three years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, (and the name of his mother is Michaiah daughter of Uriel, from Gibeah,) and war hath been between Abijah and Jeroboam.

And Abijah directeth the war with a force of mighty men of war, four hundred thousand chosen men, and Jeroboam hath set in array with him battle, with eight hundred thousand chosen men, mighty of valour.

'And there are gathered unto him vain men, sons of worthlessness, and they strengthen themselves against Rehoboam son of Solomon, and Rehoboam was a youth, and tender of heart, and hath not strengthened himself against them.

And now, ye are saying to strengthen yourselves before the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David, and ye are a numerous multitude, and with you calves of gold that Jeroboam hath made to you for gods.

As for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken Him, and priests are ministering to Jehovah, sons of Aaron and the Levites, in the work,

and are making perfume to Jehovah, burnt-offerings morning by morning, and evening by evening, and perfume of spices, and the arrangement of bread is on the pure table, and the candlestick of gold, and its lamps, to burn evening by evening, for we are keeping the charge of Jehovah our God, and ye -- ye have forsaken Him.

And lo, with us -- at our head -- is God, and His priests and trumpets of shouting to shout against you; O sons of Israel, do not fight with Jehovah, God of your fathers, for ye do not prosper.'

And Jeroboam hath brought round the ambush to come in from behind them, and they are before Judah, and the ambush is behind them.

And Judah turneth, and lo, against them is the battle, before and behind, and they cry to Jehovah, and the priests are blowing with trumpets,

And the sons of Israel are humbled at that time, and the sons of Judah are strong, for they have leant on Jehovah, God of their fathers.

and the rest of the matters of Abijah, and his ways, and his words, are written in the 'Inquiry' of the prophet Iddo.

And he buildeth cities of bulwarks in Judah, for the land hath quiet, and there is no war with him in these years, because Jehovah hath given rest to him.

And he saith to Judah, 'Let us build these cities, and compass them with wall, and towers, two-leaved doors, and bars, while the land is before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God, we have sought, and He giveth rest to us round about;' and they build and prosper.

And there is to Asa a force bearing target and spear, out of Judah three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin, bearing shield and treading bow, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these are mighty of valour.

and Asa goeth out before him, and they set battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

And Asa calleth unto Jehovah his God, and saith, 'Jehovah! it is nothing with Thee to help, between the mighty and those who have no power; help us, O Jehovah, our God, for on Thee we have leant, and in Thy name we have come against this multitude; O Jehovah, our God thou art; let him not prevail with Thee -- mortal man!

and Asa and the people who are with him pursue them even to Gerar, and there fall of the Cushim, for they have no preserving, because they have been broken before Jehovah, and before His camp; and they bear away very much spoil,

and he goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, 'Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah is with you -- in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you;

and many days are to Israel without a true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law,

and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles are on all the inhabitants of the lands,

and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.'

And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,

And war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa.

In the thirty and sixth year of the reign of Asa, come up hath Baasha king of Israel, against Judah, and buildeth Ramah, so as not to permit any going out and coming in to Asa king of Judah.

for Jehovah -- His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong for a people whose heart is perfect towards Him; thou hast been foolish concerning this, because -- henceforth there are with thee wars.'

And lo, the matters of Asa, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

And Asa is diseased -- in the thirty and ninth year of his reign -- in his feet, till his disease is excessive, and also in his disease he hath not sought Jehovah, but among physicians.

And Asa lieth with his fathers, and dieth in the forty and first year of his reign,

And in the third year of his reign he hath sent for his heads, for Ben-Hail, and for Obadiah, and for Zechariah, and for Nethaneel, and for Michaiah, to teach in cities of Judah,

And here is a fear of Jehovah on all kingdoms of the lands that are round about Judah, and they have not fought with Jehoshaphat;

and of the Philistines they are bringing in to Jehoshaphat a present, and tribute silver; also, the Arabians are bringing to him a flock, rams seven thousand an seven hundred, and he-goats seven thousand and seven hundred.

and he hath much work in cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty of valour, are in Jerusalem.

And these are their numbers, for the house of their fathers: Of Judah, heads of thousands, Adnah the head, and with him mighty ones of valour, three hundred chiefs.

These are those serving the king, apart from those whom the king put in the cities of fortress, in all Judah.

and goeth down at the end of certain years unto Ahab to Samaria, and Ahab sacrificeth for him sheep and oxen in abundance, and for the people who are with him, and persuadeth him to go up unto Ramoth-Gilead.

And the king of Israel gathereth the prophets, four hundred men, and saith unto them, 'Do we go unto Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or do I forbear?' And they say, 'Go up, and God doth give it into the hand of the king.'

And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah are sitting, each on his throne, clothed with garments, and they are sitting in a threshing-floor at the opening of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets are prophesying before them.

With these thou dost push Aram till thou hast consumed them.' And all the prophets are prophesying so, saying, 'Go up to Ramath-Gilead and prosper, and Jehovah hath given it into the hand of the king.'

