1.1 And Moab repelled against Israel after the death of Achaab.
1.2 Ochozias fell through the lattice that was
in his upper chamber in Samaria and was sick; and he sent messengers,
and said to them, Go and enquire of Baal fly, the god of Accaron,
whether I shall recover of this my sickness. And they went to enquire
of him.
1.3 And an angel of the Lord called Eliu the
Thesbite, saying, Arise, and go to meet the messengers of Ochozias king
of Samaria, and thou shalt say to them, [Is it] because there is no God
in Israel, [that] ye go to enquire of Baal fly, the God of Accaron? but
[it shall] not [be] so.
1.4 For thus saith the Lord, The bed on which
thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it, for thou shalt
surely die. And Eliu went, and said [so] to them.
1.5 And the messenger returned to him, and he said to them, Why have ye returned?
1.6 And they said to him, A man came up to meet
us, and said to us, Go, return to the king that sent you, and say to
him, Thus saith the Lord, [Is it] because there is no God in Israel,
[that] thou goest to enquire of Baal fly, the God of Accaron? [it
shall] not [be] so: the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not
come down from it, for thou shalt surely die.
1.7 So they returned and reported to the king
as Eliu said: and he said to them, What [was] the manner of the man who
went up to mid you, and spoke to you these words?
1.8 And they said to him, [He was] a hairy man,
and girt with a leathern girdle about his loins. And he said, This is
Eliu the Thesbite.
1.9 And he sent to him a captain of fifty and
his fifty; and he went up to him: and, behold, Eliu sat on the top of a
mountain. And the captain of fifty spoke to him, and said, O man of
God, the king has called thee, come down.
1.10 And Eliu answered and said to the captain of
fifty, And if I [am] a man of God, fire shall come down out of heaven,
and devour thee and thy fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and
devoured him and his fifty.
1.11 And the king sent a second time to him another
captain of fifty, and his fifty. And the captain of fifty spoke to him,
and said, O man of God, thus says the king, Come down quickly.
1.12 And Eliu answered and spoke to him, and said, If
I [am] a man of God, fire shall come down out of heaven, and devour
thee and thy fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and devoured him
and his fifty.
1.13 And the king sent yet again a captain and his
fifty. And the third captain of fifty came, and knelt on his knees
before Eliu, and entreated him, and spoke to him and said, O man of
God, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious
in thine eyes.
1.14 Behold, fire came down from heaven, and devoured
the two first captains of fifty: and now, I pray, let my life be
precious in thine eyes.
1.15 And the angel of the Lord spoke to Eliu, and
said Go down with him, be not afraid of them. And Eliu rose up, and
went down with him to the king.
1.16 And Eliu spoke to him, and said, Thus saith the
Lord, Why hast thou sent messengers to enquire of Baal fly, the god of
Accaron? [it shall] not [be] so: the bed on which thou art gone up,
thou shalt not come down from it, for thou shalt surely die.
1.17 So he died according to the word of the Lord which Eliu has spoken.
1.18 And the rest of the acts of Ochozias which he
did, behold, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Israel? and Joram son of Achaab reigns over Israel in
Samaria twelve years [beginning] in the eighteenth year of Josaphat
king of Juda: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,
only not as his brethren, nor as his mother: and he removed the pillars
of Baal which his father made, and broke them in pieces: only he was
joined to the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who led Israel to sin; he
departed not from them. And the Lord was very angry with the house of
Achaab.
2.1
And it came to pass, when the Lord was going to take Eliu with a
whirlwind as it were into heaven, that Eliu and Elisaie went out of
Galgala.
2.2 And Eliu said to Elisaie, Stay here, I pray
thee; for God has sent me to Baethel. And Elisaie said, [As] the Lord
lives and thy soul lives, I will not leave thee; so they came to
Baethel.
2.3 And the sons of the prophets who were in
Baethel came to Elisaie, and said to him, Dost thou know, that the Lord
this day is going to take thy lord away from thy head? And he said,
Yea, I know [it]; be silent.
2.4 And Eliu said to Elisaie, Stay here, I pray
thee; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he said, [As] the Lord
lives and thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And they came to
Jericho.
2.5 And the sons of the prophets who were in
Jericho drew near to Elisaie, and said to him, Dost thou know that the
Lord is about to take away thy master to-day from thy head? And he
said, Yea, I know [it]; hold your peace.
2.6 And Eliu said to him, Stay here I pray
thee, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. And Elisaie said, [As] the
Lord lives and thy soul lives, I will not leave thee: and they both
went on.
2.7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets
[went also], and they stood opposite afar off: and both stood on [the
bank] of Jordan.
2.8 And Eliu took his mantle, and wrapped it
together, and smote the water: and the water was divided on this side
and on that side, and they both went over on dry ground.
2.9 And it came to pass while they were
crossing over, that Eliu said to Elisaie, Ask what I shall do for thee
before I am taken up from thee. And Elisaie said, Let there be, I pray
thee, a double [portion] of thy spirit upon me.
2.10 And Eliu said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: if
thou shalt see me when I am taken up from thee, then shall it be so to
thee; and if not, it shall not be [so].
2.11 And it came to pass as they were going, they
went on talking; and, behold, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire,
and it separated between them both; and Eliu was taken up in a
whirlwind as it were into heaven.
2.12 And Elisaie saw, and cried, Father, father, the
chariot of Israel, and the horseman thereof! And he saw him no more:
and he took hold of his garments, and rent them into two pieces.
2.13 And Elisaie took up the mantle of Eliu, which
fell from off him upon Elisaie; and Elisaie returned, and stood upon
the brink of Jordan;
2.14 and he took the mantle of Eliu, which fell from
off him, and smote the water, and said, Where is the Lord God of Eliu?
and he smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither; and
Elisaie went over.
2.15 And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho
on the opposite side saw him, and said, The spirit of Eliu has rested
upon Elisaie. And they came to meet him, and did obeisance to him to
the ground.
2.16 And they said to him, Behold now, [there are]
with thy servants fifty men of strength: let them go now, and seek thy
lord: peradventure the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up, and cast
him into Jordan, or on one of the mountains, or on one of the hills.
And Elisaie said, Ye shall not send.
2.17 And they pressed him until he was ashamed; and
he said, Send. And they sent fifty men, and sought three days, and
found him not.
2.18 And they returned to him, for he dwelt in Jericho: and Elisaie said, Did I not say to you, Go not?
2.19 And the men of the city said to Elisaie, Behold,
the situation of the city [is] good, as [our] lord sees; but the waters
[are] bad, and the ground barren.
2.20 And Elisaie said, Bring me a new pitcher, and
put salt in it. And they took [one], and brought [it] to him.
2.21 And Elisaie went out to the spring of the
waters, and cast salt therein, and says, Thus saith the Lord, I have
healed these waters; there shall not be any longer death thence or
barren [land].
2.22 And the waters were healed until this day, according to the word of Elisaie which he spoke.
2.23 And he went up thence to Baethel: and as he was
going up by the way there came up also little children from the city,
and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, bald-head, go up.
2.24 And he turned after them, and saw them, and
cursed them in the name of the Lord. And, behold, there came out two
bears out of the wood, and they tore forty and two children of them.
2.25 And he went thence to mount Carmel, and returned thence to Samaria.
3.1
And Joram the son of Achaab began to reign in Israel in the eighteenth
year of Josaphat king of Juda, and he reigned twelve years.
3.2 And he did that which was evil in the sight
of the Lord, only not as his father, nor as his mother: and he removed
the pillars of Baal which his father had made.
3.3 Only he adhered to the sin of Jeroboam the
son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin; he departed not from it.
3.4 And Mosa king of Moab was a sheep-master,
and he rendered to the king of Israel in the beginning [of the year], a
hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
3.5 And it came to pass, after the death of
Achaab, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
3.6 And king Joram went forth in that day out of Samaria, and numbered Israel.
3.7 And he went and sent to Josaphat king of
Juda, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me: wilt thou go
with me against Moab to war? And he said, I will go up: thou art as I,
I am as thou; as my people, so [is] thy people, as my horses, so [are]
thy horses.
3.8 And he said, What way shall I go up? and he said, The way of the wilderness of Edom.
3.9 And the king of Israel went, and the king
of Juda, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven
days' journey; and there was no water for the army, and for the cattle
that went with them.
3.10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the Lord
should have called the three kings on their way, to give them into the
hand of Moab.
3.11 And Josaphat said, Is there not here a prophet
of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the
servants of the king of Israel answered and said, [There is] here
Elisaie son of Saphat, who poured water on the hands of Eliu.
3.12 And Josaphat said, He has the word of the Lord.
And the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, and the king of
Edom, went down to him.
3.13 And Elisaie said to the king of Israel, What
have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and the
prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Has the
Lord called the three kings to deliver them into the hands of Moab?
3.14 And Elisaie said, [As] the Lord of hosts before
whom I stand lives, unless I regarded the presence of Josaphat the king
of Juda, I would not have looked on thee, nor seen thee.
3.15 And now fetch me a harper. And it came to pass,
as the harper harped, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.
3.16 And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of trenches.
3.17 For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind,
neither shall ye see rain, yet this valley shall be filled with water,
and ye, and your flocks, and your cattle shall drink.
3.18 And this [is] a light [thing] in the eyes of the Lord: I will also deliver Moab into your hand.
3.19 And ye shall smite every strong city, and ye
shall cut down every good tree, and ye shall stop all wells of water,
and spoil every good piece [of land] with stones.
3.20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the
sacrifice was offered, that, behold! waters came from the way of Edom,
and the land was filled with water.
3.21 And all Moab heard that the three kings were
come up to fight against them; and they cried out on every [side, even]
all that were girt with a girdle, and they said, Ho! and stood upon the
border.
3.22 And they rose early in the morning, and the sun
rose upon the waters, and Moab saw the waters on the opposite side red
as blood.
3.23 And they said, This [is] the blood of the sword;
and the kings have fought, and each man has smitten his neighbour; now
then to the spoils, Moab.
3.24 And they entered into the camp of Israel; and
Israel arose and smote Moab, and they fled from before them; and they
went on and smote Moab as they went.
3.25 And they razed the cities, and cast every man
his stone on every good piece [of land] and filled it; and they stopped
every well, and cut down every good tree, until they left [only] the
stones of the wall cast down; and the slingers compassed [the land],
and smote it.
3.26 And the king of Moab saw that the battle
prevailed against him; and he took with him seven hundred men that drew
sword, to cut through to the king of Edom: and they could not.
3.27 And he took his eldest son whom he had designed
to reign in his stead, and offered him up for a whole-burnt-offering on
the walls. And there was a great indignation against Israel; and they
departed from him, and returned to their land.
4.1
And one of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisaie,
saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy
servant feared the Lord: and the creditor is come to take my two sons
to be his servants.
4.2 And Elisaie said, What shall I do for thee?
tell me what thou hast in the house. And she said, Thy servant has
nothing in the house, except oil wherewith I anoint myself.
4.3 And he said to her, Go, borrow for thyself
vessels without of all thy neighbours, [even] empty vessels; borrow not
a few.
4.4 And thou shalt go in and shut the door upon
thee and upon thy sons, and thou shalt pour forth into these vessels,
and remove that which is filled.
4.5 And she departed from him, and shut the
door upon herself and upon her sons: they brought the vessels near to
her, and she poured in until the vessels were filled.
4.6 And she said to her sons, Bring me yet a
vessel. And they said to her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil
stayed.
4.7 And she came and told the man of God: and
Elisaie said, Go, and sell the oil, and thou shalt pay thy debts, and
thou and thy sons shall live of the remaining oil.
4.8 And a day came, when Elisaie passed over to
Soman, and [there was] a great lady there, and she constrained him to
eat bread: and it came to pass as often as he went into [the city,
that] he turned aside to eat there.
4.9 And the woman said to her husband, See now,
I know that this [is] a holy man of God who comes over continually to
us.
4.10 Let us now make for him an upper chamber, a
small place; and let us put there for him a bed, and a table, and a
stool, and a candlestick: and it shall come to pass that when he comes
in to us, he shall turn in thither.
4.11 And a day came, and he went in thither, and turned aside into the upper chamber, and lay there.
4.12 And he said to Giezi his servant, Call me this Somanite. and he called her, and she stood before him.
4.13 And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, thou
hast taken all this trouble for us; what should I do for thee? Hast
thou any request [to make] to the king, or to the captain of the host?
And she said, I dwell in the midst of my people.
4.14 And he said to Giezi, What must we do for her?
and Giezi his servant said, Indeed she has no son, and her husband [is]
old.
