain offering and their drink offerings; and splash on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” So Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded. Then King Ahaz cut off the borders of the stands and removed the laver from them; he also took down the sea from the bronze oxen which were under it and put it on a pavement of stone. And the covered way for the sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entry of the king, he removed from the house of Yahweh because of the king of Assyria. 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? So Ahaz slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Hezekiah his son became king in his place.
		
~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned nine years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him. Shalmaneser king of Assyria went up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria went up against the whole land and he went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Now this happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God—who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt—and they had feared other gods and walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel, and in the statutes of the kings of Israel which they had made. And the sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. And they set for themselves sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger. And they served idols, concerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” Yet Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My slaves the prophets.” However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God. They also rejected His statutes and His covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which Yahweh had commanded them not to do like them. And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination and omens, and sold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and caused them to depart from His presence; none was left except the tribe of Judah alone. Also Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes which Israel had made. So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His presence. When He had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh and made them sin a great sin. And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them until Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, as He spoke through all His slaves the prophets. So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day. And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. Now it happened at the beginning of their settlement there, that they did not fear Yahweh; therefore Yahweh sent lions among them which were killing them. So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken away into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are putting them to death because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.” Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you took away into exile and let him go and live there; and let him instruct them the custom of the god of the land.” So one of the priests whom they had taken away into exile from Samaria came and settled at Bethel, and instructed them how they should fear Yahweh. But each nation was still making gods of its own and put them in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, each nation in their cities in which they lived. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim. They were also fearing Yahweh and appointed from among all of themselves priests of the high places, and they were acting for them in the houses of the high places. They were fearing Yahweh and serving their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken away into exile. To this day they are acting according to the earlier customs: they are not fearing Yahweh; they are not acting according to their statutes or their judgments or the law, or the commandment which Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel; with whom Yahweh cut a covenant and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, nor worship them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them. “But Yahweh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall sacrifice. “And the statutes and the judgments and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to do forever; and you shall not fear other gods. “And the covenant that I have cut with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. “But Yahweh your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” However, they did not listen, but they were acting according to their earlier custom. So while these nations were fearing Yahweh, they also were serving their graven images; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers acted, so they are acting this way to this day.

~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ Now it happened in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done. He took away the high places and shattered the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel were burning incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. So he clung to Yahweh; he did not turn away from following Him, but kept His commandments, which Yahweh had commanded Moses. And Yahweh was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city. Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. And at the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. Then the king of Assyria took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, but trespassed against His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded; they would neither listen nor do it. Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong. Turn away from me; whatever penalty you give to me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria set a penalty on Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Thus Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of Yahweh and from the doorposts, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a heavy military force to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the fuller’s field. Then they called to the king, and Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them. Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this trust that you have? “You say (but they are only empty words), ‘I have counsel and might for the war.’ Now on whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me? “Now behold, you trust in the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? “So now, come, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to give riders for them. “How then can you turn away one official of the least of my master’s servants, and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? “So now, have I come up without the approval of Yahweh against this place to make it a ruin? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land and make it a ruin.’” Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak with us in Judean in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?” Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. “Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from his hand; and do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ‘Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, “Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey, that you may live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” ‘Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? When have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ‘Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that Yahweh would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ Now it happened that when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of Yahweh. Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, reproof, and rejection; for children have come to the point of breaking forth, but there is no strength to give birth. ‘Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore, lift up a prayer for the remnant that is left.’” So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. “Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a report and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ” Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had set out from Lachish. Then he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying, “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ‘Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction. So will you be delivered? ‘Did the gods of those nations which my fathers brought to ruin deliver them, even Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? ‘Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’” Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it out before Yahweh. And Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. “Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; open Your eyes, O Yahweh, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. “Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have put their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. “But now, O Yahweh our God, I pray, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Yahweh, are God.” Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.’ “This is the word that Yahweh has spoken against him: ‘She has despised you and mocked you, The virgin daughter of Zion; She has shaken her head behind you, The daughter of Jerusalem! ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you heightened your voice, And haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! ‘Through your messengers you have reproached the Lord, And you have said, “With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains, To the remotest parts of Lebanon; And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses. And I entered its farthest lodging place, its thickest forest. “I dug wells and drank foreign waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the rivers of Egypt.” ‘Have you not heard? Long ago I did it; From days of old I formed it. Now I have brought it to pass, That you should devastate fortified cities into ruinous heaps. ‘So their inhabitants were short of power, They were dismayed and put to shame; They were as the plant of the field and as the green herb, As grass on the rooftops is scorched before it rises. ‘But I know your sitting down, And your going out and your coming in, And your raging against Me. ‘Because of your raging against Me, And because your presumptuousness has come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose, And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back by the way which you came. ‘Then this shall be the sign for you: you will eat this year what grows of its own accord, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. ‘And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. ‘For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of Yahweh will do this. ‘Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the king of Assyria, “He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. “By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,” ’ declares Yahweh. ‘Indeed I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’” Now it happened that night, that the angel of Yahweh went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And the men arose early in the morning, and behold, all of them were dead bodies. So Sennacherib king of Assyria set out and went away and returned home and lived at Nineveh. Now it happened that as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, saying, “Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept greatly. Now it happened that Isaiah had not gone out of the middle court, and the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “Return and say to Hezekiah the ruler of My people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of Yahweh. “And I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.” ’ ” Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laid it on the boil, and he was restored to life. Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of Yahweh the third day?” And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or turn back ten steps?” So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to stretch forward ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.” Isaiah the prophet cried to Yahweh, and He turned the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the good oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah said, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.” Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh. ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have treasured up to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says Yahweh. ‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahweh which you have spoken is good.” For he said, “Will it not be good, if there will be peace and truth in my days?” Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son became king in his place.

