He said to Judah, Let us make these towns, building walls round them with towers and doors and locks. The land is still ours, because we have been true to the Lord our God; we have been true to him and he has given us rest on every side. So they went on building and all went well for them.

Sometime later, Zerah the Ethiopian went to war against him at Mareshah with an army of one million troops and 300 chariots.

And Asa went out before him, and a battle was put in order in the valley of Zepah at Mareshah.

So the Lord sent fear on the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah; and the Ethiopians went in flight.

And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods.

And they made an attack on the tents of the owners of the cattle, and took away great numbers of sheep and camels and went back to Jerusalem.

So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you.

In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa, Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah in order to deny access to anyone—going or coming—to Judah’s King Asa.

So Asa went to rest with his fathers, and death came to him in the forty-first year of his rule.

And Jehovah will be with Jehoshaphat, for he went in the first ways of David his father, and he sought not for the Baals.

For to the God of his father he sought, and in his commands he went, and not according to the works of Israel.

His heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord; and he went so far as to take away the high places and the wood pillars out of Judah.

They taught throughout Judah, having the book of the Lord’s instruction with them. They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people.

And so it came to pass that, Jehoshaphat, went on waxing surpassingly great, - and he built, throughout Judah, fortresses and cities for store;

Then after some years, he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab sacrificed many sheep and cattle for him and for the people who were with him. Then he persuaded him to march up to Ramoth-gilead,

And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let your word therefore, I pray you, be like one of theirs, and speak you good.

So he went to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war, or should I refrain?”

Micaiah said, “March up and succeed, for they will be handed over to you.”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto you?

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put you on your robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle.

Now when the captains of the war-carriages saw that he was not the king of Israel, they went back from going after him.

And the battle went on that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in the chariot facing Aram until the evening. And he died at the time of the going down of the sun.

And Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went back to his house in Jerusalem in peace.

And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should you help the wicked, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath came upon you from the LORD.

And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers.

Then Jehoshaphat, in his fear, went to the Lord for directions, and gave orders all through Judah for the people to go without food.

Then Jehoshaphat went down with his face to the earth, and all Judah and the people of Jerusalem gave worship to the Lord, falling down before him.

And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper.

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endures forever.

Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to gather the plunder. They found among them an abundance of goods on the bodies and valuable items. So they stripped them until nobody could carry any more. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.

Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem went back, with Jehoshaphat at their head, coming back to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them glad over their haters.

He went in the ways of his father Asa, not turning away, but doing right in the eyes of the Lord.

And Jehoshaphat went to rest with his fathers, and his body was put into the earth in the town of David. And Jehoram his son became king in his place.

He went in the ways of the kings of Israel, and did as the family of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Then Jehoram went forth with his officers, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots.

So they went to war against Judah and invaded it. They carried off all the possessions found in the king’s palace and also his sons and wives; not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

And it happened as days and as the time went out, at the end of two years, his bowels fell out because of his sickness. And he died of painful diseases. And his people made no burning for him like the burning of his fathers.

Thirty-two years old, was he when he began to reign, and, eight years, reigned he in Jerusalem, - and went his way - unregretted, and, though they buried him in the city of David, yet, not in the sepulchres of the kings.

Also he went in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was counseling him to do evil.

He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram.

And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick.

And the downfall of Ahaziah was of God by his coming to Joram: for when he had come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

And he went in search of Ahaziah; and when they came where he was, (for he was in a secret place in Samaria,) they took him to Jehu and put him to death; then they put his body to rest in the earth, for they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, whose heart was true to the Lord. So the family of Ahaziah had no power to keep the kingdom.

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

Everybody went to Jerusalem, and the whole group made a covenant with the king in God's Temple, where Jehoiada addressed them:

And the Levites and all Judah did in all things as Jehoiada the priest commanded, and took every man his men: both them that came in and them that went out the Sabbath day: for Jehoiada the priest did let none of the companies depart.

When Athaliah heard the noise from the troops, the guards, and those praising the king, she went to the troops in the Lord’s temple.

And Jehoiada the priest went out with the captains of hundreds that were appointed to govern the host and said to them, "Have her out without the arrays and whosoever followeth her, let him be slain with the sword." For the priest said, "Slay her not in the house of the LORD."

So they arrested her, and she went by the entrance of the Horses’ Gate to the king’s palace, where they put her to death.

Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and broke it down, and broke its altars and its images in pieces, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

And he took the captains of hundreds and the nobles, and the governors of the people and all the folk of the land, and brought the king down out of the house of the LORD, and they went through the high gate in the king's house, and set the king upon the seat of the kingdom.

