And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

Now the Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying,

therefore thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Lo, I am bringing in evil on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever heareth of it, tingle do his two ears.

Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.

Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.

Then Shaphan the scribe said to the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book; and he was reading it before the king.

And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,

Thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am bringing in evil unto this place and on its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah hath read,

And unto the king of Judah, who is sending you to seek Jehovah, thus do ye say unto him, Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, The words that thou hast heard --

because your heart was tender (receptive, penitent) and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I said against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,” declares the Lord.

And the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD that they should walk after the LORD, and keep his commandments and his witnesses and his ordinances with all their hearts and all their souls, and make good the words of the said covenant that were written in the foresaid book. And all the people consented to the covenant.

And he put down the Chemarims which the kings of Judah had set to burn offerings in the hill altars in the cities of Judah round about Jerusalem and also them that burnt sacrifices unto Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

And he made all the priests from the towns of Judah come into Jerusalem, and he made unclean the high places where the priests had been burning offerings, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he had the high places of the evil spirits pulled down which were by the doorway of Joshua, the ruler of the town, on the left side of the way into the town.

Nevertheless, the priests of the hill altars came not up at the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, save only they did eat of the sweet bread among their brethren.

He kept the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun from coming to the temple of Yawheh at the side room of Nathan-Melech the eunuch, which [was] in the court; and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire.

The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz's upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord's temple. He crushed them up and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley.

And the high places before Jerusalem, on the south side of the mountain of destruction, which Solomon, king of Israel, had made for Ashtoreth, the disgusting god of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the disgusting god of Moab, and for Milcom, the disgusting god of the children of Ammon, the king made unclean.

Then Josiah, turning round, saw on the mountain the places of the dead, and he sent and had the bones taken out of their places and burned on the altar, so making it unclean, as the Lord had said by the man of God when Jeroboam was in his place by the altar on that feast-day. And he, turning his eyes to the resting-place of the man of God who had given word of these things, said:

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

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

And also the necromancers, and the wizards and the family gods, and the blocks, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah took away in order to set up the words of the law written upon the book which Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah.

And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

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

And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh: howbeit, he taxed the land, to give the money at the commandment of Pharaoh and as every man was set at, so he required the silver and the gold of the people of the land, to give Pharaoh Neco.

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

And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldaeans and of the Edomites and of the Moabites and of the children of Ammon; sending them against Judah for its destruction, as he had said by his servants the prophets.

Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

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

At that time the armies of Nebuchadnezzar came up to Jerusalem and the town was shut in on every side.

And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.

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

For through the wrath of the LORD it so chanced to Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out of his sight. And the said Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign.

and set fire to the LORD's Temple, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He even incinerated the lavish homes.

And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:

But, as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left remaining, he set over them Gedaliah, son of Ahikam son of Shaphan.

And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.

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

And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;

The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez and said, “I gave birth to him in pain.”

and all their villages that were round about the said cities unto Baalathbeer. This is the habitation of them and their genealogy.

And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.

These who were recorded by name came in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, attacked the Hamites’ tents and the Meunites who were found there, and set them apart for destruction, as they are today. Then they settled in their place because there was pasture for their flocks.

And thereto there went of the said children of Simeon five hundred men - Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel the sons of Ishi being their heads -

To the east Bela settled as far as the entrance into the desert from the river Euphrates, because their cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead.

And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout the east side of Gilead.

And these Israelites, [on the east side of the Jordan River] made war with the Hagrites [a tribe of northern Arabia], Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.

And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest.

and that by Lot, out of the tribe of children of Judah out of the tribe of Simeon and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin: even the said cities that are rehearsed by name.

And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs,

And their possession and habitation was Bethel and the towns that belonged thereto, and unto the east of Naaran, and on the west side of Gezer with the towns thereof, and Shechem with the towns of the same, and Ayyah with her towns,

who until now was assigned to the king’s gate on the east side) they were the gatekeepers for the camp of the Levites.

And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent, and their fathers, set over the camp of Jehovah, were keepers of the entrance.

All these which were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office.

For these Levites, the four chief porters, were in their set office, and were over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God.

And of them were certain appointed to oversee the vessels and all holy ornaments, and of the flour, wine, oil, frankincense and sweet odours.

But certain of the sons of the priests were set to make sweet savours.

And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the set office over the things that were made in the pans.

And some of the sons of the Kohathites, their brethren, were over the loaves to be set in rows, to prepare them every sabbath.

Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

And they will set up his weapons in the house of their gods, and they fastened his skull in the house of Dagon.

all their brave men set out and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.

And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel.

So all the responsible men of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they put the holy oil on David and made him king over Israel, as the Lord had said by Samuel.

And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.

And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.

And he built the city on every side even from Mello round about. But Joab repaired the rest of the city.

Now these are the chief of David's men of war who were his strong supporters in the kingdom, and, with all Israel, made him king, as the Lord had said about Israel.

And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD saved them by a great deliverance.

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

And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.

Behold, he was honourable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard.

And they put to flight them of the valley both of the east side and also of the west. And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold of David.

And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it.

Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.

Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”

These are the numbers of the chiefs of the armed men, ready for war, who came to David at Hebron, to give the kingdom of Saul into his hands, as the Lord had said.

Of Zebulun, such as were able to go out in the host, that could set the battle in array, with all manner of instruments of war, fifty thousand, and that could order the battle array, and were not of double heart.

And of the Danites that could set the battle in array, twenty and eight thousand and six hundred.

And of Asher, such as were able to go out in the host, that could set the battle in array, forty thousand.

And on the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, an hundred and twenty thousand.

And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:

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

At Abinadab’s house they set the ark of God on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart.

And there he died before God. And David was displeased, because the LORD had rent a rent in Uzzah, and called the said place Perezuzzah unto this day.

David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home with me?”

And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand.

So they came up to Baalperazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baalperazim.

Therefore David inquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.

And David did as the Lord had said; and they overcame the army of the Philistines, attacking them from Gibeon as far as Gezer.

Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.

So the priests and descendants of Levi set themselves apart to carry the ark of the LORD God of Israel.