~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh dispossessed before the sons of Israel. Indeed, he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of Yahweh, of which Yahweh had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.” Indeed, he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Yahweh. He even made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying and interpreted omens, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much that was evil in the sight of Yahweh provoking Him to anger. Then he put the graven image of Asherah, which he had made, in the house of which Yahweh had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. “And I will not make the foot of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray in order to do more evil than the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the sons of Israel. Then Yahweh spoke by the hand of His slaves the prophets, saying, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations—he has done evil more than all the Amorites did who were before him—and has also made Judah sin with his idols, therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. ‘And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the level of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish—he wipes it and turns it upside down. ‘And I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies; because they have done what is evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’” Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing what is evil in the sight of Yahweh. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin which he sinned, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 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 became king in his place. Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done. And he walked in all the way that his father had walked and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them. So he forsook Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of Yahweh. Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his own house. Then the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 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? And he was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in his place.

~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh and walked in all the way of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. Now it happened 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 Yahweh saying, “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may count the money brought into the house of Yahweh which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. “And let them give it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh, and let them give it to those who do the work, who are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the damages of the house, to the craftsmen and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house. “Only no accounting shall be made with them for the money given into their hands, for they deal faithfully.” Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and responded to the king with a word and said, “Your servants have poured out the money that was found in the house and have given it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh.” Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, “Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and the people and all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of Yahweh which is set aflame against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to me, thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. “Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath is set aflame against this place, and it shall not be quenched.” ’ “But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become an object of horror, and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh. “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.

~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of Yahweh 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 hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Yahweh. Then the king stood by the pillar and cut a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to establish the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven. And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people. He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of Yahweh, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah. Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. He also defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech. And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. Also, the altars which were on the roof, 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 Yahweh, the king tore down; and he crushed them there and threw their dust into the brook Kidron. And the high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the detestable idol of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with human bones. Furthermore, the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. Then Josiah turned, and he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. And also all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking Yahweh to anger, Josiah removed; and he did to them just as he had done in Bethel. And all the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Then the king commanded all the people saying, “Celebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God as it is written in this book of the covenant.” For such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to Yahweh in Jerusalem. Moreover, the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah purged in order that he might establish the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. And before him there was no king like him who turned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him. However, Yahweh did not turn from His great burning anger, His anger which burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him to anger. And Yahweh said, “I will remove Judah also from My presence, as I have removed Israel. And I will reject Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’” 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? In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he put him to death at Megiddo. And his servants drove his body in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father. Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his fathers had done. And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt, and he died there. So Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his fathers had done.

~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. And Yahweh sent against him marauding bands of Chaldeans, marauding bands of Arameans, marauding bands of Moabites, and marauding bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Yahweh which He had spoken by the hand of His slaves the prophets. Surely at the command of Yahweh it came upon Judah, to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and Yahweh was not willing to pardon. 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? So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. And the king of Egypt did not go out of his land again, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his father had done. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. Then Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his commanders and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. And he brought out from there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, 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 Yahweh, just as Yahweh had spoken. Then he took away into exile all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None was left except the poorest people of the land. So he took Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Now all the valiant men, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all mighty men who could wage war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon. Then the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of Yahweh this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his military force, against Jerusalem, and he camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so strong in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. But the military force of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his military force was scattered from him. Then they seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they spoke their judgment on him. And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon. Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of Yahweh, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. So all the military force of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the defectors who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took away into exile. But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of Yahweh, and the stands and the bronze sea which were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans shattered and carried the bronze to Babylon. They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used to minister. The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network. Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three doorkeepers of the temple. And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and five of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and led them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land. Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. Then all the commanders of the military forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor. So they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. Then Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.” But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died, along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. Then all the people, both small and great, and the commanders of the military forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans. Now it happened in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; and he spoke to him good words, and he set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and had his meals in the king’s presence continually all the days of his life; and for his allowance, a continual allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.