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 to the priests that were reckoned in the households of their fathers from twenty years and above, to wait when their courses came.

And to them that were reckoned throughout all their babes, wives, sons and daughters throughout all the congregation.

For to the fidelity of them did men commit their sanctified gifts. And thereto among the children of Aaron the priests were men named by name in the fields of the suburbs of all their cities, city by city, for to give portions to all the males of the priests and to all that were reckoned among the Levites.

And in all the works that he began in the service of the house of God, to seek his God after the law and commandment, that did he with all his heart, and prospered.

After these deeds and truth, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered into Judah, and pitched against the strong cities, and thought to draw them to him.

And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,

he took counsel with his captains and men of might, to stop the water of the fountains that were without the city - and they were content to help 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 he set Captains of war over the people and gathered them together unto the large street of the gate of the city and spake gently to them, saying,

With him is an arm of flesh: But with us is the LORD our God for to help us and to fight our battles!" And the people were well couraged with the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

After that Sennacherib king of Assyria sent of his servants to Jerusalem - he himself lying before Lachish, and all his kingdom with him - unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,

"Thus sayeth Sennacherib king of Assyria: Wherein do ye trust, O ye that are besieged in Jerusalem?

Hezekiah deceiveth you, to deliver you to death, hunger and thirst, saying, 'The LORD our God shall rid us out of the hand of the king of Assyria!'

Moreover, have ye not heard what I and my fathers have done unto the people of all lands? Were the gods of the people of other lands able to save their lands out of my hand?

Which of all the gods was it, of those nations that my fathers destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand?

Wherefore now let not Hezekiah deceive you, either persuade you of this fashion, nor yet believe him. For as no god among so many nations and kingdoms, was able to rid his people out of mine hand and the hands of my fathers: even so much less shall your God keep you out of mine hand!"

And thereto he wrote a letter to rail on the LORD God of Israel and spake therein, saying, "As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, no more shall the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand."

And they cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language, unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the walls, to fear them and to dismay them, that they might have taken the city.

But Hezekiah the king and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed concerning the thing and cried up to heaven.

Insomuch that many brought presents unto the LORD to Jerusalem and precious gifts to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.

But Hezekiah did not according to the courtesy showed him, for his heart arose: and therefore came there wrath upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

And the said Hezekiah stopped the upper water springs of Gihon and brought them down to the West side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

But when the ambassadors of the lords of Babylon were sent to him to enquire of the wonder that chanced in the land, God left him: to tempt him, that all that was in his heart might be known.

And then Hezekiah laid him to rest with his fathers, and they buried him in the highest sepulchre of the sons of David: and Judah and the inhabiters of Jerusalem did him worship at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

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 he made altars unto all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

And he burnt his children in fire in the valley of the sons of Hinnom. And he observed dismal days and occupied witchcraft and sorcery, and maintained workers with spirits and seers of fortunes: and wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to anger him withal.

And he put the carved Image of an Idol which he had made, in the house of God - Of which house, God said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house here in Jerusalem which I have chosen out of all the tribes, I will put my name forever,

and no more bring the seat of Israel from the land which I have ordained for your fathers; if so be, they shall be diligent to do all I have commanded by Moses in all the law ordinances and manners."

But Manasseh made Judah and the inhabiters of Jerusalem to err and to do worse than the heathen which the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

And when the LORD spake to Manasseh and to his people, they attended not to him.

Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the Captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh in a hold and bound him with chains and carried him to Babylon.

and made intercession to him: and he was entreated of him and heard his prayer and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. And then Manasseh knew how that the LORD was very God.

After that, he built a wall without the city of David on the west side of Gihon in the brook and so forth to the fish gate and round about Ophel, and brought it up of a very great height, and put captains of war in all the strong cities of Judah.

And he made an altar unto the LORD and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and charged Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.

The rest of the acts of Manasseh and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers of visions that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, are written among the deeds of the Kings of Israel.

And when Manasseh was laid to rest with his fathers, they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his room.

Amon was twenty two years old, when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.

And he did that displeased the LORD like unto Manasseh his father, for Amon sacrificed to all the carved Images which Manasseh his father made, and served them,

And he did that pleased the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, bowing neither to the righthand nor to the left.

Insomuch that the eighth year of his reign, when he was yet a lad, he began to seek after the God of David his father. And in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of hill altars, groves, carved Images, and Images of metal:

so that they brake down the altars of Baals even in his presence, and the Idols that were upon them he caused to be destroyed. And the groves, carved Images, and Images of metal he brake and made dust of them, and strawed it upon the graves of them that had offered to them.

And in the wildernesses of them round about he plucked asunder the altars and the groves and did beat them and stamp them to powder, and beat down the idols throughout all the land of Israel: and then returned to Jerusalem again.

And in the eighteenth year of his reign when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, men delivered them the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the entries had gathered of the hands of Manasseh and Ephraim and of all that yet remained in Israel and of all Judah and Benjamin and of the inhabiters of Jerusalem.

And they put it in the hands of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD. which gave it to the laborers that wrought on the house of the LORD, to repair and mend it,

and to masons and carpenters to buy hewed stone and timber for to make couples and beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed:

And the men wrought in the work of fidelity. And the overseers of them, to courage them forward, were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the children of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam of the children of the Kohathites; and as many other of the Levites as could skill of instruments of Music.

