And a messenger came and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.

And it happened in the morning, he went out and stood, and said to all the people, You are righteous. Behold, I plotted against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?

And Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? And they answered, The brothers of Ahaziah. And we are going down to greet the king's sons and the queen's sons.

And he said, Take them alive! And they took them alive and killed them at the pit of the shearing-house, forty-two men. And he left not a man of them.

And he left there and found Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it is, give your hand. And he gave his hand. And he took him up to him into the chariot.

And he said, Come with me and see my zeal for Jehovah. And they made him ride in his chariot.

And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu shall serve him much.

And Jehu said, Call a solemn feast for Baal. And they called it.

And he said to him who was over the robe-room, Bring out robes for all the worshipers of Baal. And he brought them out for them.

And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal. And he said to the servants of Baal, Search and look, that there may not be here with you any of the servants of Jehovah, but only the servants of Baal.

And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. And Jehu had appointed eighty men outside, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, his life shall be for the life of him.

And it happened when he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the commanders, Go in. Kill them! Do not let any come out! And they struck them with the edge of the sword. And the guard and the commanders threw them out. And they went to the city, to the house of Baal.

And Jehovah said to him, Jehu, because you have done well in doing the right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.

And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown and the testimony on him. And they made him king and anointed him, and clapped their hands and said, Let the king live!

And Jehoiada the priest commanded the rulers of the hundreds, those set over the army, and said to them, Take her out between the ranks, and let the one who follows her kill her with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of Jehovah.

And Joash said to the priests, All the silver from things dedicated to God, which is brought into the house of Jehovah, the silver from each man the silver of his valuation, all the silver that comes into any man's heart to bring to the house of Jehovah,

Then King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the priests, and said to them, Why are you not repairing the breaks of the house? And now take no silver from those you know, but deliver it for the breaks of the house.

And Elisha had fallen sick with his illness in which he died. And Jehoash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over his face. And he said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen of it!

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

And he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand on the bow. And he placed his hand. And Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.

And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened. And Elisha said, Shoot! And he shot. And he said, The arrow of Jehovah's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria. For you shall strike the Syrians in Aphek until it is finished.

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

And the man of God was angry with him, and said, You should have stricken five or six times, then you would have stricken Syria until it was finished. But now you shall strike Syria three times.

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

until Jehovah turned away Israel from His face, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria until this day.

And the chief of the cupbearers said to them, Speak now to Hezekiah, So says the great king, the king of Assyria, What hope is this in which you trust?

But if you say to me, We trust in Jehovah our God, is He not the one 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?

Have I now come up against this place to destroy it without Jehovah? Jehovah said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah said to the chief of the cupbearers, Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand. And do not talk with us in Jewish, in the ears of the people who are on the wall.

And the chief of the cupbearers said to them, Has my master sent me to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?

And they said to him, So says Hezekiah, This is a day of trouble and of rebuke and contempt. For the sons have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring forth.

And Isaiah said to them, You shall say to your master, So says Jehovah, Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

And when he heard it said of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he has come out to fight against you, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,

And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah and said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubs, You are God Himself, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth.

You have mocked Jehovah by your messengers, 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 its tall cedar trees, its choice fir trees. And I will enter into the lodgings of its borders, its densest forest;

In those days Hezekiah was sick to death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, So says Jehovah, 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 said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that Jehovah will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of Jehovah the third day?

And Isaiah said, This will be the sign from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing which He has spoken. Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?

And Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say? And from where did they come to you? And Hezekiah said, They have come from a far country, from Babylon.

And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures which I have not shown to them.

And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the Word of Jehovah .

And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the Word of Jehovah which you have spoken. And he said, Is it not good if peace and truth are in my days?

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

And he set a graven image of the Asherah which he had made in the house, of which Jehovah had 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, I will put My name forever.

And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the Book of the Law in the house of Jehovah. 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 silver that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workers, who have the oversight of the house of Jehovah.

And she said to them, So says Jehovah, the God of Israel, Tell the man who sent you to me,

And he said, What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.

