And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to all the leaders for all Israel, the heads of the {families}.

[then if] my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

And Solomon sent [word] to Huram king of Tyre, saying, "As you have dealt with David my father and sent cedar to him to build for himself a house in which to live, [please deal with me].

And Solomon held a feast at that time [of] seven days. And all Israel [was] with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-Hamath to the river of Egypt.

Now, it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

And Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that [was] at Gibeon, for the tent of assembly of God that Moses the servant of Yahweh had made in the desert was there.

(But the ark of God David had brought up from Kiriath-Jearim to [the place] David had prepared for it, for David had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.)

And King Solomon and the whole community of Israel that was assembled before him [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted nor numbered for abundance.

And the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made [was] there before the tabernacle of Yahweh. And Solomon and the assembly sought it out.

Now, O Yahweh God, let your word to David my father be fulfilled, for you yourself have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

And on the eighth day they made a solemn assembly, for they held the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days.

And also Maacah, the mother of Asa, the king removed her from [being] queen, because she had made a repulsive image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her repulsive image, and he crushed and burned [it] at the Wadi Kidron.

And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before Yahweh, which [was] at the tent of assembly, and he offered upon it a thousand burnt offerings.

And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh [who were] giving praise to the splendor of [his] holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, "Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love [is] everlasting!"

Then Solomon said to God, "You yourself have shown steadfast loyal love to David my father and have made me king in his place.

On that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask what I shall give to you."

Then God said to Solomon, "Because this was with your heart and you did not ask for wealth, possessions, honor, and the lives of your enemies, and also did not ask for {long life}, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge that you might judge my people over whom I have made you king,

{The length of the portico that [was] in front was the same as the front of the width of the house}: twenty cubits. And its height [was] one hundred and twenty cubits. And he overlaid it on the inside with pure gold.

Moreover the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir brought algum wood and precious stones.

wisdom and knowledge is given to you. And I will [also] give to you wealth, possessions, and honor, the like of which was not had by the kings who [were] before you, nor will there be the like after you."

So King Rehoboam was strengthened in Jerusalem, and he reigned [there]. Now, Rehoboam [was] forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where Yahweh had chosen to put his name out of all the tribes of Israel. And the name of his mother [was] Naamah the Ammonite.

Now, give to me wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this, your great people?"

And in all the cities [he put] shields and spears, and he greatly strengthened them. So he had Judah and Benjamin.

They went up and exported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver and a horse for one hundred and fifty [shekels]. And [these were] {likewise exported} to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

But from the {Israelites} Solomon did not give as servants for his work, but they [were] men of war, his commanders of his officers, and commanders of his chariots and his horses.

So now, my father laid upon you a heavy yoke, but I myself will add to the yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I myself [will do so] with scorpions.'"

But Yahweh said to David my father, 'Because it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart,

When Judah turned, then behold, the battle against them [was] in front and behind, and they cried to Yahweh, and the priests blew on the trumpets.

So Solomon went from the high place which [was] at Gibeon [to] Jerusalem before the tent of assembly. And he reigned over Israel.

And its thickness [was] a handbreadth, and its brim [was] like the working of the lip of a cup, the blossom of a lily. And it held three thousand baths.

and at his side, Jehozabad, and with him [were] one hundred and eighty thousand armed for war.

And the king made silver and gold in Jerusalem like the stones. And he made cedar as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that [were] in the Shephelah.

And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

And Solomon's horses [were] imported from Egypt and from Kue. The traders of the king received [them] from Kue at a price.

Then King Hezekiah and the princes commanded the Levites to praise Yahweh with the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they offered praise with joy, and they bowed down and worshiped.

And the great house [itself] he covered with cypress wood, then he overlaid it with pure gold. And he put on it palm tree [images] and [ornate] chains.

Then the priests brought up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, into {the most holy place}, underneath the wings of the cherubim.

but you yourself will not build the house, but your son who will proceed from your loins; he himself will build the house for my name.'

Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had spoken, saying, "Return to me on the third day."

And Solomon the son of David strengthened himself concerning his kingdom, and Yahweh his God [was] with him and made him exceedingly great.

And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents rejoicing and festive of heart on account of the goodness that Yahweh had done for David, Solomon, and Israel his people.

Now the remainder of the words of Amaziah, [from] the first [to] the last, behold, are they not written in the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel?

And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek Yahweh.

Then Yahweh appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

Look, I am building a house for the name of Yahweh my God to dedicate to him, to offer sweet spices of incense before him, and [for] the regular rows [of bread], and burnt offerings for mornings, evenings, Sabbaths, and new moon festivals, and for appointed feasts of Yahweh our God which [are] everlasting for Israel.

The cherubim were spreading [their] wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim were covering the ark and over its poles [from] above.

But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was fully devoted all his days.

And he made ten basins. And he set five on the south and five on the north in which to wash; they washed off the work of the burnt offering in them, but the sea [was] for the priests to wash therein.

And {when} they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated

And when they were going away from him (for they had left him with many wounds), his servants conspired against him on account of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed him on his bed and he died. And they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him at the burial sites of the kings.

Then Hezekiah answered and said, "Now {you have consecrated yourselves} to Yahweh. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of Yahweh!" And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all [who were] willing in heart [brought] burnt offerings.

And these [were] the commanders of the garrisons that belonged to King Solomon, two hundred and fifty who exercised authority over the people.

When I hold back the heavens so that there is not rain, and when I command the locust to devour the earth, and if I send disease among my people,

And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he would go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' And one said this, and another said that.

And Rehoboam slept with his ancestors, and he was buried in the city of David, and Abijah his son reigned in his place.

There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets that Moses had put [inside] at Horeb [on] which Yahweh had {made} a covenant with the {Israelites} when they went out from Egypt.

Then the men of Judah shouted, and it happened [that] when the men of Judah were shouting, then God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

(For Solomon had made a platform of bronze five cubits long and five cubits wide and three cubits high, and placed it in the midst of the outer court.) And he stood upon it, then knelt down on his knees before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands to heaven.

And he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "I will make your yoke heavy, and I myself will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I [will do so] with scorpions."

These were serving the king, besides [those] whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

And the king made steps for the house of Yahweh and the house of the king, and lyres and harps for the singers [from] the algum wood. And there was not seen [anything] like them before in the land of Judah.

And Solomon finished the house of Yahweh and the house of the king. And all that came into the heart of Solomon to do with respect to the house of Yahweh and his own house he accomplished.

Now the priests and the Levites who [were] throughout all Israel took their stand with him from all their territories.

And the house that I am building [will be] great, for our God [is] greater than all gods.

And they also struck the tents of the herdsmen and carried away many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Then after them, from all the tribes of Israel, those who set their heart to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to offer to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, secure for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

Now Yahweh has fulfilled his word that he spoke. I have risen in the place of David my father and am seated on the throne of Israel as Yahweh has spoken. I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of Yahweh that he had built before the portico,

And the {Israelites} fled from before Judah, and God gave them into their hand.

{as was the daily requirement}, to offer up according to the commandments of Moses for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and the three {annual} feasts: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths.

But as for the {Israelites} who were living in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam ruled over them.

And in accord with the ordinance of David his father he appointed working groups of priests for their service, Levites for their responsibilities for praise and cultic service before the priests {according to the daily requirement}, and the gatekeepers in their working groups, gate by gate. For thus David the man of God had commanded.

And [as for] this house, which was exalted, all who pass by it will be appalled and will say, 'Why has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?'

So all Israel [saw] that the king would not listen to them, and the people answered the king, saying, "What portion [is there] for us in David? [We have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each to your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, David!" And all Israel went to their own tents.

But turn to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Yahweh my God, to hearken to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant is praying before you,

Now who indeed has adequate strength to build a house for him? For the heavens and {the highest heavens} are not able to contain him. Now who [am] I that I would build a house for him, except to burn incense before him?

Then he overlaid the house with precious stone as decoration. (Now the gold [was] the gold of Parvaim.)

And Huram sent to him, by the hand of his servants, ships and servants knowledgeable of the sea. And they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and from there they collected four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

But the poles were [so] long that the ends of the poles from the ark were seen from before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from the outside. And they are there until this day.

When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand {chosen warriors}, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

And Solomon accomplished all the work from the day the foundation stone [was laid for] the house of Yahweh until its completion, and the house of Yahweh was finished.

And I have there the ark [in] which [is] the covenant of Yahweh that he {made} with the {Israelites}."

Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba every desired thing she asked, besides what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her land, she and her servants.

And they did not turn aside from the commandment of the king concerning the priests and the Levites concerning anything, and concerning the treasury rooms.

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.

Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was {in charge of} the forced labor, but the {Israelites} stoned him with stones, and he died. Then King Rehoboam hastily went up into the chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

Now the words of Rehoboam [from] the first to the last, are they not written in the chronicles of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer as a record? And [there were] battles [between] Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

Send me trees of cedar, cypress, and algum from Lebanon, for I myself know that your servants [are] knowledgeable in cutting the trees of Lebanon. Now see, my servants [will be] with your servants

And he made ten golden lampstands according to their custom, and he set [them] in the temple, five on the south and five on the north.

Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had established, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

For the Levites left their pasturelands and their property and came to Judah and to Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to Yahweh.

And the king answered them harshly, and King Rehoboam forsook the advice of the elders.

And Solomon planned to build a house for the name of Yahweh and a {royal palace for himself}.

Now these [are] the ones who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath, the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith, the Moabite.

Now see, I will provide twenty thousand dry measures of crushed wheat, twenty thousand dry measures of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil to the woodcarvers and those who cut timber."

And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, "My wife shall not dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for those [places] to which the ark of Yahweh has come [are] holy.

And it was the primary [duty] of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard [with] one voice, to praise and give thanks to Yahweh. And when a sound from the trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments of song was raised to Yahweh--for he [is] good, because his loyal love [is] everlasting--then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud.

And Abijah and his people struck a great blow against them, and the dead from Israel [that] fell [were] five hundred thousand chosen men.

And he brought the holy objects of his father and his own holy objects [into] the house of God--silver and gold and vessels.

So then, send to me skilled men to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue fabric, knowledgeable in engraving, with the skilled men who [are] with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father has established.

And it happened [that] the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year [was] six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

And when the priests came out of the sanctuary (for all the priests who were present sanctified themselves without keeping their divisions)

And the wing of five cubits of the other cherub [was] touching the wall of the house, and its other wing five cubits long touching the wing of the first cherub.

and all the Levitical singers--Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons, their brothers, dressed [in] fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and stringed instruments--[they] were standing to the east of the altar. And with them outside [were] one hundred and twenty priests [who were] trumpet blowers.

And he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is none like you, a God in the heavens and on the earth, keeping the covenant and loyal love with your servants who walk before you with all their heart,

And when Solomon finished praying, then fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of Yahweh filled the house.

And he overlaid the house with gold--the beams, the thresholds, the walls, and the doors. And he carved cherubim upon the walls.

Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer of this place.

Now [as for] you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked and do according to all that I have commanded you and will keep my ordinances and judgments,

And the weight for the nails [was] fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid its upper rooms with gold.

then I will uproot them from upon my land that I have given to them, and this house that I have consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face, and I will make it a proverb and a taunt among all the nations.

to prepare trees in abundance for me, for the house that I am building [will be] great and wonderful.

that you have kept for your servant David my father what you spoke to him. You spoke with your mouth, and by your hand you have fulfilled [it] on this day.

And he made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south and five on the north. And he made a hundred drinking bowls of gold.

And he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for the bull calves that he had made.

Then a spirit came forth and stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him.' Then Yahweh said to him, 'By what means?'

And now I have chosen and consecrated this house for my name to be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there {for all time}.

besides the gold and silver the traders and merchants brought, and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought.

when the people of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and demolish [them]. And when the inhabitants of Seir had made an end of them, each helped to destroy his comrade.

And the {Israelites} were subdued at that time, and the people of Judah were victorious, for they relied upon Yahweh the God of their ancestors.

And we ourselves will cut trees from Lebanon according to all your need, and we will bring them to you on rafts over the sea to Joppa, so that you may bring them up to Jerusalem."

"But will God indeed dwell with humankind upon the earth? Look, the heavens and {the highest heavens} cannot contain you! Surely then this house that I have built [will not contain you!]

And he set the sea at the southeast [corner of the temple].

And he ruled over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, to the boundary of Egypt.

And the priests were not able to stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of God.

And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Berakah up to this day.

"But if you turn yourselves away and forsake my ordinances and my commandments which I have given before you [all] and will go and serve other gods and bow down to them,

Then he made {the most holy place}. Its length {was equal to} the width of the house: twenty cubits. And its breadth [was] twenty cubits. And he overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold.

