And I said unto the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you would send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may rebuild it.

Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may let me pass over till I come into Judah;

And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is failing, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants worked in the work, and the other half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the armor; and the rulers supported all the house of Judah.

Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the food allowance of the governor.

And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.

Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.

For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.

These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;

Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants.

And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez;

And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city.

And Mattaniah son of Micha, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, head of the beginning of Judah for prayer: and Bakbukiah the second from his brethren, and Abda, son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthan.

And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.

And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people.

And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjatharba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof,

And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.

Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, which was over the thanksgiving, he and his brethren.

Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:

And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah,

Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,

And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them.

And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited.

Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries.

In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.

There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?

Also in those days I saw the men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the language of Judah, but according to the language of each people.

Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.

Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; and Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver;

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;

Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work. A Psalm by David, when he was in the desert of Judah.

{A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.} O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

In Judah is the knowledge of God; his name is great in Israel,

But he took the tribe of Judah for himself, and the mountain of Zion, in which he had pleasure.

Zion hears and is glad,
and the towns of Judah rejoice
because of Your judgments, Lord.

Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine,
and Ephraim is My helmet;
Judah is My scepter.

Judah became His sanctuary,
Israel, His dominion.

Be the guarantee for Your servant for good [as Judah was the guarantee for Benjamin];
Do not let the arrogant oppress me.

These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water;

For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

"At that time, the LORD's branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel and Judah.

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry.

And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

When the house of David (Judah) was told, “Aram is allied with Ephraim (Israel),” the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz [king of Judah], you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field;

Because Aram, along with Ephraim (Israel) and the son of Remaliah, have planned evil against you (Judah), saying,

Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel;

Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah- even the king of Assyria.

In that day [when foreign armies swarm the land] the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from the regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), [that razor will shave] the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard [leaving Judah stripped, shamed and scorned].

“Because these people (Judah) have refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
And rejoice in Rezin [the king of Aram] and Remaliah’s son [Pekah the king of Israel],

and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

“Take counsel together [against Judah], but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us (Immanuel).”

Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

The Assyrian has come against Aiath [in Judah],
He has passed through Migron [with his army];
At Michmash he stored his equipment.

And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

Ephraim and Judah will [unite and] swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines toward the west;
Together they will plunder the sons (Arabs) of the east.
They will possess Edom and Moab,
And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.

to break the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains I will trample him underfoot. Then the Assyrian’s yoke will be removed from them (the people of Judah) and his burden removed from their shoulder.

In the year that King Ahaz [of Judah] died this [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) came:

“Do not rejoice, O Philistia, any of you,
Because the rod [of Judah] that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s root will come a viper [King Hezekiah of Judah],
And its offspring will be a flying serpent.

“The firstborn of the helpless [of Judah] will feed [on My meadows],
And the needy will lie down in safety;
But I will kill your root with famine,
And your survivors will be put to death.

Send lambs to the ruler of the land [you Moabites],
From Sela [that is, Petra in Edom] through the wilderness to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem).

[Say to the ruler] “Give us advice, make a decision [for Moab, king of Judah];
Cast your shadow [over us] like night in the midst of noon;
Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive [to his pursuer].

Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvation
And have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold—
Therefore you plant lovely plants
And set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god,

And the land of Judah shall be a dismay unto Egypt: every one that thinketh of it shall be afraid for himself, because of the counsel of Jehovah of hosts, which he hath purposed against it.

And he uncovereth the covering of Judah: and thou didst look in that day to the armour in the house of the forest;

and I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation doth he appoint for walls and bulwarks.

Now the Egyptians are men and not God,
And their horses are flesh and not spirit;
And the Lord will stretch out His hand,
And he (Egypt) who helps will stumble,
And he (Judah) who is helped will fall,
And all of them will perish together.

And this happened: In {the fourteenth year} of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria went up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them.

"Tell Hezekiah, king of Judah, "This is what the mighty king, the king of Assyria, has to say: What is this "guarantee" that makes you yourself rely on it? Do you really think that guarantees alone can withstand strategy and military strength? On whom are you now depending, that you're rebelling against me?

And if you say to me, 'We trust in Yahweh our God,' [was it] not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed? And he said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall bow down in the {presence} of this altar.'"

So the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah [a fortified city of Judah], for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.

And when news came to him that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, had made an attack on him, ... And he sent representatives to Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying,

"You shall say this to Hezekiah, king of Judah: '[Do] not let your God in whom you trust in him deceive you by saying, "Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."

And the remnant of the house of Judah that remain shall {grow} roots downwards and make fruit upwards.

In those days Hezekiah [king of Judah] became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said, “For the Lord says this, ‘Set your house in order and prepare a will, for you shall die; you will not live.’”

A writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he was sick and had recovered from his sickness:

{Get yourself} up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news! Lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, bringer of good news! Lift [it] up; you must not fear! Say to the cities of Judah, "Here [is] your God!"

Who gave up Jacob [the kingdom of Judah] for spoil, and [the kingdom of] Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, He against whom we [of Judah] have sinned,
And in whose ways they [of Israel] were unwilling to walk,
And whose law and teaching they did not obey?

who keeps the word of his servant and carries out the plan of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be rebuilt, and I will restore its ruins';

“I was angry with My people,
I profaned [Judah] My inheritance
And gave them into your hand [Babylon].
You showed them no mercy;
You made your yoke very heavy on the aged.

Hear this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and came out from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of Yahweh, and {invoke} the God of Israel, [but] not in truth and not in righteousness.

“Because of the wickedness of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away and backsliding, in the way of his [own willful] heart.

It will no longer be said of you [Judah], “Azubah (Abandoned),”
Nor will it any longer be said of your land, “Shemamah (Desolate)”;
But you will be called, “Hephzibah (My Delight is in Her),”
And your land, “Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married [owned and protected by the Lord].

And I will bring descendant s out from Jacob, and a {people} from Judah to take possession of my mountain, and my chosen ones shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.

[to] whom the word of Yahweh came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

For, look, I [am] calling to all [the] clans of [the] kingdoms of [the] north," {declares} Yahweh, "and they will come and set each one his throne [at] the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its surrounding walls, and against all the cities of Judah.

In this way I will pass sentence on the people of Jerusalem and Judah because of all their wickedness. For they rejected me and offered sacrifices to other gods, worshiping what they made with their own hands."

Now look, I have made you {today} as a fortified city and as an iron pillar and a bronze wall against all the land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.