But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors, who had not trusted the Lord their God.

The king of Assyria was told, "The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land."

So the king of Assyria ordered, "Take back one of the priests whom you deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land."

So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. He taught them how to worship the Lord.

To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel.

Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him.

King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, "I have violated our treaty. If you leave, I will do whatever you demand." So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me?

Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him.

Perhaps you will tell me, 'We are trusting in the Lord our God.' But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.'

Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, "Speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don't speak with us in the Judahite dialect in the hearing of the people who are on the wall."

But the chief adviser said to them, "My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you."

Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?'"

Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.'"

"Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: 'Don't let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, "Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed -- the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar -- rescued by their gods?

Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: "Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth.

Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted, and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel!

Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.

Some of your very own descendants whom you father will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

He did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites.

But they did not obey, and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites.

So this is what the Lord God of Israel says, 'I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it.

The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.

Do not audit the foremen who disburse the silver, for they are honest."

and she said to them: "This is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'Say this to the man who sent you to me:

Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: "This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard:

He eliminated the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)

He also tore down the altar in Bethel at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust; including the Asherah pole.

When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought; he burned them on the altar and defiled it. This fulfilled the Lord's announcement made by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. King Josiah turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this.

He asked, "What is this grave marker I see?" The men from the city replied, "It's the grave of the prophet who came from Judah and foretold these very things you have done to the altar of Bethel."

He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land.

On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem.

Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen.

The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers.

From the city he took a eunuch who was in charge of the soldiers, five of the king's advisers who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens for military service, and sixty citizens from the people of the land who were discovered in the city.

Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah.

All of the officers of the Judahite army and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to govern. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite.

But in the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah, as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.

He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who established himself as a mighty warrior on earth.

Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines descended), and the Caphtorites.

The sons to whom Keturah, Abraham's concubine, gave birth: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.

These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: Bela son of Beor; the name of his city was Dinhabah.

The son of Carmi: Achan, who brought the disaster on Israel when he stole what was devoted to God.

When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur.

Segub was the father of Jair, who owned twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead.

Abishur's wife was Abihail, who bore him Ahban and Molid.

Shammai's son was Maon, who was the father of Beth-Zur.

and the clans of the scribes who lived in Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of Beth-Rechab.

These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel; the second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel;

and Koz, who was the father of Anub, Hazzobebah, and the clans of Aharhel the son of Harum.

Kelub, the brother of Shuhah, was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.

Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the father of those who live in Ge Harashim, who were craftsmen.

(His Judahite wife gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) These were the sons of Pharaoh's daughter Bithiah, whom Mered married.

Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, both of whom ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (This information is from ancient records.)

They were the potters who lived in Netaim and Gederah; they lived there and worked for the king.

These who are named above were the leaders of their clans. Their extended families increased greatly in numbers.

and his son Beerah, whom King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria carried into exile. Beerah was the tribal leader of Reuben.

The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men in their combined armies, warriors who carried shields and swords, were equipped with bows, and were trained for war.

But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and worshiped instead the gods of the native peoples whom God had destroyed before them.

Johanan was the father of Azariah, who served as a priest in the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem.

These are the ones who served along with their sons: From the Kohathites: Heman the musician, son of Joel, son of Samuel,

All these were the sons of Jediael. Listed in their genealogical records were 17,200 family leaders and warriors who were capable of marching out to battle.

The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, who was born to Manasseh's Aramean concubine. She also gave birth to Makir the father of Gilead.

Maacah, Makir's wife, gave birth to a son, whom she named Peresh. His brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rekem.

his son Zabad, his son Shuthelah (Ezer and Elead were killed by the men of Gath, who were natives of the land, when they went down to steal their cattle.

His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon, as well as Uzzen Sheerah),

The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel, who was the father of Birzaith.

All these were the descendants of Asher. They were the leaders of their families, the most capable men, who were warriors and served as head chiefs. There were 26,000 warriors listed in their genealogical records as capable of doing battle.

These were the descendants of Ehud who were leaders of the families living in Geba who were forced to move to Manahath:

Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, who moved them. Gera was the father of Uzzah and Ahihud.

The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono and Lod, as well as its surrounding towns),

The sons of Ulam were warriors who were adept archers. They had many sons and grandsons, a total of 150. All these were the descendants of Benjamin.

The settlers included: Uthai son of Ammihud, son of Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani, who was a descendant of Perez son of Judah.

Their relatives, who were leaders of their families, numbered 1,760. They were capable men who were assigned to carry out the various tasks of service in God's temple.

Obadiah son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived among the settlements of the Netophathites.

Their relatives, who lived in their settlements, came from time to time and served with them for seven-day periods.

The four head gatekeepers, who were Levites, were assigned to guard the storerooms and treasuries in God's sanctuary.

Some of them were in charge of the articles used by those who served; they counted them when they brought them in and when they brought them out.

The son of Jonathan: Meribbaal, who was the father of Micah.

When all the Israelites who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.

David's power steadily grew, for the Lord who commands armies was with him.

These were the leaders of David's warriors who helped establish and stabilize his rule over all Israel, in accordance with the Lord's word.

and said, "God forbid that I should do this! Should I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?" Because they risked their lives to bring it to him, he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors.

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a brave warrior from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab; he also went down and killed a lion inside a cistern on a snowy day.

He even killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall. The Egyptian had a spear as big as the crossbeam of a weaver's loom; Benaiah attacked him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who gained fame along with the three elite warriors.

These were the men who joined David in Ziklag, when he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish. (They were among the warriors who assisted him in battle.

Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, who were Korahites,

Some of the Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the desert. They were warriors who were trained for battle; they carried shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and could run as quickly as gazelles across the hills.

But a spirit empowered Amasai, the leader of the thirty warriors, and he said: "We are yours, O David! We support you, O son of Jesse! May you greatly prosper! May those who help you prosper! Indeed your God helps you!" So David accepted them and made them leaders of raiding bands.

When David went to Ziklag, the men of Manasseh who joined him were Adnach, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, leaders of a thousand soldiers each in the tribe of Manasseh.

The following is a record of the armed warriors who came with their leaders and joined David in Hebron in order to make David king in Saul's place, in accordance with the Lord's decree:

From Benjamin, Saul's tribe, there were 3,000, most of whom, up to that time, had been loyal to Saul.

From Ephraim there were 20,800 warriors, who had brought fame to their families.

From the half tribe of Manasseh there were 18,000 who had been designated by name to come and make David king.

From Zebulun there were 50,000 warriors who were prepared for battle, equipped with all kinds of weapons, and ready to give their undivided loyalty.

All these men were warriors who were ready to march. They came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel by acclamation; all the rest of the Israelites also were in agreement that David should become king.

David consulted with his military officers, including those who led groups of a thousand and those who led groups of a hundred.