And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

Then Huram said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has made the heavens and the earth, who has given to King David a wise son knowing discretion and understanding, who will build for Yahweh a house and a royal palace for himself.

Then Rehoboam took to himself as a wife Mahalath, the daughter of Yerimot son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.

And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines (for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters).

But the priests were too few, and they were not able to offer all the burnt offerings, so their brothers, the Levites, strengthened them to finish the work, and until the [rest of] the priests consecrated themselves. (For the Levites [were] {more conscientious} to sanctify themselves than the priests.)

So now I have sent a skilled man, knowledgeable [and with] understanding: my master Huram,

And now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David, my father, what you have spoken to him, saying, '{You shall not lack} a man to sit on the throne of Israel before me, if only your sons keep their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.'

And Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the drinking bowls. So Hiram finished making the work that he made on the house of God for King Solomon:

Then Huram king of Tyre answered in a letter, and he sent [word] to Solomon: "Because Yahweh loves his people, he has made you king over them."

So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turning [of events] from God, so that Yahweh might fulfill his word that he had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

Then the king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the commander of the city and to Jehoash the son of the king,

And he made the courtyard of the priests and the great outer courtyard and the doors for the outer court. And he overlaid their doors with bronze.

So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at rest, since his God gave rest to him all around.

And the number of burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy cattle, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs--all these [were] to offer to Yahweh.

And [he made] three hundred small shields of beaten gold; three hundred [shekels] went into each small shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold; six hundred [shekels] of beaten gold went into each shield.

then I will establish the throne of your kingdom as I promised to David your father, saying, 'A man shall not be cut off for you [from] ruling over Israel.'

And listen to the pleas of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place, that you yourself might hear from the place of your dwelling, from the heavens, that you might hear and forgive.

And Jeroboam did not regain strength again in the days of Abijah. And Yahweh plagued him and he died.

Now these [were] the measurements of Solomon for building the house of God: the length in cubits by the former measurement [was] sixty cubits, and the width [was] twenty cubits.

"And if your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against you and they repent and confess your name and pray and plead before you in this house,

Then Solomon counted all the resident alien men who [were] in the land of Israel after the census that David his father had taken of them. And there were found one hundred and fifty-three thousand.

And she bore to him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

And now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, let your word that you have spoken to your servant David be confirmed.

Now the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, with much wealth and camels, bearing spices and much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and told him all that [was] {on her mind}.

And Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that [was] before the house of Yahweh, for there he had made the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, for the bronze altar that Solomon had made was not able to hold the burnt offerings, cereal offerings, and the fat.

that your eyes may be open day and night to this house, to the place that you have promised to place your name there, that you may hear the prayer that your servant has prayed to this place.

a son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father [was] a man of Tyre, knowledgeable for working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and with purple, blue, and crimson fabric, and with fine linen, for engraving any engraving and devising any plan that is given to him, with your skilled men and the skilled men of my lord David your father.

And he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits [was] its length, and twenty cubits [was] its width, and ten cubits [was] its height.

And he made two sculpted wood cherubim in {the most holy place}, and he overlaid them with gold.

Now the rest of the words of Abijah and his ways and his words are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.

And when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and when he was strengthened, he forsook the law of Yahweh, and all Israel with him.

And the throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold [was] attached to the throne. And [there were] armrests {on each side}. And by {the seat} [were] two lions standing beside the armrests.

And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had established with the people, for the matter happened suddenly.

Then they will say, 'Because they forsook Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and [they] laid hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought upon them all this evil.'"

And the king made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold.

And Solomon assigned seventy thousand men {to bear burdens} and eighty thousand {quarriers} in the hill country, and three thousand six hundred [men] to supervise them.

Then he made the sea of molten metal, from brim to brim [it was] ten cubits, completely round. And [it was] five cubits in height, and {its circumference measured} thirty cubits.

"If a man sins against his neighbor and {makes him swear an oath} and comes [with] an oath before your altar in this house,

But Abijah became strong, and he took to himself fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come [to] Shechem to make him king.

When all the {Israelites} saw the fire come down and the glory of Yahweh upon the house, they knelt down [with their] faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to Yahweh, for [he is] good, for his loyal love [is] everlasting.

So now, behold, Yahweh has put a spirit of deception into the mouths of these your prophets. Yahweh has spoken disaster against you."

And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as chief and crown prince over his brothers, in order to make him king.

Then Solomon said, "Yahweh has decided to dwell in the deep gloom.

And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon [were] of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon [were] of pure gold. Silver was not valued as anything in the days of Solomon.

And he made [decorative] chains in the inner sanctuary and put [them] on top of the columns. And he made one hundred pomegranate [ornaments], and put them on the chains.

And twelve lions were standing there on [each] of the six steps {on each end}. And there was nothing like [it] made in all the kingdom.

And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

And he appointed from them seventy thousand {to bear burdens}, eighty thousand {to quarry} in the hill country, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.

For the ships of the king went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram. Once {every three years} the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

And it happened [that] in the fifth year of King Rehoboam (for they had acted unfaithfully against Yahweh), Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem

And he erected the columns in front of the temple, one on the south and one on the north. He called the name of the southern one Jakin, and the name of the northern one Boaz.

And the priests were not able to go into the house of Yahweh, for the glory of Yahweh had filled the house.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and act and judge your servants, to repay the guilty by bringing his way upon his head and to vindicate the righteous by giving to him according to his righteousness.

When all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was finished, Solomon brought the holy objects of David his father: the silver, the gold, and all the objects he had put into the storehouses of the house of God.

And at the front of the house he made two columns, thirty-five cubits high, and the capital on their top was five cubits.

Now as for the wheat, barley, oil, and wine that my lord mentioned, let him send [that] to his servants.

And afterward Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined with Ahaziah the king of Israel, who acted wickedly.

Then Solomon went to Ezion-Geber, and to Elath, on the edge of the sea in the land of Edom.

And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

As for the remainder of the words of Solomon [from] the first to the last, are they not written in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer, concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

And the priests stood at their posts with the Levites, with the instruments of the song of Yahweh that King David had made to give thanks to Yahweh--for his loyal love [is] everlasting--whenever David offered praise by their hand. Now the priests sounded trumpets [standing] opposite them, and all Israel stood.

Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because of your joining with Ahaziah, Yahweh will break down your works." And the ships were destroyed and were not able to go to Tarshish.

He joined with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. And they built the ships in Ezion Geber.