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

And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word again, saying, "All that was committed to thy servants, that do they:

"Go and enquire of the LORD for me and for them that are left in Israel and Judah concerning the words of the book that is found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is fallen upon us, because our fathers kept not the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book."

And Hilkiah, with them that pertained to the king, went to Huldah, a prophetess, wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe - which prophetess dwelt in Jerusalem in the second ward - and they communed so with her.

And she said unto them, "Thus sayeth the LORD God of Israel: 'Tell ye the man that sent you to me,

because they have forsaken me and have offered unto other gods to anger me with all manner works of their hands, therefore is my wrath set on fire against this place and shall not be quenched.

And as for the king of Judah, which sent you to enquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him: Thus sayeth the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard:

Behold, I will take thee to thy fathers and thou shalt be put in thy grave in peace, and thine eyes shall not see all the mischief that I will bring upon this place and upon the inhabiters of the same.'" And they brought the king word again.

And the king stood at his standing and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD and to keep his commandments, his witnesses and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul and to fulfill the words of the covenant written in the said book.

And he made to come forth all that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin, and the inhabiters of Jerusalem promised to keep the covenant of the God which was the God of their fathers.

And Josiah put away all manner of abominations out of all lands that pertained to the children of Israel, and brought all that were found in Israel, to serve the LORD their God. And they turned not aside from after the LORD God of their fathers as long as he lived.

And Josiah held the feast of Passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slew Passover in the fourteenth day of the first month.

And he said to the Levites that taught throughout all Israel and were sanctified unto the LORD, "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; ye need not to bear it upon your shoulders. Wherefore now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.

And prepare yourselves by your ancient households and companies, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and the writing of Solomon his son.

And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the ancient households of your brethren the children of the people, and after the division of the ancient households of the Levites,

and kill Passover; sanctify and prepare your brethren that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses."

And Josiah gave to the common people in lambs and kids, for Passover offerings only, unto all that were present thirty thousand by tally, and three thousand oxen; even of the king's substance.

And his lords gave willingly both unto the people and also unto the priests and unto the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for Passover offerings two thousand and six hundred lambs and kids, and three hundred oxen.

And they fetched away the burnt offerings, to give them unto the common people as they were divided by ancient houses, for to offer unto the LORD; like as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen too.

And the singers the children of Asaph stood in their standing according to the commandment of David and Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king's seer of visions: and the porters waited at every gate, and might not depart from their service. But their brethren the Levites prepared for them.

And so all the service of the LORD went forward the said day, in offering Passover of burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.

And there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel, from the time of Samuel the prophet: neither did any of the kings of Israel hold such a Passover feast as did Josiah and the priests and Levites and all Judah, and as much of Israel as could be had, and the inhabiters of Jerusalem.

After all this, when Josiah had finished the temple, Neco king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish upon Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him.

And the other sent messengers to him, saying, "What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I came not against thee now at this time, but against a house with whom I have war, and God bade me haste. Leave off therefore and meddle not with God, which is with me, lest he destroy thee."

Nevertheless, Josiah turned not his face from him, but made him ready to fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Neco out of the mouth of God. And when he was come to fight in the valley of Megiddo,

the shooters shot against the king Josiah. And the king said to his servants, "Carry me away for I am sore hurt."

And his servants had him out of the chariot and put him in another, and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the sepulchre of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

And Jeremiah lamented Josiah, and all singing men and singing women speak of Josiah to this day, and made it an ordinance in Israel: and they be written in lamentations.

And Jehoahaz was twenty three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king upon Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name unto Jehoiakim; but Jehoahaz his brother, Neco took and carried him to Egypt.

And Jehoiakim was twenty five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that displeased the LORD his God.

Against him came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon.

Thereto the king Nebuchadnezzar carried off the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon.

The rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his Abominations, and that was laid to his charge, are written in the book of the kings of Israel: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and did that displeased the LORD.

And when the year was out, king Nebuchadnezzar sent and fetched him to Babylon with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.

And Zedekiah was twenty one years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

And thereto he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar which had received an oath of him by God, and was too stiff necked and too hard hearted to turn unto the LORD God of Israel.

And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, sending them betimes: for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.

And all the vessels of the house of God both great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king and his lords he carried to Babylon, every whit.

And he carried away them that had escaped the sword to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his children, until the kingdom of Persia began to rule;

to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had her pleasure of her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath until she had fulfilled seventy years.

And the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to finish the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia that he made a proclamation throughout all this kingdom, and thereto to set it up in writing, saying,

"Thus sayeth Cyrus king of Persia: 'All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me, which hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem that is in the land of Judah. Wherefore, whosoever is among you of all his people, the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.'"

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he caused it to be proclaimed throughout all his empire, yea and by writing also, saying,

"Thus sayeth Cyrus the king of Persia: 'The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the land and hath commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.

Whosoever now among you is of his people, the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel. He is the God that is at Jerusalem.

Then gat up the principal fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, and all they whose spirit God had raised to go up, and to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem.

The children of Parosh, two thousand, a hundred, and two and seventy;

the children of Shephatiah, three hundred and two and seventy;

The children of Pahathmoab among the children of Jeshua Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve;