2 Kings

2 Kings Quick Link – Go To Chapter:

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 1

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 1

And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
2 And Ahaziyeh fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber, which was in Samaria, and he was sick; and he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the elohim of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.”
3 But the angel of YEHOWAH said to Eliyeh the Tishbite, “Rise up, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no Elohim in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the elohim of Ekron?’
4 Now therefore thus says YEHOWAH, ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'”  Then Eliyeh departed.
5 When the messengers returned to him he said to them, “Why have you returned?”
6 And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says YEHOWAH, ‘Is it because there is no Elohim in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the elohim of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'”‘”
7 He said to them, “What manner of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?”
8 They answered him, “A hairy man with a girdle of leather about his loins.” And he said, “It is Eliyeh the Tishbite.”
9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty, and he went up to him, and behold, he sat on the top of a hill.  And he said to him, “O man of Elohim, the king says, ‘Come down.'”
10 And Eliyeh replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of Elohim, let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty.”  And there came down fire from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
11 And again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty.  And he said to him, “O man of Elohim, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.'”
12 Eliyeh replied to them, “If I am a man of Elohim, let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty.”  And the fire of Elohim came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
13 And he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty, and when the third captain of fifty went up, he came and fell on his knees before Eliyeh, and sought his favor, and said to him, “O man of Elohim, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.
14 “Behold, there came fire down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.”
15 And the angel of YEHOWAH said to Eliyeh, “Go down with him; be not afraid of him.” So he rose up and went down with him to the king.
16 And he said to him, “Thus says YEHOWAH, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the elohim of Ekron (is it because there is no Elohim in Israel to inquire of His word?) Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'”
17 So Ahaziyeh died according to the Word of YEHOWAH which Eliyeh had spoken.  And Yehram became king in his stead, in the second year of Yehram the son of Yehshaphat, king of Yehudah.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziyeh, which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 2

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 2

And it came to pass when YEHOWAH was to take up Eliyeh by a whirlwind to heaven, that Eliyeh went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 And Eliyeh said to Elisha, “Remain here please, for YEHOWAH has sent me as far as Bethel.”  But Elisha said, “As YEHOWAH lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”  So they went down to Bethel.
3 And the children of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that YEHOWAH will take away your lord from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be still.”
4 And Eliyeh said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for YEHOWAH has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As YEHOWAH lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.
5 And the children of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that YEHOWAH will take away your lord from over you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be still.”
6 Then Eliyeh said to him, “Please stay here, for YEHOWAH has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As YEHOWAH lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 And fifty men of the children of the prophets went and stood opposite them afar off, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
8 And Eliyeh took his mantle and wrapped it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 And it came to pass when they had crossed over, Eliyeh said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your Spirit be upon me.”
10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing.  Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be.”
11 And it came to pass, as they were still going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, which separated the two of them.  And Eliyeh went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”  And he saw Eliyeh no more.  Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 He took up also the mantle of Eliyeh that fell from him, and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
14 And he took the mantle of Eliyeh that fell from him, and struck the waters and said, “Where is YEHOWAH, the Elohim of Eliyeh?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there, and Elisha crossed over.
15 And when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The Spirit of Eliyeh rests on Elisha.”  And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
16 And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your lord; perhaps The Spirit of YEHOWAH has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.”  And he said, “You shall not send.”
17 But they urged him until he was ashamed, so he said, “Send.”  They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days but did not find him.
18 And when they came again to him, for he was staying at Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
19 And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad and the land is barren.”
20 So he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.”  So they brought it to him.
21 And he went forth to the spring of water and threw the salt therein and said, “Thus says YEHOWAH, ‘I have healed these waters; there shall not be from there death or barrenness any longer.'”
22 So the waters have been healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha, which he spoke.
23 And he went up from there to Bethel, and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children from the city, and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you bald-head; go up, you bald-head!”
24 When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the Name of YEHOWAH.  Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two children of their number.
25 And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 3

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 3

Now Yehram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Yehshaphat king of Yehudah; and reigned twelve years.
2 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, though not like his father and his mother, for he put away the idol of Baal, which his father had made.
3 Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep lord, and rendered to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams,
5 but it came to pass when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 And King Yehram went out of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel.
7 Then he went and sent word to Yehshaphat the king of Yehudah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me.  Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up.  I am as you; my people as your people; my horses as your horses.”
8 And he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Yehudah and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey, and there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them.
10 Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! For YEHOWAH has called these three kings together, to give them into the hand of Moab.”
11 But Yehshaphat said, “Is there not here a prophet of YEHOWAH, that we may inquire of YEHOWAH by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Eliyeh.”
12 And Yehshaphat said, “The word of YEHOWAH is with him.”  So the king of Israel and Yehshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother.”  And the king of Israel said to him, “No, for YEHOWAH has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.”
14 And Elisha said, “As YEHOWAH of hosts lives, before Whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Yehshaphat king of Yehudah, I would not look at you nor see you.
15 But now, bring me a minstrel.”  And it came to pass when the minstrel played, that the hand of YEHOWAH came upon him.
16 And he said, “Thus says YEHOWAH, ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’
17 For thus says YEHOWAH, ‘You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you may drink; both you and your cattle and your beasts.
18 And this is a light thing in the sight of YEHOWAH.  He will also give the Moabites into your hand.
19 And you shall strike every fortified city, and every choice city, and fell every good tree, and stop every well of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.'”
20 And it came to pass in the morning, about the time the meat offering was offered, that behold, water came by way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
21 When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered together all who were able to put on armor, and older, and stood along the border.
22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood,
23 and they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought, and they have slain one another.  Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”
24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them.  And they went forward into the land, slaughtering the Moabites.
25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land they each one threw a stone, and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth, only they left its stones; however, the slingers went about it and struck it.
26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not.
27 Then he took his oldest son, who was to reign in his stead, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall.  And there came great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 4

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 4

Now a certain woman of the wives of the children of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared YEHOWAH; and the creditor has come to take my two sons to be bond-men.”
2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels abroad for yourself from all your neighbors; empty vessels; do not get a few.
4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you, and behind your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.”
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her, and behind her sons, who brought the vessels to her, and she poured.
6 And it came to pass when the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel,” and he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.”  And the oil stopped.
7 Then she came and told the man of Elohim, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and live, you and your sons, on the rest.”
8 And it came to pass when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a great woman, that she constrained him to eat food.  And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food.
9 And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of Elohim passing by us continually.
10 Please, let us make an upper chamber along the wall, and let us set a bed there for him, and a table and a chair and a lamp-stand.  And it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”
11 And it came to pass one day that he came there, and turned in to the upper chamber, and rested.
12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunamite.”  And when he had called her, she stood before him,
13 and he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care.  What can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the army?'” And she answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14 And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Truly, she has no son and her husband is old.”
15 And he said, “Call her.”  When he had called her, she stood in the doorway.
16 And he said, “At this season next year you will embrace a son.”  And she said, “No, my lord, O man of Elohim, do not lie to your handmaid!”
17 And the woman conceived and begat a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had said to her.
18 When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers,
19 and he said to his father, “My head, my head!”  And he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”
20 And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died.
21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of Elohim, and shut the door behind him and went out.
22 Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of Elohim and come again.”
23 And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.”
24 Then she saddled the ass and said to her servant, “Drive and go forward; slack not the riding for me, unless I tell you.”
25 So she went and came to the man of Elohim to Mount Carmel.  And it came to pass when the man of Elohim saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, there is the Shunamite.
26 Run now, please, to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'” And she answered, “It is well.”
27 And when she came to the man of Elohim to the hill, she caught him by the feet.  And Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of Elohim said, “Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and YEHOWAH has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
28 Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go your way; if you meet any man, salute him not, and if anyone salutes you, answer him not; and lay my staff on the lad’s face.”
30 And the mother of the lad said, “As YEHOWAH lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” And he rose up and followed her.
31 Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the face of the lad, but there was neither sound nor hearing.  So he went again to meet him and told him, “The lad has not awakened.”
32 And when Elisha came into the house, behold the lad was dead and laid on his bed.
33 So he went in and shut the door behind them both and prayed unto YEHOWAH.
34 And he went up and lay upon the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child became warm.
35 Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro, and went up and stretched himself upon him; and the lad sneezed seven times and the lad opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunamite.”  So he called her, and when she came in to him, he said, “Take up your son.”
37 Then she went in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground, and she took up her son and went out.
38 When Elisha came again to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land.  As the children of the prophets sat before him, he said to his servant, “Put on the great pot and boil pottage for the children of the prophets.”
39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof his lap full of wild gourds, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage, for they knew not what they were.
40 So they poured it out for the men to eat.  And it came to pass as they were eating of the pottage, they cried out, saying, “O man of Elohim, there is death in the pot.”  And they could not eat.
41 Then he said, “Now bring meal,” and he cast it into the pot and said, “Pour out for the people that they may eat.”  And there was no harm in the pot.
42 And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of Elohim bread of the first fruits; twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of corn in the husk.  And he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat.”
43 And his attendant said, “How shall I set this before one hundred men?” But he said, “Give to the people that they may eat, for thus says YEHOWAH, ‘They shall eat and shall have to spare.'”
44 So he set it before them, and they ate and had some to spare, according to the Word of YEHOWAH.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 5

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 5

And Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his lord, and regarded highly, because by him YEHOWAH had given deliverance unto Syria.  The man was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
2 Now the Syrians had gone out in troops and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
3 And she said to her mistress, “I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria!  Then he would cure him of his leprosy.”
4 And he went in and told his lord, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.”
5 And the king of Syria said, “Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”  So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “Now when this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
7 And it came to pass when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I Elohim, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending unto me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, please, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of Elohim heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be come again to you, and you will be clean.”
11 But Naaman was enraged and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the Name of YEHOWAH his Elohim, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’
12 Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 Then his servant came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you have not done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
14 Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of Elohim, and his flesh came again like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.
15 And when he returned to the man of Elohim with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold, now I know that there is no Elohim in all the earth but in Israel; and now, please take a present from your servant.”
16 But he said, “As YEHOWAH lives, before Whom I stand, I will take nothing.”  And he urged him to take it, but he refused.
17 Naaman said, “Shall there not then, please, at least be given to your servant, two mules’ load of earth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other elohim, but to YEHOWAH.
18 And in this matter may YEHOWAH pardon your servant:  When my lord goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, YEHOWAH pardon your servant in this matter.”
19 And he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him some distance.
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of Elohim, thought, “Behold, my lord has spared this Naaman the Syrian, by not receiving from his hands that which he brought.  As YEHOWAH lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”
21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman.  When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”
22 He said, “All is well.  My lord has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, even now there have come to me, from the hill country of Ephraim, two young men of the children of the prophets.  Give them, please, a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.'”
23 And Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.”  And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes, and laid them on two of his servants, and they carried them before him.
24 And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he let the men go, and they departed.
25 But he went in and stood before his lord.  And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”
26 Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive clothes, and olive groves, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and male servants and handmaids?
27 So, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your seed forever.”  So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 6

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 6

And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place where we dwell before you is too small for us.
2 Please let us go to the Jordan, and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may dwell.”  So he said, “Go.”
3 Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.”  And he answered, “I shall go.”
4 So he went with them, and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water, and he cried out and said, “Alas, my lord!  For it was borrowed.”
6 Then the man of Elohim said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float.
7 And he said, “Take it up for yourself.”  So he put out his hand and took it.
8 Then the king of Syria was warring against Israel, and he counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.”
9 And the man of Elohim sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.”
10 The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of Elohim had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice.
11 Then the heart of the king of Syria was enraged over this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12 And one of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet, who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
13 So he said, “Go and spy where he is, that I may send and take him.”  And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
14 So he sent horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and encompassed the city.
15 Now when the attendant of the man of Elohim had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots encircled the city.  And his servant said to him, “Alas, my lord!  What shall we do?”
16 So he answered, “Fear not, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “YEHOWAH, I pray You; open his eyes that he may see.” And YEHOWAH opened the servant’s eyes and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to YEHOWAH and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray You.”  So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city.  Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 And it came to pass when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “YEHOWAH, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So YEHOWAH opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
21 Then the king of Israel, when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
22 And he answered, “You shall not kill them.  Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their lord.”
23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their lord.  And the marauding bands of Syrians did not come again into the land of Israel.
24 And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria.
25 And there was a great famine in Samaria, and behold, they besieged it until an asses head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall there cried a woman out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
27 And he said, “If YEHOWAH does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”
28 And the king said to her, “What ails you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
29 “So we boiled my son and ate him, and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’, but she has hidden her son.”
30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. Now he was passing by on the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body.
31 And he said, “May Elohim do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him this day.”
32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders were sitting with him.  And the king sent a man from his presence, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door shut against him.  Is not the sound of his lord’s feet behind him?”
33 While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “Behold, this evil is from YEHOWAH, why should I wait for YEHOWAH any longer?”

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 7

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 7

Then Elisha said, “Hear the Word of YEHOWAH, thus says YEHOWAH, ‘Tomorrow about this time, a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'”
2 Then the captain, upon whose hand the king was leaning, answered the man of Elohim and said, “Behold, if YEHOWAH would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.”
3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate, and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?
4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die, and if we sit here, we die also.  Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Syrians.  If they spare us, we will live, and if they kill us, we will but die.”
5 They rose up at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians, and when they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there.
6 For Adonay had caused the army of the Syrians to hear a sound of chariots, and a sound of horses; even the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.”
7 Therefore they rose up and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their asses; even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life.
8 When the lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they entered one tent and ate and drank, and carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and went and hid them, and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also, and went and hid them.
9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right.  This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent.  If we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no man there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the asses tied, and the tents just as they were.”
11 The gatekeepers called out and told it within the king’s house.
12 And the king rose up in the night and said to his servants, “I will now tell you what the Syrians have done to us.  They know we are hungry, therefore they have gone out from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will catch them alive and get into the city.'”
13 And one of his servants said, “Please, let some men take five of the horses that remain in the city. (Behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel who are left in it.  Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already perished).  So let us send and see.”
14 They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the army of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.”
15 And they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment, which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste.  And the messengers returned and told the king.
16 And the people went out and plundered the encampment of the Syrians, and a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the Word of YEHOWAH.
17 And the king appointed the captain upon whose hand he leaned, to have charge of the gate, but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of Elohim had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.
18 And it came to pass just as the man of Elohim had spoken to the king, saying, “Two measures of barley for a shekel and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, will be sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria.”
19 And that captain answered the man of Elohim and said, “Now behold, if YEHOWAH would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.”
20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 8

