And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.

And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.

And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men outside, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that lets him go, his life shall be for the life of him.

And it came to pass, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they struck them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.

And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because you have done well in executing that which is right in my eyes, and have done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.

And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.

But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said unto them, Take her forth outside with the ranks: and he that follows her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.

And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of everyone that is in the census, the money that every man is assessed, and all the money that comes into any man's heart to bring into the house of the LORD,

Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair you not the damages of the house? now therefore take no more money of your acquaintances, but deliver it to repair the damages of the house.

Now Elisha had fallen sick of his sickness of which he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.

And he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands.

And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for you shall smite the Syrians in Aphek, till you have consumed them.

And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Strike the ground. And he struck three times, and stopped.

And the man of God was angry with him, and said, You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria till you had consumed it: whereas now you shall strike down Syria but three times.

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.

For they served idols, of which the LORD had said unto them, You shall not do this thing.

Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak you now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this in which you trust?

But if you say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and Jerusalem, You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?

Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray you, to your servants in the Aramaic language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

But Rab-shakeh said unto them, Has my master sent me to your master, and to you, to speak these words? has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, that they may eat and drink their own waste with you?

And they said unto him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring them forth.

And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall you say to your master, Thus says the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.

By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, and have said, With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the extremity of its borders, and into the forest of its Carmel.

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, } Thus says the LORD, { Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live.

And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

And Hezekiah had said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?

And Isaiah said, This sign shall you have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from where came they unto you? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.

And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.

And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.

Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which you have spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?

And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.

And he set a graven image of the idol pole that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever:

And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.

And she said unto them, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,

Then he said, What gravestone is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulcher of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Beth-el.

And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.

And Gedaliah swore to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.

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

And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, you were he that led out and brought in Israel: and the LORD your God said unto you, You shall feed my people Israel, and you shall be ruler over my people Israel.

And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, You shall not come here. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is the city of David.

And David said, Whosoever smites the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.

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

And said, My God forbid 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 mighty men.

And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If you are come peaceably unto me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you: but if you are come to betray me to my enemies, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look on it, and rebuke it.

Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Yours we are, David, and on your side, you son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto you, and peace be to your helpers; for your God helps you. Then David received them, and made them captains of his troop.

And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seems good unto you, and that it is of the LORD our God, let us send out unto our brethren everywhere, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and pasture lands, that they may gather themselves unto us:

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

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

So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David defeated them there. Then David said, God has broken in upon my enemies by my hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

Therefore David inquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them opposite the balsam trees.

Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them has the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him forever.

And said unto them, You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites: Sanctify yourselves, both you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel forever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remains under curtains.

Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in your heart; for God is with you.

And David the king came and sat before the LORD, and said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far?

Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have said.

And David said, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.

But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Think you that David does honor your father, that he has sent comforters unto you? are not his servants come unto you to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?

Then there went certain, and told David how the men were treated. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Remain at Jericho until your beards are grown, and then return.

And he said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me: but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you.

And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech you, take away the iniquity of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.

So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus says the LORD, Choose you

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.

And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he relented of the disaster, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, restrain now your hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let your hand, I pray you, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on your people, that they should be plagued.

Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar on it unto the LORD: you shall give it to me for the full price: that the plague may be averted from the people.

And Ornan said unto David, Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give you the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal offering; I give it all.

And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will indeed buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.

Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.

And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God:

Now, my son, the LORD be with you; and prosper you, and build the house of the LORD your God, as he has said of you.

Moreover four thousand were gatekeepers; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, for praise.

For David said, The LORD God of Israel has given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever:

But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like the stars of the heavens.

Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:

But God said unto me, You shall not build a house for my name, because you have been a man of war, and have shed blood.

And he said unto me, Solomon your son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this plan.

And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.

Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be you, LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshiped the LORD, and the king.

In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give you.

And Solomon said unto God, You have shown great mercy unto David my father, and have made me to reign in his stead.

And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of your enemies, neither yet have asked long life; but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge my people, over whom I have made you king:

Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build a house for the LORD, and a house for his kingdom.

Then said Solomon, The LORD has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has with his hands fulfilled that which he spoke with his mouth to my father David, saying,

But the LORD said to David my father, Since it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well in that it was in your heart: