And he looked for Ahaziah. And they caught him (for he was hidden in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. And when they had killed him, they buried him because they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat who looked to Jehovah with all his heart. And the house of Ahaziah had no power still to keep the kingdom.

And they went about in Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

But let none come into the house of Jehovah except the priests, and those of the Levites who minister. They shall go in, for they are holy. But all the people shall keep the watch of Jehovah.

And they brought out the king's son and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, Let the king live!

And they laid hands on her; and she came to the entrance of the Gate of the Horses, beside the king's house, and they executed her there.

And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people and between the king, that they should be Jehovah's people.

And all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down, and smashed his altars and his images. And they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

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 all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet after they had killed Athaliah with the sword.

For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, have broken up the house of God. And also all the dedicated things of the house of Jehovah they have given to Baals.

And the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of Jehovah.

And they gave a call in Judah and in Jerusalem, to bring in to Jehovah the collection that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness.

And it happened at the time the chest was brought into the king's office by the Levites, and when they saw that the silver was abundant, the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and carried it to its place again. So they did day by day, and gathered a great amount of silver.

And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Jehovah. And they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of Jehovah, and also artisans in iron and bronze, to mend the house of Jehovah.

And the workmen worked, and the work was completed by them, and they set the house of God in its proper state and made it strong.

And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the silver before the king and Jehoiada. Of this silver were made vessels for the house of Jehovah, vessels to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they continually offered burnt offerings in the house of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada.

And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward His house.

And they left the house of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and served Asherahs and idols. And wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.

Yet He sent prophets to them to bring them again to Jehovah. And they testified against them. But they would not listen.

And they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the command of the king in the court of the house of Jehovah.

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.

For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and Jehovah delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the God of the fathers. And they executed judgment against Joash.

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 as to his sons, and the greatness of the burdens on him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the Book of the Kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

And Amaziah separated them, the army that had come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again. And their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.

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.

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 went up. And they saw one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh of Judah.

And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel?

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 brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

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 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 slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial of the kings. For they said, He is a leper. And his son Jotham reigned in his place.

And the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And his son Ahaz reigned in his place.

And Jehovah his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. And they struck him and carried away a great captivity, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great slaughter.

And Pekah the son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all mighty men, because they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers.

And they said to them, You shall not bring the captives here. For we have offended Jehovah, and you intend to add to our sins and to our trespass. For our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.

And the men who were called by name rose up and took the captives and clothed all that were naked among them with the plunder, and dressed them, and shod them, and made them eat and drink, and anointed them, and led the feeble ones on asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers. And they returned to Samaria.

The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with its villages, and Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo and its villages. And they lived there.

For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who struck him. And he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.

And the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem. But they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel.

And they gathered their brothers and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the command of the king, by the words of Jehovah, to clean the house of Jehovah.

And the priests went into the inner part of the house of Jehovah to clean it. And they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it out to the torrent Kidron.

And they began to sanctify on the first of the first month. And on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of Jehovah. And they made the house of Jehovah pure in eight days, and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

And they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, We have cleaned all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and the showbread table, and all its vessels.

And we have prepared and sanctified all the vessels which King Ahaz in his reign cast away in his sin. And behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah.

And they brought seven bulls and seven rams and seven lambs and seven he-goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of Jehovah.

And they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. And they killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood on the altar.

And they brought out the he-goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation. And they laid their hands on them.

And the priest killed them, and they made atonement with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded the burnt offering and the sin offering to be made for all Israel.

And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.

And Hezekiah the king and the rulers commanded the Levites to sing praise to Jehovah with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings. And their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves. For the Levites were more upright of heart to make themselves pure than the priests.

And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to Jehovah, the God of Israel.

For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not made themselves pure enough, nor had the people gathered to Jerusalem.

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.

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.

And they arose and took away the altars in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense they took away, and threw them into the torrent Kidron.

And they killed the Passover on the fourteenth of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed and made themselves pure, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of Jehovah.

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.

And Hezekiah spoke comfortably to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of Jehovah. And they ate the appointed things seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to Jehovah, the God of their fathers.

And the whole gathering agreed to keep another seven days. And they kept another seven days with gladness.

And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites so that they might be strong in the Law of Jehovah.

And as the command spread, the sons of Israel brought plentifully of the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field. And the tithe of all things they brought in abundance.

And the sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to Jehovah their God, and laid it up by heaps.

In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished in the seventh month.

And Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, and they blessed Jehovah and His people Israel.

And Hezekiah commanded storehouses to be prepared in the house of Jehovah. And they prepared,

and to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation. For in their set office they set themselves apart in holiness.

he took counsel with his rulers and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains outside the city. And they helped him.

And they cried out with a loud voice in Jewish to the people of Jerusalem on the wall, in order to frighten them and to trouble them, so that they might take the city.

And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of the hands of man.

And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the highest of the tombs of the sons of David. And all Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh reigned in his place.

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.

And Jehovah spoke to Manasseh and to His people, but they would not listen.

And the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel;

and his prayer, and his entreaty, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places and set up Asherahs and graven images, before he was humbled, behold, they are written among the Matters of the Seers.

And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And his son Amon reigned in his place.

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 they put it in the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of Jehovah. And they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of Jehovah, to repair and mend the house.

They gave to the artisans and builders, to buy cut stone and timber for joints, and beams to build up the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

And when they brought out the silver that was brought into the house of Jehovah, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of Jehovah by Moses.

And Shaphan carried the Book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was given into the hands of your servants, they are doing.

And they poured out the silver that was found in the house of Jehovah, and delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.

And Hilkiah, and those of the king, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the robes. (And she lived in Jerusalem in the second part.) And they spoke to her about this.

So says Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil on this place and upon its people, all the curses that are written in the Book which they have read before the king of Judah,

because they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense to other gods, so that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. And My wrath shall be poured out on this place and shall not be quenched.

Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, nor shall your eyes see all the evil which I will bring on this place and upon its people. And they brought the king word again.

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 kept a Passover to Jehovah in Jerusalem. And they killed the passover lamb on the fourteenth of the first month.

And kill the passover lamb, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brothers so that they may do according to the Word of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.

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