4.15 And he called her, and she stood by the door.
4.16 And Elisaie said to her, At this time [next
year], as the season [is], thou [shalt be] alive, and embrace a son.
And she said, Nay, my lord, do not lie to thy servant.
4.17 And the woman conceived, and bore a son at the
very time, as the season was, being alive, as Elisaie said to her.
4.18 And the child grew: and it came to pass when he went out to his father to the reapers,
4.19 that he said to his father, My head, my head.
and [his father] said to a servant, carry him to his mother.
4.20 And he carried him to his mother, and he lay upon her knees till noon, and died.
4.21 And she carried him up and laid him on the bed
of the man of god; and she shut the door upon him, and went out.
4.22 And she called her husband, and said, Send now
for me one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I will ride
quickly to the man of God, and return.
4.23 And he said, Why art thou going to him to-day?
It is neither new moon, nor the Sabbath. And she said, [It is] well.
4.24 And she saddled the ass, and said to her
servant, Be quick, proceed: spare not on my account to ride, unless I
shall tell thee. Go, and thou shalt proceed, and come to the man of God
to mount Carmel.
4.25 And she rode and came to the man of God to the
mountain: and it came to pass when Elisaie saw her coming, that he said
to Giezi his servant, See now, that Somanite comes.
4.26 Now run to meet her, and thou shalt say, [Is it]
well with thee? [is it] well with thy husband? [is it] well with the
child? and she said, [It is] well.
4.27 And she came to Elisaie to the mountain, and
laid hold of his feet; and Giezi drew near to thrust her away. And
Elisaie said, Let her alone, for her soul [is] much grieved in her, and
the Lord has hidden [it] from me, and has not told [it] me.
4.28 And she said, Did I ask a son of my lord? For did I not say, Do not deal deceitfully with me?
4.29 And Elisaie said to Giezi, Gird up thy loins,
and take my staff in thy hand, and go: if thou meet any man, thou shalt
not salute him, and if a man salute thee thou shalt not answer him: and
thou shalt lay my staff on the child's face.
4.30 And the mother of the child said, [As] the Lord
lives and [as] thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And Elisaie
arose, and went after her.
4.31 And Giezi went on before her, and laid his staff
on the child's face: but there was neither voice nor any hearing. So he
returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
4.32 And Elisaie went into the house, and, behold, the dead child was laid upon his bed.
4.33 And Elisaie went into the house, and shut the door upon themselves, the two, and prayed to the Lord.
4.34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put
his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands
upon his hands; and bowed himself upon him, and the flesh of the child
grew warm.
4.35 And he returned, and walked up and down in the
house: and he went up, and bowed himself on the child seven times; and
the child opened his eyes.
4.36 And Elisaie cried out to Giezi, and said, Call
this Somanite. So he called her, and she came in to him: and Elisaie
said, Take thy son.
4.37 And the woman went in, and fell at his feet, and
did obeisance [bowing] to the ground; and she took her son, and went
out.
4.38 And Elisaie returned to Galgala: and a famine
[was] in the land; and the sons of the prophets sat before him: and
Elisaie said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for
the sons of the prophets.
4.39 And he went out into the field to gather herbs,
and found a vine in the field, and gathered of it wild gourds, his
garment full; and he cast it into the caldron of pottage, for they knew
[them] not.
4.40 And he poured it out for the men to eat: and it
came to pass, when they were eating of the pottage, that lo! they cried
out, and said, [There is] death in the pot, O man of God. And they
could not eat.
4.41 And he said, Take meal, and cast it into the
pot. And Elisaie said to his servant Giezi, Pour out for the people,
and let them eat. And there was no longer there any hurtful thing in
the pot.
4.42 And there came a man over from Baetharisa, and
brought to the an of God twenty barley loaves and cakes of figs, of the
first-fruits. And he said, Give to the people, and let them eat.
4.43 And his servant said, Why should I set this
before a hundred men? and he said, Give to the people, and let them
eat; for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat and leave.
4.44 And they ate and left, according to the word of the Lord.
5.1
Now Naiman, the captain of the host of Syria, was a great man before
his master, and highly respected, because by him the Lord had given
deliverance to Syria, and the man was mighty in strength, [but] a leper.
5.2 And the Syrians went forth in small bands,
and took captive out of the land of Israel a little maid: and she
waited on Naiman's wife.
5.3 And she said to her mistress, O that my
lord were before the prophet of God in Samaria; then he would recover
him from his leprosy.
5.4 And she went in and told her lord, and said, Thus and thus spoke the maid from the land of Israel.
5.5 And the king of Syria said to Naiman, Go
to, go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he went,
and took in his hand ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of
gold, and ten changes of raiment.
5.6 And he brought the letter to the king of
Israel, saying, Now then, as soon as this letter shall reach thee,
behold, I have sent to thee my servant Naiman, and thou shalt recover
him from his leprosy.
5.7 And it came to pass, when the king of
Israel read the letter, [that] he rent his garments, and said, [Am] I
God, to kill and to make alive, that this [man] sends to me to recover
a man of his leprosy? consider, however, I pray you, and see that this
[man] seeks an occasion against me.
5.8 And it came to pass, when Elisaie heard
that the king of Israel had rent his garments, that he sent to the king
of Israel, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy garments? Let Naiman, I
pray thee, come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in
Israel.
5.9 So Naiman came with horse and chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisaie.
5.10 And Elisaie sent a messenger to him, saying, Go
and wash seven times in Jordan, and thy flesh shall return to thee, and
thou shalt be cleansed.
5.11 And Naiman was angry, and departed, and said,
Behold, I said, He will by all means come out to me, and stand, and
call on the name of his God, and lay his hand upon the place, and
recover the leper.
5.12 [Are] not the Abana and Pharphar, rivers of
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not go and wash
in them, and be cleansed? and he turned and went away in a rage.
5.13 And his servants came near and said to him,
[Suppose] the prophet had spoken a great thing to thee, wouldest thou
not perform it? yet he has but said to thee, Wash, and be cleansed.
5.14 So Naiman went down, and dipped himself seven
times in Jordan, according to the word of Elisaie: and his flesh
returned to him as the flesh of a little child, and he was cleansed.
5.15 And he and all his company returned to Elisaie,
and he came and stood before him, and said, Behold, I know that there
is no God in all the earth, save only in Israel: and now receive a
blessing of thy servant.
5.16 And Elisaie said, [As] the Lord lives, before
whom I stand, I will not take [one]. And he pressed him to take [one]:
but he would not.
5.17 And Naiman said, Well then, if not, let there be
given to thy servant, I pray thee, the load [of a] yoke of mules; and
thou shalt give me of the red earth: for henceforth thy servant will
not offer whole-burnt-offering or sacrifice to other gods, but only to
the Lord by [reason of] this thing.
5.18 And l let the Lord be propitious to thy servant
when my master goes into the house of Remman to worship there, and he
shall lean on my hand, and I shall bow down in the house of Remman when
he bows down in the house of Remman; even let the Lord, I pray, be
merciful to thy servant in this matter.
5.19 And Elisaie said to Naiman, Go in peace. And he departed from him a little way.
5.20 And Giezi the servant of Elisaie said, Behold,
my Lord has spared this Syrian Naiman, so as not to take of his hand
what he has brought: as the Lord lives, I will surely run after him,
and take somewhat of him.
5.21 So Giezi followed after Naiman: and Naiman saw
him running after him, and turned back from his chariot to meet him.
5.22 And [Giezi] said, All is well: my master has
sent me, saying, Behold, now are there come to me two young men of the
sons of the prophets from mount Ephraim; give them, I pray thee, a
talent of silver, and two changes of raiment.
5.23 And [Naiman] said, Take two talents of silver.
And he took two talents of silver in two bags, and two changes of
raiment, and put them upon two of his servants, and they bore them
before him.
5.24 And he came to a secret place, and took them
from their hands, and laid them up in the house, and dismissed the men.
5.25 And he went in himself and stood before his master; and Elisaie said to him,
5.26 Whence [comest thou], Giezi? and Giezi said, Thy
servant has not been hither or thither. And Elisaie said to him, Went
not my heart with thee, when the man returned from his chariot to meet
thee? and now thou hast received silver, and now thou hast received
raiment, and olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and
menservants, and maidservants.
5.27 The leprosy also of Naiman shall cleave to thee,
and to thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous,
like snow.
6.1
And the sons of the prophets said to Elisaie, Behold now, the place
wherein we dwell before thee is too narrow for us.
6.2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and
take thence every man a beam, and make for ourselves a habitation there.
6.3 And he said, Go. And one of them said gently, Come with thy servants. And he said, I will go.
6.4 And he went with them, and they came to Jordan, and began to cut down wood.
6.5 And behold, one was cutting down a beam,
and the axe head fell into the water: and he cried out, Alas! master:
and it was hidden.
6.6 And the man of God said, Where did it fall?
and he shewed him the place: and he broke off a stick, and threw it in
there, and the iron came to the surface.
6.7 And he said, Take it up to thyself. And he stretched out his hand, and took it.
6.8 And the king of Syria was at war with
Israel: and he consulted with his servants, saying, I will encamp in
such a place.
6.9 And Elisaie sent to the king of Israel,
saying, Take heed that thou pass not by that place, for the Syrians are
hidden there.
6.10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which
Elisaie mentioned to him, and saved himself thence not once or twice.
6.11 And the mind of the king of Syria was very much
disturbed concerning this thing; and he called his servants, and said
to them, Will ye not tell me who betrays me to the king of Israel?
6.12 And one of his servants said, Nay, my Lord, O
king, for Elisaie the prophet that is in Israel reports to the king of
Israel all the words whatsoever thou mayest say in thy bedchamber.
6.13 And he said, Go, see where this man [is], and I
will send and take him. And they sent word to him, saying, Behold, [he
is] in Dothaim.
6.14 And he sent thither horses, and chariots, and a
mighty host: and they came by night, and compassed about the city.
6.15 And the servant of Elisaie rose up early and
went out; and, behold, a host compassed the city, and horses and
chariots: and the servant said to him, O master, what shall we do?
6.16 And Elisaie said, Fear not, for they who are with us [are] more than they that are with them.
6.17 And Elisaie prayed, and said, Lord, open, I pray
thee, the eyes of the servant, and let him see. And the Lord opened his
eyes, and he saw: and, behold, the mountain [was] full of horses, and
there were chariots of fire round about Elisaie.
6.18 And they came down to him; and he prayed to the
Lord, and said, Smite, I pray thee, this people with blindness. And he
smote them with blindness, according to the word of Elisaie.
6.19 And Elisaie said to them, This [is] not the
city, and this [is] not the way: follow me, and I will bring you to the
man whom ye seek. And he led them away to Samaria.
6.20 And it came to pass when they entered into
Samaria, that Elisaie said, Open, I pray thee, O Lord, their eyes, and
let them see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and,
behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
6.21 And the king of Israel said to Elisaie, when he saw them, Shall I [not] verily smite them, [my] father?
6.22 And he said, Thou shalt not smite them, unless
thou wouldest smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword
and with thy bow: set bread and water before them, and let them eat and
drink, and depart to their master.
6.23 And he set before them a great feast, and they
ate and drank: and he dismissed them and they departed to their master.
And the bands of Syria came no longer into the land of Israel.
6.24 And it came to pass after this, that the son of
Ader king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up, and besieged
Samaria.
6.25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and,
behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was [valued] at fifty
pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung at five
pieces of silver.
6.26 And the king of Israel was passing by on the
wall, and a woman cried to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
6.27 And he said to her, Unless the Lord help thee,
whence shall I help thee? from the corn-floor, or from the wine-press?
6.28 And the king said to her, What is [the matter]
with thee? And the woman said to him, This [woman] said to me, Give thy
son, and we will eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.
6.29 So we boiled my son, and ate him; and I said to
her on the second day, Give thy son, and let us eat him: and she has
hidden her son.
6.30 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel
heard the words of the woman, [that] he rent his garments; and he
passed by on the wall, and the people saw sackcloth within upon his
flesh.
6.31 And he said, God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisaie shall stand upon him this day.
6.32 And Elisaie was sitting in his house, and the
elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man before him:
before the messenger came to him, he also said to the elders, Do ye see
that this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? See, as soon
as the messenger shall have come, shut the door, and forcibly detain
him at the door: [is] not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
6.33 While he was yet speaking with them, behold, a
messenger came to him: and he said, Behold, this evil [is] of the Lord;
why should I wait for the Lord any longer?
7.1
And Elisaie said, Hear thou the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord,
As at this time, to-morrow a measure of fine flour [shall be sold] for
a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gates of
Samaria.