And the messenger who hath gone to call for Micaiah hath spoken unto him, saying, 'Lo, the words of the prophets -- one mouth -- are good towards the king, and let, I pray thee, thy word be like one of theirs: and thou hast spoken good.'

And he cometh in unto the king, and the king saith unto him, 'Micaiah, do we go unto Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or do I forbear?' And he saith, 'Go ye up, and prosper, and they are given into your hand.'

And he saith, 'I have seen all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd, and Jehovah saith, There are no masters to these, they turn back each to his house in peace.'

And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah cometh nigh, and smiteth Micaiah on the cheek, and saith, 'Where is this -- the way the Spirit of Jehovah passed over from me to speak with thee?'

And the king of Aram hath commanded the heads of the charioteers whom he hath, saying, 'Ye do not fight with small or with great, except with the king of Israel by himself.'

and saith unto the judges, 'See what ye are doing -- for not for man do ye judge, but for Jehovah, who is with you in the matter of judgment;

and now, let fear of Jehovah be upon you, observe and do, for there is not with Jehovah our God perverseness, and acceptance of faces, and taking of a bribe.'

and any strife that cometh in unto you of your brethren who are dwelling in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and command, statutes, and judgments, then ye have warned them and they become not guilty before Jehovah, and wrath hath not been on you and on your brethren; thus do ye do, and ye are not guilty.

And, lo, Amariah the head priest is over you for every matter of Jehovah, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the house of Judah, is for every matter of the king, and officers the Levites are before you; be strong and do, and Jehovah is with the good.'

And they come in and declare to Jehoshaphat, saying, 'Come against thee hath a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram, and lo, they are in Hazezon-Tamar -- it is En-Gedi.'

and saith, 'O Jehovah, God of our fathers, art not Thou -- God in the heavens? yea, Thou art ruling over all kingdoms of the nations, and in Thy hand is power and might, and there is none with Thee to station himself.

'Art not Thou our God? Thou hast dispossessed the inhabitants of this land from before Thy people Israel, and dost give it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend to the age,

If evil doth come upon us -- sword, judgment, and pestilence, and famine -- we stand before this house, and before Thee, for Thy name is in this house, and cry unto Thee out of our distress, and Thou dost hear and save.

and lo, they are recompensing to us -- to come in to drive us out of Thy possession, that Thou hast caused us to possess.

O our God, dost Thou not execute judgment upon them? for there is no power in us before this great multitude that hath come against us, and we know not what we do, but on Thee are our eyes.'

And all Judah are standing before Jehovah, also their infants, their wives, and their sons.

and he saith, 'Attend, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and O king Jehoshaphat, Thus said Jehovah to you, Ye fear not, nor are afraid of the face of this great multitude, for not for you is the battle, but for God.

To-morrow, go ye down against them, lo, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and ye have found them in the end of the valley, the front of the wilderness of Jeruel.

And they rise early in the morning, and go out to the wilderness of Tekoa, and in their going out Jehoshaphat hath stood and saith, 'Hear me, O Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, remain stedfast in Jehovah your God, and be stedfast; remain stedfast in His prophets, and prosper.'

And at the time they have begun with singing and praise, Jehovah hath put ambushments against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who are coming in to Judah, and they are smitten,

And Judah hath come in unto the watch-tower, to the wilderness, and they look unto the multitude, and lo, they are carcases fallen to the earth, and there is none escaped,

and Jehoshaphat cometh in, and his people, to seize their spoil, and they find among them, in abundance, both goods and carcases, and desirable vessels, and they take spoil to themselves without prohibition, and they are three days seizing the spoil, for it is abundant.

And the rest of the matters of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, lo, they are written among the matters of Jehu son of Hanani, who hath been mentioned on the book of the kings of Israel.

and prophesy doth Eliezer son of Dodavah, of Mareshah, against Jehoshaphat, saying, 'For thy joining thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath broken up thy works;' and the ships are broken, and have not retained power to go unto Tarshish.

And he hath brethren, sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these are sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel,

and Jehoram passeth over with his heads, and all the chariots with him, and it cometh to pass, he hath risen by night and smiteth the Edomites who are coming round against him, and the princes of the chariots,

and thou dost walk in the way of the kings of Israel, and dost cause Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit whoredom like the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also thy brethren, the house of thy father, who are better than thyself, thou hast slain;

And Jehovah waketh up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, who are beside the Cushim,

A son of twenty and two years is Ahaziah in his reigning, and one year he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Athaliah daughter of Omri;

And Jehoshabeath daughter of the king taketh Joash son of Ahaziah, and stealeth him from the midst of the sons of the king who are put to death, and putteth him and his nurse into the inner part of the bed-chambers, and Jehoshabeath daughter of king Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she hath been sister of Ahaziah, hideth him from the face of Athaliah, and she hath not put him to death.

