And they drew out the staves so that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle. But they were not seen outside. And there it is until this day.

From the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt I have not chosen any city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, so that My name might be there. Nor have I chosen any man to be a ruler over My people Israel.

And You will listen to the cries of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, which they shall pray toward this place, and You will hear from Your dwelling place, from Heaven, and shall hear and forgive.

then hear from Heaven, and do, and judge Your servants by repaying the wicked, by bringing his way back on his own head, and by justifying the righteous, by giving to him according to his righteousness.

then hear from Heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them again into the land which You give to them and to their fathers.

When the heavens shall be shut up, and there is no rain because they have sinned against You; if they pray toward this place, and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

then hear from Heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, when You have taught them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

then hear from Heaven, Your dwelling-place, and forgive, and give to every man according to all his ways, whose heart You know. For You only know the hearts of the sons of men.

And also to the stranger who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your great name's sake, and Your mighty hand, and Your stretched out arm, if they come and pray in this house;

then hear from Heaven, from Your dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calls to You for, so that all people of the earth may know Your name, and fear You, as Your people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

then hear from Heaven their prayer and their cry and maintain their cause.

then hear from Heaven, from Your dwelling-place, their prayer and their cries, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

And when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from Heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices. And the glory of Jehovah filled the house.

And at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath to the river of Egypt.

if My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

And they did not depart from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.

And Hiram sent ships to him by the hand of his servants, and servants who knew the sea. And they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took four hundred and fifty talents of gold from there, and brought them to King Solomon.

And Solomon told her all her questions. And there was nothing hidden from Solomon which he did not tell her.

And also the servants of Hiram, and the servants of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.

besides that from the traders, and that the merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

And he reigned over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

And it happened when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt where he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.

But he departed from the advice which the old men gave him and listened to the young men who were brought up with him, who stood before him.

And the king answered them roughly. And King Rehoboam departed from the advice of the old men,

And the king did not listen to the people, for the revolution was from God so that Jehovah might perform His Word which He spoke by the hand of Ahijah of Shiloh to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem and gathered a hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors from the house of Judah, to fight against Israel, so that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

So says Jehovah, You shall not go up nor fight against your brothers. Let every man return to his house. For this thing is done by Me. And they obeyed the words of Jehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

For the Levites left their open lands and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem. For Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priests' office to Jehovah.

And it happened when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had made himself strong, he departed from the Law of Jehovah, and all Israel with him.

And when he humbled himself, the wrath of Jehovah turned from him so that He would not destroy him altogether. And also things went well in Judah.

And Abijah pursued Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages, and Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.

And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim. And he renewed the altar of Jehovah before the porch of Jehovah.

And also as to Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen mother, because she had made an idol in a grove. And Asa cut down her idol and stamped it and burned it at the torrent Kidron.

And Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasures of the house of Jehovah and of the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,

A treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he may depart from me.

For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro in all the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. You have done foolishly in this; therefore from now on you shall have wars.

And from the Philistines they brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute. Also the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats.

And these were their numbers, for the house of their fathers from Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the chief, and with him were three hundred thousand mighty men of valor.

And from Benjamin was Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield.

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek. And he said, Which way did the Spirit of Jehovah go from me to speak to you?

For it happened when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.

And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. And he said to King Jehoshaphat, Should you help the ungodly and love those who hate Jehovah? And by this bring wrath on you from before Jehovah.

And Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back to Jehovah, the God of their fathers.

And whatever cause shall come to you from your brothers that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, you shall even warn them so that they do not sin against Jehovah, and wrath come on you and your brothers. Do this and you shall not sin.

And they came in and spoke to Jehoshaphat, saying, A great multitude has come against you from beyond the sea on this side of Syria. And behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.

And now, behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them,

And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and did not depart from it, doing the right in the sight of Jehovah.

In his days Edom revolted from under the rule of Judah, and made themselves a king.

And the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah until this day. The same time Libnah revolted from under his hand, because he had forsaken Jehovah, the God of his fathers.

And a writing came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, So says Jehovah, the God of David your father, Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

But Jehoshabeath the daughter of the king took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons who were killed. And she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. And Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah) hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him.

And he set all the people, each man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about.

And he took the commanders of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of Jehovah. And they came through the Upper Gate into the king's house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom.

And he gathered together the priests and the Levites and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather silver from all Israel to repair the house of your God from year to year. And see that you hasten the matter. And the Levites did not hasten it.

And it happened at the end of the year the army of Syria came up against him. And they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the rulers of the people from among the people, and sent all the plunder of them to the king of Damascus.

