Do not forget the covenant that I have made with you. Do not fear other gods,

So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded 11 tons of silver and one ton of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah.

You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?

Have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.

who said to them, “Tell your master this, ‘The Lord says: Don’t be afraid because of the words you have heard, that the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed Me with.

Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued?

Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.

They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria.’

Who is it you mocked and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!

You have mocked the Lord through your messengers.
You have said:

With my many chariots
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
its choice cypress trees.
I came to its farthest outpost,
its densest forest.

Have you not heard?
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.
I have now brought it to pass,
and you have crushed fortified cities
into piles of rubble.

Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,
blasted by the east wind.

Because your raging against Me
and your arrogance have reached My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose
and My bit in your mouth;
I will make you go back
the way you came.

“Please Lord, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

“Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of My people, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Lord’s temple.

Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?”

Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”

‘The time will certainly come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,” for he thought: Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?

Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that the Lord had spoken about to David and his son Solomon, “I will establish My name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land I gave to their ancestors if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them—the whole law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

because they have done what is evil in My sight and have provoked Me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.’”

“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest so that he may total up the money brought into the Lord’s temple—the money the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

Hilkiah the high priest told Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the book of the law in the Lord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

Then Shaphan the court secretary went to the king and reported, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hand of those doing the work—those who oversee the Lord’s temple.”

“Go and inquire of the Lord for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”

because they have abandoned Me and burned incense to other gods in order to provoke Me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.

because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you—this is the Lord’s declaration—

Then he said, “What is this monument I see?”

The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar at Bethel.”

For the Lord had said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight just as I have removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, that I have chosen, and the temple about which I said, ‘My name will be there.’”

Sheshan had no sons, only daughters, but he did have an Egyptian servant whose name was Jarha.

Shimei had 16 sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children, so their whole family did not become as numerous as the Judeans.

David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”

When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then march out to battle, for God will have marched out ahead of you to attack the camp of the Philistines.”

He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.

Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments—harps, lyres, and cymbals.

From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until today I have not lived in a house; instead, I have moved from tent to tent and from tabernacle to tabernacle.

In all My travels throughout Israel, have I ever spoken a word to even one of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, asking: Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’

I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a name for you like that of the greatest in the land.

I will establish a place for My people Israel and plant them, so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. Evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they formerly have

Then King David went in, sat in the Lord’s presence, and said,

Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?

This was a little thing to You, God, for You have spoken about Your servant’s house in the distant future. You regard me as a man of distinction, Lord God.

Lord, You have done all this greatness, making known all these great promises because of Your servant and according to Your will.

Lord, there is no one like You, and there is no God besides You, as all we have heard confirms.

You made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, have become their God.

Now, Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house be confirmed forever, and do as You have promised.

Since You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house, Your servant has found courage to pray in Your presence.

Yahweh, You indeed are God, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant.

So now, You have been pleased to bless Your servant’s house that it may continue before You forever. For You, Lord, have blessed it, and it is blessed forever.

David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now, please take away Your servant’s guilt, for I’ve been very foolish.”

David answered Gad, “I’m in anguish. Please, let me fall into the Lord’s hands because His mercies are very great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.”

David said to God, “Wasn’t I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? My Lord God, please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s family, but don’t let the plague be against Your people.”

but the word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before Me.

“Notice I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the Lord—3,775 tons of gold, 37,750 tons of silver, and bronze and iron that can’t be weighed because there is so much of it. I have also provided timber and stone, but you will need to add more to them.

You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and people skilled in every kind of work

4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments that I have made for worship.”

Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; however, Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became an ancestral house and received a single assignment.

Eliezer’s sons were Rehabiah, first; Eliezer did not have any other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very numerous.

but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’

He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who is to build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father.

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand.

I know, my God, that You test the heart and that You are pleased with what is right. I have willingly given all these things with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.

Give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and to carry out all Your commands, Your decrees, and Your statutes, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.

And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great and faithful love to my father David, and You have made me king in his place.

Lord God, let Your promise to my father David now come true. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king,

I have now sent Huram-abi, a skillful man who has understanding.

He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your craftsmen and the craftsmen of my lord, your father David.

but I have built an exalted temple for You,
a place for Your residence forever.

“Since the day I brought My people Israel
out of the land of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that My name would be there,
and I have not chosen a man
to be ruler over My people Israel.

But I have chosen Jerusalem
so that My name will be there,
and I have chosen David
to be over My people Israel.”

However, Yahweh said to my father David,
“Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name,
you have done well to have this desire.

So Yahweh has fulfilled what He promised.
I have taken the place of my father David
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised.
I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

I have put the ark there,
where Yahweh’s covenant is
that He made with the Israelites.

You have kept what You promised
to Your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him,
and You fulfilled Your promise by Your power,
as it is today.

Therefore, Lord God of Israel,
keep what You promised
to Your servant, my father David:
“You will never fail to have a man
to sit before Me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons guard their way to walk in My Law
as you have walked before Me.”

But will God indeed live on earth with man?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You,
much less this temple I have built.

If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against You,
and they return to You and praise Your name,
and they pray and plead for mercy
before You in this temple,

When the skies are shut and there is no rain
because they have sinned against You,
and they pray toward this place
and praise Your name,
and they turn from their sins
because You are afflicting them,

whatever prayer or petition
anyone from your people Israel might have—
each man knowing his own affliction and suffering,
and spreading out his hands toward this temple—

may You hear in heaven in Your dwelling place,
and do all the foreigner asks You.
Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name,
to fear You as Your people Israel do
and know that this temple I have built
is called by Your name.

When Your people go out to fight against their enemies,
wherever You send them,
and they pray to You
in the direction of this city You have chosen
and the temple that I have built for Your name,

and when they come to their senses
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition You in their captors’ land,
saying: “We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”

and when they return to You with their whole mind and heart
in the land of their captivity where they were taken captive,
and when they pray in the direction of their land
that You gave their ancestors,
and the city You have chosen,
and toward the temple I have built for Your name,

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:

I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a temple of sacrifice.

And I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My name may be there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there at all times.

As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances,

I will establish your royal throne, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man ruling in Israel.

However, if you turn away and abandon My statutes and My commands that I have set before you and if you go and serve other gods and worship them,

then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for My name I will banish from My presence; I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered the king:

What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, each man to your tent;
David, look after your own house now!

So all Israel went to their tents.

Then Shemaiah the prophet went to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them: “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have abandoned Me; therefore, I have abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.’”

When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the Lord’s message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will grant them a little deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

“And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the Lord’s kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David’s sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

“But as for us, Yahweh is our God. We have not abandoned Him; the priests ministering to the Lord are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites serve at their tasks.

They offer a burnt offering and fragrant incense to the Lord every morning and every evening, and they set the rows of the bread of the Presence on the ceremonially clean table. They light the lamps of the gold lampstand every evening. We are carrying out the requirements of Yahweh our God, while you have abandoned Him.

Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God: “Lord, there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on You, and in Your name we have come against this large army. Yahweh, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder You.”

“There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.”