So Joash the king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah the king of Judah {faced one another} at Beth-Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

And Judah was defeated before Israel, and each [man] fled to his tent.

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 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel, fifteen years.

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?

Now the remainder of the words of Jotham and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written upon the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah.

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

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 they said to them, "You shall not bring the captives here, for [it is] as guilt [against] Yahweh upon us. You yourselves plan to add to our sins and to our guilt, but our guilt is very great, and [there is] great anger against Israel."

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

He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, "Because the gods of the king of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me." But they were {a disaster} to him and to all Israel.

Now the remainder of his words and all his ways, [from] the first [to] the last, behold, they are written upon the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.

And Ahaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the burial site of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

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.

Now {it is in my heart} to {make} a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger might turn away from him.

And the priest killed them and offered their blood against the altar to make atonement for all Israel, for the king had commanded the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And at the time the burnt offering began, the song of Yahweh began, and also the trumpets, at the hands of [the] instruments of David king of Israel.

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.

So they let the decree stand, {to make a proclamation} throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, to come to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel.

And the runners went with the letter from the hand of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah according to the command of the king, saying, "O sons of Israel, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

And the whole assembly of Judah, the priests and the Levites, all the assembly who had come from the land of Israel, and those living in Judah rejoiced.

And there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing such as this in Jerusalem.

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 the people of Israel and Judah who were living in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tithe of cattle and sheep and a tithe of consecrated objects to Yahweh their God. And they gave heaps [upon] heaps.

When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed Yahweh and his people Israel.

And he wrote letters to treat Yahweh the God of Israel with contempt and spoke against him, saying, "As the gods of the nations of the earth who did not save their people from my hand, so likewise the God of Hezekiah will not save his people from my hand."

Now the remainder of the words of Hezekiah and his loyal love, behold, they are written in the visions of Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet, upon the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.

And he placed the carved image of the idol that 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 from all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.

And I will {never} remove the foot of Israel from upon the land that I appointed to your ancestors, if only you will take care to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the regulations, and the judgments by the hand of Moses."

And he restored the altar of Yahweh and offered sacrifices of peace offerings and thank offerings upon it. And he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Now the remainder of the words of Manasseh and his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they [are] in the words of the kings of Israel.

he broke down the altars and the Asherahs and crushed the idols, grinding [them] to dust, and he cut down all the incense stands in all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

And they came to Hilkiah the high priest and gave the money that was brought for the house of God, which the Levites, the guardians of the threshold, had gathered from the hand of Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the whole remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

"Go! Seek Yahweh on my behalf and on behalf of those remaining in Israel and Judah concerning the words of the scroll that was found, for the anger of Yahweh that [was] poured out on us [is] great, because our ancestors have not kept the word of Yahweh, to do all that is written in this scroll."

And she said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: 'Say to the man who sent you all to me:

But to the king of Judah who sent you to seek Yahweh, thus shall you say to him: 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: [As for] the words which you heard,

And Josiah removed all the detestable things from the whole land that belonged to the {Israelites} and obligated all who were found in Israel to serve Yahweh their God. All his days they did not turn aside from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

And he said to the Levites who [were] teaching all Israel, who were sanctified to Yahweh, "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. There is no [need] to carry it on [your] shoulders. Now serve Yahweh your God and his people Israel.

And prepare yourselves according to {your families}, according to your working groups, according to the decree of David king of Israel and according to the decree of Solomon his son.

And there was no Passover like it kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. And none of the kings of Israel kept a Passover like that which Josiah and the priests and the Levites, and all of Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, kept.

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.

and his words, [from] the first [to] the last, behold, they are written in the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah.

Now the remainder of the words of Jehoiakim and the detestable things that he did and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Whoever among you [who is] from all of his people, may his God be with him and may he go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may he build the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is the God who [is] in Jerusalem.

They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

Now these were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they were not able to prove their fathers' household and their descent, if they were from Israel:

The priests, the Levites, and some of the people lived [in Jerusalem], and the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants [lived] in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

And Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his brothers the priests stood up, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers built the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

And the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Yahweh, and the priests [in their] apparel with the trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with the cymbals, were positioned to praise Yahweh, {as described by} King David of Israel.

And they {sang responsively}, with praising and thanksgiving to Yahweh [saying], "For he is good, for his loyal love is everlasting for Israel." And all of the people responded with a great shout of joyful acclaim in praise to Yahweh because the house of Yahweh was laid.

