And Micaiah said, As LORD lives, what my God says, that will I speak.

And when he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.

And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of LORD?

And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And LORD said, These have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?

And [Micaiah] said, Therefore hear ye the word of LORD. I saw LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing at his right hand and at his left.

And LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spoke saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

And there came forth a spirit, and stood before LORD, and said, I will entice him. And LORD said to him, With what?

And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shall entice him, and shall also prevail. Go forth, and do so.

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way did the Spirit of LORD go from me to speak to thee?

And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shall see on that day when thou shall go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

And the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son,

And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, LORD has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, ye peoples, all of you.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle.

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned around to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out. And LORD helped him, and God moved them

And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. Therefore he said to the driver of the chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army. For I am severely wounded.

And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should thou help the wicked, and love those who hate LORD? For this thing wrath is upon thee from before LORD.

and said to the judges, Consider what ye do. For ye judge not for man, but for LORD, and [he is] with you in the judgment.

And he said, O LORD, the God of our fathers, are thou not God in heaven? And are thou not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee.

And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat. Thus says LORD to you, Fear ye not, neither be dismayed because of this great multitude. For the battle is not yours, but God's.

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 ye inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in LORD your God, so shall ye be establ

And he sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria). And they brought him to Jehu, and killed him. And they buried him, for they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought LORD with all his heart. And the

And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as LORD has spoken concerning the sons of David.

Then they brought out the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and [gave him] the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him. And they said, Live, O king.

And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, Have her forth between the ranks. And whoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword, for the priest said, Do not slay

And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather money from all Israel to repair the house of your God from year to year. And see that ye hasten the matter. However t

And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said to him, Why have thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of LORD, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent

And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest. And he stood above the people, and said to them, Thus says God, Why do ye transgress the commandments of LORD, so that ye cannot prosper? Because ye have for

Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. And when he died, he said, LORD look upon it, and require it.

And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, LORD is able to give thee much more than this.

Therefore the anger of LORD was kindled against Amaziah. And he sent a prophet to him, who said to him, Why have thou sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of thy hand?

And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that [the king] said to him, Have we made thee of the king's counsel? Cease. Why should thou be smitten? Then the prophet ceased, and said, I know that God has determined to destroy thee,

And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, It does not pertain to thee, Uzziah, to burn incense to LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary. For thou have tre

So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings. For they said, He is a leper. And Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

But a prophet of LORD was there, whose name was Oded. And he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, Behold, because LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your han

and said to them, Ye shall not bring in the captives here. For ye propose that which will bring upon us a trespass against LORD, to add to our sins and to our trespass. For our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against I

For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which smote him. And he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, [therefore] I will sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Isr

and said to them, Hear me, ye Levites. Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within [the palace], and said, We have cleansed all the house of LORD, and the altar of burnt-offering with all the vessels of it, and the table of showbread with all the vessels of it.

Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to LORD. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of LORD. And the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and as many as were

And Azariah the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, Since they began to bring the oblations into the house of LORD, we have eaten and had enough, and have plenty left. For LORD has blessed his people, and th

And he built altars in the house of LORD, of which LORD said, In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.

And he set the graven image of the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God 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

And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

And she said to them, Thus says LORD, the God of Israel: Tell ye the man who sent you to me,

And he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built. There shall no more be a burden upon your shoulders. Now serve LORD your Go

And the archers shot at king Josiah. And the king said to his servants, Remove me, for I am severely wounded.

And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers, and said to them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God, as ye do, and we sacrifice to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria who brought us up here.

But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers of Israel, said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God, but we ourselves together will build to LORD, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus

At the same time Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, came to them, and said thus to them, Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?

Then we asked those elders, and said to them thus: Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?

And he said to him, Take these vessels. Go put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.

And I said to them, Ye are holy to LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering to LORD, the God of your fathers.

and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.

And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land. Yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this th

And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have trespassed, and have married foreign women to increase the guilt of Israel.

Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, As thou have said concerning us, so must we do.

And they said to me, The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. Also the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates of it are burned with fire.

and said, I beseech thee, O LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments:

And the king said to me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid.

And I said to the king, Let the king live forever. Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lays waste, and the gates of it are consumed with fire?

Then the king said to me, For what do thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

And I said to the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it.

And the king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall thy journey be? And when will thou return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time.

Moreover I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given to me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through till I come to Judah,

Then I said to them, Ye see the evil condition that we are in, how Jerusalem lays waste, and the gates of it are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach.

And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good [work].

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king?

Then I answered them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us. Therefore we his servants will arise and build, but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rub

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox goes up he shall break down their stone wall.

And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens has become feeble, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall.

And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.

And it came to pass that, when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times, From all places from where ye shall return to us they will be upon you.

And I looked, and rose up, and said to the ranking men, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them. Remember LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters

And I said to the ranking men, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

Likewise at the same time I said to the people, Let each with his servant lodge within Jerusalem that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day.

For there were who said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain that we may eat and live.

There were some also who said, We are mortgaging our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain because of the dearth.

There were also who said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute [upon] our fields and our vineyards.

Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the ranking men and the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact usury, everyone of his brother. And I held a great assembly against them.

And I said to them, According to our ability we have redeemed our brothers the Jews, who were sold to the nations, and would ye even sell your brothers, and should they be sold to us? Then they were silent, and found not a word.

Also I said, The thing that ye do is not good. Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?

Then they said, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them, so will we do, even as thou say. Then I called the priests, and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.

Also I shook out my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, who does not perform this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen, and praised LORD. And th

And I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up, and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple. For they will come to

And I said, Should such a man as I flee? And who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

And I said to them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot, and while they stand [on guard], let them shut the doors, and bar ye them. And appoint watchmen of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his wat

And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard th

Then he said to them, Go your way, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our LORD; neither be ye grieved, for the joy of LORD is your strength.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. And blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted abo

Yea, when they had made a molten calf for them, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations,

Their sons thou also multiplied as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land concerning which thou said to their fathers that they should go in to possess it.

Then I contended with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place.

Then I contended with the ranking men of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day?

Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why do ye lodge around the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth they came no more on the Sabbath.

Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king's manner toward all who knew law and judgment,

Then the king's servants who ministered to him said, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king.