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 8

Then Elisha spoke to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Rise up, and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn, for YEHOWAH has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.”
2 And the woman rose up and did according to the word of the man of Elohim, and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 And it came to pass at the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went forth to cry out to the king for her house and for her land.
4 And the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of Elohim, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things that Elisha has done.”
5 And it came to pass as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life cried out to the king for her house and for her land.  And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him.  So the king appointed to her an officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the produce of the land, since the day that she left the land, even until now.”
7 And Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick, and it was told him, saying, “The man of Elohim has come here.”
8 The king said to Hazael, “Take a tribute in your hand and go to meet the man of Elohim, and inquire of YEHOWAH by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?'”
9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a tribute in his hand; even every kind of good thing of Damascus; forty camels’ burden.  And he came and stood before him and said, “Your child Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this disease?'”
10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will surely live.’  But YEHOWAH has shown me that he will surely die.”
11 And he set his gaze steadfastly upon him until he was ashamed, and the man of Elohim wept.
12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel:  Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and will dash in pieces their children, and will rip up their women with child.”
13 And Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, ” YEHOWAH has shown me that you will be king over Syria.”
14 So he departed from Elisha and returned to his lord, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would surely live.”
15 And it came to pass the next day, he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died.  And Hazael reigned in his stead.
16 And in the fifth year of Yehram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Yehshaphat being then the king of Yehudah, Yehram the son of Yehshaphat king of Yehudah began to reign.
17 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab became his wife, and he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH.
19 Yet YEHOWAH would not destroy Yehudah, for David His servant’s sake, since He had promised him to give him always a lamp for his sons.
20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Yehudah, and made a king over themselves.
21 Then Yehram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him.  And he rose up by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots, and the people fled to their tents.
22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Yehudah to this day.  Then Libnah revolted at the same time.
23 And the rest of the acts of Yehram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
24 And Yehram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziyeh his son reigned in his stead.
25 In the twelfth year of Yehram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziyeh the son of Yehram king of Yehudah began to reign.
26 Ahaziyeh was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem.  And his mother’s name was Athaliyeh the granddaughter of Omryeh king of Israel.
27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
28 And he went with Yehram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Yehram.
29 So King Yehram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had inflicted upon him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria.  Then Ahaziyeh the son of Yehram king of Yehudah went down to see Yehram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 9

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 9

And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead.
2 And when you come there, see there Yehu the son of Yehshaphat the son of Nimshi.  Go in and make him rise up from among his brethren, and bring him to an inner room.
3 Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says YEHOWAH, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”‘  Then open the door and flee and do not wait.”
4 So the young man; even the young man of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.
5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O captain.” And Yehu said, “For which of us?” And he said, “For you, O captain.”
6 And he rose up and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says YEHOWAH, the Elohim of Israel, ‘I have anointed you king over the people of YEHOWAH, even over Israel.
7 And you shall strike the house of Ahab your lord, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of YEHOWAH, at the hand of Jezebel.
8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person, both bond and free in Israel.
9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahiyeh.
10 The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the land of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.'”  And he opened the door and fled.
11 Then Yehu came out to the servants of his lord, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why came this mad man to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his communication.”
12 But they said, “It is false, tell us now.”  And he said, “Thus and thus spoke he to me saying, ‘Thus says YEHOWAH, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”‘”
13 Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him at the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpets, saying, “Yehu is king!”
14 So Yehu the son of Yehshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Yehram.  Now Yehram with all Israel was defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Syria,
15 but King Yehram had returned to Jezreel, to be healed of the wounds that the Syrians had inflicted on him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.  So Yehu said, “If this is your will, then let no one escape or leave the city to go tell it in Jezreel.”
16 So Yehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Yehram lay there.  And Ahaziyeh king of Yehudah had come down to see Yehram.
17 And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Yehu as he came, and said, “I see a company.”  And Yehram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Peace!'”
18 So there went one on horseback to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?'” And Yehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.”  And the watchman reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.”
19 Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?'” And Yehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.”
20 And the watchman reported, “He came even to them, and he did not return, and the driving is like the driving of Yehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”
21 Then Yehram said, “Make ready.”  And they made his chariot ready.  Yehram king of Israel and Ahaziyeh king of Yehudah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Yehu, and found him in the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 And it came to pass when Yehram saw Yehu, he said, “Is it peace, Yehu?” And he answered, “What peace, so long as the whoredom of your mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?”
23 And Yehram turned his hands and fled and said to Ahaziyeh, “There is treachery, O Ahaziyeh!”
24 And Yehu drew his bow with his full strength and struck Yehram between his arms; and the arrow went out through his heart and he sank in his chariot.
25 Then Yehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Take him up and cast him into the property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for remember how when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, that YEHOWAH laid this burden upon him,
26 ‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his children,’ says YEHOWAH, ‘and I will repay you in this property,’ says YEHOWAH.  Now then, take and cast him onto that plot, according to the word of YEHOWAH.”
27 And when Ahaziyeh king of Yehudah saw, he fled by the way of the garden house.  And Yehu pursued him and said, “Strike him also in his chariot.”  So they struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is at Ibleam, but he fled to Megiddo and died there.
28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.
29 And in the eleventh year of Yehram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziyeh began to reign over Yehudah.
30 And when Yehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out at the window.
31 And as Yehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it well, Zimryeh, your lord’s murderer?”
32 And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And there looked down upon him two or three eunuchs.
33 And he said, “Throw her down.”  So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot.
34 And when he came in, he ate and drank, and he said, “Go, see now to this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.”
35 And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
36 Therefore, they returned and told him.  And he said, “This is the Word of YEHOWAH, which He spoke by His servant Eliyeh the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel,
37 and the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”‘”

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 10

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 10

And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria.  And Yehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel; the elders and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying,
2 “Now, when this letter comes to you, since your lord’s children are with you, as well as the chariots and the horses, and a fortified city, and the weapons,
3 select the best and most fit of your lord’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your lord’s house.”
4 But they feared greatly and said, “Behold, the two kings stood not before him, how then can we stand?”
5 And the one who was over the house, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Yehu, saying, “We are your servants, all that you say to us we will do; we will not make any man king.  Do what is good in your sight.”
6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, “If you are on my side, and you will hear my voice, take the heads of the men, your lord’s children, and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow about this time.”  Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.
7 And it came to pass when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel.
8 And when the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”
9 And it came to pass in the morning, he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent!  Behold, I conspired against my lord and killed him, but who killed all these?
10 Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of YEHOWAH, which YEHOWAH spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for YEHOWAH has done what He spoke through His servant Eliyeh.”
11 So Yehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.
12 Then he rose up and departed and went to Samaria.  And on the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds,
13 Yehu met the relatives of Ahaziyeh king of Yehudah and said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the brethren of Ahaziyeh, and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”
14 And he said, “Take them alive.”  So they took them alive and killed them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and none of them remained.
15 And when he had departed from there, he met Yehnadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him, and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Yehnadab answered, “It is.”  Yehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot.
16 And he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for YEHOWAH.”  So he made him ride in his chariot.
17 When he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the Word of YEHOWAH, which He spoke to Eliyeh.
18 Then Yehu gathered all the people and said unto them, “Ahab served Baal a little, Yehu will serve him much.
19 Now therefore, call out to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers, and all his priests; let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Yehu did it in cunning, that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal.
20 And Yehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” And they proclaimed it.
21 Then Yehu sent throughout Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a person left who did not come.  And when they went into the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other.
22 And he said to the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out clothing for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out clothing for them.
23 And Yehu went into the house of Baal with Yehnadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that there is here with you none of the servants of YEHOWAH, but only the worshipers of Baal.”
24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.  Now Yehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, “If any of the persons whom I bring into your hands escapes, you shall give up your life in exchange.”
25 And it came to pass, as soon as they had finished offering the burnt offering, that Yehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in, kill them; let none come out.”  And they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains threw them out, and went to the inner room of the house of Baal.
26 And they brought out the sacred images of the house of Baal and burned them.
27 They also broke down the sacred pillar of Baal and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a cesspool to this day.
28 Thus Yehu eradicated Baal out of Israel.
29 However, the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Yehu did not depart; even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan.
30 And YEHOWAH said to Yehu, “Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.”
31 But Yehu took no heed to walk in the law of YEHOWAH, the Elohim of Israel, with all his heart.  He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.
32 In those days YEHOWAH began to divide Israel, and Hazael struck them throughout the territory of Israel;
33 from the Jordan eastward; all the land of Gilead; the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon; even Gilead and Bashan.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Yehu and all that he did and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
35 And Yehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria.  And Yehahaz his son reigned in his stead.
36 Now the time that Yehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 11

