When the messenger arrived to report to the king, he said, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons."

Nevertheless, the LORD told Jehu, "Because you have done well in carrying out what I saw as the right thing to do by completing everything I had in mind regarding Ahab's dynasty, your sons will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation."

So King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, along with other priests, and asked them, "Why haven't you fixed the leaks in the Temple? Stop receiving donations from your acquaintances for repairing the leaks in the Temple."

and ordered him, "Open a window that faces east." So he did so. Elisha ordered him, "Shoot!" So he shot. Then Elisha said, "This is the LORD's arrow of victory the victory arrow against Aram, because you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you will have utterly finished them off."

At this, the man of God became angry at him and told him, "You should have struck five or six times! Then you would have attacked Aram until you would have destroyed it! But as it is now, you'll defeat Aram only three times!"

But at that time, King Rezin of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, completely removing the Judeans from Elath. Then the Arameans returned to Elath and have remained there to this day.

So Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: "I have offended you. Withdraw from me, and I'll accept whatever tribute you impose." So the king of Assyria required Hezekiah to pay him 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold.

""Why are you so confident? You're saying but they're only empty words "I have enough advice and resources to conduct warfare!'

""Now who are you relying on, that you have rebelled against me? Look, you're trusting on Egypt to lean on like a staff, but it's a crushed reed, and if you lean on it, it will collapse and pierce your hand. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who relies on him!

"Now then, haven't I come up apart from the LORD to attack and destroy this place? The LORD told me, "Go up against this land and destroy it!'"'"

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my control?

"This is what the LORD says: "Never be afraid of the words that you have heard by which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Look! I'm going to cause an attitude to grow within him so that he'll hear a rumor and return to his own territory, where I'll make him die by the sword in his own land!"'"

"Look! you've heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands they completely destroyed them! Will you be spared?

Then Hezekiah prayed in the presence of the LORD, "LORD God of Israel! You live between the cherubim! You alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have fashioned the heavens and the earth.

Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated nations and their territories,

Then Amoz's son Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: "Because you have prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria, I have listened.'"

Who are you reproaching and blaspheming? Against whom have you raised your voice? And against whom have you lifted up your eyes in arrogance? Against the Holy One of Israel!

By your messengers you have insulted the LORD. You have claimed, "With my many chariots I ascended the heights of the mountains, including the remotest regions of Lebanon; I cut down its tall cedars and the best of its cypress trees. I entered its most remote lodging place and its most fruitful forest.

"Remember me, LORD," he said, "how I have walked in your presence with integrity, with an undivided heart, and I have accomplished what is good in your sight." And Hezekiah wept deeply.

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did these men have to say, and where did they come from?" Hezekiah replied, "They came from a country far away from Babylon."

He asked, "What did they see in your household?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen everything. In my household there is nothing in my treasuries that I haven't shown them."

"Watch out! The days are coming when everything that's in your house everything that your ancestors have saved up right to this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,' declares the LORD.

He also erected the carved image of Asherah that he had made inside the Temple about which the LORD had spoken to David and to his son Solomon, "I will put my Name forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel.

And I will not make Israel's feet to wander anymore from the land that I have given to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to do everything that I have commanded them according to the entire Law that my servant Moses commanded them."

because they have done what I consider to be evil and they have provoked me from the day their ancestors left Egypt right up to this day!'"

"Go to the high priest Hilkiah, so he can count the money that has been brought into the LORD's Temple by the doorkeepers who have been gathering it from the people.

Have them deliver it to the workmen who are supervising the LORD's Temple, so that they may pay it over to the workmen who serve in the LORD's Temple to repair its damages,

Shaphan the scribe reported to King Josiah, brought up the matter to him, and told him, "Your servants have distributed the money that was found in the Temple by giving it to the workmen who supervise the LORD's Temple."

"Go ask the LORD for me, for the people, and for all of Judah about what's written in this book that has been discovered, because the LORD's anger is burning against us, since our ancestors have not listened to the words written in this book and have not lived according to everything that is written concerning us."

because they have abandoned me, burned incense to other gods, and they have provoked me to anger with everything that they've done. Therefore my anger is kindled against this place and it won't be quenched!'"

because your heart was sensitive, and you humbled yourself in the LORD's presence when you heard what I had to say against this place and against its inhabitants that they would become a desolation and a curse and you have torn your clothes and cried out before me, be assured that I have truly heard you,' declares the LORD.

Shimei had 16 sons and six daughters, but his relatives did not have many children, nor did their entire family multiply like the Judeans did.

they destroyed the survivors of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

and David went out to meet them. He told them, "If you've come in peace to be of help to me, then you'll have my commitment. But if you've come to betray me to my enemies, even though I'm innocent of wrongdoing, then may the God of our ancestors watch and judge."

