Although the Aramean army came with only a few men, the Lord handed over a vast army to them because the people of Judah had abandoned Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. So they executed judgment on Joash.

And it will be when the kingdom was strengthened over him, and he will slay his servants striking the king his father.

Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield.

The men of Judah captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them over. All the captives fell to their death.

You defeated Edom and it has gone to your head. Gloat over your success, but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?"

But Amaziah would not listen, for this turn of events was from God in order to hand them over to their enemies because they went after the gods of Edom.

And Uzziah built towers, in Jerusalem, over the corner-gate, and over the valley-gate, and over the angle, - and he made them strong.

And he made in Jerusalem, inventions invented of the inventor, to be upon the towers and upon the turrets, for throwing with arrows, and with great stones, - so that his name went forth afar, for he was marvellously helped, until that he was strong.

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.

They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the Lord—only the consecrated priests, the descendants of Aaron, have the right to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully! You will not receive honor from the Lord God.”

Uzziah, with a firepan in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But when he became enraged with the priests, in the presence of the priests in the Lord’s temple beside the altar of incense, a skin disease broke out on his forehead.

And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

And he hath fought with the king of the sons of Ammon, and prevaileth over them, and the sons of Ammon give to him in that year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand cors of wheat, and of barley ten thousand; this have the sons of Ammon returned to him both in the second year, and in the third.

So Jotham strengthened himself because he did not waver in obeying the Lord his God.

So the Lord his God handed Ahaz over to the king of Aram. He attacked him and took many captives to Damascus.

Ahaz was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with great force:

And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the officer over the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king.

A prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Look, the Lord God of your ancestors handed them over to you because of His wrath against Judah, but you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached heaven.

Now, therefore, hearken unto me, and restore the captives whom ye have taken captive from among your brethren, - for, the glow of the anger of Yahweh, is over you.

and said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither, for, with guilt against Yahweh already upon us, ye, are thinking to add unto our sins, and unto our guilt, - for great is the guilt we have, and fierce is the anger over Israel.

For he offered unto the gods of them of Damascus which beat him, and said, "Because the gods of the Syrians help them, therefore will I offer to them, that they may help me also." But they were his destruction and the destruction of all Israel.

He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, and he provoked the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. And they did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel.

My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to serve in his presence and offer sacrifices."

And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

and the priests slaughtered them, and sin-cleansed, with their blood, the altar, to put a propitiatory-covering over all Israel,-because, for all Israel, did the king appoint the ascending-sacrifice and the offering for bearing sin.

And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.

And Hezekiah the king and the rulers gave word to the Levites, to offer praise unto Yahweh, in the words of David, and of Asaph the seer, - so they offered praise right joyfully, and bent their heads and bowed themselves in prostration.

Hezekiah said, "Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the Lord's temple." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so brought burnt sacrifices.

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.

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.)

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

And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and thereto wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to offer Passover unto the LORD God of Israel.

and they establish the thing, to cause to pass over an intimation into all Israel, from Beer-Sheba even unto Dan, to come in to make a passover to Jehovah, God of Israel, in Jerusalem, for not for a long time had they done as it is written.

Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.

And the runners are passing over from city to city, in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun: and they are laughing at them, and mocking at them,

for many are in the assembly who have not sanctified themselves, and the Levites are over the slaughtering of the passover-offerings for every one not clean, to sanctify him to Jehovah:

whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God, Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

Now when all this was over, all the men of Israel who were present went out into the towns of Judah, causing the stone pillars to be broken up and the wood pillars to be cut down, pulling down the high places and the altars in all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, till all were gone. Then all the children of Israel went back to their towns, every man to his property.

And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests, and the Levites, over their courses, every man according to the requirements of his service, both priests and Levites, for ascending-sacrifice and for peace-offerings, - to be in attendance and to give thanks and to offer praise, in the gates of the camps of Yahweh;

Azariah, the chief priest of the household of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began bringing the offering to the Lord’s temple, we eat and are satisfied and there is plenty left over because the Lord has blessed His people; this abundance is what is left over.”

And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next.

And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things.

As well as to all the males, of three years old and over, listed by their families, who went into the house of the Lord to do what was needed day by day, for their special work with their divisions.

And the families of the priests were listed by their fathers' names, but the Levites, of twenty years old and over, were listed in relation to their work in their divisions;

And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,

Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

Hezekiah is the one who eliminated the Lord's high places and altars and then told Judah and Jerusalem, "At one altar you must worship and offer sacrifices."

Who, among all the gods of these nations whom my fathers devoted to destruction, hath ever been able to deliver his people out of my hand, - that your god should be able to deliver you out of my hand?

Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah beguile you nor persuade you thus, neither do ye believe him. For no, god, of any nation or kingdom hath ever been able to deliver his people out of my hand, or out of the hand of my fathers,-how much less shall, your gods, deliver you, out of my hand?

Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.

And he hath caused his sons to pass over through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and observed clouds and used enchantments and witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and a wizard; he hath multiplied to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.

And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

The people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

And he destroyed before him the altars for the Baals, and he cut down the incense stands above them. And the Asherahs, the idols, and the images he smashed. And he ground [them] to powder and sprinkled [the dust] over the burial sites of those who sacrificed to them.

and they give it into the hand of the workmen, those appointed over the house of Jehovah, and they give it to the workmen who are working in the house of Jehovah, to repair and to strengthen the house;

And the men did the work faithfully. And over them were appointed Jahath and Obadiah, Levites, of the children of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the children of the Kohathites, for the oversight; and all these Levites were skilled in instruments of music.

Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.

They melted down the silver in the Lord's temple and handed it over to the supervisors of the construction foremen."

and he stationeth the priests over their charges, and strengtheneth them for the service of the house of Jehovah,

And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.

And the Passover lamb was cooked over the fire, as it says in the law; and the holy offerings were cooked in pots and basins and vessels, and taken quickly to all the people.

So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.

No Passover had been observed like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present in Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

So his servants took him out of the chariot and transported him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the burial sites of his ancestors. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned over Josiah.

Jeremiah chanted a dirge over Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women still speak of Josiah in their dirges to this very day. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Dirges.

And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.

And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.

So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their choice young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; He handed them all over to him.

And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, at the completion of the word of Jehovah in the mouth of Jeremiah, hath Jehovah waked up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he causeth an intimation to pass over into all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying,

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up [to Jerusalem]!’” Cross references: 2 Chronicles 36:9 : 2 Kin 24:8 2 Chronicles 36:21 : Lev 25:4; 26:43; Jer 25:11; 29:10 end of crossrefs