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

And Jehovah said, I will also remove Judah 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 Jehovah, 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 Jehovah, as Jehovah had said.

And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, Do not fear to be the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

And Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword and pierce me with it, lest these uncircumcised ones come and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was very much afraid. So Saul took a sword and fell on it.

And also in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel. And Jehovah your God said to you, You shall feed My people Israel, and you shall be ruler over My people Israel.

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

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

And David longed and said, Oh that someone would give me drink from the water of the well of Bethlehem, which was by the gate!

And he said, May my God forbid me to do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in danger? For they brought it with their lives. And he was not willing to drink it. These three mighty ones did these things.

And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, If you have come to me in peace, to help me, my heart shall be knit to you. But if you come to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, let the God of our fathers look on it and rebuke it.

And the Spirit came on Amasai, chief of the Thirty. And he said, We are yours, David, and on your side, son of Jesse. Peace, peace be on you, and peace on your helpers. For your God has helped you. And David received them and made them captains of the band.

And David said to all the congregation of Israel, If it is good to you, and if it has broken forth from Jehovah our God, let us send to our brothers, those remaining in all the lands of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites in their cities that they be gathered to us.

And all the congregation said to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

And David asked of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will You deliver them into my hand? And Jehovah said to him, Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.

And they came up to Baal-perazim. And David struck them there. Then David said, God has broken in on my enemies by my hand like the breaking forth of waters. Therefore they called the name of that place The Breaking of Baal.

And David asked again of God. And God said to him, Do not go up after them. Turn away from them, and come on them over against the weeping trees.

Then David said, No one ought to carry the ark of God except the Levites, for God has chosen them to carry the ark of God, and to minister to Him forever.

And he said to them, You are the heads of the fathers of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of Jehovah, the God of Israel to the place which I have prepared for it.

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

And it happened as David sat in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is under curtains.

And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.

And David the king came and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, O, Jehovah God, and what is my house, that You have brought me here?

And now, O Jehovah, let the thing which 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 to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun, in order to comfort him.

But the rulers of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, Is David honoring your father in your eyes, because he has sent comforters to you? Have not his servants come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?

And some came and told David how the men were treated. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Stay 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 sons 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 to Dan. And bring the number of them to me so that I may know.

And David said to God, I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. But now, I beseech You, remove the iniquity of Your servant for I have done very foolishly.

And Gad came to David and said to him, So says Jehovah, Choose for yourself:

And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Let me fall now into the hand of Jehovah, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.

And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. And as he was destroying, Jehovah looked. And He repented of the evil and said to the angel who destroyed, Enough! Stay your hand now! And the angel of Jehovah stood by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David said to God, Did not I command to number the people? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed. But these sheep, what have they done? I pray You, let Your hand be on me, O Jehovah my God, 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 threshing-floor, so that I may build an altar in it to Jehovah. You shall give it to me for the full price, so that the plague may be stayed from the people.

And Ornan said to David, Take for yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Lo, I give the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the food offering. I give it all.

And King David said to Ornan, No, but I will truly buy it for the full silver. For I will not take what is yours for Jehovah, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.

Then David said, This is the house of Jehovah 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 to be built for Jehovah is to be highly magnificent, for a name and for beauty to all the lands. I will now prepare for it. And 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 to the name of Jehovah my God.

Now, my son, may Jehovah be with you and bless you, and build the house of Jehovah your God as He has said of you.

For David said, Jehovah, the God of Israel has given rest to His people so that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever,

But David did not take the number of those from twenty years old and under, because Jehovah had said He would increase Israel like the stars of the heavens.

And David the king stood up on his feet and said, Hear me, my brothers and my people. 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 to 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 to me, Solomon your son shall build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father.

And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it. Do not fear, nor be dismayed, for Jehovah God, my God, will be with you. He will not fail you nor leave you until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of Jehovah.

And David the king said to all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great. For the palace is not for man, but for Jehovah God.

And David blessed Jehovah before all the congregation. And David said, Blessed are You, Jehovah, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

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

In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, Ask what I shall give you.