Then the king and all the people were offering a sacrifice before Yahweh.

The length of the [outstretched] wings of the cherubim [were] twenty cubits; one wing of five cubits touched the wall of the house, and the other wing of five cubits [was] touching the [outstretched] wing of the other cherub.

the two columns, the bowls, and the two capitals on top of the columns, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that [were] on top of the columns,

And he made the curtain of blue and purple and crimson and fine linen, and put cherubim on it.

And they came to Jerusalem with harps, stringed instruments, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh.

And from the time that Amaziah turned away from Yahweh, they had plotted a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. And he fled to Lachish, but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.

"When the heavens are stopped up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you and they pray to this place and confess your name and turn back from their sin when you humble them,

The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits, and they were standing on their feet, their faces toward the house.

and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for the latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that [were] before the columns.

Then Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the {families} for the {Israelites}, to Jerusalem in order to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which [is] Zion.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon your land that you have given to your people as an inheritance.

And [as for] his sons, the many oracles against him, and [his repair of] the foundation of the house of God, behold, they [are] written in the story of the scroll of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

And it happened [that] at the end of twenty years [in] which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house,

But I have built for you an exalted house, even a place for you to dwell in forever."

And he made the water carts, and he made the basins on the water carts,

Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that [are] in Judah and in Benjamin.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens, your dwelling place, and forgive and give to each according to all his ways, since you know the heart of the children of humankind,

Thus King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom.

And it happened [that] when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard [it]--now he [was] in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon--Jeroboam returned from Egypt.

The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay soil between Succoth and Zeredah.

"If there is a famine in the land; if there is disease, blight, mildew, locust, and caterpillar; if it happens that his enemy lays siege to him in the land [and] his gates; any kind of plague, any kind of disease,

And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons throughout all the land of Judah and Benjamin, through all the fortified cities, and gave abundant provisions to them and obtained many wives [for them].

So Israel has rebelled against the house of David until this day.

with one thousand two hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. And there was no number to the people who came up with him from Egypt--Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.

And Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built cities as strongholds in Judah.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and forgive the sin of your people Israel and again bring them back to the land that you gave to them and to their ancestors.

Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel were standing.

And he said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth with David my father, and with his hands he has fulfilled [it], saying,

And he began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign.

He built Bethlehem, Etah, Tekoa,

But the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,

Solomon also built the cities that Huram had given to him, and he settled the {Israelites} in them.

'From the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt I did not choose a city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in order for my name [to be] there. Nor did I choose a man to be leader over my people Israel.

and the blossoms, the lamps, and the tongs that [were] of solid gold;

And they brought up the ark, the tent of assembly, and all the holy objects that [were] in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up.

But I have chosen my name to be there in Jerusalem, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.'

However, they shall be his servants, that they might know my service and the service of the kingdoms of [other] countries."

And all the kings of the earth sought the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God put in his heart.

the lampstands, and the lamps for burning according to the custom before the inner sanctuary, of solid gold;

And he strengthened the fortifications and put commanders in them, [along with] stores of food, olive oil, and wine.

He also built Upper Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon, fortified cities [with] walls, gates, and bars;

And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

And they carried him on the horses and buried him with his ancestors in the city of Judah.

and the snuffers, the drinking bowls, the dishes, and the firepans, of solid gold; and the entrance to the house, the inner doors to {the most holy place}, and the doors to the house of the temple [were] of gold.

And the horses [were] imported from Egypt and from all lands for Solomon.

Solomon made all these utensils in great abundance, for the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

And each of them brought his gifts, objects of silver, objects of gold, cloaks, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, [as] an amount year by year.

Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem from before Shishak. And he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh: 'You yourselves have abandoned me, and I myself have surely abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.'"

So Solomon made all the objects that [were in] the house of God: the altar of gold; the tables upon which [was] the bread of the presence;

And Solomon went to Hamath-Zobah and laid siege upon it.

Then Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and he took the treasures out of the house of Yahweh and the treasures out of the king's house. He took everything. He also took the small shields of gold that Solomon had made.

And when Yahweh saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy. I will give to them some way of escape, that my anger not be poured out against Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

'Thus says Yahweh: "Do not go up, and do not fight against your brothers. Return, each man to his house, for this matter has come from me." '" So they obeyed the words of Yahweh and turned back from going against Jeroboam.

And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as the sycamore trees that [are] in the Shephelah for abundance.

and the food of his table, and the position of his officers, the duty of his servants and their clothing, his cupbearers and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of Yahweh, there was no longer any breath in her.

And Solomon {answered all her questions}. Not a word was hidden from Solomon that he did not answer for her.

[It was] standing upon twelve oxen, three facing north, and three facing west, and three facing south, and three facing east. The sea [was set] upon them from above, and all their hindquarters [faced] {inward}.

All the people who remained from the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites who were not from Israel,

Beth-Zur, Socoh, Adullam,

Blessed be Yahweh your God who took delight in you, to put you on his throne as king for Yahweh your God! Because your God loved Israel, he established him forever and has put you over them as king to do justice and righteousness!"

Baalath and all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon; all the cities for chariots and cities for horses; and any desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

[then] any prayer, any plea that is [made] by any person and by all your people Israel, each one who knows his own affliction and his own anguish and [who] spreads out his hands to this house,

And Huram-abi made for King Solomon the pots, the shovels, the three-pronged meat forks, and all the utensils of polished bronze for the house of Yahweh.

And he built Tadmor in the desert, and he built all the storage cities in Hamath.

And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that [is in] the seventh month.

And she gave to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. And there were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon and the house he had built,

Blessed [are] your men, and blessed [are] these your servants who stand before you regularly and hear your wisdom!

Under it [were] figures of oxen all around it, ten cubits [high], encircling the sea all around. The oxen [were] in two rows {cast as one piece with it}.

Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

from the descendants who were left over after them in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed, Solomon conscripted them as forced labor until this day.

"Say to Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,

Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "Yahweh [is] righteous."

but I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not reported to me; you surpass the rumors that I had heard.

And when he humbled himself, the anger of Yahweh was turned away from him, so that he did not destroy [the city] completely. Moreover, matters were well in Judah.

And King Rehoboam made small shields of bronze in their place and committed them into the hand of the commanders of the guards who were keeping the entrance of the house of the king.

Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

And whenever the king went into the house of Yahweh, the guards came and carried them, and then they returned them to the alcove of the guards.

And he took the fortified cities that belonged to Judah, and he came up to Jerusalem.