7.2 And the officer on whose hand the king
rested, answered Elisaie, and said, Behold, [if] the Lord shall make
flood-gates in heaven, might this thing be? and Elisaie said, Behold,
thou shalt see with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
7.3 And there were four leprous men by the gate
of the city: and one said to his neighbour, Why sit we here until we
die?
7.4 If we should say, Let us go into the city,
then [there is] famine in the city, and we shall die there: and if we
sit here, then we shall die. Now then come, and let us fall upon the
camp of the Syrians: if they should take us alive, then we shall live;
and if they should put us to death, then we shall [only] die.
7.5 And they rose up while it was yet night, to
go into the camp of Syria; and they came into a part of the camp of
Syria, and behold, there [was] no man there.
7.6 For the Lord had made the army of Syria to
hear a sound of chariots, and a sound of horses, [even] the sound of a
great host: and [each] man said to his fellow, Now has the king of
Israel hired against us the kings of the Chettites, and the kings of
Egypt, to come against us.
7.7 And they arose and fled while it was yet
dark, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses in the
camp, as they were, and fled for their lives.
7.8 And these lepers entered a little way into
the camp, and went into one tent, and ate and drank, and too thence
silver, and gold, and raiment; and they went and returned thence, and
entered into another tent, and took thence, and went and hid [the
spoil].
7.9 And [one] man said to his neighbour, We are
not doing [well] thus: this day is a day of glad tidings, and we hold
our peace, and are waiting till the morning light, and shall find
mischief: now them come, and let us go into [the city], and report to
the house of the king.
7.10 So they went and cried toward the gate of the
city, and reported to them, saying, We went into the camp of Syria,
and, behold, there is not there a man, nor voice of man, only horses
tied and asses, and their tents as they were.
7.11 And the porters cried aloud, and reported to the house of the king within.
7.12 And the king rose up by night, and said to his
servants, I will now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They
knew that we are hungry; and they have gone forth from the camp and
hidden themselves in the field, saying, They will come out of the city,
and we shall catch them alive, and go into the city.
7.13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let
them now take five of the horses that were left, which were left here;
behold, they are the number left to all the multitude of Israel; and we
will send thither and see.
7.14 So they took two horsemen; and the king of Israel sent after the king of Syria, saying, Go, and see.
7.15 And they went after them even to Jordan: and,
behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians
had cast away in their panic. and the messengers returned, and brought
word to the king.
7.16 And the people went out, and plundered the camp
of Syria: and a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, according
to the word of the Lord, and two measures of barley for a shekel.
7.17 And the king appointed the officer on whose hand
the king leaned [to have charge] over the gate: and the people trampled
on him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God [had] said, who
spoke when the messenger came down to him.
7.18 So it came to pas as Elisaie had spoken to the
king, saying, Two measures of barley [shall be sold] for a shekel, and
a measure of fine flour for a shekel; and it shall be as at this time
to-morrow in the gate of Samaria.
7.19 And the officer answered Elisaie, and said,
Behold, [if] the Lord makes flood-gates in heaven, shall this thing be?
and Elisaie said, Behold, thou shalt see [it] with thine eyes, but thou
shalt not eat thereof.
7.20 And it was so: for the people trampled on him in the gate, and he died.
8.1
And Elisaie spoke to the woman, whose son he [had] restored to life,
saying, Arise, and go thou and thy house, and sojourn wherever thou
mayest sojourn: for the Lord has called for a famine upon the land;
indeed it is come upon the land [for] seven years.
8.2 And the woman arose, and did according to
the word of Elisaie, both she and her house; and they sojourned in the
land of the Philistines seven years.
8.3 And it came to pass after the expiration of
the seven years, that the woman returned out of the land of the
Philistines to the city; and came to cry to the king for her house and
for her lands.
8.4 And the king spoke to Giezi the servant of
Elisaie the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great
things which Elisaie has done.
8.5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the
king how he had restored to life the dead son, behold, the woman whose
son Elisaie restored to life [came] crying to the king for her house
and for her lands. And Giezi said, My lord, O king, this [is] the
woman, and this [is] her son, whom Elisaie restored to life.
8.6 And the king asked the woman, and she told
him: and the king appointed her a eunuch, saying, Restore all that was
hers, and all the fruits of the field from the day that she left the
land until now.
8.7 And Elisaie came to Damascus; and the king
of Syria the son of Ader was ill, and they brought him word, saying,
The man of God is come hither.
8.8 And the king said to Azael, Take in thine
hand a present, and go to meet the man of God, and enquire of the Lord
by him, saying, Shall I recover of this my disease?
8.9 And Azael went to meet him, and he took a
present in his hand, and all the good things of Damascus, forty camels'
load, and came and stood before him, and said to Elisaie, Thy son the
son of Ader, the king of Syria, has sent me to thee to enquire, saying,
Shall I recover of this my disease?
8.10 And Elisaie said, Go, say, Thou shalt certainly
live; yet the Lord has shewed me that thou shalt surely die.
8.11 And he stood before him, and fixed [his countenance] till he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
8.12 And Azael said, Why does my lord weep? And he
said, Because I know all the evil that thou wilt do to the children of
Israel: thou wilt utterly destroy their strong holds with fire, and
thou wilt slay their choice men with the sword, and thou wilt dash
their infants [against the ground], and their women with child thou
wilt rip up.
8.13 And Azael said, Who is thy servant? a dead dog,
that he should do this thing? And Elisaie said, The Lord has shewn me
thee ruling over Syria.
8.14 And he departed from Elisaie, and went in to his
lord; and he said to him, What said Elisaie to thee? and he said, He
said to me, Thou shalt surely live.
8.15 And it came to pass on the next day that he took
a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and put it on his face, and he
died: and Azael reigned in his stead.
8.16 In the fifth year of Joram son of Achaab king of
Israel, and while Josaphat was king of Juda, Joram the son of Josaphat
king of Juda began to reign.
8.17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
8.18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel,
as did the house of Achaab; for the daughter of Achaab was his wife:
and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
8.19 But the Lord would not destroy Juda for David
his servant's sake, as he said he would give a light to him and to his
sons continually.
8.20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Juda, and they made a king over themselves.
8.21 And Joram went up to Sior, and all the chariots
that were with him: and it came to pass after he had arisen, that he
smote Edom who compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots;
and the people fled to their tents.
8.22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Juda till this day. Then Lobna revolted at that time.
8.23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that
he did, behold, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Juda?
8.24 So Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried
with his fathers in the city of his father David: and Ochozias his son
reigned in his stead.
8.25 In the twelfth year of Joram son of Achaab king of Israel, Ochozias son of Joram began to reign.
8.26 Twenty and two years old [was] Ochozias when he
began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem: and the name of
his mother [was] Gotholia, daughter of Ambri king of Israel.
8.27 And he walked in the way of the house of Achaab,
and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house
of Achaab.
8.28 And he went with Joram the son of Achaab to war
against Azael king of the Syrians in Remmoth Galaad; and the Syrians
wounded Joram.
8.29 And king Joram returned to be healed in Jezrael
of the wounds with which they wounded him in Remmoth, when he fought
with Azael king of Syria. And Ochozias son of Joram went down to see
Joram the son of Achaab in Jezrael, because he was sick.
9.1
And Elisaie the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and
said to him, Gird up thy loins, and take this cruse of oil in thy hand,
and go to Remmoth Galaad.
9.2 And thou shalt enter there, and shalt see
there Ju the son of Josaphat son of Namessi, and shalt go in and make
him rise up from among his brethren, and shalt bring him into a secret
chamber.
9.3 And thou shalt take the cruse of oil, and
pour [it] on his head, and say thou, Thus saith the Lord, I have
anointed thee king over Israel: and thou shalt open the door, and flee,
and not tarry.
9.4 And the young man the prophet went to Remmoth Galaad.
9.5 And he went in, and, behold, the captains
of the host were sitting; and he said, I have a message to thee, O
captain. And Ju said, To which of all us? And he said, To thee, O
captain.
9.6 And he arose, and went into the house: and
he poured the oil upon his head, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord
God of Israel, I have anointed thee to be king over the people of the
Lord, even over Israel.
9.7 And thou shalt utterly destroy the house of
Achaab thy master from before me, and shalt avenge the blood of my
servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord,
at the hand of Jezabel,
9.8 and at the hand of the whole house of
Achaab: and thou shalt utterly cut off from the house of Achaab every
male, and him that is shut up and left in Israel.
9.9 And I will make the house of Achaab like
the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and as the house of Baasa the
son of Achia.
9.10 And the dogs shall eat Jezabel in the portion of
Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door,
and fled.
9.11 And Ju went forth to the servants of his lord,
and they said to him, [Is] all well? Why came this mad fellow in to
thee? And he said to them, Ye know the man, and his communication.
9.12 And they said, [It is] wrong: tell us now. And
Ju said to them, Thus and thus spoke he to me, saying,-- and he said,
Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee to be king over Israel.
9.13 And when they heard it, they hasted, and took
every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs,
and blew with the trumpet, and said, Ju is king.
9.14 So Ju the son of Josaphat the son of Namessi
conspired against Joram, and Joram was defending Remmoth Galaad, he and
all Israel, because of Azael king of Syria.
9.15 And king Joram had returned to be healed in
Jezrael of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, in his war with
Azael king of Syria. And Ju said, If your heart is with me, let there
not go forth out of the city one fugitive to go and report to Jezrael.
9.16 And Ju rode and advanced, and came down to
Jezrael; for Joram king of Israel was getting healed in Jezrael of the
arrow-wounds wherewith the Syrians [had] wounded him in Rammath in the
war with Azael king of Syria; for he [was] strong and a mighty man: and
Ochozias king of Juda was come down to see Joram.
9.17 And there went up a watchman upon the tower of
Jezrael, and saw the dust [made by] Ju as he approached; and he said, I
see dust. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and
let him say, Peace.
9.18 And there went a horseman to meet them, and
said, Thus says the king, Peace. And Ju said, What hast thou to do with
peace? turn behind me. And the watchman reported, saying, The messenger
came up to them, and has not returned.
9.19 And he sent another horseman, and he came to
him, and said, Thus says the king, Peace. And Ju said, What hast thou
to do with peace? turn behind me.
9.20 And the watchman reported, saying, He came up to
them, and has not returned: and the driver drives Ju the son of
Namessi, for it is with furious [haste].
9.21 And Joram said, Make ready. And one made ready
the chariot: and Joram the king of Israel went forth, and Ochozias king
of Juda, each in his chariot, and they went to meet Ju, and found him
in the portion of Nabuthai the Jezraelite.
9.22 And it came to pass when Joram saw Ju, that he
said, [Is it] peace, Ju? And Ju said, How [can it be] peace? as yet
[there are] the whoredoms of thy mother Jezabel, and her abundant
witchcrafts.
9.23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ochozias, Treachery, Ochozias.
9.24 And Ju bent his bow with his full strength, and
smote Joram between his arms, and his arrow went out at his heart, and
he bowed upon his knees.
9.25 And [Ju] said to Badecar his chief officer, Cast
him into the portion of ground of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, for I and
thou remember, riding [as we were] on chariots after Achaab his father,
that the Lord took up this burden against him, [saying],
9.26 Surely, I have seen yesterday the blood of
Nabuthai, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord; and I will
recompense him in this portion, saith the Lord. Now then, I pray thee,
take him up and cast him into the portion, according to the word of the
Lord.
9.27 And Ochozias king of Juda saw [it], and fled by
the way of Baethgan. And Ju pursued after him, and said, [Slay] him
also. And one smote him in the chariot at the going up of Gai, which is
Jeblaam: and he fled to Mageddo, and died there.
9.28 And his servants put him on a chariot, and
brought him to Jerusalem, and they buried him in his sepulchre in the
city of David.
9.29 And in the eleventh year of Joram king of Israel, Ochozias began to reign over Juda.
9.30 And Ju came to Jezrael; and Jezabel heard [of
it], and coloured her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked through
the window.
9.31 And Ju entered into the city; and she said, Had Zambri, the murderer of his master, peace?
9.32 And he lifted up his face toward the window, and
saw her, and said, Who art thou? Come down with me. And two eunuchs
looked down towards him.
9.33 And he said, Throw her [down]. And they threw
her [down]; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the
horses: and they trampled on her.
9.34 And [Ju] went in and ate and drank, and said,
Look now, after this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a king's
daughter.
9.35 And they went to bury her; but they found
nothing of her but the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
9.36 And they returned and told him. And he said, [It
is] the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of Eliu the
Thesbite, saying, In the portion of Jezrael shall the dogs eat the
flesh of Jezabel.