And in the seventh year hath Jehoiada strengthened himself, and taketh the heads of the hundreds, even Azariah son of Jeroham, and Ishmael son of Jehohanan, and Azariah son of Obed, and Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri, with him into covenant.

This is the thing that ye do: The third of you, going in on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, are for gatekeepers of the thresholds,

and the third are at the house of the king, and the third at the gate of the foundation, and all the people are in the courts of the house of Jehovah.

And none doth enter the house of Jehovah except the priests, and those ministering of the Levites (they go in for they are holy), and all the people keep the watch of Jehovah:

And Jehoiada the priest giveth to the heads of the hundreds the spears, and the shields, and the bucklers that are king David's, that are in the house of God;

And Athaliah heareth the voice of the people who are running, and who are praising the king, and she cometh in unto the people in the house of Jehovah,

and seeth, and lo, the king is standing by his pillar in the entrance, and the heads, and the trumpets are by the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and shouting with trumpets, and the singers with instruments of song, and the teachers, to praise, and Athaliah rendeth her garments, and saith, 'Conspiracy, conspiracy.'

and he gathereth the priests and the Levites, and saith to them, 'Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to strengthen the house of your God sufficiently year by year, and ye, ye do haste to the matter;' and the Levites have not hasted.

And the king and Jehoiada give it unto the doers of the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and they are hiring hewers and artificers to renew the house of Jehovah, and also -- to artificers in iron and brass to strengthen the house of Jehovah.

And at their completing it, they have brought in before the king and Jehoiada the rest of the money, and they make it vessels for the house of Jehovah, vessels of serving, and of offering up, and spoons, even vessels of gold and silver; and they are causing burnt-offerings to ascend in the house of Jehovah continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

And He sendeth among them prophets, to bring them back unto Jehovah, and they testify against them, and they have not given ear;

and the Spirit of God hath clothed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and he standeth over-against the people, and saith to them, 'Thus said God, Why are ye transgressing the commands of Jehovah, and prosper not? because ye have forsaken Jehovah -- He doth forsake you.'

And it cometh to pass, at the turn of the year, come up hath the force of Aram against him, and they come in unto Judah and Jerusalem, and destroy all the heads of the people from the people, and all their spoil they have sent to the king of Damascus,

And these are those conspiring against him, Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

As to his sons, and the greatness of the burden upon him, and the foundation of the house of God, lo, they are written on the 'Inquiry' of the book of the Kings; and reign doth Amaziah his son in his stead.

and taketh all the gold, and the silver, and all the vessels that are found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, and the treasures of the house of the king, and the sons of the pledges, and turneth back to Samaria.

and the rest of the matters of Amaziah, the first and the last, lo, are they not written on the books of the kings of Judah and Israel?

And God helpeth him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who are dwelling in Gur-Baal and the Mehunim.

And Uzziah hath a force, making war, going forth to the host, by troops, in the number of their reckoning by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Masseiah the officer, by the hand of Hananiah one of the heads of the king.

and they stand up against Uzziah the king, and say to him, 'Not for thee, O Uzziah, to make perfume to Jehovah, but for priests, sons of Aaron, who are sanctified to make perfume; go forth from the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed, and it is not to thee for honour from Jehovah God.'

And he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Uzziah his father did; only, he hath not come in unto the temple of Jehovah; and again are the people doing corruptly.

And he hath fought with the king of the sons of Ammon, and prevaileth over them, and the sons of Ammon give to him in that year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand cors of wheat, and of barley ten thousand; this have the sons of Ammon returned to him both in the second year, and in the third.

And the rest of the matters of Jotham, and all his battles, and his ways, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

And Pekah son of Remaliah slayeth in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day (the whole are sons of valour), because of their forsaking Jehovah, God of their fathers.

And there hath been there a prophet of Jehovah (Oded is his name), and he goeth out before the host that hath come in to Samaria, and saith to them, 'Lo, in the fury of Jehovah God of your fathers against Judah, He hath given them into your hand, and ye slay among them in rage -- unto the heavens it hath come;

and now, sons of Judah and Jerusalem ye are saying to subdue for men-servants and for maid-servants to you; but are there not with you causes of guilt before Jehovah your God?

and now, hear me, and send back the captives whom ye have taken captive of your brethren, for the heat of the anger of Jehovah is upon you.'

and say to them, 'Ye do not bring in the captives hither, for, to guilt against Jehovah on us, ye are saying to add unto our sin and unto our guilt? for abundant is the guilt we have, and the fierceness of anger on Israel.'

and he sacrificeth to the gods of Damascus -- those smiting him, and saith, 'Because the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, to them I sacrifice, and they help me,' and they have been to him to cause him to stumble, and to all Israel.

And the rest of his matters, and all his ways, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, hath opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and strengtheneth them,

And he saith to them, 'Hear me, O Levites, now, sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, God of your fathers, and bring out the impurity from the sanctuary,