And she said to the king, "The word which I heard in my land concerning your words and your wisdom [is] true,

And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

Then he said, 'I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You will entice him and will also succeed. Go out and do so.'

And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had been {serving} before Solomon his father when he was alive, saying, "What word do you advise to answer this people?"

"Your father made our yoke heavy. Now, therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve you."

And he said to them, "In three days return to me again." And the people went away.

And they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and all Israel went, and they spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

And they said to him, "If you will be good to this people and please them, then speak good words to them. Then they will be your servants {forever}."

And he said to them, "What do you advise that we should say in return to this people, who said to me, 'Lighten the yoke that your father has put upon us'?"

For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout all the earth to strengthen those whose heart is fully devoted to him. You have been foolish in this, for from now on you will have wars."

But he forsook the advice of the elders that advised him and took counsel of the young men who had grown up with him who were {serving} before him.

And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none [who had] escaped.

And it happened [that] afterward, the {Moabites}, the {Ammonites}, and some of the Meunites came against Jehoshaphat for war.

Then the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus you should say to this people who have said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, so you yourself should lighten [it] for us.' Thus you should say to them, 'My little finger [is] thicker than the loins of my father.

And Hezekiah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the upper [part] of the burial sites of the descendants of David. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son became king in his place.

And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.

When Jehoshaphat came with his people to plunder their booty, they found among them in abundance possessions, corpses, and precious items. And they took plunder for themselves {until they could carry no more}. And they were three days in plundering the booty, for it [was] abundant.

Then Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, "{Which way} did the Spirit of Yahweh come from me to speak to you?"

And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!"

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha the king of Israel went up against Judah. And he built Ramah in order not to allow [anyone] to go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah.

Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah (now he [was] sixteen years old) and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.

Now Azariah the son of Oded--the Spirit of God came upon him.

Ahaziah [was] forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother [was] Athaliah, the daughter of Omri.

And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat [was] at their head in returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh caused them to rejoice over their enemies.

And Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. And he said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you [be] a help to the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh? On account of this, wrath [has come] against you from Yahweh.

Hezekiah became king when he [was] twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother [was] Abijah the daughter of Zechariah.

And Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, had repeatedly and persistently sent to them by the hand of his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.

And the consecrated offerings of cattle [were] six hundred cattle and three thousand sheep.

And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and he strengthened himself against Israel.

And in the first year of Cyrus, the king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he {made a proclamation} throughout all his kingdom and also in writing, saying:

Now Jehoshaphat had much wealth and honor, and he became son-in-law to Ahab.

But on account of his strength his heart grew proud unto destruction. And he acted unfaithfully against Yahweh his God and went into the temple of Yahweh to offer an incense offering on the altar.

And he went out before Asa and said to him, "Hear me, O Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh [is] with you while you are with him. And if you will seek him he will be found by you. But if you forsake him he will forsake you.

And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and took with him into a covenant [relationship] the commanders of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zicri.

Ahaz [was] twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh like David his ancestor.

Joash [was] seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother [was] Zibiah from Beersheba.

Amaziah was twenty-five years old [when] he became king. And he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [was] Jehoaddan from Jerusalem.

And he said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says Yahweh to you: 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

And Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why are you transgressing the commandments of Yahweh so that you will not succeed? For you have forsaken Yahweh, so he will forsake you.'"

Jehoiachin [was] eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

Now he had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these [were] the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel.

In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah reigned over Judah.

And he himself burned his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. And he practiced sorcery and divination, and he engaged in witchcraft and dealt with mediums and spiritists. And he did much evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.

He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother [was] Micaiah the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. Now there was war between Abijah and between Jeroboam.

And Abijah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son became king in his place. In his days the land was at rest ten years.

Then Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel.

And beside the many burnt offerings [was] the fat of the peace offerings and the libations for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of Yahweh was established.

Jotham [was] twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother [was] Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.

And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the band of men who had come with the Arabs to the camp had murdered all the older sons. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, reigned.

Then Micaiah said, "Behold, you will see on that day when you go into a private room to hide yourself."

and say, 'Thus says the king: "Put this one into the prison house, and let him eat {a meager ration of bread and water} until I return in peace." '"

Manasseh [was] twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

Now [when] Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son [was] dead, she arose and murdered all the {royal descendants} of the house of Judah.

And they entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their inmost being,

So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. [He was] thirty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother [was] Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

O, our God, did you yourself not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham your friend forever?

Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the storehouses of the house of Yahweh and the house of the king, and he sent [them] to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

Then Asa cried out to Yahweh his God. And he said, "O Yahweh, there is none with you to help between the great and the powerless. Help us, O Yahweh our God, for we rely upon you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, you [are] our God! Let no man prevail against you!"

After all of this that Josiah had prepared [for] the temple, Neco the king of Egypt went up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went up to meet him.

Then Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.

And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel.

Josiah [was] eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made molten idols for the Baals.

And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "On account of your reliance upon the king of Aram, and [since] you did not rely on Yahweh your God, therefore the troops of the king of Aram escaped from your hand.

And they came and reported [it] to Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram, is coming against you. Now behold, [they are] in Hazazon Tamar" (that [is], En Gedi).

Do you not all know that Yahweh the God of Israel gave the kingdom to David over Israel forever, to him and to his sons [by] a covenant of salt?

And he said, "O Yahweh, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Now you rule in all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand [are] power and might, and there is none [who can] resist against you.

After these things and these [acts of] faithfulness, Sennacherib the king of Assyria came, and he came against Judah. And he encamped against the fortified cities and planned to break them down for himself.

And he put troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and put garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had taken.

And he began to seek God in the days of Zechariah who was teaching in visions of God. And {whenever} he sought Yahweh God made him have success.

Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead.

And {after some years} he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and for the people who [were] with him, and urged him to go up against Ramoth-Gilead.

So now, let the fear of Yahweh be upon you all. {Be careful what you do}, for there is neither wickedness nor {showing partiality} and taking bribes with Yahweh our God."

Asa did that which [was] good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his God.

And Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

And Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent commanders of his troops that [were] with him against the cities of Israel. And they struck Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah;

Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh. And he called for a fast through all Judah.

Zerah the Cushite came out against them with an army of a thousand thousands and three hundred chariots. And he came to Mareshah.

And Asa had an army [of] three hundred thousand from Judah, bearing shields and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin [who] carried shields and drew bows. All of these [were] mighty warriors of strength.

And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, only not with a fully-devoted heart.