9.37 And the carcass of Jezabel shall be as dung on
the face of the field in the portion of Jezrael, so that they shall not
say, [This is] Jezabel.
10.1
And Achaab [had] seventy sons in Samaria. And Ju wrote a letter, and
sent it into Samaria to the rulers of Samaria, and to the elders, and
to the guardians of [the children of] Achaab, saying.
10.2 Now then, as soon as this letter shall have
reached you, whereas [there are] with you the sons of your master, and
with you chariots and horses, and strong cities, and arms,
10.3 do ye accordingly look out the best and fittest
among your master's sons, and set him on the throne of his father, and
fight for the house of your master.
10.4 And they feared greatly, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: and how shall we stand?
10.5 So they that were over the house, and they that
were over the city, and the elders and the guardians, sent to Ju,
saying, We also [are] thy servants, and whatsoever thou shalt say to us
we will do; we will not make [any] man king: we will do that which is
right in thine eyes.
10.6 And Ju wrote them a second letter, saying, If ye
[are] for me, and hearken to my voice, take the heads of the men your
master's sons, and bring [them] to me at this time to-morrow in
Jezrael. Now the sons of the king were seventy men; these great men of
the city brought them up.
10.7 And it came to pass, when the letter came to
them, that they took the king's sons, and slew them, [even] seventy
men, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezrael.
10.8 And a messenger came and told [him], saying,
They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay them
[in] two heaps by the door of the gate until the morning.
10.9 And the morning came, and he went forth, and
stood, and said to all the people, Ye are righteous: behold, I
conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?
10.10 See now that there shall not fall to the ground
anything of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke against the house
of Achaab: for the Lord has performed all that he spoke of by the hand
of his servant Eliu.
10.11 And Ju smote all that were left of the house of
Achaab in Jezrael, and all his great men, and his acquaintance, and his
priests, so as not to leave him [any] remnant.
10.12 And he arose and went to Samaria, [and] he [was] in the house of sheep-shearing in the way.
10.13 And Ju found the brethren of Ochozias king of Juda,
and said, Who [are] ye? And they said, We [are] the brethren of
Ochozias, and we have come down to salute the sons of the king, and the
sons of the queen.
10.14 And he said, Take them alive. And they slew them at
the shearing-house, forty and two men: he left not a man of them.
10.15 And he went thence and found Jonadab the son of
Rechab [coming] to meet him; and he saluted him, and Ju said to him, Is
thy heart right with my heart, as my heart [is] with thy heart? And
Jonadab said, It is. And Ju said, If it is then, give me thy hand. And
he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot.
10.16 And he said to him, Come with me, and see me zealous for the Lord. And he caused him to sit in his chariot.
10.17 And he entered into Samaria, and smote all that were
left of Achaab in Samaria, until he had utterly destroyed him,
according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to Eliu.
10.18 And Ju gathered all the people, and said to them, Achaab served Baal a little; Ju shall serve him much.
10.19 Now then do all [ye] the prophets of Baal call all
his servants and his priests to me; let not a man be wanting: for I
have a great sacrifice [to offer] to Baal; every one who shall be
missing shall die. But Ju did it in subtilty, that he might destroy the
servants of Baal.
10.20 And Ju said, Sanctify a solemn festival to Baal, and they made a proclamation.
10.21 And Ju sent throughout all Israel, saying, Now then
let all [Baal's] servants, and all his priests, and all his prophets
[come], let none be lacking: for I am going to offer a great sacrifice;
whosoever shall be missing, shall not live. So all the servants of Baal
came, and all his priests, and all his prophets: there was not one left
who came not. And they entered into the house of Baal; and the house of
Baal was filled from one end to the other.
10.22 And he said to the man who was over the house of the
wardrobe, Bring forth a robe for all the servants of Baal. And the
keeper of the robes brought forth to them.
10.23 And Ju and Jonadab the son of Rechab entered into the
house of Baal, and said to the servants of Baal, Search, and see
whether there is among you any of the servants of the Lord, or only the
servants of Baal, by themselves.
10.24 And he went in to offer sacrifices and
whole-burnt-offerings; and Ju set for himself eighty men without, and
said, Every man who shall escape of the men whom I bring into your
hand, the life of him [that spares him] shall go for his life.
10.25 And it came to pass, when he had finished offering
the whole-burnt-offering, that Ju said to the footmen and to the
officers, Go ye in and slay them; let not a man of them escape. So they
smote them with the edge of the sword, and the footmen and the officers
cast [the bodies] forth, and went to the city of the house of Baal.
10.26 And they brought out the pillar of Baal, and burnt it.
10.27 And they tore down the pillars of Baal, and made his house a draught-house until this day.
10.28 So Ju abolished Baal out of Israel.
10.29 Nevertheless Ju departed not from following the sins
of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who led Israel to sin: [these were] the
golden heifers in Baethel and in Dan.
10.30 And the Lord said to Ju, Because of all thy deeds
wherein thou hast acted well in doing that which was right in my eyes,
according to all things which thou hast done to the house of Achaab [as
they were] in my heart, thy sons to the fourth generation shall sit
upon the throne of Israel.
10.31 But Ju took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord
God of Israel with all his heart: he departed not from following the
sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin.
10.32 In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short; and Azael smote them in every coast of Israel;
10.33 from Jordan eastward all the land of Galaad belonging
to the Gadites, of Gaddi and that of Ruben, and of Manasses, from
Aroer, which is on the brink of the brook of Arnon, and Galaad and
Basan.
10.34 And the rest of the acts of Ju, and all that he did,
and all his might, and the wars wherein he engaged, [are] not these
things written in the book of te chronicles of the kings of Israel?
10.35 And Ju slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joachaz his son reigned in his stead.
10.36 And the days which Ju reigned over Israel [were] twenty-eight years in Samaria.
11.1 And Gotholia the mother of Ochozias saw that her son was dead, and she destroyed all the seed royal.
11.2 And Josabee daughter of king Joram, sister of
Ochozias, took Joas the son of her brother, and stole him from among
the king's sons that were put to death, [secreting] him and his nurse
in the bedchamber, and hid him from the face of Gotholia, and he was
not slain.
11.3 And he remained with her hid in the house of the Lord six years: and Gotholia reigned over the land.
11.4 And in the seventh year Jodae sent and took the
captains of hundreds of the Chorri and of the Rhasim, and brought them
to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant of the Lord with
them, and adjured them, and Jodae shewed them the king's son.
11.5 And charged them, saying, This [is] the thing which ye shall do.
11.6 Let a third part of you go in [on] the
sabbath-day, and keep ye the watch of the king's house in the porch;
and another third in the gate of the high way, and a third at the gate
behind the footmen; and keep ye the guard of the house.
11.7 And there [shall be] two parties among you, even
every one that goes out on the Sabbath, and they shall keep the guard
of the Lord's house before the king.
11.8 And do ye compass the king about every man with
his weapon in his hand, and he that goes into the ranges shall die: and
they shall be with the king in his going out and in his coming in.
11.9 And the captains of hundreds did all things that
the wise Jodae commanded; and they took each his men, both those that
went in on the sabbath-day, and those that went out on the sabbath-day,
and went in to Jodae the priest.
11.10 And the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the
swords and spears of king David that were in the house of the Lord.
11.11 And the footmen stood each with his weapon I his hand
from the right corner of the house to the left corner of the house,
[by] the altar and the house round about the king.
11.12 And he brought forth the king's son, and put upon him
the crown and [gave him] the testimony; and he made him king, and
anointed him: and they clapped [their] hands, and said, Long live the
king.
11.13 And Gotholia heard the sound of the people running, and she went in to the people to the house of the Lord.
11.14 And she looked, and, behold, the king stood near a
pillar according to the manner; and the singers and the trumpeters were
before the king and all the people of the land [even] rejoicing and
sounding with trumpets: and Gotholia rent her garments, and cried, A
conspiracy, a conspiracy.
11.15 And Jodae the priest commanded the captains of
hundreds who were over the host, and said to them, Bring her forth
without the ranges, [and] he that goes in after her shall certainly die
by the sword. For the priest said, Let her not however be slain in the
house of the Lord.
11.16 And they laid hands upon her, and went in by the way
of the horses' entrance into the house of the Lord, and she was slain
there.
11.17 And Jodae made a covenant between the Lord and the
king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people; also
between the king and the people.
11.18 And all the people of the land went into the house of
Baal, and tore it down, and completely broke in pieces his altars and
his images, and they slew Mathan the priest of Baal before the altars.
And the priest appointed overseers over the house of the Lord.
11.19 And he took the captains of the hundreds, and the
Chorri, and the Rhasim, and all the people of the land, and brought
down the king out of the house of the Lord; and they went in by the way
of the gate of the footmen of the king's house, and seated him there on
the throne of the kings.
11.20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city
was at rest: and they slew Gotholia with the sword in the house of the
king.
11.21 Joas [was] seven years old when e began to reign.
12.1
Joas began to reign in the seventh year of Ju, and he reigned forty
years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Sabia of Bersabee.
12.2 And Joas did that which was right in the sight
of the Lord all the days that Jodae the priest instructed him.
12.3 Only there were not [any] of the high places
removed, and the people still sacrificed there, and burned incense on
the high places.
12.4 And Joas said to the priests, [As for] all the
money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the Lord,
the money of valuation, [as] each man brings the money of valuation,
all the money which any man may feel disposed to bring into the house
of the Lord,
12.5 let the priests take it to themselves, every man
from [the proceeds of] his sale: and they shall repair the breaches of
the house in all [places] wheresoever a breach shall be found.
12.6 And it came to pass in the twenty-third year of
king Joas the priests [had] not repaired the breaches of the house.
12.7 And king Joas called Jodae the priest, and the
[other] priests, and said to them, Why have ye not repaired the
breaches of the house? now then receive no [more] money from your
sales, for ye shall give it to [repair the] breaches of the house.
12.8 And the priests consented to receive no more
money of the people, and not to repair the breaches of the house.
12.9 And Jodae the priest took a chest, and bored a
hole in the lid of it, and set it by the altar in the house of a man
[belonging to] the house of the Lord, and the priests that kept the
door put [therein] all the money that was found in the house of the
Lord.
12.10 And it came to pass, when they saw that [there was]
much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest
went up, and they tied up and counted the money that was found in the
house of the Lord.
12.11 And they gave the money that had been collected into
the hands of them that wrought the works, the overseers of the house of
the Lord; and they gave it out to the carpenters and to the builders
that wrought in the house of the Lord.
12.12 And to the masons, and to the hewers of stone, to
purchase timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of
the Lord, for all that was spent on the house of the Lord to repair
[it].
12.13 Only there were not to be made for the house of the
Lord silver plates, studs, bowls, or trumpets, any vessel of gold or
vessel of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the
Lord:
12.14 for they were to give it to the workmen, and they repaired therewith the house of the Lord.
12.15 Also they took no account of the men into whose hands
they gave the money to give to the workmen, for they acted faithfully.
12.16 Money for a sin-offering, and money for a
trespass-offering, whatever happened to be brought into the house of
the Lord, went to the priests.
12.17 Then went up Azael king of Syria, and fought against
Geth, and took it: and Azael set his face to go against Jerusalem.
12.18 And Joas king of Juda took all the holy things which
Josaphat, and Joram, Ochozias, his fathers, and kings of Juda [had]
consecrated, and what he had himself dedicated, and all the gold that
was found in the treasures of the Lord's house and the king's house,
and he sent [them] to Azael king of Syria; and he went up from
Jerusalem.
12.19 And the rest of the acts of Joas, and all that he
did, behold, [are] not these things written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Juda?
12.20 And his servants rose up and made a conspiracy, and smote Joas in the house of Mallo that is in Sela.
12.21 And Jezirchar the son of Jemuath, and Jezabuth
Somer's son, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him
with his fathers in the city of David: and Amessias his son reigned in
his stead.
13.1
In the twenty-third year of Joas son of Ochozias king of Juda began
Joachaz the son of Ju to reign in Samaria, [and he reigned] seventeen
years.
13.2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of
the Lord, and walked after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who
led Israel to sin; he departed not from them.
13.3 And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and
delivered them into the hand of Azael king of Syria, and into the hand
of the son of Ader son of Azael, all their days.
13.4 And Joachaz besought the Lord, and the Lord
hearkened to him, for he saw the affliction of Israel, because the king
of Syria afflicted them.
13.5 And the Lord gave deliverance to Israel, and
they escaped from under the hand of Syria: and the children of Israel
dwelt in their tents as heretofore.