Now the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the {returned exiles} [were] building a temple for Yahweh the God of Israel.

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the {families} of Israel said to them, "[It is] not for you but for us to build a house for our God. For we ourselves alone will build [it] for Yahweh the God of Israel, just as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us."

Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in {Judah} and in Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

And this is the answer they returned to us: 'We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the house that was built formerly many years ago, [which] a great king of Israel had built and finished.

So the elders of the Jews were building and prospering, through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building by the command of the God of Israel and by the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.

And they offered during the dedication of this house of God one hundred young bulls, two hundred young rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering for Israel [according to] the number of the tribes of Israel.

The {Israelites} who returned from the exile and all those who separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the earth to seek Yahweh the God of Israel, ate.

With joy they celebrated the festival of unleavened bread [for] seven days, because Yahweh had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them in order to help them with the work of their hands on the house of the God of Israel.

this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Yahweh the God of Israel gave. The king granted him all his requests, for the hand of Yahweh was upon him.

For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, to do [it], and to teach the regulations and judgments in Israel.

This is the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the scroll of the words of the commands of Yahweh and his statutes for Israel:

I issue forth a decree that any of the people of Israel, their priests, or their Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem may go with you.

Also, bring the silver and gold that the king and his advisors have freely offered to the God of Israel whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

and who extended to me loyal love before the king and his counselors, and before all of the mighty officials of the king. I took courage, for the hand of Yahweh my God was upon me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

With the good hand of our God before us, they brought us a man of understanding from the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel--Sherebiah and his sons and brothers, eighteen [in total].

Then I weighed out to them silver and gold and the vessels, the offering of the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his commanders, and all of Israel who was present offered.

Guard and look after [them] until you weigh [them] before the chief priests, the Levites, and the heads of the {families} of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chamber of the house of Yahweh."

The exiles that returned from captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel; twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve goats as a sin offering. All was a burnt offering to Yahweh.

After finishing these things the officials approached me saying, "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated from the people of the lands with their detestable things, and from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the sin of the returned exiles were gathered around me and I sat appalled until the evening offering.

Yahweh, God of Israel, you are righteous, for we have been left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this."

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children from Israel gathered to him. And the people wept bitterly.

Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, "We ourselves have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, and even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.

Then Ezra stood up and made the chief priests, Levites, and all of Israel swear to do according to what was said. So they swore this oath.

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have broke faith and married foreign women, increasing the guilt of Israel.

And from Israel, the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.

These came with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

These were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they were not able to prove their ancestral houses or their descent, whether they were from Israel:

So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel settled in their cities. When the seventh month came, the {Israelites} [were] in their cities.

All of the people gathered as one to the public square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that Yahweh had commanded Israel.

Those of the seed of Israel separated themselves from all of the foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.

for the rows of bread, the offering of the daily sacrifice, the continual [burnt] sacrifice, the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, the appointed [festival] times, the holy objects, the sin offerings that make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

These are the heads of the province who lived in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judah each one lived on his property in their cities: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants.

And the remainder of Israel, the priests and the Levites, in all of the cities of Judah, each in his inheritance.

So all of Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily food portions of the singers and gatekeepers. And they set apart [that which was for] the Levites, and the Levites set apart [that which was for] the descendants of Aaron.

So it happened when they heard the law that they separated all of the foreign people from Israel.

Did not your ancestors do this also, and our God brought on us all of this disaster and on this city [too]? Now you are adding fierce wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath!"

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin.

{Oh that from Zion} [would come] salvation [for] Israel! When Yahweh returns the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be happy.

Yet you [are] holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

You who revere Yahweh, praise him! Glorify him, all [you] seed of Jacob, and be in awe of him, all [you] seed of Israel,

O God, redeem Israel from all its troubles.

Blessed [be] Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you. I am God, your God.

{Oh, that from Zion} would come salvation [for] Israel! When God returns the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

And you, Yahweh, God [of] hosts, [are] the God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations. Do not be gracious to any [who] treacherously plot evil. Selah

[the] earth shook; [the] heavens also dripped [rain] at the presence of God who [was] at Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Bless God in [the] assemblies, Yahweh from the fountain of Israel.

Ascribe strength to God. His majesty [is] over Israel, and his strength [is] in the clouds.