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 11

And when Athaliyeh the mother of Ahaziyeh saw that her son was dead, she rose up and destroyed all the royal seed.
2 But Yehsheba, the daughter of King Yehram, sister of Ahaziyeh, took Yehash the son of Ahaziyeh and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom.  So they hid him from Athaliyeh, and he was not put to death.
3 And he was with her, hidden in the house of YEHOWAH six years, while Athaliyeh reigned over the land.
4 Now in the seventh year Yehiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds of the captains and of the guard, and brought them to him in the house of YEHOWAH.  And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of YEHOWAH, and showed them the king’s son.
5 And he commanded them, saying, “This is the thing that you shall do: A third part of you, that enter in on the Sabbath, shall even be keepers of the watch over the king’s house.
6 And a third part shall also be at the gate Sur, and a third part at the gate behind the guards.  And so shall you keep watch over the house, that it not be broken down.
7 Two parts of you, even all who go out on the Sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of YEHOWAH for the king.
8 And you shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand, and whoever comes within the range shall be put to death.  And you shall be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”
9 So the captains of hundreds did according to all that Yehiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, and came to Yehiada the priest.
10 And the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of YEHOWAH.
11 And the guards stood each with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house; by the altar and by the house, round about the king.
12 Then he brought the king’s son out and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony.  And they made him king, and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “The king!”
13 And when Athaliyeh heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people in the house of YEHOWAH.
14 And she looked, and behold, the king was standing on the platform, according to the custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king.  And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets.  Then Athaliyeh tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”
15 And Yehiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds; the officers of the host, saying to them, “Bring her forth from between the ranks, and whoever follows her, put to death with the sword.”  For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of YEHOWAH.”
16 So they laid hands on her, and she went by the way by which the horses entered the king’s house, and there she was put to death.
17 And Yehiada made a covenant between YEHOWAH, and the king, and the people, that they would be YEHOWAH’S people; also between the king and the people.
18 And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly; and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.  And the priest appointed officers over the house of YEHOWAH.
19 And he took the captains of hundreds, and the captains of the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of YEHOWAH, and came by the way of the gate of the guards to the king’s house.  And he sat on the throne of the kings.
20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliyeh to death with the sword at the king’s house.
21 Yehash was seven years old when he began to reign.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 12

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 12

In the seventh year of Yehu, Yehash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem, and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.
2 And Yehash did right in the eyes of YEHOWAH all his days in which Yehiada the priest instructed him.
3 But the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
4 Then Yehash said to the priests, “All the money of the sacred things that is brought into the house of YEHOWAH; the money that everyone passes, both the money of each man’s assessment, and all the money that any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of YEHOWAH,
5 let the priests take it to themselves; each from his acquaintance, and they shall repair the damages of the house wherever any damage may be found.”
6 For it was so; in the twenty-third year of King Yehash, the priests had not repaired the damages of the house.
7 Then King Yehash called for Yehiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said to them, “Why do you not repair the breaches to the house? Now therefore, take no more money from your acquaintances, but pay it for the damages of the house.”
8 So the priests consented to receive no more money from the people, or repair the breaches of the house.
9 So Yehiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it, and put it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of YEHOWAH, and the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of YEHOWAH.
10 And it came to pass when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up and tied it in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of YEHOWAH.
11 And they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work; who had oversight of the house of YEHOWAH, and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of YEHOWAH;
12 and to the masons and the hewers of stone; and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the damages to the house of YEHOWAH; and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.
13 But there were not made for the house of YEHOWAH bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver from the money that was brought into the house of YEHOWAH;
14 for they gave that to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of YEHOWAH.
15 Moreover, they reckoned not with the men into whose hand they gave the money to pay to those who did the work, for they dealt faithfully.
16 The trespass money and the money from the sin offerings, was not brought into the house of YEHOWAH; it was for the priests.
17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath and captured it, and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
18 And Yehash king of Yehudah took all the sacred things that Yehshaphat and Yehram and Ahaziyeh, his fathers; kings of Yehudah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things and all the gold that was found among the treasuries of the house of YEHOWAH and of the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria.  Then he went away from Jerusalem.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Yehash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
20 His servants rose up and made a conspiracy and struck down Yehash at the house of Millo as he was going down to Silla.
21 For Yehzacar the son of Shimeath and Yehzabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him and he died.  And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amaziyeh his son reigned in his stead.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 13

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 13

In the twenty-third year of Yehash the son of Ahaziyeh, king of Yehudah, Yehahaz the son of Yehu began to reign over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years.
2 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he turned not from them.
3 So the anger of YEHOWAH was kindled against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael.
4 Then Yehahaz entreated the favor of YEHOWAH, and YEHOWAH heard him, for He saw the oppression of Israel; how the king of Syria oppressed them.
5 And YEHOWAH gave Israel a deliverer, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians, and the children of Israel dwelled in their tents as formerly.
6 Nevertheless they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin, but walked in them.  And the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria,
7 for he left to Yehahaz of the troops not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
8 Now the rest of the acts of Yehahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
9 And Yehahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Yehash his son reigned in his stead.
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Yehash king of Yehudah, Yehash the son of Yehahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.
11 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin, but he walked in them.
12 Now the rest of the acts of Yehash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziyeh king of Yehudah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
13 And Yehash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat upon his throne, and Yehash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
14 When Elisha had fallen sick with the disease with which he was to die, Yehash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows.
16 And he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands upon the king’s hands,
17 and he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it.  Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot.  And he said, “The arrow of YEHOWAH’S deliverance; even the arrow of deliverance from the Syrians, for you will strike the Syrians at Aphek until you have destroyed them.”
18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them, and he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” so he struck it three times and stopped.
19 And the man of Elohim was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Syria until you would have destroyed it.  But now you shall strike Syria only three times.”
20 And Elisha died, and they buried him.  Now bands of the Moabites would invade the land at the coming in of the year.
21 And it came to pass as they were burying a man, behold, they saw a band, and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha.  And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.
22 And Hazael king of Syria had oppressed Israel all the days of Yehahaz.
23 But YEHOWAH was gracious to them, and had compassion on them and turned to them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and would not destroy them or cast them from His presence as yet.
24 So Hazael king of Syria died, and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead.
25 Then Yehash the son of Yehahaz took again from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of Yehahaz his father.  Three times Yehash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 14