When you hear the sound of marching coming from the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, because God will have gone out ahead of you to destroy the Philistine army."

"Do everything you have in mind," Nathan replied to David, "because God is with you."

"""You won't be building a house for me to inhabit, will you? After all, I haven't lived in a house from the day I brought out Israel until today. Instead, I've lived from tent to tent and from one place to another.

Wherever I've moved within all of Israel, did I ever ask even one judge of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people, "Why haven't you built me a cedar house?'"'

"""Furthermore, I have remained with you everywhere you have gone, annihilating all your enemies right in front of you. I will make your reputation great, like the reputation of the great ones who have lived on earth.

"Who am I, LORD God, and what is my household, since you have brought me to this? Furthermore, this is a small thing to you, God, and yet you have spoken concerning your servant's household for a great while to come, and you have seen in me the fulfillment of man's purpose, LORD God.

LORD, for the sake of your servant, and consistent with your heart, you have done all of these great things and are now making these great things known.

"LORD, there is no one like you, and we have heard from no god other than you.

What other one nation on the earth is like your people Israel, God, which you have redeemed from slavery to become your own people, making a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You did awesome miraculous deeds, driving out nations that stood in their way.

You took your people Israel to be your very own people forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

"And now, LORD, let what you have spoken concerning your servant and his household be done forever and let it be done just as you've promised.

"Because of you, my God, I have been bold to pray to you, as you have told your servant that you will build him a dynasty.

And now, LORD, you are God, and you have promised all of these good things to your servant.

After they had departed, David was informed about the men, so he sent word to them, since they had been deeply humiliated. He told them, "Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return."

David responded to God, "I sinned greatly by behaving this way. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly."

David told God, "Wasn't I the one who ordered the census of the population? Wasn't it I who sinned and acted wickedly? Now as for these sheep, what have they done? LORD God, please let your hand be against me and my ancestral household, but don't let your people be ravaged by plague!"

David addressed Solomon: "I have attempted to build a temple to the name of the LORD my God.

"You have shed a lot of blood and fought great battles. You won't be building a house for my name, since you have shed so much blood on the earth in my sight. But look! A son born to you will live comfortably, because I will give him rest from all his enemies that surround him on every side, since his name will be "Solomon" - I will give peace and quiet for Israel during his lifetime.

At great effort I have provided for the Temple of the LORD 100,000 gold talents, 1,000,000 silver talents, as well as bronze and iron beyond calculation, since there is so much of it. I've also provided timber and stone, but you'll need to obtain more.

You already have plenty of workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and an innumerable group of artisans who are skilled at working in

with 4,000 gatekeepers, and with 4,000 offering praises to the LORD with the musical instruments that I have had crafted."

Jahath served as chief and Zizah was second in rank, but since Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, they were enrolled as a single family unit.

King David rose to his feet and said, "My fellow citizens, may I have your attention. I intended to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, for a footstool of our God, so I began preparations for its construction.

But then God told me, "You will not build a temple to my name, because you are a man of war, and you have committed bloodshed.'

"I chose your son Solomon to be the one who will construct my Temple and my courts, because I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. I will establish his kingdom forever, assuming he remains strongly committed to carry out my commandments and ordinances, as he is doing today.'

Now look! Here are the ranks of the priests and the descendants of Levi for the entire service of the Temple of God, and in all of the work there will be all types of volunteers who have skills for anything needed for the services. Furthermore, the officers and all of the people will be at your complete command."

To the extent that I have been able to do so, I have provided supplies for the Temple of my God, including gold for what is to be made of gold, silver for what is to be made of silver, bronze for what is to be made of bronze, iron for what is to be made of iron, wood for what is to be made of wood, and great quantities of onyx, precious stones, antimony, colored stones, all types of other semi-precious stones, and plenty of marble.

"In addition to everything that I have supplied for the Temple, it pleases me to provide my own treasure of gold and silver, so because of my love for the Temple of my God I hereby give to the Temple of my God the following:

For we are aliens and vagrants in your presence, as were all of our ancestors. Our days on the earth pass away like shadows, and we have no hope.

LORD our God, all of this abundance that we have given for building a temple for your great name was provided by you and all of it belongs to you.

And I know, God, that it is you who searches the heart and you who finds pleasure in righteousness. With a righteous heart I have freely given all these things, and now I have seen all of these people of yours giving freely and joyfully to you!

granting to my son Solomon to keep with a devoted heart your commands, your decrees, and your statutes, carrying out all of them, and that he may build the Temple for which I have made the preparations.