13.6 Only they departed not from the sins of the
house of Jeroboam, who led Israel to sin: they walked in them--
moreover the grove also remained in Samaria.
13.7 Whereas there was not left any army to Joachaz,
except fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry: for
the king of Syria had destroyed them, and they made them as dust for
trampling.
13.8 And the rest of the acts of Joachaz, and all
that he did, and his mighty acts [are] not these things written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
13.9 And Joachaz slept with his fathers, and they
buried him in Samaria: and Joas his son reigned in his stead.
13.10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joas king of Juda, Joas
the son of Joachaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria sixteen years.
13.11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord; he departed not from all the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nabat,
who led Israel to sin: he walked in it.
13.12 And the rest of the acts of Joas, and all that he
did, and his mighty acts which he performed together with Amessias king
of Juda, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel?
13.13 And Joas slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat
upon his throne, and he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
13.14 Now Elisaie was sick of his sickness, whereof he
died: and Joas king of Israel went down to him, and wept over his face,
and said, [My] father, [my] father, the chariot of Israel, and the
horseman thereof!
13.15 And Elisaie said to him, Take bow and arrows. Ad he took to himself a bow and arrows.
13.16 And he said to the king, Put thy hand on the bow. And
Joas put his hand upon [it]: and Elisaie put his hands upon the king's
hands.
13.17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened
it. And Elisaie said, Shoot. And he shot. And [Elisaie] said, The arrow
of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; and
thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphec until thou have consumed them.
13.18 And Elisaie said to him, Take bow and arrows. And he
took them. And [he] said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground.
And the king smote three times, and stayed.
13.19 And the man of God was grieved at him, and said, If
thou hadst smitten five or six times, then thou shouldest have smitten
Syria till thou hadst consumed them; but now thou shalt smite Syria
[only] thrice.
13.20 And Elisaie died, and they buried him. And the bands
of the Moabites came into the land, at the beginning of the year.
13.21 And it came to pass as they were burying a man, that
behold, they saw a band [of men], and they cast the man into the grave
of Elisaie: and as soon as he touched the bones of Elisaie, he revived
and stood up on his feet.
13.22 And Azael greatly afflicted Israel all the days of Joachaz.
13.23 And the Lord had mercy and compassion upon them, and
had respect to them because of his covenant with Abraam, and Isaac, and
Jacob; and the Lord would not destroy them, and did not cast them out
from his presence.
13.24 And Azael king of Syria died, and the son of Ader his son reigned in his stead.
13.25 And Joas the son of Joachaz returned, and took the
cities out of the hand of the son of Ader the son of Azael, which he
had taken out of the hand of Joachaz his father in the war: thrice did
Joas smite him, and he recovered the cities of Israel.
14.1
In the second year of Joas the son of Joachaz king of Israel, did
Amessias also the son of Joas the king of Juda begin to reign.
14.2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began
to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine year in Jerusalem: and his
mother's name [was] Joadim of Jerusalem.
14.3 And he did that which was right in the sight of
the Lord, but not as David his father: he did according to all things
that his father Joas did.
14.4 Only he removed not the high places: as yet the people sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places.
14.5 And it came to pass when the kingdom was
established in his hand, that he slew his servants that had slain the
king his father.
14.6 But he slew not the sons of those that had slain
him; according as it is written in the book of the laws of Moses, as
the Lord gave commandment, saying, The fathers shall not be put to
death for the children, and the children shall not be put to death for
the fathers; but every one shall die for his own sins.
14.7 He smote of Edom ten thousand in the valley of
salt, and took the Rock in the war, and called its name Jethoel until
this day.
14.8 Then Amessias sent messengers to Joas son of
Joachaz son of Ju king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another
in the face.
14.9 And Joas the king of Israel sent to Amessias
king of Juda, saying, The thistle that was in Libanus sent to the cedar
that was in Libanus, saying, Give my daughter to thy son to wife: and
the wild beasts of the field that were in Libanus passed by and trod
down the thistle.
14.10 Thou hast smitten and wounded Edom, and thy heart has
lifted thee up: stay at home and glorify thyself; for wherefore art
thou quarrelsome to thy hurt? So [both] thou wilt fall and Juda with
thee.
14.11 Nevertheless Amessias hearkened not: so Joas king of
Israel went up, and he and Amessias king of Juda looked one another in
the face in Baethsamys of Juda.
14.12 And Juda was overthrown before Israel, and [every] man fled to his tent.
14.13 And Joas king of Israel took Amessias the son of Joas
the son of Ochozias, in Baethsamys; and he came to Jerusalem, and broke
down the wall of Jerusalem, [beginning] at the gate of Ephraim as far
as the gate of the corner, four hundred cubits.
14.14 And he took the gold, ad the silver, and all the
vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures
of the king's house, and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.
14.15 And the rest of the acts of Joas, [even] all that he
did in his might, how he warred with Amessias king of Juda, are not
these things written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel?
14.16 And Joas slept with his fathers, and was buried in
Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his
stead.
14.17 And Amessias the son of Joas king of Juda lived after
the death of Joas son of Joachaz king of Israel fifteen years.
14.18 And the rest of the acts of Amessias, and all that he
did, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Juda?
14.19 And they formed a conspiracy against him in
Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachis: and they sent after him to Lachis,
and slew him there.
14.20 And they brought him upon horses; and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.
14.21 And all the people of Juda took Azarias, and he was
sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amessias.
14.22 He built Aeloth, and restored it to Juda, after the king slept with his fathers.
14.23 In the fifteenth year of Amessias son of Joas king of
Juda began Jeroboam son of Joas to reign over Israel in Samaria forty
and one years.
14.24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat,
who led Israel to sin.
14.25 He recovered the coast of Israel from the entering in
of Aemath to the sea of Araba, according to the word of the Lord God of
Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonas the son of Amathi, the
prophet of Gethchopher.
14.26 For the Lord saw [that] the affliction of Israel
[was] very bitter, and that they were few in number, straitened and in
want, and destitute, and Israel had no helper.
14.27 And the Lord said that he would not blot out the seed
of Israel from under heaven; so he delivered them by the hand of
Jeroboam the son of Joas.
14.28 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he
did, and his mighty deeds, which he achieved in war, and how he
recovered Damascus and Aemath to Juda in Israel, [are] not these things
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
14.29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the
kings of Israel; and Zacharias his son reigned in his stead.
15.1
In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel Azarias the son
of Amessias king of Juda began to reign.
15.2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign,
and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was
Jechelia of Jerusalem.
15.3 And he did that which was right in the eyes of
the Lord, according to all things that Amessias his father did.
15.4 Only he took not away [any] of the high places:
as yet the people sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places.
15.5 And the Lord plagued the king, and he was
leprous till the day of his death; and he reigned in a separate house.
And Joatham the king's son [was] over the household, judging the people
of the land.
15.6 And the rest of the acts of Azarias, and all
that he did, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Juda?
15.7 And Azarias slept with his fathers, and they
buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Joatham his son
reigned in his stead.
15.8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azarias king of
Juda Zacharias the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in
Samaria six months.
15.9 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of
the Lord, as his fathers had done: he departed not from all the sins of
Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.
15.10 And Sellum the son of Jabis [and others] conspired
against him, and they smote him [in] Keblaam, and slew him, and he
reigned in his stead.
15.11 And the rest of the acts of Zacharias, behold, they
are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
15.12 [This was] the word of the Lord which he spoke to Ju,
saying, Thy sons of the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of
Israel: and it was so.
15.13 And Sellum the son of Jabis reigned: and in the
thirty and ninth year of Azarias king of Juda began Sellum to reign a
full month in Samaria.
15.14 And Manaem the son of Gaddi went up out of Tharsila,
and came to Samaria, and smote Sellum the son of Jabis in Samaria, and
slew him.
15.15 And the rest of the acts of Sellum, and his
conspiracy wherein he was engaged, behold, they are written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
15.16 Then Manaem smote both Thersa and all that was in it,
and its borders extending beyond Thersa, because they opened not to
him: and he smote it, and ripped up the women with child.
15.17 In the thirty and ninth year of Azarias king of Juda
began Manaem the son of Gaddi to reign over Israel in Samaria ten years.
15.18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat,
who led Israel to sin.
15.19 In his days went up Phua king of the Assyrians
against the land: and Manaem gave to Phua a thousand talents of silver
to aid him with his power.
15.20 And Manaem raised the silver [by a tax] upon Israel,
even on every mighty man in wealth, to give to the king of the
Assyrians, fifty shekels [levied] on each man; and the king of the
Assyrians departed, and remained not there in the land.
15.21 And the rest of the acts of Manaem, and all that he
did, behold, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel?
15.22 And Manaem slept with his fathers; and Phakesias his son reigned in his stead.
15.23 In the fiftieth year of Azarias king of Juda, began
Phakesias the son of Manaem to reign over Israel in Samaria two years.
15.24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who
made Israel to sin.
15.25 And Phakee the son of Romelias, his officer,
conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria in the front of the
king's house, with Argob and Aria, and with him [there were] fifty men
of the four hundred: and he slew him, and reigned in his stead.
15.26 And the rest of the acts of Phakesias, and all that
he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel.
15.27 In the fifty-second year of Azarias king of Juda
began Phakee the son of Romelias to reign over Israel in Samaria twenty
years.
15.28 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the
Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat,
who led Israel to sin.
15.29 In the days of Phakee king of Israel came
Thalgath-phellasar king of the Assyrians, and took Ain, and Abel, and
Thamaacha, and Anioch, and Kenez, and Asor, and Galaa, and Galilee,
[even] all the land of Nephthali, and carried them away to the
Assyrians.
15.30 And Osee son of Ela formed a conspiracy against
Phakee the son of Romelias, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in
his stead, in the twentieth year of Joatham the son of Azarias.
15.31 And the rest of the acts of Phakee, and all that he
did, behold, these [are] written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel.
15.32 In the second year of Phakee son of Romelias king of
Israel began Joatham the son of Azarias king of Juda to reign.
15.33 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to
reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name
[was] Jerusa daughter of Sadoc.
15.34 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all things that his father Azarias did.
15.35 Nevertheless he took not away the high places: as yet
the people sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places. He built
the upper gate of the Lord's house.
15.36 And the rest of the acts of Joatham, and all that he
did, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Juda?
15.37 In those days the Lord began to send forth against Juda Raasson king of Syria, and Phakee son of Romelias.
15.38 And Joatham slept with his fathers, and was buried
with his fathers in the cit of David his father: and Achaz his son
reigned in his stead.
16.1 In the seventeenth year of Phakee son of Romelias began Achaz the son of Joatham king of Juda to reign.
16.2 Twenty years old was Achaz when he began to
reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not that
which was right in the eyes of the Lord his God faithfully, as David
his father [had done].
16.3 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel,
yea, he made his son to pass through the fire, according to the
abominations of the heathen whom the Lord cast out from before the
children of Israel.
16.4 And he sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places, and upon the hills, and under every shady tree.
16.5 Then went up Raasson king of Syria and Phakee
son of Romelias king of Israel against Jerusalem to war, and besieged
Achaz, but could not prevail [against him].
16.6 At that time Raasson king of Syria recovered
Aelath to Syria, and drove out the Jews from Aelath, and the Idumeans
came to Aelath, and dwelt there until this day.
16.7 And Achaz sent messengers to Thalgath-phellasar
king of the Assyrians, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up,
deliver me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of
the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.
16.8 And Achaz took the silver and the gold that was
found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's
house, and sent gifts to the king.
16.9 And the king of the Assyrians hearkened to him:
and the king of the Assyrians went up to Damascus and took it, and
removed the inhabitants, and slew king Raasson.
16.10 And king Achaz went to Damascus to meet
Thalgath-phellasar king of the Assyrians at Damascus; and he saw an
altar at Damascus. And king Achaz sent to Urias the priest the pattern
of the altar, and its proportions, and all its workmanship.
16.11 And Urias the priest built the altar, according to all [the directions] which king Achaz sent from Damascus.
16.12 And the king saw the altar, and went up to it,
16.13 and offered his whole-burn-offering, and his
meat-offering, and his drink-offering, and poured out the blood of his
peace-offerings on the brazen altar that was before the Lord.
16.14 And he brought forward [the one] before the house of
the Lord from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and he set
it openly by the side of the altar northwards.
16.15 And king Achaz charged Urias the priest, saying,
Offer upon the great altar the whole-burnt-offering in the morning and
the meat-offering in the evening, and the whole-burnt-offering of the
king, and his meat-offering, and the whole-burnt-offering of all the
people, and their meat-offering, and their drink-offering; and thou
shalt pour all the blood of the whole-burnt-offering, and all the blood
of [any other] sacrifice upon it: and the brazen altar shall be for me
in the morning.