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 14

In the second year of Yehash son of Yehahaz king of Israel, Amaziyeh the son of Yehash king of Yehudah began to reign.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem.  And his mother’s name was Yehaddin of Jerusalem.
3 And he did right in the eyes of YEHOWAH, yet not like David his father; he did according to all that Yehash his father had done.
4 Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
5 And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he killed his servants who had killed the king his father.
6 But the children of the killers he did not put to death, according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses, as YEHOWAH commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”
7 He killed of Edom in the Valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Sela by war, and named it Joktheel to this day.
8 Then Amaziyeh sent messengers to Yehash, the son of Yehahaz son of Yehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.”
9 Yehash king of Israel sent to Amaziyeh king of Yehudah, saying, “The thistle in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife.’  But there came a wild beast in Lebanon that trampled the thistle.
10 You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has lifted you up.  Enjoy your glory and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall, and Yehudah with you?”
11 But Amaziyeh would not hear.  So Yehash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziyeh king of Yehudah looked each other in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Yehudah.
12 And Yehudah was defeated by Israel, and they fled each to his tent.
13 Then Yehash king of Israel took Amaziyeh king of Yehudah, the son of Yehash the son of Ahaziyeh, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate; four hundred cubits.
14 And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels, which were found in the house of YEHOWAH, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.
15 Now the rest of the acts of Yehash, which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziyeh king of Yehudah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
16 So Yehash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead.
17 And Amaziyeh the son of Yehash king of Yehudah lived fifteen years after the death of Yehash son of Yehahaz king of Israel.
18 And the rest of the acts of Amaziyeh, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
19 Now they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish, but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.
20 And they brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.
21 And all the people of Yehudah took Azariyeh, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziyeh.
22 And He built Elath and restored it to Yehudah, after that the king slept with his fathers.
23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziyeh the son of Yehash king of Yehudah, Jeroboam the son of Yehash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years.
24 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin.
25 He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the sea of the plain, according to the Word of YEHOWAH, the Elohim of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittayeh, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher.
26 For YEHOWAH saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was neither bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel.
27 YEHOWAH did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Yehash.
28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he fought and how he recovered for Israel, Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Yehudah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel, and Zechariyeh his son reigned in his stead.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 15

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 15

In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariyeh son of Amaziyeh king of Yehudah became king.
2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem, and his mother’s name was Yecoliyeh of Jerusalem.
3 And he did right in the eyes of YEHOWAH, according to all that his father Amaziyeh had done.
4 Only the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
5 And YEHOWAH struck the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death.  And he dwelled in a separate house, while Yehtham the king’s son was over the household, judging the people of the land.
6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariyeh and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
7 And Azariyeh slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Yehtham his son reigned in his stead.
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariyeh king of Yehudah, Zechariyeh the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in Samaria for six months.
9 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin.
10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him before the people and killed him, and reigned in his stead.
11 And the rest of the acts of Zechariyeh, behold they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
12 This is the Word of YEHOWAH, which He spoke to Yehu, saying, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel, to the fourth generation.”  And so it came to pass.
13 Shallum son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziyeh king of Yehudah, and he reigned one month in Samaria,
14 for Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and struck Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him and reigned in his stead.
15 And the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy which he made, behold they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
16 Then Menahem struck Tiphsah, and all who were in it, and its borders from Tirzah, because they opened not to him.  Therefore he struck, and all the women in it who were with child he ripped up.
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariyeh king of Yehudah, Menahem son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.
18 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin.
19 Pul, king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his hand.
20 And Menahem exacted the money from Israel; of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria.  So the king of Assyria turned back, and remained not there in the land.
21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
22 And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiyeh his son reigned in his stead.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariyeh king of Yehudah, Pekahiyeh son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.
24 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin.
25 Then Pekah son of Remaliyeh, his captain, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria; in the citadel of the king’s house, with Argob and Ariyeh; and with him fifty men of the Gileadites, and he killed him and reigned in his stead.
26 And the rest of the acts of Pekahiyeh and all that he did, behold they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariyeh king of Yehudah, Pekah son of Remaliyeh began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years.
28 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee; all the land of Naphtali, and he carried them captive to Assyria.
30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliyeh, and struck him and put him to death, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Yehtham the son of Uzziyeh.
31 And the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliyeh king of Israel, Yehtham the son of Uzziyeh king of Yehudah began to reign.
33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.
34 And he did what was right in the eyes of YEHOWAH; he did according to all that his father Uzziyeh had done.
35 Only the high places were not taken away; the people sacrificed and burned incense still on the high places.  It was he who repaired the upper gate of the house of YEHOWAH.
36 Now the rest of the acts of Yehtham and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
37 And in those days YEHOWAH began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliyeh against Yehudah.
38 And Yehtham slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 16

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 16

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliyeh, Ahaz the son of Yehtham, king of Yehudah, began to reign.
2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the eyes of YEHOWAH his Elohim, as his father David had done.
3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and made his son pass through the fire; according to the abominations of the nations whom YEHOWAH had driven out from before the children of Israel.
4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliyeh, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war, and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
6 At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria, and cleared the Yehudans out of Elath entirely.  And the Syrians came to Elath and have dwelt there to this day.
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and deliver me out of the hand of the king of Syria and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who have risen up against me.”
8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of YEHOWAH and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria.
9 And the king of Assyria heard him, and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, and carried it captive to Kir, and put Rezin to death.
10 And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar, which was at Damascus.  And King Ahaz sent to Uriyeh the priest the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship.
11 And Uriyeh the priest built the altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus.  Thus Uriyeh the priest made it, before the return of King Ahaz from Damascus.
12 So when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar, and the king approached the altar and went up to it,
13 and burned his burnt offering and his bloodless offering, and poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar.
14 And the brazen altar, which was before YEHOWAH, he brought from the front of the house; from between his altar and the house of YEHOWAH, and he put it on the north side of his altar.
15 And King Ahaz commanded Uriyeh the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening bloodless offering, and the king’s burnt offering, and his bloodless offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their bloodless offering, and their drink offerings.  And sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice.  But the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire by.”
16 And so did Uriyeh the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded.
17 Then King Ahaz cut off the borders of the pedestals, and removed the washbowls from them.  He also took down the sea from the bronze oxen, which were under it and put it on a pavement of stone.
18 And the covered way for the Sabbath, which they had built in the house, and the outer entry of the king, he removed from the house of YEHOWAH, because of the king of Assyria.
19 And the rest of the acts of Ahaz, which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and his son Hezekiyeh reigned in his stead.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 17