Solomon replied to God, "You showed great gracious love to my father David, and have established me as king in his place.

Now, LORD God, your promise to my father David is fulfilled, because you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

God told Solomon, "Since you had this in mind, to ask neither to focus on riches, wealth, honor, or the lives of those who hate you, nor have you requested a long life, but instead you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may rule my people over whom I have established you as king,

wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. Furthermore, I will give you riches, wealth, and honor such as none of the kings owned who lived before you and none after you are to ever attain their equal."

"At any rate, send me an individual who is a skilled craftsman in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as in purple, crimson, and blue materials, who knows how to craft engravings, so he may work with the craftsmen whom I have assembled in Judah and Jerusalem, as provided for by my father David.

He is the son of a mother from the tribe of Dan, and his father is from Tyre. He's skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and timber, as well as in purple, blue, linen, and crimson materials. He is skilled in engravings, and can craft any design to which he may be assigned. He will work with your skilled artisans and with all of your craftsmen who have been assigned by my lord David, your father.

Now I have constructed a magnificent temple dedicated to you that will serve as a place for you to inhabit forever."

But I have chosen Jerusalem, where my name will reside. And I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.'

"The LORD has brought to fulfillment what he promised, and now here I stand, having succeeded my father David to sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the Temple for the name of the Lord GOD of Israel.

I have placed in it the ark in which the covenant that the LORD made with the Israelis is stored."

"Now therefore, LORD God of Israel, keep your promise that you made to my father, your servant David, when you said, "You are to not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants will watch their lives, to live according to my Law, just as you have lived in my presence.'

and yet, will God truly reside on earth with human beings? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built!

Let your eyes always look toward this Temple day and night, toward the location where you have said you would place your name. Listen to the prayer that your servant prays in this direction.

"If your people Israel are defeated in a battle with their enemy because they have sinned against you, when they return to you and confess to you, pray, and in this Temple they ask you to show grace to them,

"When the skies remain closed, and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and they pray in the direction of this place, confessing your name and turning from their sin when you afflict them,

then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and of your people Israel. Indeed, teach them the best way to live and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as an inheritance.

so they will fear you and live life your way as long as they live in the land that you have given to our ancestors.

then hear from heaven where you reside, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the people of the earth may know your name, fear you as do your people Israel, and so they may know that this Temple that I have built is called by your name.

"When your people go out to war against their enemies, no matter what way you send them, and they pray to you in the direction of this city that you have chosen and in the direction of the Temple that I have built for your name,

if they turn their hearts back to you in the land where they have been taken captive, repent, and pray to you even if they do so in the land where they have been taken captive confessing, "We have sinned, we have committed abominations, and practiced wickedness,'

if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land where they have been taken captive, as they pray in the direction of their land that you have given to their ancestors and to the city that you have chosen, and to the Temple that I have built for your name,

then hear their prayer and requests from heaven, where you reside, and fight for their cause, forgiving your people who have sinned against you.

"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for a sacrificial temple to me. Whenever I close the skies so there is no rain, or whenever I command locusts to lay waste to the land, or whenever I send epidemics among my people,

Furthermore, I have chosen and have set apart for myself this Temple, intending my name to reside there forever. My eyes and my heart will reside there every day.

Now as for you, if you commune with me like your father did, doing everything that I have commanded you, including obeying my statutes and my legal decisions,

"But if you turn away and abandon my statutes and my commands that I have given you, and if you walk away to serve other gods and worship them,

then I will tear them up by the roots from the ground that I had given them! And as for this Temple that I have set apart for my name, I will throw it out of my sight and make it the butt of jokes and a means of ridicule among people worldwide!

"Everything I heard about your wisdom and what you have to say is true!" she gasped,

"but I didn't believe it at first! But then I came here and I've seen it for myself! It's amazing! I wasn't told half of what's really great about your wisdom. You're far better in person than what the reports have said about you!

The king used the algum wood to have steps made for the LORD's Temple and for the royal palace, as well as lyres and harps for the choir, and nothing like that wood had been seen before in the territory of Judah.

As a result, he asked them, "What's your advice, so we can give an answer to these people who have asked me, "Please lighten the burden that your father put on us'?"

All of Israel since the king wasn't going to listen to them the people responded to the king, "What's the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let's go home, Israel! David, take care of your own household!" So all of Israel left for home.

When the LORD observed that they had humbled themselves, the LORD spoke to Shemaiah, "They have humbled themselves, so I won't destroy them. Instead, I'll grant them some deliverance by not pouring out my indignation on Jerusalem, using Shishak to do it.

"So now you think you'll be able to withstand the LORD's kingdom as controlled by David's descendants, just because you have a large crown and have brought with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.