where they brought seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering on behalf of the kingdom, the Holy Place, and Judah. He ordered that the priests, as descendants of Aaron, place the offerings on the LORD's altar.

Hezekiah also sent word to all of Israel and Judah, and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh that they should come to the LORD's Temple in Jerusalem to observe the Passover to the LORD God of Israel.

Couriers were sent throughout all of Israel and Judah with letters written by the king and his princes, just as the king had commanded:

God also poured out his grace throughout Judah, giving them a dedicated heart to do what the king and princes had decreed according to the message from the LORD.

King Hezekiah of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes contributed 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep, and a large number of priests consecrated themselves.

Everyone in the assembly of Judah rejoiced, as did the priests, the descendants of Levi, and the people who gathered together from throughout Israel, including those who came from the land of Israel and those who lived in Judah.

At the conclusion of all of these activities, everybody in Israel who was in attendance traveled throughout the cities of Judah, broke down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, and broke down the high places and altars throughout the territories of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh until they had eliminated all of them. Then the people of Israel went back to their cities and back to their work.

The descendants of Israel and Judah who lived throughout the cities of Judah also brought tithes of cattle and sheep, as well as tithes of gifts that had been dedicated to the LORD their God.

Hezekiah did this throughout all of Judah, and he acted well, doing what the LORD his God considered to be right and true.

After all of these acts of faithfulness occurred, King Sennacherib of Assyria came, invaded Judah, and laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.

He only has the strength of his own flesh, but the LORD our God is with us to help us and to fight our battles." So the people were encouraged from what King Hezekiah of Judah told them.

After this, King Sennacherib of Assyria sent his messengers to Jerusalem while he was in the middle of a vigorous attack on Lachish. They delivered this message to King Hezekiah of Judah and to all the people of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem:

Isn't this the very same Hezekiah who removed this god's high places and altars? Isn't this the same Hezekiah who issued this order to Judah and Jerusalem: "You are to worship in front of only one altar and burn your sacrifices only on it."?

His spokesmen shouted these things out with loud voices in the language of Judah to frighten and terrify the people of Jerusalem who were stationed on the city walls, to make it easier to conquer the city.

Many brought gifts to the LORD in Jerusalem and brought presents to King Hezekiah of Judah. As a result, he was exalted in the opinion of all nations thereafter.

But Hezekiah's response wasn't commensurate with what had been done for him because he was arrogant in heart, so wrath came upon him, upon Judah, and upon Jerusalem.

Now the rest of Hezekiah's accomplishments and his faithful deeds are recorded in the vision of Amoz's son Isaiah the prophet, and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

Hezekiah died, as had his fathers, and they buried him in the upper part of the tombs of the descendants of David. All of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. But his son Manasseh reigned in his place.

This is how Manasseh deceived Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to practice more evil than the nations whom the LORD had eliminated in front of the Israelis.

He set up an altar to the LORD, sacrificed peace offerings on it, and ordered Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In the twelfth year of his reign, he began to remove the high places, Asherim, carved images, and cast images from Judah and Jerusalem.

He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, thus purging Judah and Jerusalem.

They approached Hilkiah the high priest and delivered to him the money that had been brought into God's Temple that the descendants of Levi and gatekeepers had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim, the surviving Israelis, Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

They, in turn, paid the carpenters and builders to purchase quarried stone and timber for binders and beams for the buildings that previous kings of Judah had let deteriorate.

"Go ask the LORD for me and for those who survive in Israel and in Judah about the words that we've read in this book that we found, because the wrath of the LORD that we deserve to have poured out on us is very great, since our ancestors haven't obeyed the command from the LORD that required us to do everything that is written in this book."

"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Tell the man who sent you to me, "This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention! I'm bringing evil to visit this place and its inhabitants every single curse written in the book that they've been reading to the King of Judah.

"Now tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the LORD about this: "This is what the LORD God of Israel says about what you've heard:

The king sent word to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

Then the king went up to the LORD's Temple, accompanied by the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and descendants of Levi, and everyone else from the most important to the least important, and he read out loud all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD's Temple.

There had not been a Passover celebration like it in Israel since Samuel the prophet was alive, nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated a Passover like Josiah did at that time with the priests, the descendants of Levi, everyone from Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

But he sent messengers to him, who asked him, "What do we have in common, King of Judah? I am not here today opposing you. I am fighting the dynasty that is fighting me, and God has ordered me to hurry. For your own good, stop interfering with God, who is with me, and he won't destroy you!"

So his servants removed him from the chariot he was in and carried him away in a backup chariot that he had and took him back to Jerusalem, where he died and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All of Judah and Jerusalem went into mourning for Josiah.

and his other activities from first to last, are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

King Neco of Egypt installed Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim as king over Judah and Jerusalem, changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim, and took his brother Joahaz back to Egypt.

The rest of Jehoiakim's accomplishments along with the detestable things that he did that were recorded in his disfavor are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin became king to replace him.

At the beginning of the next year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, along with valuable articles from the LORD's Temple, and he installed Jehoiachin's relative Zedekiah as king over Judah and Jerusalem.

AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM CYRUS, KING OF PERSIA All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the LORD God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, who among the LORD's people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem.

All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the LORD God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, who among the LORD's people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem of Judah to rebuild the Temple of the LORD God of Israel, the God of Jerusalem.

In response, the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and descendants of Levi, and all those who had been prompted by God, prepared to travel to rebuild the Temple of the LORD, which was in Jerusalem.

Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out to Mithredath the Treasurer, had them inventoried, and had them placed in care of Sheshbazzar, governor of Judah.