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 17

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Yehudah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned nine years.
2 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him.
3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute.
4 But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year.  Therefore, the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.
5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years.
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Hallah and Habor on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7 And so it was, because the children of Israel had sinned against YEHOWAH their Elohim, Who had brought them up from the land of Egypt; from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they revered other elohim,
8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom YEHOWAH had driven out before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had introduced.
9 And the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against YEHOWAH their Elohim, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city.
10 They set up for themselves images and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,
11 and there they burned incense on all the high places, as did the nations whom YEHOWAH had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking YEHOWAH to anger,
12 and they served idols, as to which YEHOWAH had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”
13 Yet YEHOWAH testified against Israel, and against Yehudah, by all the prophets and by every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments; My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.”
14 But they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in YEHOWAH their Elohim.
15 And they rejected His statutes, and His covenant, which He made with their fathers; and His warnings with which He warned them.  And they walked after vanity and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom YEHOWAH had charged them not to do like them.
16 And they forsook all the commandments of YEHOWAH their Elohim, and made for themselves molten images; two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal.
17 And they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH; to provoke Him to anger.
18 Therefore YEHOWAH was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Yehudah only.
19 Also Yehudah kept not the commandments of YEHOWAH their Elohim, but walked in the statutes that Israel had made.
20 And YEHOWAH rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of spoilers, until He had cast them out of His sight.
21 For He tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king.  Then Jeroboam drove Israel away from following YEHOWAH and made them commit a great sin.
22 And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he did; they did not depart from them
23 until YEHOWAH removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets.  So Israel was removed into exile from their own land to Assyria, until this day.
24 And the king of Assyria brought from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim, and made them to dwell in the cities of Samaria, in place of the children of Israel.  So they possessed Samaria and dwelled in its cities.
25 And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, they revered not YEHOWAH; therefore YEHOWAH sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
26 Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed, and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria, do not know the manner of the Elohim of the land, so He has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them, because they know not the manner of the Elohim of the land.”
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you removed from there, and let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the Elohim of the land.”
28 So one of the priests whom they had removed from Samaria came and dwelled at Bethel, and taught them how they should revere YEHOWAH.
29 Yet every nation still made elohim of its own, and put them in the houses of the high places, which the people of Samaria had made; every nation in their cities in which they dwelled.
30 The people of Babylon made Succoth-benoth; the people of Cuth made Nergal; the people of Hamath made Ashima;
31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the elohim of Sepharvaim.
32 So they feared YEHOWAH and made for themselves from the lowest of them, priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
33 They feared YEHOWAH and served their own elohim according to the manner of the nations from among whom they had been removed.
34 And to this day they do after their former manner:  They do not fear YEHOWAH, nor do they follow after the statutes or the judgments, or the law, or the commandments, which YEHOWAH commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel;
35 with whom YEHOWAH made a covenant and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other elohim, nor bow down yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them.
36 But YEHOWAH, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall revere, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice.
37 And the statutes, and the judgments, and the law, and the commandment, which He wrote for you, you shall keep and do forever; and you shall not fear other elohim.
38 The covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other elohim.
39 But YEHOWAH your Elohim you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
40 Yet, they did not hear, but they did according to their former manner.
41 So these nations feared YEHOWAH, and served their graven images; as do their children, and their children’s children; as did their fathers, and so do they unto this day.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 18

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 18

And it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiyeh the son of Ahaz king of Yehudah began to reign.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariyeh.
3 And he did right in the eyes of YEHOWAH, according to all that his father David had done.
4 He removed the high places and tore down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the brass serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan.
5 And he trusted in YEHOWAH, the Elohim of Israel, so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Yehudah, nor that were before him.
6 For he clung unto YEHOWAH.  He departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, which YEHOWAH had commanded Moses.
7 And YEHOWAH was with him; wherever he went he prospered.  And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and served him not.
8 And he struck the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.
9 And it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiyeh, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it.
10 At the end of three years they took it.  In the sixth year of Hezekiyeh, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured.
11 And the king of Assyria removed Israel into exile to Assyria, and put them in Hallah and Habor on the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes,
12 because they did not obey the voice of YEHOWAH their Elohim, but transgressed His covenant; even all that Moses the servant of YEHOWAH commanded, they would neither hear nor do.
13 And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiyeh, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Yehudah and took them.
14 And Hezekiyeh king of Yehudah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have sinned.  Turn back from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.”  So the king of Assyria required of Hezekiyeh king of Yehudah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
15 And Hezekiyeh gave him all the silver that was found in the house of YEHOWAH, and in the treasury of the king’s house.
16 At that time Hezekiyeh stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of YEHOWAH, and from the doorposts, which Hezekiyeh king of Yehudah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan, Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish, to King Hezekiyeh, with a large army; to Jerusalem.  And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they had come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the fuller’s field.
18 And when they called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiyeh, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe and Yehach the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.
19 And Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiyeh, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What confidence is this that you have?
20 You say (but they are vain words), ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’  Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?
21 Now behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even Egypt, on which if a man leans, it goes into his hand and pierces it.  So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely upon him.
22 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in YEHOWAH our Elohim,’ is it not He, Whose high places and Whose altars Hezekiyeh has taken away, and has said to Yehudah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?
23 “Now therefore, please, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders upon them.
24 How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my lord’s servants, and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
25 Have I now come up without YEHOWAH, against this place to destroy it? YEHOWAH said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.'”‘”
26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiyeh, and Shebnah and Yehach, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Syrian, for we understand it, and do not speak with us in Yehudan in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
27 But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my lord sent me only to your lord, and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Yehudan, saying, “Hear the word of the great king; the king of Assyria.
29 “Thus says the king, ‘Let not Hezekiyeh deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hand;
30 neither let Hezekiyeh make you trust in YEHOWAH, saying, “YEHOWAH will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
31 ‘Hear not Hezekiyeh, for thus says the king of Assyria, “Make your blessing by me, and come out to me, and eat each of his vine, and each of his fig tree, and drink each of the waters of his own cistern,
32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land; a land of grain and new wine; a land of bread and vineyards; a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live and not die.” But do not hear Hezekiyeh when he misleads you, saying, ” YEHOWAH will deliver us.”
33 Has any one of the elohim of the nations delivered at all his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
34 Where are the elohim of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the elohim of Sepharvaim, Hena and Avva? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
35 Who among all the elohim of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that YEHOWAH should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?'”
36 But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”
37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiyeh, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Yehach the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiyeh with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 19

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 19

And it came to pass, when King Hezekiyeh heard it, he tore his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of YEHOWAH.
2 And he sent Eliakim who was over the household, with Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiyeh the prophet the son of Amoz.
3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiyeh, ‘This day is a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy, for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver.
4 Perhaps YEHOWAH your Elohim will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his lord the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living Elohim, and will rebuke the words that YEHOWAH your Elohim has heard.  Therefore, lift up a prayer for the remnant that is left.'”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiyeh came to Isaiyeh.
6 And Isaiyeh said to them, “Thus you shall say to your lord, ‘Thus says YEHOWAH, “Fear not, because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
7 Behold, I will put a spirit upon him, so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land.  And I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”‘”
8 Then Rabshakeh turned back and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.
9 And when he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiyeh saying,
10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiyeh king of Yehudah, ‘Do not let your Elohim in Whom you trust deceive you saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands; destroying them utterly, and will you be delivered?
12 Did the elohim of those nations, whom my fathers destroyed deliver them, even Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Avva?'”
14 And Hezekiyeh received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of YEHOWAH and spread it out before YEHOWAH.
15 And Hezekiyeh prayed before YEHOWAH and said, “YEHOWAH, the Elohim of Israel, Who dwells between the cherubim, You are Elohim; You alone of all the kingdoms of the earth.  You have made heaven and earth.
16 Incline Your ear, YEHOWAH, and hear; open Your eyes, YEHOWAH, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living Elohim.
17 Truly, YEHOWAH, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands
18 and have cast their elohim into the fire, for they were not elohim but the work of men’s hands; wood and stone.  Therefore they have destroyed them.
19 Now, YEHOWAH our Elohim, I pray, deliver us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, YEHOWAH, are Elohim.”
20 Then Isaiyeh the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiyeh saying, “Thus says YEHOWAH, the Elohim of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.’
21 This is the Word that YEHOWAH has spoken against him:  ‘The virgin; the daughter of Zion, has despised you, laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you!
22 Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against Whom have you raised your voice and lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 By your messengers you have reproached Adonay, and you have said, “With my many chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains; to the recesses of Lebanon, and I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses.  And I entered its farthest lodging place, the forest of his Carmel.
24 I have dug and drank foreign waters, and with the sole of my feet I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.”
25 Have you not heard? Long ago I did it; from ancient times I planned it.  Now I have brought it to pass, that you should lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
26 Therefore, their inhabitants were of small power.  They were dismayed and put to shame; they were as the grass of the field and as the green herb; as grass on the housetops is scorched before it is grown up.
27 But I know your sitting down, and your going out, and your coming in, and your raging against Me.
28 And because of your raging against Me, and because your arrogance has come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came.
29 And this shall be the sign for you:  You will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Yehudah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
31 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors.  The zeal of YEHOWAH will perform this.
32 Therefore thus says YEHOWAH concerning the king of Assyria, “He will not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”‘ declares YEHOWAH.
34 “For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.”
35 And it came to pass that night that the angel of YEHOWAH went out and struck one hundred eighty five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.
36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned home, and dwelt at Nineveh.
37 And it came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his elohim, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword.  And they escaped into the land of Ararat.  And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 20

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 20

In those days Hezekiyeh was sick unto death.  And Isaiyeh the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says YEHOWAH, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'”
2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to YEHOWAH, saying,
3 “O YEHOWAH, remember now, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done what is good in Your eyes.”  And Hezekiyeh wept bitterly.
4 And it came to pass, before Isaiyeh had gone out of the middle court, the Word of YEHOWAH came to him, saying,
5 “Turn again and tell Hezekiyeh, the captain of My people, ‘Thus says YEHOWAH, the Elohim of your father David, “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears.  Behold, I will heal you.  On the third day you shall go up to the house of YEHOWAH.
6 And I will add unto your days, fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”‘”
7 Then Isaiyeh said, “Take a lump of figs.”  And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
8 And Hezekiyeh said to Isaiyeh, “What will be the sign that YEHOWAH will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of YEHOWAH the third day?”
9 Isaiyeh said, “This shall be the sign to you from YEHOWAH, that YEHOWAH will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go back ten degrees?”
10 And Hezekiyeh answered, “It is easy for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten degrees.”
11 And Isaiyeh the prophet cried to YEHOWAH, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten degrees by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
12 At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiyeh, for he heard that Hezekiyeh had been sick.
13 And Hezekiyeh listened to them, and showed them all the treasures of his house; the silver and the gold, and the spices and the precious oil, and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries.  There was nothing in his house, or in all his dominion that Hezekiyeh did not show them.
14 Then Isaiyeh the prophet came to King Hezekiyeh and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiyeh said, “They have come from a far country; from Babylon.”
15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiyeh answered, “They have seen all that is in my house.  There is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”
16 Then Isaiyeh said to Hezekiyeh, “Hear the Word of YEHOWAH.
17 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says YEHOWAH.
18 And your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'”
19 Then Hezekiyeh said to Isaiyeh, “Good is the word of YEHOWAH, which you have spoken.” For he thought, “Is it not so, if only there will be peace and truth in my days?”
20 And the rest of the acts of Hezekiyeh and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
21 So Hezekiyeh slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 21

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 21

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, according to the abominations of the nations whom YEHOWAH dispossessed before the children of Israel.
3 For he built again the high places, which Hezekiyeh his father had destroyed, and he reared up altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
4 And he built altars in the house of YEHOWAH, of which YEHOWAH had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.”
5 For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of YEHOWAH.
6 And he made his children pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and wizards.  He did much evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH provoking Him to anger.
7 And he put the graven image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which YEHOWAH said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name forever.
8 Neither will I make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land that I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.”
9 But they heard not, and Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom YEHOWAH destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And YEHOWAH spoke by His servants the prophets, saying,
11 “Because Manasseh king of Yehudah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Amorites did who were before him, and has also made Yehudah sin with his idols,
12 therefore thus says YEHOWAH, the Elohim of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Yehudah, that whoever hears of it, both of their ears will tingle.
13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish; wiping it and turning it upside down.
14 And I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become a prey and spoil to all their enemies,
15 because they have done evil in My eyes, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came up from Egypt; even to this day.'”
16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, beside his sin with which he made Yehudah sin, in doing evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH.
17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin, which he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house; in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
20 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, as Manasseh his father had done.
21 For he walked in all the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them.
22 So he forsook YEHOWAH, the Elohim of his fathers, and walked not in the way of YEHOWAH.
23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house.
24 And the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Yosiyeh his son reign in his stead.
25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon, which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
26 And he was buried in his sepulcher in the garden of Uzza, and Yosiyeh his son reigned in his stead.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 22

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 22

Yosiyeh was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiyeh of Bozkath.
2 And he did right in the eyes of YEHOWAH, and walked in all the ways of his father David; nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left.
3 And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of King Yosiyeh, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliyeh the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of YEHOWAH saying,
4 “Go up to Hilkiyeh the high priest that he may sum up the money brought in to the house of YEHOWAH, which the keepers of the door have gathered from the people.
5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, who have the oversight of the house of YEHOWAH, and let them give it to the doers of the work, who are in the house of YEHOWAH, to repair the breaches of the house;
6 to the carpenters and the builders and the masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.
7 But no reckoning will be made with them for the money delivered into their hand, for they deal faithfully.”
8 Then Hilkiyeh the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of YEHOWAH.”  And Hilkiyeh gave the book to Shaphan who read it.
9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought the king word again and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, and have the oversight of the house of YEHOWAH.”
10 And Shaphan the scribe showed the king saying, “Hilkiyeh the priest has given me a book.”  And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
11 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.
12 And the king commanded Hilkiyeh the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Mikayeh, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiyeh the king’s servant saying,
13 “Go, inquire of YEHOWAH for me and the people and all Yehudah, concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of YEHOWAH that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not heard the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
14 So Hilkiyeh the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiyeh went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they spoke to her.
15 And she said to them, “Thus says YEHOWAH Elohim of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me,
16 thus says YEHOWAH, “Behold, I will bring evil upon this place and upon its inhabitants; even all the words of the book, which the king of Yehudah has read.
17 Because they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense to other elohim, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath is kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”‘
18 “But to the king of Yehudah who sent you to inquire of YEHOWAH, thus shall you say to him, ‘Thus says YEHOWAH Elohim of Israel, “The words which you have heard,
19 because your heart was tender, and you have humbled yourself before YEHOWAH when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares YEHOWAH.
20 “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”‘” So they brought back word to the king.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 23

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 23

Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Yehudah and of Jerusalem.
2 And the king went up to the house of YEHOWAH and all the men of Yehudah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant, which was found in the house of YEHOWAH.
3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before YEHOWAH, to walk after YEHOWAH, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul; to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book.  And all the people entered into the covenant.
4 And the king commanded Hilkiyeh the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring out of the temple of YEHOWAH all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven.  And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Yehudah had appointed to burn incense, in the high places in the cities of Yehudah, and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem; also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven.
6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of YEHOWAH outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.
7 And he broke down the houses of the sodomites, which were in the house of YEHOWAH, where the women wove tents for the Asherah.
8 And he brought all the priests from the cities of Yehudah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates, which were at the entrance of the gate of Yehshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate.
9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of YEHOWAH in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.
10 He also defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech.
11 And he did away with the horses, which the kings of Yehudah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of YEHOWAH, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the eunuch who was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
12 And the altars that were on the roof; the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Yehudah had made.  And the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of YEHOWAH, the king broke down; and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the brook Kidron.
13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of the mount of destruction, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled.
14 He broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with human bones.
15 Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down. And he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.
16 And when Yosiyeh turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it according to the word of YEHOWAH, which the man of Elohim proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.
17 Then he said, “What monument is this that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the grave of the man of Elohim who came from Yehudah and proclaimed these things, which you have done against the altar of Bethel.”
18 And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones lay with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.
19 Yosiyeh also removed all the houses of the high places, which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking YEHOWAH, and he did to them just as he had done in Bethel.
20 And he sacrificed upon the altars all the priests of the high places that were there, and burned human bones on them.  And he returned to Jerusalem.
21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, “Keep the Passover unto YEHOWAH your Elohim, as it is written in this book of the covenant.”
22 Surely there was not held such a Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Yehudah.
23 But in the eighteenth year of King Yosiyeh, this Passover was held unto YEHOWAH in Jerusalem.
24 Moreover, Yosiyeh removed the mediums and the wizards and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Yehudah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law, which were written in the book that Hilkiyeh the priest found in the house of YEHOWAH.
25 And like unto him, there was no king before him who turned to YEHOWAH with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.
26 Nevertheless, YEHOWAH turned not from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was kindled against Yehudah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.
27 And YEHOWAH said, “I will remove Yehudah also out of My sight, as I have removed Israel.  And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.'”
28 Now the rest of the acts of Yosiyeh and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
29 In his days Pharaoh-Nechoh king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates.  And King Yosiyeh went to meet him, and when Pharaoh-Nechoh saw him he killed him at Megiddo.
30 And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own sepulcher.  And the people of the land took Yehoahaz the son of Yosiyeh and anointed him and made him king instead of his father.
31 Yehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Yeremiyeh of Libnah.
32 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, according to all that his fathers had done.
33 And Pharaoh-Nechoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he put the land to a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
34 And Pharaoh-Nechoh made Eliakim the son of Yosiyeh reign instead of Yosiyeh his father, and changed his name to Yehiakim.  But he took Yehahaz away and brought him to Egypt, and he died there.
35 So Yehiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the command of Pharaoh.  He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation; to give it to Pharaoh-Nechoh.
36 Yehiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidyeh the daughter of Pedaiyeh of Rumah.
37 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, according to all that his fathers had done.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 24

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 24

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Yehiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.
2 And YEHOWAH sent against him bands of Chaldeans, and bands of Syrians, and bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites.  So He sent them against Yehudah to destroy it, according to the word of YEHOWAH, which He had spoken through His servants the prophets.
3 Surely at the commandment of YEHOWAH came this upon Yehudah, to remove them from His sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,
4 and also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and YEHOWAH would not forgive.
5 Now the rest of the acts of Yehiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah?
6 So Yehiakim slept with his fathers, and Yehia chin his son reigned in his stead.
7 And the king of Egypt came not out of his land again, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 Yehia chin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, according to all that his father had done.
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came against the city, while his servants were besieging it.
12 And Yehia chin the king of Yehudah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officers, and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
13 And he brought out from there all the treasures of the house of YEHOWAH, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of YEHOWAH; just as YEHOWAH had said.
14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor; ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths.  None remained but the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15 And he carried away Yehia chin to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officers, and the mighty men of the land.  He led all into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16 And all the men of valor; seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths; one thousand, all strong and fit for war; and these the king of Babylon brought into exile unto Babylon.
17 Then the king of Babylon made his father’s brother, Mattaniyeh, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiyeh.
18 And Zedekiyeh was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Yeremiyeh of Libnah.
19 And he did evil in the eyes of YEHOWAH, according to all that Yehiakim had done.
20 For through the anger of YEHOWAH it came to pass in Jerusalem and Yehudah, until He cast them out from His presence.  And Zedekiyeh rebelled against the king of Babylon.

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 25

2 KINGS:  CHAPTER 25

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came; he and all his army against Jerusalem; encamped against it, and built battering towers against it round about.
2 And the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiyeh.
3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no food for the people of the land.
4 And the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls, which leads to the king’s garden, (and the Chaldeans were round about the city), yet they went by way of the plains.
5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.
6 And they captured the king, and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and he passed sentence on him.
7 And they killed the sons of Zedekiyeh before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiyeh and bound him with brass fetters, and brought him to Babylon.
8 And on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard; a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
9 And he burned the house of YEHOWAH, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldeans with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city, and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile.
12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
13 And the brass pillars, which were in the house of YEHOWAH, and the pedestals and the brass sea, which were in the house of YEHOWAH, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the brass to Babylon.
14 They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the brass vessels, which were used in temple service.
15 The captain of the guard also took away the fire pans and the basins; those which were fine gold and those which were silver.
16 And the two pillars, the one sea, and the pedestals, which Solomon had made for the house of YEHOWAH – the brass of all these vessels was beyond weight.
17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a brass capital was on it; the height of the capital was three cubits, and a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of brass.  And the second pillar was like this with the network.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiyeh the chief priest and Zephaniyeh the second priest, with the three officers of the temple,
19 and from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and five of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the captain of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city,
20 and Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath.  So Yehudah was carried away out of their land.
22 And of the people who remained in the land of Yehudah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliyeh the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them.
23 When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliyeh governor, they came to Gedaliyeh to Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniyeh, and Yehanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiyeh the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Yaazaniyeh the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliyeh swore to them and their men, and said to them, “Fear not the servants of the Chaldeans; dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”
25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniyeh, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliyeh so that he died along with the Yehudi and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces rose up and went to Egypt; for they feared the Chaldeans.
27 And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Yehia chin king of Yehudah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, released Yehia chin king of Yehudah from prison.
28 And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon,
29 and changed his prison clothes, and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life;
30 and his allowance was a continual allowance, given him by the king; a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Red Line Rule = Thought Break

VISIT THE LETTERS OF FAITH

Red Line Rule = Thought Break

The Exalted Name Bible™ (ENB)™
Copyright © 2011-2022,
2nd Edition © 2018-2022
All Rights Reserved Worldwide
Lawrence T. Vosen, PhD.

PRO LIFE WHITE RIBBON

ProLife Flag - Endorsed by ENB