However, the priests of the high places were not allowed to go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem [to serve], but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover to the Lord was kept in Jerusalem.

In his days Pharaoh Neco (Necho) king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates [to help him fight Nabopolassar the king of Babylon]. King Josiah went out to meet him, but Pharaoh killed Josiah at Megiddo when he saw him.

Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt, where he died.

Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money as Pharaoh commanded. He collected the silver and gold from the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

But the captain of the bodyguard left some of the unimportant and poorest people of the land to be vineyard workers and farmers.

But in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family [who had a claim to be governor], came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah and the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

But Geshur and Aram took from them Havvoth-jair, with Kenath and its villages, sixty towns in all. All these were the sons (descendants) of Machir, the father of Gilead.

Sheshan had no sons—only daughters. But Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha.

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; but his mother named him Jabez, saying, “Because I gave birth to him in pain.”

Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many sons, neither did all their family multiply like the sons of Judah.

Now [we come to] the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—for Reuben was the eldest, but because he defiled his father’s bed [with Bilhah his father’s concubine], his birthright was given to [Manasseh and Ephraim] the sons of Joseph [the favorite] son of Israel, so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright.

But [the line of] Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense, ministering for all the work of the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place), and [they did so] to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses, God’s servant, had commanded.

but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

for these Levites, the four chief gatekeepers, had an official duty, and were in charge of the chambers and treasuries of the house of God.

Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised [Philistines] will come and abuse and humiliate me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

Then the Jebusites said to David, “You shall not come in here.” But David captured the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).

Then the three [mighty men] broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which was next to the gate, and brought it to David. But David would not drink it; he poured it out to the Lord [as an offering];

He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to [the rank of] the [first] three. David appointed him over his bodyguard.

David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no violence or wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on [what you are doing] and punish [you].”

Some [of the men] of Manasseh also defected to David when he came with the Philistines to go to battle against Saul. But David’s men did not [actually] assist the Philistines, for the lords (governors) of the Philistines after consultation sent him away, saying, “At the cost of our heads he may defect to his master Saul.”

of the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000 in military service who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped David, men with an undivided heart.

So David did not bring the ark with him to the City of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God except the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.”

When you were few in number,
Even a very few, and strangers in it,

For all the gods of the peoples are [lifeless] idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.

As David sat in his house (palace), he said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I live in a house of cedars, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.”

for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought Israel up [from Egypt] until this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another.

But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forevermore.”’”

David took from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers (infantrymen). David also hamstrung [nearly] all the chariot horses [to make them lame and useless], but left enough of them for 100 chariots.

But the leaders of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Do you think that David has sent people to console and comfort you because he honors your father? Have his servants not come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?”

He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you.

But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, and put to death Shophach the commander of the army.

Then it happened at the end of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led out the army and ravaged and devastated the land of the Ammonites, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem [with Bathsheba]. Joab struck Rabbah and overthrew it.

Joab said, “May the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this? Why will he bring guilt on Israel?”

But the king’s word prevailed over Joab. So Joab left and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem.

But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, because the king’s order was detestable to Joab.

Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. But now, I beseech You, take away the wickedness and guilt of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded the people to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done evil; but as for these sheep [the people of Israel], what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

But King David said to Ornan, “No, I will certainly pay the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.”

But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.

But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My Name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before me.

Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons [not enough for a father’s house or clan], so they were [counted together] as one father’s household, one working group.

But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were counted among the tribe of Levi.

The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very many [in number].

Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, and their relatives, the sons of Kish, took them as wives.

For their duty is to assist [the priests] the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in [caring for] the courtyards, the chambers, the purifying of all holy things, and any work of the service of the house of God,

But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no sons; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.

But David did not count those twenty years of age and under, for the Lord had said he would multiply Israel as the stars of heaven.

Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census but did not finish; and because of this, [God’s] wrath came on Israel, and the number was not recorded in the chronicles of King David.

But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My Name (Presence), because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’

“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and minds, and understands every intent and inclination of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will reject you forever.

And King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man but for the Lord God.

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.

But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.

God replied to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart and you did not ask for riches, possessions or honor and personal glory, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself so that you may rule and administer justice to My people over whom I have made you king,

But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and [even] the highest heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I to build a house for Him, except [as a place] to burn incense before Him?

He also made ten [portable] basins in which to wash, and he put five on the right (south) side and five on the left (north). They would rinse things for the burnt offering in them, but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.

The poles were so long that the ends of the poles of the ark were visible from the front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary), but were not visible from the outside. They are there to this day.

but I have chosen Jerusalem that My Name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will be born to you, he shall build the house for My Name.’

“But will God actually dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!

“Also in regard to the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty power and Your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this house,

“But if you [people] turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and you go and serve other gods and worship them,

but were descendants of those who were left in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed—Solomon brought them up as forced laborers to this day.

But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were men of war, his chief captains, and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen.

but I did not believe the reports until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told to me; you have surpassed the report that I heard.

But the king rejected the advice which the elders gave him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him [as advisers].

The young men who grew up with him told him, “Tell the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us’: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!

Now my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, but I will add [more weight] to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions (extremely painful scourges).’”

He spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”

But as for the Israelites who lived in Judah’s cities, Rehoboam ruled over them.

Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the Israelites stoned him and he died. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his [royal] chariot to escape to Jerusalem.

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

When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of a remnant [that escapes]; and My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak.

But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned (turned away from) Him. The sons of Aaron are ministering to the Lord as priests, and the Levites attend to their service.

Every morning and every evening they offer the burnt offerings and the fragrant incense to the Lord; and the showbread is set on the clean table [of pure gold], and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God [that is, the obligation we have to Him], but you have abandoned (turned away from) Him.

But Jeroboam had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them.

But Abijah became powerful. He took fourteen wives for himself and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him, as your soul’s first necessity], He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will abandon (turn away from) you.

But when they were in their trouble and distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and [in desperation earnestly] sought Him, and He let them find Him.

In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, for great suffering came on all the inhabitants of the lands.

But the high places [of pagan worship] were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa developed a disease in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his illness he did not seek the Lord, but [relied only on] the physicians.

but sought the God of his father, and walked in (obeyed) His commandments, and did not act as Israel did.

Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and was allied by marriage with Ahab.

But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord still here by whom we may inquire?”

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he never prophesies [anything] good for me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so [perhaps this time it will be different].”

But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I will [only] speak what my God says.”

Then the king said to him, “How many times must I warn you (make you swear an oath) to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good in regard to me, but [only] evil?”

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and will go into battle, but you put on your [royal] robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle.

Now the king of Aram (Syria) had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or the great, but only with the king of Israel.”

So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat [of Judah], they said, “It is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat called out [for God’s help], and the Lord helped him; and God diverted them away from him.

But there are some good things found in you, for you have removed the Asherim (idols) from the land and you have set your heart to seek God [with all your soul’s desire].”

and he said to the judges, “Be careful what you do, for you do not judge for man, but for the Lord who is with you in the matter of judgment.

O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless against this great multitude which is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

He said, “Listen carefully, all [you people of] Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says this to you: ‘Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.