Here is a list of descendants of the province of Judah who returned from the captivity, from those who had been exiled. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken them to Babylon. They came back to Jerusalem and Judah, each one to his town,

The Priests: Descendants of Jedaiah from the household of Jeshua: 973

At this time Jeshua, along with his children and relatives, and Kadmiel, with his children and the descendants of Judah, joined the family of Henadad with his children and relatives, and the descendants of Levi in overseeing the work on the Temple of God.

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the descendants of the Babylonian captivity had built their Temple to the LORD, the God of Israel,

After this, the non-Israeli inhabitants of the land undermined the people of Judah, harassing them in their construction work

At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus, they lodged a formal accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

At that time, the prophets Haggai and Iddo's son Zechariah prophesied specifically to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel.

You have authority to act for the king and for his Council of Seven to conduct an inquiry concerning Judah and Jerusalem in accordance with the Law of your God, which is in your possession.

Even though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. Instead, he has extended gracious love to us in the presence of the kings of Persia, to grant us revival, to set up the Temple of our God, to repair its damage, and to give us a protective wall for Judah and Jerusalem.

Then they sent word throughout Judah and Jerusalem to everyone who had returned from the exile, to gather together in Jerusalem.

Less than three days later, all of the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered together on the twentieth day of the ninth month. Everyone sat in the plaza of the Temple of God, trembling because of everything that was happening, and also because it was raining heavily.

From the descendants of Levi: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

From Nebo's descendants: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

In the month of Chislev, while I was in Shushan at the palace, Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, about those who had survived the Babylonian captivity, and about Jerusalem.

So I prayed to the God of heaven and I replied to the king, "If it seems good to you, and if your servant has found favor with you, would you send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestral sepulchers are located, so I can rebuild it?"

I also asked the king, "If it seems good to you, order that letters of authorization be given me for the Trans-Euphrates governors, so they will allow me to pass through to Judah,

Paseah's son Joiada and Besodeiah's son Meshullam repaired the Old Gate. They built its framework and installed its doors, including locks and security bars.

Then next to them, Harumaph's son Jedaiah did repairs opposite his house, and next to him Hashabneiah's son Hattush carried on repairs.

Meanwhile, the people of Judah said, "The builders are tired and there's so much rubble that we can't reconstruct the wall!"

In addition, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah (that is, during the twelve years from the twentieth to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes), neither I nor my relatives relied on the provisions allotted to the governor.

It is reported among the nations and Gashmu confirms this that you and the Jews are planning a revolt, and that you're rebuilding the wall in order to declare yourself king. According to these reports, you also have appointed prophets to proclaim about you in Jerusalem, "There is a king in Judah!" Since these words are being reported to the king, come and let's meet together.

Meanwhile, at that time the nobles of Judah continued to send many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah kept sending letters to them.

I found a register of the original inhabitants in which there was recorded a list of descendants of the province of Judah who returned from captivity, from those who had been exiled by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They had come back to Jerusalem and to Judah, each one to his town.

The Priests: Jedaiah's descendants from the household of Jeshua: 973

Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

These are the leaders of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem. Some lived in the towns of Judah each on their property in their respective towns that is, the Israelis, the priests, the descendants of Levi, the Temple Servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants.

Some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. From Judah's Descendants: Uzziah's son Athaiah, who was the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel; From Perez's Descendants

Zichri's son Joel was their overseer, and Hassenuah's son Judah was in command of the second district of the city.

Joiarib's son Jedaiah, Jachin, Hilkiah's son Seraiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the administrator of the Temple of God.

The rest of Israel the priests and the descendants of Levi lived in all the cities of Judah, each on his own property,

Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah son of Judah, represented the king in all matters concerning the people.

Now concerning the villages and their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, in Dibon and its villages, in Jekabzeel and its villages,

with some Levitical divisions of Judah pertaining to Benjamin.

Shemaih, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the time of Jeshua.

The descendants of Levi included Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his associates was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.

Jeshua fathered Joiakim, Joiakim fathered Eliashib, and Eliashib fathered Joiada.

Joiada fathered Jonathan and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.

of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

When Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua were serving, the descendants of Levi were recorded as heads of their ancestors' houses, as were the priests during the reign of Darius the Persian.

Then I brought up the leaders of Judah to the crest of the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs, the first of which proceeded on the wall to the right toward the Dung Gate.

Following them were Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,

Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah.

with his associates Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, accompanied by the musical instruments of David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe led the procession.

Also at that time men were appointed over the storerooms for the contributions, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, so those portions required by the Law could be gathered from the fields adjacent to the towns to benefit the priests and descendants of Levi, for the people of Judah rejoiced over the priests and the descendants of Levi who were serving.

Then all of Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil into the storerooms.

At that time I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath, bringing in sacks of grain, loading them onto donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads. They brought them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I rebuked them on the day on which they were selling food.

Furthermore, Tyrians were living there who were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise, selling them to the people of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem.

I rebuked the officials of Judah, saying to them, "What's this evil thing that you're doing by profaning the Sabbath day?

Furthermore, their children spoke half of the time in the language of Ashdod, and could not speak in the language of Judah. Instead, they spoke in the languages of various nations.

One of the sons of Eliashib the high priest's son Joiada was a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, so I drove him away from me.

He had been taken into captivity from Jerusalem along with the exiles who had been deported with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had taken into exile.

Mount Zion will be glad; the towns of Judah will rejoice because of your judgments.

Gilead belongs to me, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim is my helmet, and Judah my scepter.

Little Benjamin is there, leading them, and the princes of Judah all together with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.

For God will deliver Zion and will rebuild the cities of Judah so they may live there and possess them.

God is known in Judah; in Israel his reputation is great.

But he chose the tribe of Judah, the mountain of Zion, which he loves.

Zion hears and rejoices; the towns of Judah rejoice on account of your justice, LORD.