16.16 And Urias the priest did according to all that king Achaz commanded him.
16.17 And king Achaz cut off the borders of the bases, and
removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from the brazen
oxen that were under it, and set it upon a base of stone.
16.18 And he made a base for the throne in the house of the
Lord, and he turned the king's entrance without in the house of the
Lord because of the king of the Assyrians.
16.19 And the rest of the acts of Achaz, even all that he
did, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Juda?
16.20 And Achaz slept with his fathers, and was buried in
the city of David: and Ezekias his son reigned in his stead.
17.1
In the twelfth year of Achaz king of Juda began Osee the son of Ela to
reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.
17.2 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, only not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
17.3 Against him came up Salamanassar king of the
Assyrians; and Osee became his servant, and rendered him tribute.
17.4 And the king of the Assyrians found iniquity in
Osee, in that he sent messengers to Segor king of Egypt, and brought
not a tribute to the king of the Assyrians in that year: and the king
of the Assyrians besieged him, and bound him in the prison-house.
17.5 And the king of the Assyrians went up against
all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it [for] three years.
17.6 In the ninth year of Osee the king of the
Assyrians took Samaria, and carried Israel away to the Assyrians, and
settled them in Alae, and in Abor, [near] the rivers of Gozan, and [in]
the mountains of the Medes.
17.7 For it came to pass that the children of Israel
[had] transgressed against the Lord their God, who had brought them up
out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharao king of Egypt,
and they feared other gods,
17.8 and walked in the statutes of the nations which
the Lord cast out before the face of the children of Israel, and of the
kings of Israel as many as did [such things],
17.9 and [in those] of the children of Israel as many
as secretly practised customs, not as [they should have done], against
the Lord their God:
17.10 and they built for themselves high places in all
their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city. And
they made for themselves pillars and groves on every high hill, and
under every shady tree.
17.11 And burned incense there on all high places, as the
nations [did] whom the Lord removed from before them, and dealt with
familiar spirits, and they carved [images] to provoke the Lord to anger.
17.12 And they served the idols, of which the Lord said to them, Ye shall not do this thing [against] the Lord.
17.13 And the Lord testified against Israel and against
Juda, even by the hand of all his prophets, [and] of every seer,
saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my
ordinances, and all the law which I commanded your fathers, [and] all
that I sent to them by the hand of my servants the prophets.
17.14 But they hearkened not, and made their neck harder than the neck of their fathers.
17.15 And they kept not any of his testimonies which he
charged them; and they walked after vanities, and became vain, and
after the nations round about them, concerning which the Lord had
charged them not to do accordingly.
17.16 They forsook the commandments of the Lord their God,
and made themselves graven images, [even] two heifers, and they made
groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
17.17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to
pass through the fire, and used divinations and auspices, and sold
themselves to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him.
17.18 And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed
them out of his sight; and there was only left the tribe of Juda quite
alone.
17.19 Nay even Juda kept not the commandments of the Lord
their God, but they walked according to the customs of Israel which
they practised, and rejected the Lord.
17.20 And the Lord was angry with the whole seed of Israel,
and troubled them, and gave them into the hand of them that spoiled
them, until he cast them out of his presence.
17.21 Forasmuch as Israel revolted from the house of David,
and they made Jeroboam the son of Nabat king: and Jeroboam drew off
Israel from following the Lord, and led them to sin a great sin.
17.22 And the children of Israel walked in all the sin of Jeroboam which he committed; they departed not from it,
17.23 until the Lord removed Israel from his presence, as
the Lord spoke by all his servants the prophets; and Israel was removed
from off their land to the Assyrians until this day.
17.24 And the king of Assyria brought from Babylon the men
of Chutha, [and men] from Aia, and from Aemath, and Seppharvaim, and
they were settled in the cities of Samaria in the place of the children
of Israel: and they inherited Samaria, and were settled in its cities.
17.25 And it was so at the beginning of their establishment
there [that] they feared not the Lord, and the Lord sent lions among
them, and they slew some of them.
17.26 And they spoke to the king of the Assyrians, saying,
The nations whom thou hast removed and substituted in the cities of
Samaria [for the Israelites], know not the manner of the God f the
land: and he has sent the lions against them, and, behold, they are
slaying them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
17.27 And the king of the Assyrians commanded, saying,
Bring some [Israelites] thence, and let them go and dwell there, and
they shall teach them the manner of the God of the land.
17.28 And they brought one of the priests whom they had
removed from Samaria, and he settled in Baethel, and taught them how
they should fear the Lord.
17.29 But the nations made each their own gods, and put
them in the house of the high places which the Samaritans [had] made,
each nation in the cities in which they dwelt.
17.30 And the men of Babylon made Socchoth Benith, and the
men of Chuth made Ergel, and the men of Haemath made Asimath.
17.31 And the Evites made Eblazer and Tharthac, and the
[inhabitant] of Seppharvaim [did evil] when they burnt their sons in
the fire to Adramelech and Anemelech, the gods of Seppharvaim.
17.32 And they feared the Lord, yet they established their
abominations in the houses of the high places which they made in
Samaria, each nation in the city in which they dwelt: and they feared
the Lord, and they made for themselves priests of the high places, and
sacrificed for themselves in the house of the high places.
17.33 And they feared the Lord, and served their gods
according to the manner of the nations, whence [their lords] brought
them.
17.34 Until this day they did according to their manner:
they fear [the Lord], and they do according to their customs, and
according to their manner, and according to the law, and according to
the commandment which the Lord commanded the sons of Jacob, whose name
he made Israel.
17.35 And the Lord made a covenant with them, and charged
them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, neither shall ye worship
them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
17.36 but only to the Lord, who brought you up out of the
land of Egypt with great strength and with a high arm: him shall ye
fear, and him shall ye worship; to him shall ye sacrifice.
17.37 Ye shall observe continually the ordinances, and the
judgments, and the law, and the commandments which he wrote for you to
do; and ye shall not fear other gods.
17.38 Neither shall ye forget the covenant which he made with you: and ye shall not fear other gods.
17.39 But ye shall fear the Lord your God, and he shall deliver you from all your enemies.
17.40 Neither shall ye comply with their practice, which they follow.
17.41 So these nations feared the Lord, and served their
graven images: yea, their sons and their son's sons do until this day
even as their fathers did.
18.1
And it came to pass in the third year of Osee son of Ela king of Israel
[that] Ezekias son of Achaz king of Juda began to reign.
18.2 Five and twenty years old was he when he began
to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and his
mother's name [was] Abu, daughter of Zacharias.
18.3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David did.
18.4 He removed the high places, and broke in pieces
the pillars, and utterly destroyed the groves, and the brazen serpent
which Moses made: because until those days the children of Israel burnt
incense to it: and he called it Neesthan.
18.5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; and after
him there was not any like him among the kings of Juda, nor among those
that were before him.
18.6 And he clave to the Lord, he departed not from
following him; and he kept his commandments, as many as he commanded
Moses.
18.7 And the Lord was with him; and he was wise in
all that he undertook: and he revolted from the king of the Assyrians,
and served him not.
18.8 He smote the Philistines [even] to Gaza, and to
the border of it, from the tower of the watchmen even to the strong
city.
18.9 And it came to pass in the fourth year of King
Ezekias (this is the seventh year of Osee son of Ela king of Israel,)
[that] Salamanassar king of the Assyrians came up against Samaria, and
besieged it.
18.10 And he took it at the end of three years, in the
sixth year of Ezekias, (this [is] the ninth year of Osee king of
Israel, when Samaria was taken.)
18.11 And the king of the Assyrians carried away the
Samaritans to Assyria, and put them in Alae and in Abor, [by] the river
Gozan, and [in] the mountains of the Medes;
18.12 because they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord
their God, and transgressed his covenant, [even] in all things that
Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and hearkened not [to them],
nor did [them].
18.13 And in the fourteenth year of king Ezekias came up
Sennacherim king of the Assyrians against the strong cities of Juda,
and took them.
18.14 And Ezekias king of Juda sent messengers to the king
of the Assyrians to Lachis, saying, I have offended; depart from me:
whatsoever thou shalt lay upon me, I will bear. And the king of Assyria
laid upon Ezekias king of Juda [a tribute of] three hundred talents of
silver, and thirty talents of gold.
18.15 And Ezekias gave all the silver that was found in the
house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house.
18.16 At that time Ezekias cut off [the gold from] the
doors of the temple, and [from] the pillars which Ezekias king of Juda
[had] overlaid with gold, and gave it to the king of the Assyrians.
18.17 And the king of the Assyrians sent Tharthan and
Raphis and Rapsakes from Lachis to king Ezekias with a strong force
against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem, and stood by
the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is by the way of the fuller's
field.
18.18 And they cried to Ezekias: and there came to him
Heliakim the son of Chelcias the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and
Joas the son of Saphat the recorder.
18.19 And Rapsakes said to them, Say now to Ezekias, Thus
says the king, the great king of the Assyrians, What [is] this
confidence wherein thou trustest?
18.20 Thou hast said, (but [they are] mere words,) [I have]
counsel and strength for war. Now then in whom dost thou trust, that
thou hast revolted from me?
18.21 See now, art thou trusting for thyself on this broken
staff of reed, [even] upon Egypt? whosoever shall stay himself upon it,
it shall even go into his hand, and pierce it: so [is] Pharao king of
Egypt to all that trust on him.
18.22 And whereas thou hast said to me, We trust on the
Lord God: [is] not this he, whose high places and altars Ezekias has
removed, and has said to Juda and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before
this altar in Jerusalem?
18.23 And now, I pray you, make and agreement with my lord
the king of the Assyrians, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if
thou shalt be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
18.24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one petty
governor, from among the least of my lord's servants? whereas thou
trustest for thyself on Egypt for chariots and horsemen.
18.25 And now have we come up without the Lord against this
place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and
destroy it.
18.26 And Heliakim the son of Chelkias, and Somnas, and
Joas, said to Rapsakes, Speak now to thy servants in the Syrian
language, for we understand it; and speak not with us in the Jewish
language: and why dost thou speak in the ears of the people that are on
the wall?
18.27 And Rapsakes said to them, Has my master sent me to
thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? [has he] not [sent me]
to the men who sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and
drink their own water together with you.
18.28 And Rapsakes stood, and cried with a loud voice in
the Jewish language, and spoke, and said, Hear the words of the great
king of the Assyrians:
18.29 thus says the king, Let not Ezekias encourage you
with words: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand.
18.30 And let not Ezekias cause you to trust on the Lord,
saying, The Lord will certainly deliver us; this city shall not be
delivered into the hand of the king of the Assyrians: hearken not to
Ezekias:
18.31 for thus says the king of the Assyrians, Gain my
favour, and come forth to me, and every man shall drink [of the wine]
of his own vine, and every ma shall eat of his own fig-tree, and shall
drink water out of his own cistern;
18.32 until I come and remove you to a land like your own
land, a land of corn and wine, and bread and vineyards, a land of olive
oil, and honey, and ye shall live and not die: and do not ye hearken to
Ezekias, for he deceives you, saying, The Lord shall deliver you.
18.33 Have the Gods of the nations at all delivered each
their own land out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians?
18.34 Where is the god of Haemath, and of Arphad? where is
the god of Seppharvaim, Ana, and Aba? for have they delivered Samaria
out of my hand?
18.35 Who [is there] among all the gods of the countries,
who have delivered their countries out of my hand, that the Lord should
deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
18.36 But [the men] were silent, and answered him not a
word: for [there was] a commandment of the king, saying, Ye shall not
answer him.
18.37 And Heliakim the son of Chelcias, the steward, and
Somnas the scribe, and Joas the son of Saphat the recorder came in to
Ezekias, having rent their garments; and they reported to him the words
of Rapsakes.
19.1
And it came to pass when king Ezekias heard it, that he rent his
clothes, and put on sackcloth, an went into the house of the Lord.
19.2 And he sent Heliakim the steward, and Somnas the
scribe, and the elders of the priests, clothed with sackcloth, to
Esaias the prophet the son of Amos.
19.3 And they said to him, Thus says Ezekias, This
day [is] a day of tribulation, and rebuke, and provocation: for the
children are come to the travail-[pangs], but the mother has no
strength.
19.4 Peradventure the Lord thy God will hear all the
words of Rapsakes, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to
reproach the living God and to revile him with the words which the Lord
thy God has heard: and thou shalt offer [thy] prayer for the remnant
that is found.
