And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.

He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

Thou hast, smitten, Edom, and, thy heart, would lift thee up, - Glory, and stay at home! Wherefore, then, shouldest thou contend with misfortune, and fall, thou, and Judah with thee?

But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah.

And he took all the gold and silver and all the vessels which were in the house of the Lord and in the store-house of the king, together with those whose lives would be the price of broken faith, and went back to Samaria.

And all the people of Judah took Azariah, which was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.

Azariah built up Elat and restored it to Judah after the king had passed away.

He got back the old limits of Israel from the way into Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, as the Lord had said by his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet of Gath-hepher.

And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.

Then Menahem sent destruction on Tappuah and all the people in it, and its limits, from Tirzah, because they would not let him come in; and he had all the women who were with child cut open.

Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, so Menahem gave a thousand talents of silver to Pul so that his hand would be with him {to strengthen his hold on the kingdom}.

Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.

(At that time King Rezin of Syria recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. Syrians arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.)

Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great [new] altar, burn the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their grain offering and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on the new altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the [old] bronze altar shall be kept for me to use to examine the sacrifices.”

Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.

So the Lord would have nothing to do with all the offspring of Israel, and sent trouble on them, and gave them up into the hands of their attackers, till he had sent them away from before his face.)

Finally the Lord rejected Israel just as he had warned he would do through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day.

And they will say to the king of Assur, saying, The nations which thou carriedst into exile, and thou wilt set in the cities of Shomeron, knew not the judgment of the God of the land, and he will send among them lions, and behold them slaying them because they knew not the judgment of the God of the land.

So to this day they go on in their old ways, not worshipping the Lord or keeping his orders or his ways or the law and the rule which the Lord gave to the children of Jacob, to whom he gave the name Israel;

However, they would not listen but continued practicing their former customs.

Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.

Because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them.

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?

How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

Until I come and take you, into a land like your own land - A land of corn and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and honey, so shall ye live, and not die, - But do not hearken unto Hezekiah, for he would persuade you, saying, Yahweh, will deliver us!

And he will send Eliakim who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the old men of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos

O that the LORD thy God would hear all the words of Rabshakeh whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to rail on the living God, and to rebuke him with words which the LORD thy God hath heard. Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left."

Whom didst thou reproach and revile? and against whom didst thou lift up the voice, and thou wilt lift up thine eyes on high against the holy one of Israel?

By the hand of thy messengers thou didst reproach Jehovah, and thou wilt say, With the chariot of my horseman I came up upon the height of the mountains of the sides of Lebanon, and I said, I will cut off the height of the cedars and the chosen of its cypresses: and I will go in to the lodging-place of the extremity of the forest of its Carmel.

Hast thou not heard from afar, it I made, From days of old that I formed it? Now I have brought it in, And it becometh a desolation, Ruinous heaps are fenced cities,

This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.

I beseech thee, O Yahweh, remember, I pray thee, how I have walked before thee, in truth, and with a whole heart, and, that which is good in thine eyes, have I done! And Hezekiah wept aloud.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.

He built altars in the Lord’s temple, where the Lord had said, “Jerusalem is where I will put My name.”

But they would not hearken, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations that Jehovah had destroyed from before the children of Israel.

And I will stretch over Jerusalem the squaring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab. And I will wipe out Jerusalem, as a man would wipe a dish, and when he hath wiped it, turneth it upside down.

Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

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—

And the king will send and gather to him all the old men of Judah and Jerusalem.

The king went up to the Lord's temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord's temple.

He also defiled Topheth, which is located in the Ben-hinnom Valley, so that no one would force his son or daughter to pass through the fire in dedication to Molech.

Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

Pharaoah Neco placed him in custody at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem, and imposed a tribute of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold.

Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets.

And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

Nebuchadnezzar carried off from there all of the treasures of the LORD's Temple, along with the treasures in the king's palace. He cut into pieces all the gold vessels in the LORD's Temple that King Solomon of Israel had made, just as the LORD had said would happen.

Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these are the sons of Keturah.

And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub.

And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine.

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would indeed bless me and enlarge my border [property], and that Your hand would be with me, and You would keep me from evil so that it does not hurt me!” And God granted his request.

And Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who were rulers in Moab, and went back to Beth-lehem. And the records are very old.

And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old.

And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son,

And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle.

And the old inhabiters that dwelt in their own possessions and cities were Israel, the priests, Levites and Nethinims.

They would spend the night in their posts all around God's sanctuary, for they were assigned to guard it and would open it with the key every morning.

Some of them were in charge of the utensils used in worship. They would count them when they brought them in and when they took them out.

Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

And all the old men of Israel will come to the king to Hebron; and David will cut out to them a covenant in Hebron before Jehovah; and they will anoint David for king over Israel according to the word of Jehovah by the hand of Samuel.

He built the city around it, from the Millo (fortification) to the surrounding area; and Joab repaired the rest of the [old Jebusite] city.

And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate!

And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD,

And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.

And David went out to them, and said to them, If you have come in peace to give me help, my heart will be united with yours; but if you have come to give me up to those who would take my life, though my hands are clean from wrongdoing, then may the God of our fathers see it and give you punishment.

Some men from Manasseh joined David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (But in the end they did not help the Philistines because, after taking counsel, the Philistine lords sent David away, saying: "It would be disastrous for us if he deserts to his master Saul.")

And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

As a result, David would not take the ark into the City of David for it to be in his care. Instead, he took it to the home of Obed-edom the Gittite.

And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand.

And when they were come as far as Baalperazim, David beat them there. And David said, "God hath divided mine enemies with mine hand as a man would divide water." And therefore they called the name of the said place Baalperazim.

And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren the singers, with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up the voice with joy.

And the Levites wilt set up He-man son of Joel; and from his brethren, Asaph son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan son of Kushaiah;

So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed with cymbals of brass to sound aloud;

And David will be, and the old men of Israel and the chiefs of thousands, going to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from the house of Obed-Edom with joy.

Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding aloud with psalteries and harps.

Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with psalteries and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud;

He would not let anyone do them wrong; he even kept back kings because of them,

And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us and deliver us, from among the nations, - that we may give thanks unto thy holy name, that we may triumph aloud in thy praise.

and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.

and since the time I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and will bring under all thine enemies - for I told thee that the LORD would build thee a house.

and hast made this seem little in thine eyes, O God, in that thou hast spoken concerning the house of thy servant, for a great while to come? Thus wilt thou provide for me, according to the rank of manhood, and hast exalted me, O Yahweh God!

And thou wilt give thy people Israel to thee for a people even to forever; and thou, O Jehovah, wert to them for God.

For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.

And now, O Jehovah, thou thyself art God, and thou wilt speak concerning thy servant this goodness.

When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel's best men and deployed them against the Arameans.

And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and became his servants: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.

But Joab said, "May Yahweh add to the people a hundred times what they are! Are they not, O my lord the king, all of them the king's servants? Why does my lord seek this? Why would he bring guilt to Israel?"

So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Take which thou wilt:

And David will lift up his eyes and see the messenger of Jehovah standing between the earth and between the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand stretched forth over Jerusalem. And David will fall, and the old men being covered with sackcloth, upon their face.

"Now, my son, may the Lord be with you! May you succeed and build a temple for the Lord your God, just as he announced you would.

And behold in my affliction I prepared for the house of Jehovah, gold, a hundred thousand talents, and silver, a thousand thousand talents; and for brass and for iron, no weight; for it was for abundance: and woods and stones I prepared, and upon them thou wilt add.

So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.

These were the sons of Levi after their fathers houses, even the heads of the fathers houses of those of them that were counted, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from twenty years old and upward.