And when they had departed from him (for they left him in great diseases), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died. And they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

And Amaziah gathered Judah and made them commanders over thousands and commanders over hundreds, according to the houses of the fathers, for all Judah and Benjamin. And he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield.

And the sons of Judah carried away captive ten thousand alive, and brought them to the top of the rock, and threw them down from the top of the rock so they were all broken in pieces.

And the sons of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell on the cities of Judah from Samaria even to Beth-horon, and struck three thousand of them and took much plunder.

And it happened after Amaziah had come from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them and burned incense to them.

But Amaziah would not hear; for it was from God, so that He might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom.

And Jehoash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits.

And after the time that Amaziah turned away from following Jehovah, they made a plot against him in Jerusalem. And he fled to Lachish. But they sent to Lachish after him and killed him there.

And they withstood Uzziah the king and said to him, It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the temple, for you have sinned. Nor shall it be for your honor from Jehovah God.

And Uzziah was angry. And he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of Jehovah, from beside the incense altar.

And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked on him. And, behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they thrust him out from there. Yes, he himself hurried to go out also, because Jehovah had stricken him.

And Uzziah the king was a leper until the day of his death, and lived in a separate house a leper. For he was cut off from the house of Jehovah. And Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

And the sons of Israel carried away captive two hundred thousand of their brothers, women, and daughters, and also took away much plunder from them and brought the plunder to Samaria.

And certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them who came from the war.

For our fathers have sinned and did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah our God, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the house of Jehovah, and have turned their backs.

And it is in my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah, the God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.

And they established a decree to send a notice throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to Jehovah, the God of Israel at Jerusalem. For not many of them had done as it was written.

And the runners went with the letters from the king and his rulers to Israel and Judah, and according to the command of the king, saying, O sons of Israel, turn again to Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped out of the hands of the king of Assyria.

And do not be stiffnecked like your fathers. Yield yourselves to Jehovah and enter into His temple which He has sanctified forever. And serve Jehovah your God, so that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you.

For if you turn again to Jehovah, your brothers and your sons will have mercies before those who lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land. For Jehovah your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.

And the runners passed from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun. But they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.

However, men from Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

And they stood in their place in their manner, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood from the hand of the Levites.

For many of the people, many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not been cleansed, but ate the Passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, May the good LORD pardon everyone

And there was great joy in Jerusalem. For from the days of Solomon the son of David the king of Israel there was nothing like this in Jerusalem.

And the king's portion from his goods was for burnt offerings, and for burnt offerings of the morning and the evening, and the burnt offerings of the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the Law of Jehovah.

besides registering the males from three years and upward, to everyone who enters into the house of Jehovah, giving his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their divisions,

both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, and their charges by their divisions,

And Jehovah sent an angel to cut off all the mighty men of power, and the leaders and commanders in the camp of the king of Assyria. And he returned with shame of face to his own land. And he came into the house of his god, and those from his own bowels killed him there with the sword.

And Jehovah saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.

And many brought gifts to Jehovah to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from that time on.

Nor will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have set apart for your fathers; only if they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.

For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek after the God of David his father. And in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherahs, and the carved images, and the molten images.

And they broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence. And he cut down the images which were on high above them, and the Asherahs. And the carved images and the molten images he also broke in pieces and made dust from them, and scattered on the graves of the ones who had sacrificed to them.

And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and they delivered the silver that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin, and they returned to Jerusalem.

And the king went up into the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah, and the people of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people from the great to the small. And he read in their ears all the words of the Book of the Covenant that was found in the house of Jehovah.

And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the territories that belonged to the sons of Israel. And he made all that were present in Israel to serve, to serve Jehovah their God. All his days they did not depart from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers.

And Josiah gave to the people from the flock, lambs and kids, all for the Passover offerings, for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand oxen. These were from what the king owned.

And they killed the passover lamb, and the priests sprinkled from their hands, and the Levites skinned them.

And the singers, the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun, the king's seer. And the gatekeepers were at every gate. It was not for them to depart from their service; for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

And there was no Passover like that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet. Yea, none of the kings of Israel kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were found, and the people of Jerusalem.

But he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I do not come against you today, but against the house with which I have war. For God commanded me to make haste. You must cease from opposing God, who is with me, so that He does not destroy you.

But Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him. And he did not listen to the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

And he did the evil in the sight of Jehovah his God. He was not humbled before Jeremiah the prophet, from the mouth of Jehovah.

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