19.5 So the servants of king Ezekias came to Esaias.
19.6 And Esaias said to them, Thus shall ye say to
your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou
hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of the Assyrians have
blasphemed.
19.7 Behold, I send a blast upon him, and he shall
hear a report, and shall return to his own land; and I will overthrow
him with the sword in his own land.
19.8 So Rapsakes returned, and found the king of
Assyria warring against Lobna: for he heard that he [had] departed from
Lachis.
19.9 And he heard concerning Tharaca king of the
Ethiopians, saying, Behold, he is come forth to fight with thee: and he
returned, and sent messengers to Ezekias, saying,
19.10 Let not thy God on whom thou trustest encourage thee,
saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of the king of
the Assyrians.
19.11 Behold, thou hast heard all that the kings of the
Assyrians have done in all the lands, to waste them utterly: and shalt
thou be delivered?
19.12 Have the gods of the nations at all delivered them,
whom my fathers destroyed; both Gozan, and Charran, and Raphis, and the
sons of Edem who were in Thaesthen?
19.13 Where is the king of Haemath, and the king of Arphad?
and where is the king of the city of Seppharvaim, of Ana, and Aba?
19.14 And Ezekias took the letter from the hand of the
messengers, and read it: and he went up to the house of the Lord, an
Ezekias spread it before the Lord,
19.15 and said, O Lord God of Israel that dwellest over the
cherubs, thou art the only god in all the kingdoms of the earth; thou
hast made heaven and earth.
19.16 Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear: open, Lord,
thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherim, which he has
sent to reproach the living God.
19.17 For truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have wasted the nations,
19.18 and have cast their gods into the fire: because they
are no gods, but the works of men's hands, wood and stone; and they
have destroyed them.
19.19 And now, O Lord our God, deliver us out of his hand,
and all the kingdoms of the earth shall know that thou alone [art] the
Lord God.
19.20 And Esaias the son of Amos sent to Ezekias, saying,
Thus saith te Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, I have heard thy
prayer to me concerning Sennacherim king of the Assyrians.
19.21 This [is] the word which the Lord has spoken against
him; The virgin daughter of Sion has made light of thee, and mocked
thee; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee.
19.22 Whom hast thou reproached, and whom hast thou
reviled? and against whom hast thou lifted up thy voice, and raised
thine eyes on high? [Is it] against the Holy One of Israel?
19.23 by thy messengers thou has reproached the Lord, and
hast said, I will go up with the multitude of my chariots, to the
height of the mountains, to the sides of Libanus, and I have cut down
the height of his cedar, [and] his choice cypresses; and I have come
into the midst of the forest and of Carmel.
19.24 I have refreshed [myself], and have drunk strange
waters, and I have dried up with the sole of my foot all the rivers of
fortified places.
19.25 I have brought about [the matter], I have brought it
to a conclusion; and it is come to the destruction of the bands of
warlike prisoners, [even of] strong cities.
19.26 And they that dwelt in them were weak in hand, they
quaked and were confounded, they became [as] grass of the field, or
[as] the green herb, the grass [growing on] houses, and that which is
trodden down by him that stands [upon it].
19.27 But I know thy down-sitting, and thy going forth, and thy rage against me.
19.28 Because thou was angry against me, and thy fierceness
is come up into my ears, therefore will I put my hooks in thy nostrils,
and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by
which thou camest.
19.29 And this shall be a sign to thee; eat this year the
things that grow of themselves, and in the second year the things which
spring up: and in the third year [let there be] sowing, and reaping,
and planting of vineyards, and eat ye the fruit of them.
19.30 And he shall increase him that has escaped of the
house of Juda: and the remnant [shall strike] root beneath, and it
shall produce fruit above.
19.31 For from Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and he
that escapes from the mountain of Sion: the zeal of the Lord of host
shall do this.
19.32 [Is it] not so? Thus saith the Lord concerning the
king of the Assyrians, He shall not enter into this city, and he shall
not shoot an arrow there, neither shall a shield come against it,
neither shall he heap a mound against it.
19.33 By the way by which he comes, by it shall he return, and he shall not enter into this city, saith the Lord.
19.34 And I will defend this city as with a shield, for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
19.35 And it came to pass at night that the angel of the
Lord went forth, an smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and
eighty-five thousand: and they rose early in the morning, and, behold,
[these were] all dead corpses.
19.36 And Sennacherim king of the Assyrians departed, and went and returned, and dwelt in Nineve.
19.37 And it came to pass, while he was worshipping in the
house of Meserach his god, that Adramelech and Sarasar his sons smote
him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararath; and
Asordan his son reigned in his stead.
20.1
In those days was Ezekias sick [even] to death. And the prophet Esaias
the son of Amos came in to him, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord,
Give charge to thy household; [for] thou shalt die, and not live.
20.2 And Ezekias turned to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying,
20.3 Lord, remember, I pray thee, how I have walked
before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which
is good in thine eyes. And Ezekias wept with a great weeping.
20.4 And Esaias was in the middle court, and the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
20.5 Turn back, and thou shalt say to Ezekias the
ruler of my people, Thus saith the Lord God of thy father David, I have
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on
the third day thou shalt go up to the house of the Lord.
20.6 And I will add to thy days fifteen years; and I
will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the
Assyrians, and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my
servant's David sake.
20.7 And he said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it upon the ulcer, and he shall be well.
20.8 And Ezekias said to Esaias, What [is] the sign
that the Lord will heal me, and I shall go up to the house of the Lord
on the third day?
20.9 And Esaias said, This [is] the sign from the
Lord, that the Lord will perform the word which he has spoken, the
shadow [of the dial] shall advance ten degrees: [or] if it should go
back ten degrees [this would also be the sign].
20.10 And Ezekias said, [It is] a light thing for the
shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return ten
degrees backward on the dial.
20.11 And Esaias the prophet cried to the Lord: and the shadow returned back ten degrees on the dial.
20.12 At that time Marodach Baladan, son of Baladan king of
Babylon, sent letters and a present to Ezekias, because he had heard
that Ezekias was sick.
20.13 And Ezekias rejoiced at them, and shewed all the
house of his spices, the silver and the gold, the spices, and the fine
oil, and the armory, and all that was found in his treasures: there was
nothing which Ezekias did not shew them in his house, and in all his
dominion.
20.14 And Esaias the prophet went in to king Ezekias, and
said to him, What said these men? and whence came they to thee? And
Ezekias said, they came to me from a distant land, [even] from Babylon.
20.15 And he said, What saw they in thy house? And he said,
They saw all things that [are] in my house: there was nothing in my
house which I shewed not to them; yea, all that was in my treasures
also.
20.16 And Esaias said to Ezekias, Hear the word of the Lord:
20.17 Behold, the days come, that all things that are in
thy house shall be taken, and all that thy fathers have treasured up
until this day, to Babylon; and there shall not fail a word, which the
Lord has spoken.
20.18 And as for thy sons which shall come forth of thee,
which thou shalt beget, [the enemy] shall take them, and they shall be
eunuchs in the house of the king of Babylon.
20.19 And Ezekias said to Esaias, Good [is] the word of the
Lord which he has spoken: [only] let there be peace in my days.
20.20 And the rest of the acts of Ezekias, and all his
might, and all that he made, the fountain and the aqueduct, and [how]
he brought water into the city, [are] not these things written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda?
20.21 And Ezekias slept with his fathers: and Manasses his son reigned in his stead.
21.1
Manasses [was] twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
fifty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Apsiba.
21.2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of
the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations which the Lord
cast out from before the children of Israel.
21.3 And he built again the high places, which
Ezekias his father [had] demolished; and set up an altar to Baal, and
made groves as Achaab king of Israel [made them]; and worshipped all
the host of heaven, and served them.
21.4 And he built an altar in the house of the Lord, whereas he had said, In Jerusalem I will place my name.
21.5 And he built an altar to all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
21.6 And he caused his sons to pass through the fire,
and used divination and auspices, and made groves, and multiplied
wizards, so as to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, to
provoke him to anger.
21.7 And he set up the graven image of the grove in
the house of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In
this house, and in Jerusalem which I have chosen out of all the tribes
of Israel, will I even place my name for ever.
21.8 And I will not again remove the foot of Israel
from the land which I gave to their fathers, [even of those] who shall
keep all that I commanded, according to all the commandments which my
servant Moses commanded them.
21.9 But they hearkened not; and Manasses led them
astray to do evil in the sight of the Lord, beyond the nations whom the
Lord utterly destroyed from before the children of Israel.
21.10 And the Lord spoke by his servants the prophets, saying,
21.11 Forasmuch as Manasses the king of Juda has wrought
all these evil abominations, beyond all that the Amorite did, who lived
before [him], and has led Juda also into sin by their idols,
21.12 [it shall] not [be] so. Thus saith the Lord God of
Israel, Behold, I bring calamities upon Jerusalem and Juda, so that
both the ears of every one that hears shall tingle.
21.13 And I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measure of
Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Achaab: and I will wipe
Jerusalem as a jar is wiped, and turned upside down in the wiping.
21.14 And I will reject the remnant of my inheritance, and
will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; and they shall be
for a plunder and for a spoil to all their enemies:
21.15 forasmuch as they have done wickedly in my sight, and
have provoked me from the day that I brought out their fathers out of
Egypt, even until this day.
21.16 Moreover Manasses shed very much innocent blood,
until he filled Jerusalem [with it] from one end to the other, beside
his sins with which he caused Juda to sin, in doing evil in the eyes of
the Lord.
21.17 And the rest of the acts of Manasses, and all that he
did, and his sin which he sinned, [are] not these things written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda?
21.18 And Manasses slept with his fathers, and was buried
in the garden of his house, [even] in the garden of Oza: and Amos his
son reigned in his stead.
21.19 Twenty and two years old [was] Amos when he began to
reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name
[was] Mesollam, daughter of Arus of Jeteba.
21.20 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasses his father did.
21.21 And he walked in all the way in which his father
walked, and served the idols which his father served, and worshipped
them.
21.22 And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and walked not in te way of the Lord.
21.23 And the servants of Amos conspired against him, and slew the king in his house.
21.24 And the people of the land slew all that had
conspired against king Amos; and the people of the land made Josias
king in his room.
21.25 And the rest of the acts of Amos, [even] all that he
did, behold, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Juda?
21.26 And they buried him in his tomb in the garden of Oza: and Josias his son reigned in his stead.
22.1
Josias [was] eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
thirty and one years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Jedia,
daughter of Edeia of Basuroth.
22.2 And he did that which was right in the sight of
the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father; he turned not
aside to the right hand or to the left.
22.3 And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of
king Josias, in the eighth month, the king sent Sapphan the son of
Ezelias the son of Mesollam, the scribe of the house of the Lord,
saying,
22.4 Go up to Chelcias the high priest, and take
account of the money that is brought into the house of the Lord, which
they that keep the door have collected of the people.
22.5 And let them give it into the hand of the
workmen that are appointed in the house of the Lord. And he gave it to
the workmen in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the
house,
22.6 [even] to the carpenters, and builders, and
masons, [and] also to purchase timber and hewn stones, to repair the
breaches of the house.
22.7 Only they did not call them to account for the
money that was given to them, because they dealt faithfully.
22.8 And Chelcias the high priest said to Saphan the
scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And
Chelcias gave the book to Sapphan, and he read it.
22.9 And he went into the house of the Lord to the
king, and reported the matter to the king, and said, Thy servants have
collected the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have
given it into the hand of the workmen that are appointed in the house
of the Lord.
22.10 And Sapphan the scribe spoke to the king, saying,
Chelcias the priest has given me a book. And Sapphan read it before the
king.
22.11 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his garments.
22.12 And the king commanded Chelcias the priest, and
Achikam the son of Sapphan, and Achobor the son of Michaias, and
Sapphan the scribe, and Asaias the king's servant, saying,
22.13 Go, enquire of the Lord for me, and for all the
people, and for all Juda, and concerning the words of this book that
has been found: for the wrath of the Lord that has been kindled against
us [is] great, because our fathers hearkened not to the words of this
book, to do according to all the things written concerning us.
22.14 So Chelcias the priest went, and Achicam, and
Achobor, and Sapphan, and Asaias, to Olda the prophetess, the mother of
Sellem the son of Thecuan son of Aras, keeper of the robes; and she
dwelt in Jerusalem in Masena; and they spoke to her.
22.15 And she said to them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Say to the man that sent you to me,
22.16 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I bring evil upon this
place, and upon them that dwell in it, [even] all the words of the book
which the king of Juda has read:
22.17 because they have forsaken me, and burnt incense to
other gods, that they might provoke me with the works of their hands:
therefore my wrath shall burn forth against this place, and shall not
be quenched.
