And the king stood on the dais, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart, and with all his soul, to establish the words of this covenant that are written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

And the king commanded Hilkijah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that had been made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of the heavens; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.

And he abolished the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah, and the environs of Jerusalem; and them that burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might cause his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

And he abolished the horses that the kings of Judah had appointed to the sun at the entrance of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun, with fire.

And the king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, and he shattered them, removing them from thence, and cast the powder of them into the torrent of Kidron.

And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and burned the high place, stamped it small to powder, and burned the Asherah.

And Josiah turned himself, and saw the sepulchres that were there on the mount; and he sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Jehovah, that the man of God had proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

Then he said, What tombstone is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.

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

And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Jehovah to anger, Josiah removed, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.

And he sacrificed upon the altars all the priests of the high places that were there, and burned men's bones upon them. And he returned to Jerusalem.

For there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;

Moreover the necromancers and the soothsayers, and the teraphim and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah took away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkijah the priest had found in the house of Jehovah.

And before him there had been no king like him that turned to Jehovah with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there his like.

And the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.

And Pharaoh-Nechoh had him bound at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and laid a tribute upon the land of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.

Verily, at the commandment of Jehovah it came to pass against Judah, that they should be removed out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done;

and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Jehovah would not pardon.

And the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the torrent of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father had done.

At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

And he brought out thence 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 that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had said.

And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built turrets against it round about.

And all the army of the Chaldeans that were with the captain of the body-guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

And Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard carried away captive the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the deserters that had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.

And the brazen pillars that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the brass thereof to Babylon.

And the censers and the bowls, that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, the captain of the body-guard took away.

And out of the city he took a chamberlain that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, who were found in the city, and the scribe of the captain of the host, who enrolled the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land that were found in the city.

And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left behind, over them he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.

And all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, and they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.

And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah.

And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;

and he spoke kindly to him, and set his seat above the seat of the kings that were with him in Babylon.

And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned a king over the children of Israel: Bela the son of Beor; and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

and the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez: the Tireathites, the Shimeathites, the Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh that thou wouldest richly bless me, and enlarge my border, and that thy hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God brought about what he had requested.

These were the potters, and those that abode among plantations and enclosures: there they dwelt with the king for his work.

and all their villages that were round about these cities, as far as Baal. These were their habitations and their genealogical register.

And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their stead; for there was pasture there for their flocks.

and they smote the rest of the Amalekites that had escaped; and they dwelt there unto this day.

and they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them; for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them, because they put their trust in him.

and Johanan begot Azariah (he is it that exercised the priesthood in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem);

And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of Jehovah after that the ark was in rest.

And these are they that attended, and their sons: Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,

And Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt-offering, and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

And to the children of Kohath that remained were given by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim and of the tribe of Dan and of the half tribe, half Manasseh, ten cities.

and out of the half tribe of Manasseh: Aner and its suburbs, and Bileam and its suburbs, for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

To the children of Merari that remained were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono and its suburbs, and Tabor and its suburbs;

And the inhabitants that were first in their possessions in their cities were the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.

And Mattithiah of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was in trust over the things that were made in the pans.

And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died.

And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

And it came to pass the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his sons fallen on mount Gilboa.

And when all they of Jabesh-Gilead heard of all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

Even aforetime, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel; and Jehovah thy God said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over my people Israel.

And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate!

And he said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing! should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? for at the risk of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, great in exploits, of Kabzeel: he it was that smote two lions of Moab; and he went down and smote a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.

Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he kept still close because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in the conflict;

These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it overflows all its banks, and they put to flight all them of the valleys, toward the east and toward the west.

As he went away to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh: Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zilthai, captains of the thousands that were of Manasseh.

The children of Judah that bore shield and spear were six thousand eight hundred, equipped for military service.

and those too that were near them, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought food on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen; provisions of meal, fig-cakes and raisin-cakes, and wine and oil, and oxen and sheep, abundantly; for there was joy in Israel.

And David said to all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good to you, and it be of Jehovah our God, let us send abroad to our brethren everywhere, that are left in all the lands of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves to us;

And all the congregation said that they should do so; for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

And David was indignant; for Jehovah had made a breach upon Uzza; and he called that place Perez-Uzza to this day.

And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God to me?

And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And Jehovah blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that he had.

And David perceived that Jehovah had established him king over Israel, for his kingdom was highly exalted, because of his people Israel.

And the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, and all the Philistines went up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went out against them.

And they came up to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there; and David said, God has broken in upon mine enemies by my hand, as the breaking forth of waters. Therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle; for God will have gone forth before thee to smite the army of the Philistines.

And David assembled all Israel to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Jehovah to its place that he had prepared for it.

and he said to them, Ye are the chief fathers of the Levites; hallow yourselves, ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of Jehovah the God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it.

For because ye did it not at the first, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.

And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren, the singers, with instruments of music, lutes, and harps, and cymbals, that they should sound aloud, lifting up the voice with joy.

And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, that they sacrificed seven bullocks and seven rams.

And David was clothed with a robe of byssus, and all the Levites that bore the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah chief of the music of the singers; and David had upon him a linen ephod.

And it came to pass as the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked through a window, and saw king David dancing and playing; and she despised him in her heart.

And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had spread for it; and they presented burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God.

Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to give thanks to Jehovah through Asaph and his brethren.

Glory in his holy name: Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.

Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; Let the field exult, and all that is therein.

And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of Jehovah in the high place that was at Gibeon,

to offer up burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of burnt-offering continually, morning and evening, and according to all that is written in the law of Jehovah, which he commanded Israel;

and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to Jehovah, because his loving-kindness endureth for ever;

and with them, with Heman and Jeduthun, trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud; and the musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate.

And it came to pass as David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah under curtains.

And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.

And it came to pass that night that the word of God came to Nathan saying,

for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day; but I have been from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth.

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness waste them any more, as formerly,

and since the days that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I will subdue all thine enemies; and I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house.