And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable [practices] of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites.

Now the rest of the words of Jehoshaphat, [from] the first to the last, behold, they [are] written in the chronicles of Jehu the son of Hanani, which [are] recorded in the scroll of the kings of Israel.

Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite from the descendants of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

Only the high places were not removed. The people still had not yet set their heart on the God of their ancestors.

He built Elath and returned it to Judah after the king slept with his ancestors.

And when Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the vile idols from all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh that was in front of the portico of Yahweh.

And Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of David his father and did not seek after the Baals,

And he stood the Levites [in] the house of Yahweh with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the command of David and Gad, the seer of the king, and Nathan the prophet, for the command [was] by the hand of Yahweh by the hand of his prophets.

Josiah kept the Passover to Yahweh in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover [sacrifice] on the fourteenth day of the first month.

Then Hilkiah and those whom the king [had sent] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the garments. (Now she was living in Jerusalem in the second district.) And they spoke to her concerning this.

Then the Levites arose--Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the Kohathites; and Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel from the Merarites; and Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah, from the Gershonites.

to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land has enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of desolation it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

And a letter from Elijah the prophet came to him, saying, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father: 'Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father or in the ways of Asa, the king of Judah,

But he did not put their children to death, according to [what] is written in the law, in the scroll of Moses, where Yahweh commanded, saying, "Fathers shall not be put to death on account of the sons, and the sons shall not be put to death on account of the fathers, but each shall be put to death for his own sin."

And Solomon slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

but all who will not seek Yahweh the God of Israel should be killed, from young to old, from men to women.

And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, he fell {severely} ill in his feet. But even in his illness he did not seek Yahweh, but [only] among the healers.

And the word spread. The Israelites gave abundantly [from] the firstfruits of grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all [kinds of] grains from the field. And they brought tithes of everything in abundance.

And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem.

Then Abijah stood up on top of Mount Zemaraim that [is] in the hill country of Ephraim and said, "Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!

And when they brought out the money that had been brought [to] the house of Yahweh, Hilkiah the priest found a scroll of the law of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.

And he said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing, for you are not judging for a man but for Yahweh. Now [he is] with you in speaking justice.

And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done.

But as for you, be strong and let not your hands be weak, for there is reward for your labor."

O our God, will you not judge them, for there is no power in us before this great multitude that is coming against us. Now we do not know what we shall do, for our eyes [are] upon you."

For Yahweh subdued Judah for the sake of Ahaz, king of Israel, for he created disorder in Judah and acted unfaithfully against Yahweh.

And when all this was finished, all Israel who were found in the cities of Judah went out and shattered the stone pillars, cut down the Asherahs, and destroyed the high places and the altars from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh {to the very last one}. Then all the Israelites returned, each to his own property [and] to their cities.

Then Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram who defeated him and captured many captives from him and brought [them to] Damascus. Moreover, he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, and he defeated him by a great attack.

And he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround [them with] walls, towers, gates, and bars while the land [is] before us, because we have sought Yahweh our God. We have sought and he has given rest to us on every side." So they built and had success.

And he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, to do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh.

Then afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of the Gihon in the valley, and for the entrance into the Gate of the Fishes. And it encircled the Ophel and raised it very high. Then he placed strong commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

Now a certain man drew the bow {at random} and struck the king of Israel between the soldering of [his] breastplate armor. Then he said to the chariot driver, "{Turn around}; get me away from the [war] camp, for I am wounded."

When they sin against you--for there is no person who does not sin--and you become angry with them and place them before their enemy that they carry them away as captives to a land far or near,

Now a prophet of Yahweh was there; Oded [was] his name. And he went out before the army that was coming to Samaria and said to them, "Look, [it is] on account of the anger of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, against Judah [that] he gave them into your hands, and you killed them in a rage reaching to the heavens.

And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Uzziah had done--only he did not go into the temple of Yahweh. But the people still acted corruptly.

And it happened [that] after Amaziah came [back] from killing the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, and he stood them up to himself as gods and bowed down before them and make smoke offerings for them.

and with them the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah; and with them the priests Elisham and Joram.

[There will be] no [need] for you to fight in this [battle]. Take your stand! Stand and see the deliverance of Yahweh among you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out before them and Yahweh [will be] with you.'"

"And now arise, O Yahweh God, to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength! O Yahweh God, let the priests be clothed with salvation, and let your holy ones rejoice in your goodness!

So Yahweh brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria upon them, and they took Manasseh captive with hooks, and they bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with very abundant chariots and horsemen? And because of your reliance on Yahweh he gave them into your hand.

All the leaders of the priests and the people likewise increased in unfaithfulness according to all the detestable things of the nations. And they polluted the house of Yahweh that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

And he went out and made war against the Philistines, and he broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in Ashdod and among the Philistines.

Now the remainder of the words of Uzziah, [from] the first [to] the last, Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, wrote [them].

And it happened [that] when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from following him.

And it happened [that] when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, then they said, "It [is] the king of Israel!" And they turned against him to fight. Then Jehoshaphat cried out and Yahweh helped him. God drove them away from him.

And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and he strengthened them.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he [was] still a boy, he began to seek the God of David his ancestor. And in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherahs, the idols, and the images.

And thus [in the matter of] the envoys of the commanders of Babylon who had been sent to him to seek the sign that had happened in the land, God forsook him, to test him [and] to know all [that was] in his heart.

And when he was in distress he entreated Yahweh his God and greatly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors

and they gathered their brothers and sanctified themselves, and they went in according to the command of the king because of the words of Yahweh, to purify the house of Yahweh.

When Jehoram ascended to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and murdered all his brothers with the sword, and even some of the princes of Israel.

Then the Levites, from the {Kohathites} and from the {Korahites} stood up to praise Yahweh the God of Israel with an exceedingly loud voice.

So King Uzziah was leprous until the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house as a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. And Jotham his son [was] over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.

And he built towers in the desert and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the Shephelah and on the plain, [along with] farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

And look, God [is] with us at the head, and his priests [have] the trumpets for sounding blasts against you, O sons of Israel. Do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."

And Micaiah said, "If you surely return in peace Yahweh has not spoken with me." Then he said, "Hear, peoples, all of them!"

And he took {those who escaped the sword} to Babylon. And they became servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,

And at the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with objects of the treasure of the house of Yahweh. And he made Zedekiah his brother king in Judah and Jerusalem.

And Yahweh stirred up the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who [were] {near} the Cushites against Jehoram.