22.18 And to the king of Juda that sent you to enquire of
the Lord,-- thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the Lord God of
Israel, [As for] the words which thou hast heard;
22.19 because thy heart was softened, and thou was humbled
before [me], when thou heardest all that I spoke against this place,
and against the inhabitants of it, that it should be utterly destroyed
and accursed, and thou didst rend thy garments, and weep before me; I
also have heard, saith the Lord.
22.20 It shall not be so [therefore]: behold, I [will] add
thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy tomb in peace,
and thine eyes shall not see [any] among all the evils which I bring
upon this place.
23.1
So they reported the word to the king: and the king sent and gathered
all the elders of Juda and Jerusalem to himself.
23.2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord,
and every man of Juda and all who dwelt in Jerusalem with him, and the
priests, and the prophets, and all the people small and great; and he
read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was
found in the house of the Lord.
23.3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a
covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, to keep his
commandments and his testimonies and his ordinances with all the heart
and with all the soul, to confirm the words of this covenant; [even]
the things written in this book. And all the people stood to the
covenant.
23.4 And the king commanded Chelcias the high priest,
and the priests of the second order, and them that kept the door, to
bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for
Baal, and for the grove, and all the host of heaven, and he burned them
without Jerusalem in the fields of Kedron, and took the ashes of them
to Baethel.
23.5 And he burned the idolatrous priests, whom the
kings of Juda [had] appointed, (and they burned incense in the high
places and in the cities of Juda, and the places around about
Jerusalem); and them that burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, and
to the moon, and to Mazuroth, and to all the host of heaven.
23.6 And he carried out the grove from the house of
the Lord to the brook Kedron, and burned it at the brook Kedron, and
reduced it to powder, and cast its powder on the sepulchres of the sons
of the people.
23.7 And he pulled down the house of the sodomites
that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove tents for the
grove.
23.8 And he brought up all the priest from the cities
of Juda, and defiled the high places where the priests burned incense,
from Gaebal even to Bersabee; and he pulled down the house of the gates
that was by the door of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, on a
man's left hand at the gate of the city.
23.9 Only the priests of the high places went not up
to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, for they only ate leavened bread
in the midst of their brethren.
23.10 And he defiled Tapheth which is in the valley of the
son of Ennom, [constructed] for a man to cause his son or his daughter
to pass through fire to Moloch.
23.11 And he burned the horses which the king of Juda had
given to the sun in the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the
treasury of Nathan the king's eunuch, in the suburbs; and he burned the
chariot of the sun with fire.
23.12 And the altars that were on the roof of the upper
chamber of Achaz, which the kings of Juda had made, and the altars
which Manasses had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did
the king pull down and forcibly remove from thence, and cast their dust
into the brook of Kedron.
23.13 And the king defiled the house that was before
Jerusalem, on the right hand of the mount of Mosthath, which Solomon
king of Israel built to Astarte the abomination of the Sidonians, and
to Chamos the abomination of Moab, and to Moloch the abomination of the
children of Ammon.
23.14 And he broke in pieces the pillars, and utterly
destroyed the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.
23.15 Also the high altar in Baethel, which Jeroboam the
son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that high altar he
tore down, and broke in pieces the stones of it, and reduced it to
powder, and burnt the grove.
23.16 And Josias turned aside, and saw the tombs that were
there in the city, and sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and
burnt them on the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the
Lord which the man of God spoke, when Jeroboam stood by the altar at
the feast: and he turned and raised his eyes to the tomb of the man of
God that spoke these words.
23.17 And he said, What [is] that mound which I see? And
the men of the city said to him, [It is the grave of] the man of God
that came out of Juda, and uttered these imprecations which he
imprecated upon the altar of Baethel.
23.18 And he said, Let him alone; let no one disturb his
bones. So his bones were spared, together with the bones of the prophet
that came out of Samaria.
23.19 Moreover Josias removed all the houses of the high
places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel
made to provoke the Lord, and did to them all that he did in Baethel.
23.20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places
that were there on the altars, and burnt the bones of men upon them,
and returned to Jerusalem.
23.21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep
the passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in the book of this
covenant.
23.22 For a passover [such as] this had not been kept from
the days of the judges who judged Israel, even all the days of the
kings of Israel, and of the kings of Juda.
23.23 But in the eighteenth year of king Josias, was the passover kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.
23.24 Moreover Josias removed the sorcerers, and the
wizards, and the theraphin, and the idols, and all the abominations
that had been set up in the land of Juda and in Jerusalem, that he
might keep the words of the law that were written in the book, which
Chelcias the priest found in the house of the Lord.
23.25 There was no king like him before him, who turned to
the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his
strength, according to all the law of Moses; and after him there rose
not one like him.
23.26 Nevertheless the Lord turned not from the fierceness
of his great anger, wherewith he was wroth in his anger against Juda,
because of the provocations, wherewith Manasses provoked him.
23.27 And the Lord said, I will also remove Juda from my
presence, as I removed Israel, and will reject this city which I have
chosen [even] Jerusalem, and the house [of] which I said, My name shall
be there.
23.28 And the rest o the acts of Josias, and all that he
did, [are] not these things written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Juda?
23.29 And in his days went up Pharao Nechao king of Egypt
against the king of the Assyrians to the river Euphrates: and Josias
went out to meet him: and Nechao slew him in Mageddo when he saw him.
23.30 And his servants carried him dead from Mageddo, and
brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre: and the
people of the land took Joachaz the son of Josias, and anointed him,
and made him king in the room of his father.
23.31 Twenty and three years old was Joachaz when he began
to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother's
name [was] Amital, daughter of Jeremias of Lobna.
23.32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers did.
23.33 And Pharao Nechao removed him to Rablaam in the land
of Emath, so that he should not reign in Jerusalem; and imposed a
tribute on the land, a hundred talents of silver, and a hundred talents
of gold.
23.34 And Pharao Nechao made Eliakim son of Josias king of
Juda king over them in the place of his father Josias, and he changed
his name [to] Joakim, and he took Joachaz and brought him to Egypt, and
he died there.
23.35 And Joakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharao;
but he assessed the land to give the money at the command of Pharao:
they gave the silver and the gold [each] man according to his
assessment together with the people of the land to give to Pharao
Nechao.
23.36 Twenty-five years old [was] Joakim when he began to
reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name
[was] Jeldaph, daughter of Phadail of Ruma.
23.37 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
24.1
In his days went up Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and Joakim became
his servant three years; and [then] he turned and revolted from him.
24.2 And the lord sent against him the bands of the
Chaldeans, and the bands of Syria, and the ans of Moab, and the bands
of the children of Ammon, and sent them into the land of Juda to
prevail [against it], according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke
by his servants the prophets.
24.3 Moreover it was the purpose of the Lord
concerning Juda, to remove them from his presence, because of the sins
of Manasses, according to all that he did.
24.4 Moreover he shed innocent blood, and filled
Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon [it].
24.5 And the rest of the acts of Joakim, and all that
he did, behold, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles
of the kings of Juda?
24.6 And Joakim slept with his fathers: and Joachim his son reigned in his stead.
24.7 And the king of Egypt came no more out of his
land: for the king of Babylon took away all that belonged to the king
of Egypt from the river of Egypt as far as the river Euphrates.
24.8 Eighteen years old [was] Joachim when he began
to reign, an he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother's
name [was] Nestha, daughter of Ellanastham, of Jerusalem.
24.9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father did.
24.10 At that time went up Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
24.11 And Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants besieged it.
24.12 And Joachim king of Juda came forth to the king of
Babylon, he and his servants, and his mother, and his princes, and his
eunuchs; and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his
reign.
24.13 And he brought forth thence all the treasures of the
house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut up
all the golden vessels which Solomon the king of Israel [had] made in
the temple of the Lord, according to the word of the Lord.
24.14 And he carried away [the inhabitants of] Jerusalem,
and all the captains, and the mighty men, taking captive ten thousand
prisoners, and every artificer and smith: and only the poor of the land
were left.
24.15 And he carried Joachim away to Babylon, and the
king's mother, and the king's wives, and his eunuchs: and he carried
away the mighty men of the land into captivity from Jerusalem to
Babylon.
24.16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and
one thousand artificers and smiths: all [were] mighty [men] fit for
war; and the king of Babylon carried them captive to Babylon.
24.17 And the king of Babylon made Batthanias his son king in his stead, and called his name Sedekias.
24.18 Twenty and one years old [was] Sedekias when he began
to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's
name [was] Amital daughter of Jeremias.
24.19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Joachim did.
24.20 For it was according to the Lord's anger against
Jerusalem and on Juda, until he cast them out of his presence, that
Sedekias revolted against the king of Babylon.
25.1
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month,
[that] Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon came, and all his host, against
Jerusalem; and he encamped against it, and built a mound against it.
25.2 And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of king Sedekias on the ninth day of the month.
25.3 And the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
25.4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of
war went forth by night, by the way of the gate between the walls, this
is [the gate] of the king's garden: and the Chaldeans [were set]
against the city round about: and [the king] went by the way of the
plain.
25.5 And the force of the Chaldeans pursued the king,
and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army was
dispersed from about him.
25.6 And they took the king, and brought him to the
king of Babylon to Reblatha; and he gave judgment upon him.
25.7 And he slew the sons of Sedekias before his
eyes, and put out the eyes of Sedekias, and bound him in fetters, and
brought him to Babylon.
25.8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of
the month (this [is] the nineteenth year of Nabuchodonosor king of
Babylon), came Nabuzardan, captain of the guard, who stood before the
king of Babylon, to Jerusalem.
25.9 And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the
king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every house did the
captain of the guard burn.
25.10 And the force of the Chaldeans pulled down the wall of Jerusalem round about.
25.11 And Nabuzardan the captain of the guard removed the
rest of the people that were left in the city, and the men who had
deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
25.12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vine-dressers and husbandmen.
25.13 And the Chaldeans broke to pieces the brazen pillars
that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brazen sea
that was in the house of the Lord, and carried their brass to Babylon.
25.14 And the caldrons, and the shovels, and the bowls, and
the censers, and all the brazen vessels with which they minister, he
took.
25.15 And the captain of the guard took the fire-pans, and the gold and silver bowls.
25.16 Two pillars, and one sea, and the bases which Solomon
made for the house of the Lord: there was no weight of the brass of all
the vessels.
25.17 The height of one pillar [was] eighteen cubits, and
the chapiter upon it was of brass: and the height of the chapiter was
three cubits: the border, and the pomegranates on the chapiter round
about were all of brass: and so it was with the second pillar with its
border.
25.18 And the captain of the guard took Saraias the
high-priest, and Sophonias the second in order, and the three
doorkeepers.
25.19 And they took out of the city one eunuch who was
commander of the men of war, and five men that saw the face of the
king, that were found in the city, and the secretary of the
commander-in-chief, who took account of the people of the land, and
sixty men of the people of the land that were found in the city.
25.20 And Nabuzardan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Reblatha.
25.21 And the king of Babylon smote them and slew them at
Reblatha in the land of Aemath. So Juda was carried away from his land.
25.22 And [as for] the people that were left in the land of
Juda, whom Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon left, even over them he set
Godolias son of Achicam son of Saphan.
25.23 And all the captains of the host, they and their men,
heard that the king of Babylon had [thus] appointed Godolias, and they
came to Godolias to Massephath, both Ismael the son of Nathanias, and
Jona son of Careth, and Saraias, son of Thanamath the Netophathite, and
Jezonias son of a Machathite, they and their men.
25.24 And Godolias swore to them and their men, and said to
them, Fear not the incursion of the Chaldeans; dwell in the land, and
serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
25.25 And it came to pass in the seventh month [that]
Ismael son of Nathanias son of Helisama, of the seed royal, came, and
ten men with him, and he smote Godolias, that he died, [him] and the
Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him in Massepha.
25.26 And all the people, great and small rose up, [they]
and the captains of the forces, and went into Egypt; because they were
afraid of the Chaldeans.
25.27 And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the
carrying away of Joachim king of Juda, in the twelfth month, on the
twenty-seventh day of the month, [that] Evialmarodec king of Babylon in
the [first] year of his reign lifted up the head of Joachim king of
Juda, and brought him out of his prison-house.
25.28 And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the thrones of the kings that were with him in Babylon;
25.29 And changed his prison garments: and he ate bread continually before him all the days of his life.
25.30 And his portion, a continual portion, was given him
out of the house of the king, a daily rate for every day all the days
of his life.