Whenever the Levites brought the chest to the royal accountant and they saw there was a lot of silver, the royal scribe and the accountant of the high priest emptied the chest and then took it back to its place. They went through this routine every day and collected a large amount of silver.

So the workmen worked, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands, and they set up the house of God in its state, and strengthened it.

Now after the death of Jehoiada, the chiefs of Judah came and went down on their faces before the king. Then the king gave ear to them.

At the turn of the year, an Aramean army went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people among them and sent all the plunder to the king of Damascus.

So Amaziah, separating the armed band which had come to him from Ephraim, sent them back again; which made them very angry with Judah, and they went back burning with wrath.

And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and killed of the children of Seir ten thousand.

And Joash, king of Israel, sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, The thorn-tree in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son for a wife: and a beast from the woodland in Lebanon went by, crushing the thorn under his feet.

But Amaziah would not listen, for this turn of events was from God in order to hand them over to their enemies because they went after the gods of Edom.

So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they looked one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

And Judah was overcome before Israel, and they went in flight, every man to his tent.

He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in God's temple that were in the care of Obed-Edom, the riches in the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.

Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, went on living for fifteen years after the death of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.

Now from the time when Amaziah gave up worshipping the Lord, they made secret designs against him in Jerusalem; and he went in flight to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him and put him to death there.

And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities around Ashdod, and among the Philistines.

And the Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah, and his fame went out to the boundary of Egypt, for he became {very strong}.

Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men, that went out to war by divisions, according to the number on their roll by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.

And he made siege machines in Jerusalem designed [by] skillful men to be [set] upon the towers and upon the corners to shoot arrows and large slingstones. And his fame went out far, for he helped marvelously, for he was strong.

But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men:

And Azariah, the chief priest, and all the priests, looking at him, saw the mark of the leper on his brow, and they sent him out quickly and he himself went out straight away, for the Lord's punishment had come on him.

So Uzziah went to rest with his fathers; and they put his body into the earth in the field used for the resting-place of the kings, for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son became king in his place.

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Uzziah had done; but he did not go into the Temple of the Lord. And the people still went on in their evil ways.

He went to war with the king of the children of Ammon and overcame them. That year, the children of Ammon gave him a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of grain and ten thousand measures of barley. And the children of Ammon gave him the same amount the second year and the third.

And Jotham went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body into the earth in the town of David; and Ahaz his son became king in his place.

But he went in the ways of the kings of Israel and made images of metal for the Baals.

But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage that reaches up unto heaven.

And those men who have been named went up and took the prisoners, clothing those among them who were uncovered, with things from the goods which had been taken in the war, and putting robes on them and shoes on their feet; and they gave them food and drink and oil for their bodies, and seating all the feeble among them on asses, they took them to Jericho, the town of palm-trees, to their people, and then went back to Samaria.

And Ahaz went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body into the earth in Jerusalem; but they did not put him in the resting-place of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

They gathered their brothers together, consecrated themselves, and went according to the king’s command by the words of the Lord to cleanse the Lord’s temple.

And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron.

Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all its utensils, and the showbread table, with all its utensils.

Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

And all the congregation worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this went on until the burnt offering was finished.

And thereto the burnt offerings were many with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings that belonged to the burnt offerings. And so the service pertaining to the house of the LORD went forward.

So the runners went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, You children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.

And the posts went from city to city throughout the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and even unto Zebulun. But they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.

And by the desire of all the people, the feast went on for another seven days, and they kept the seven days with joy.

And the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer went up unto his holy dwelling place heaven.

Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, and cut down the idol poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.

As soon as the king’s order spread, the Israelites gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, [olive] oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in the tithe of everything abundantly.

And to the males also that were reckoned from three years and above, among all that went into the house of the LORD day by day, to do service and to wait by course.

And for everything he undertook, in connection with the work of the house of God and his law and orders, he got directions from God and did it with serious purpose; and things went well for him.

And he went to lustily and built up the wall where it was broken, and made towers above upon, and yet another wall without, and repaired Millo the city of David, and made many darts and shields.

and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated every brave warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.

So Hezekiah went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body into the higher part of the resting-places of the sons of David: and all Judah and the people of Jerusalem gave him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son became king in his place.

For he went to and built again the hill altars which Hezekiah his father had broken down. And he reared up altars unto Baals and made groves and bowed himself unto all the host of heaven and served them.

And after this he built a wall outside the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and went around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. And he put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

So Manasseh went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body to rest in his house, and Amon his son became king in his place.