And behold, Amariah the chief priest [is] over you in all matters of the word of Yahweh, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all matters of the king, and the Levites [shall be] before you [as] officials. Be strong and do [well]! May Yahweh be with the upright."

He removed the foreign altars and high places, broke down the stone pillars, and cut down the Asherahs.

Then Asa and the army with him pursued them to Gerar. And [many] from the Cushites fell, for they had no deliverance, for they were shattered before Yahweh and before his army. And they carried away much war booty.

But they were mocking the messengers of God and despising his words and scoffing at his prophets until the wrath of Yahweh rose against his people until there was no remedy.

But the downfall of Ahaziah was from God, [and intended] to come to Joram. And when he came, he went out with Jehoram to Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

Then Uzziah, his censer in hand to burn incense, became angry. And when he became angry with the priests, then leprosy appeared on his forehead in front of the priests in the house of Yahweh at the altar of incense.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you, wear your garments." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went to war.

And the Philistines sent raids into the cities of the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah. And they captured Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Socoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there.

And Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and returned and went out among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

Now in the eighteenth year of his reign [after] he purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the commander of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of Yahweh his God.

Zedekiah [was] twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

Then Tiglath-Pileser the king of Assyria came against him and brought trouble for him, {instead of helping him},

And they went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the {families} of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

And Hezekiah appointed working groups of the priests and the Levites, each according to their divisions, {according to the service for priests and Levites}, for burnt offerings, for peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camps of Yahweh.

O Yahweh God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one! Remember the loyal love of your servant, David!"

Jehoiakim [was] twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh his God.

For the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and had used all the holy vessels of the house of Yahweh for the Baals.

"Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 'Yahweh the God of heaven has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has appointed me to build a house for him at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah. Whoever [is] among you from all his people, may Yahweh his God go up with him.'"

Nevertheless some good things have been found in regard to you, for you burned the Asherahs out of the land and set your heart to seek God."

And Jeremiah uttered a lament for Josiah, and all the male and female singers have spoken in their laments about Josiah to this day. And they made them a requirement in Israel, and behold, they are written in the laments.

that they may fear you [and] walk in your ways all the days that they [are] alive upon the face of the land that you have given to our ancestors.

And Ahab the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, "Will you go up with me to Ramoth-Gilead?" And he answered him, "I [am] as you [are], and my people [are] as your people with you in war."

Then Amaziah assembled [the men of] Judah and set them by {families} under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. And he counted them from twenty years old and upward, and found them [to be] three hundred thousand chosen for going out to battle, able [with] spear and shield.

And this same Hezekiah blocked off the flow of the waters of the upper Gihon, and directed them down the west [side] of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites and the priests and heads of the {families} of Israel as judges and to decide legal disputes for Yahweh. And they sat [in] Jerusalem.

And he searched for Ahaziah and captured him. And he was hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and put him to death. And they buried him, for they said, "He [is] the descendant of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with his whole heart." And the house of Ahab had no one to exercise power over the kingdom.

Then King Asa took all of Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and he built Geba and Mizpah with them.

Therefore he brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, and he killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He showed no mercy on a young man, a virgin, [the] elderly, or decrepit. He delivered all into his hand.

And they struck all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of Yahweh was upon them. And they plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.

Then Jeroboam sent around an ambush to come behind them. So they were in front of Judah, but the ambush [was] behind them.

And after all this Yahweh afflicted him in his bowels with an illness for [which there was] no cure.

And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions found in the house of the king, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz his youngest son.

But Jehosheba the daughter of the king took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and kidnapped him away from the sons of the king who were to be put to death. And she put him and his nurse in a private bedroom. So Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from before Athaliah so that she did not put him to death.

And Jehoiada placed appointees [at] the house of Yahweh under the hand of the Levitical priests whom David had allotted to the house of Yahweh to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh as was written in the law of Moses, with joy and with song, according to the {order of David}.

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up against him, and he bound him with bronze fetters to bring him to Babylon.

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh before the new courtyard.

So the king called Jehoiada the chief, and he said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax of Moses, the servant of Yahweh, and [of] the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?"

Though the army of Aram came with few men, Yahweh gave a very large army into their hand, for they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. And they inflicted punishment on Joash.

And Judah assembled to seek after Yahweh; even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek Yahweh.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens, from your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner asks of you, so that all peoples of earth will know of your name and fear you, as [do] your people Israel, and that they may know that your name {possesses} this house that I have built.

and worthless men, {sons of wickedness}, were gathered about him and became hostile against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was a boy and gentle of heart and was not strong enough [to stand] before them.

And they buried him in his burial site, which had been cut out for him in the city of David. And they laid him on the bier which they had filled with all kinds of spices made [by] the perfumers as a fragment ointment. And they made a great fire in his honor.

At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria to help him,

So now, you yourselves plan to subdue people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves and female servants for yourselves. {Is there not also guilt on your part} against Yahweh your God?

And Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not listen.

Uzziah [was] sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. And the name of his mother [was] Yecoliah of Jerusalem.

And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds he had suffered at Ramah, when he made war against Hazael king of Aram. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram son of Ahab in Jezreel for he [was] sick.

And he made siege machines in Jerusalem designed [by] skillful men to be [set] upon the towers and upon the corners to shoot arrows and large slingstones. And his fame went out far, for he helped marvelously, for he was strong.

And Asa went out before him, and a battle was put in order in the valley of Zepah at Mareshah.

Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his army, he went [to] the Valley of Salt. And he struck [down] ten thousand men of Seir.

And some of the Philistines brought a gift and silver to Jehoshaphat [as] tribute. The Arabians also brought him seven thousand seven hundred sheep and seven thousand seven hundred goats.

He also walked in their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead. And the Arameans wounded Joram.

He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no [one's] regret. And they buried him in the city of David, but not in the burial sites of the kings.

When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him, behold, he [was] leprous in the forehead. So they rushed him away from there, and he also hastened to go out, for Yahweh had smitten him.

Now the king and his princes, and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to make the Passover feast in the second month--

Then men from the heads of Ephraim--Azariah the son of Jehohanan, Berekiah the son of Meshillemoth, Hezekiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai--stood against those returning from the fight.

But as for us, Yahweh [is] our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests serving Yahweh [are] the sons of Aaron, the Levites, according to their service.

And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed in one day one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah, all men of strength, because they forsook Yahweh the God of their ancestors.

And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Did you not drive out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, the Levites? Have you [not] made for yourselves priests like all the peoples of the lands? All who come {to be consecrated for priestly service} with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of [what is] not a god.

And from Benjamin: Eliada, a powerful mighty warrior, and with him [were] two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;

And the fear of Yahweh was upon all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, and they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

And it happened at the turn of the year [that] the army of Aram went up against him, and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the commanders of the people from among the people, and all the war booty they sent to the king of Damascus.

Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "[There is] yet one man by whom to seek Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but {always} disaster. He [is] Micaiah the son of Imlah." Then Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say thus."

Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Seek {first of all} the word of Yahweh."

And it happened [that] the runners were passing from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and up to Zebulun, but they were laughing at them and mocking them.

Then they brought out the son of the king and set upon him the crown and [gave him] the statute and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, "{Long live the king}!"

They offer burnt offerings to Yahweh {every morning} and {every evening}, sweet spices of incense, and the rows of bread upon the pure table. And the golden lampstand with its lamps [they] keep kindled {every evening}, for we are keeping the requirement of Yahweh our God, but you yourselves have forsaken him.

And the men did the work faithfully. Over them as supervisors [were] appointed Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites. And [other] Levites, all who were skilled in instruments of song,

For a majority of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves. But they ate the Passover sacrifice {otherwise than prescribed}, but Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, "May the good Yahweh make atonement unto

For our ancestors acted unfaithfully and did evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the dwelling place of Yahweh. {They have turned their backs} [on it].

And he did what [was] right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Amaziah his father had done.

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those sojourning with them, from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for many had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that Yahweh his God [was] with him.

So now you yourselves are considering [that you are] strong before the kingdom of Yahweh [which is] in the hand the sons of David, since you yourselves are a great multitude and you have bull calves of gold that Jeroboam has made for idols.

For when you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your children [will find] compassion before their captors and return to this land, for Yahweh your God [is] gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him."

And Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah the king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-Shemesh. And they brought him [to] Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits.

And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but [it is] for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully. There will be no honor for you from Yahweh God."

So Yahweh defeated the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled.

And the singers, the descendants of Asaph, [were] at their stations according to the decree of David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, the seer of the king. And the gatekeepers [were] at {each gate}. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites had made preparations for them.

Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel, and he sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, {let us face one another}.

Jehoram [was] thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land was at rest. Under him there was no war in those years, for Yahweh had given rest to him.

In those days Hezekiah fell ill unto death, and he prayed to Yahweh. And he answered him and gave him a sign.

And Uzziah had troops {trained and ready for war} in divisions according to the number of their enrollment at the hand of Jeuel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah of the king's commanders.

In the first year of his kingship, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh and strengthened them.

"And also, with respect to the foreigner, he who [is] not of your people Israel, but comes from a distant land, for the sake of your great name and your powerful hand and outstretched arm, when he comes and prays to this house,

Now after the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and bowed down to the king. Then the king listened to them.

And they slaughtered the cattle, and the priests received the blood and threw it toward the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and threw the blood toward the altar, and then they slaughtered the lambs and threw the blood toward the altar.

So he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah and gather money from all Israel to strengthen the house of your God sufficiently year by year. Now you yourselves must hasten to the matter." But the Levites did not act with haste.

and you yourself [will be afflicted] with great illness, with sickness in your bowels, until your bowels come out on account of the illness, day by day.'"

And God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who were living in Gur-Baal and Meunim.

Nation was crushed by nation, and city [was] against city, for God threw them into confusion by all [sorts of] trouble.

But Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master,

So Yahweh established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah gave tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had much wealth and honor.

And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they swore with all their heart. And they sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and Yahweh gave rest to them all around.

Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains like sheep that had no shepherd. And Yahweh said, 'These have no masters; let them return to his own house in peace.'"

And the priests went into the inner [part] of the house of Yahweh to purify [it]. And they brought out all the impurity that they found in the temple of Yahweh [out] to the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. And the Levites took [them] to bring [them] outside to the Wadi Kidron.

And they were gathered [at] Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were each sitting on his throne, clothed in robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

And Uzziah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him with his ancestors in the burial field which belonged to the kings, because, they said, "He [was] leprous." And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

And in those times there was no peace for the one going out and the one coming in, for great tumults [were] upon all the inhabitants of the lands.

"Be strong! Be courageous! Do not fear and do not be dismayed before the king of Assyria and before all the crowd that [is] with him, for [there are] more with us than with him.

Then Jehoram passed over with his commanders and all the chariots with him, and when night came he struck Edom who [was] all around him and the commanders of his chariots.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did evil in the sight of Yahweh.

Now Israel [has been] without the true God many days, and without a teaching priest, and without law,

And it happened [that] while he was speaking to him, he said to him, "Have we appointed you as a counselor to the king? Stop--{why should you be killed}?" So the prophet stopped and said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice."

And it happened [that] when Baasha heard [this], he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work.

and at his side, Amasiah the son of Zicri, who had made a freewill offering to Yahweh, and with him [were] two hundred thousand mighty armed warriors.

And Jehoshaphat {grew greater and greater}, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah.

So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet [after] Athaliah had been killed with the sword.

In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and they set up a king of their own.

And Amaziah said to the man of God, "Now what [should I] do with the one hundred talents that I have given to the troops of Israel?" And the man of God said, "{Yahweh is able to give} to you more than this."

And his heart was courageous in the ways of Yahweh. Moreover, he removed the high places and the Asherahs from Judah.

And Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, "Thus says Yahweh: 'With these you will gore Aram to their destruction.'"

But Josiah did not turn his face from him, but he disguised himself to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and he went out to fight in the plain of Megiddo.

And they forsook the house of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors and served the Asherahs and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem on account of this guilt.

"When your people go out to battle against their enemy according to the way that you have sent them, and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,

And they went into the inner [part] to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh: the altar of burnt offering, all its objects, the table of the rows [of bread] and all its objects,

And it happened [that] as his reign was strengthened, he killed his servants who had killed his father the king.

And the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And they each took his men [who were] {coming off duty on the Sabbath} with {the ones going out to duty on the Sabbath}, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the working groups.

And the {Israelites} who were found in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy. And the Levites and the priests were offering praise to Yahweh day by day, with powerful instruments to Yahweh.

and the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king, saying,

And Abijah joined in the battle with an army of four hundred thousand {battle-hardened warriors}, chosen men, and Jeroboam put the battle in order against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, an army of mighty warriors.