By the hand of your messengers you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, 'With my many chariots I have gone up [to] the height of the mountains. [To] the remote areas of Lebanon, I have felled the tallest of its cedars, the choicest of its cypresses. I have entered the place of overnight lodging. Even [to] the edge of forest of its fertile land.

Have you not heard? From long ago I have determined it, from the days of old I have planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. It shall be turned into a pile of rocks; fortified cities are ruined.

Their inhabitants, short of hand, shall be dismayed; and they shall be ashamed. They have become green plants of the open field, and tender grass, green grass of the roof and blight before the standing grain.

Because you are raging against me, and your arrogance has come up in my ears, I will put my nose ring in your nose and my bridle in your mouth. And I will turn you back on the way that you have come.

"O Yahweh, please remember how I went about before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and [remember] the good that I have done in your eyes." Then Hezekiah {wept bitterly}.

"Return; you must say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'Thus says Yahweh the God of David your ancestor, "I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. Look, I [am about to] heal you. On the third day you shall go up [to] the temple of Yahweh.

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, "What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?" Hezekiah said, "From a far land; they have come from Babylon."

Then he asked, "What did they see in your palace?" And Hezekiah said, "All that is in my palace they have seen; there is nothing that I did not show them in my treasuries."

'Look, days [are] coming when all that is in your palace will be carried off; [even] all that your ancestors have stored up until this day, to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says Yahweh.

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of Yahweh which you have spoken [is] good," and he thought, "Is it not that peace and security shall be in my days?"

He put the image of the Asherah that he had made in the temple which Yahweh had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this temple and in Jerusalem which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.

I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I have given to their ancestors, if they only observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, as far as the law that Moses my servant commanded them."

because they have done evil in my eyes and were provoking me from the day that their ancestors came out from Egypt up to this day.'"

"Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and let them count the money being brought to the temple of Yahweh which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people,

Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the scroll of the Torah in the temple of Yahweh," and Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it.

Shaphan the secretary came to the king and returned the king a word, and he said, "Your servant poured out the money found in the temple, and they have given it into the hand of the doers of the work appointed [over] the temple of Yahweh."

because they have abandoned me and they have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to anger with all of the works of their hands. My wrath shall be kindled against this place and not be quenched.'"

And to the king of Judah who sent all of you to inquire of Yahweh, thus you shall say to him, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, '[Concerning] the words that you have heard,

because you have a responsive heart, and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants to become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before my face, I have also heard, declares Yahweh.

Then he said, "What [is] this gravestone that I [am] seeing?" The men of the city said to him, "[This is the] tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel."

Yahweh had said, "Even Judah I will remove from my face, as I have removed Israel; I will reject this city that I have chosen, even Jerusalem and the house [of] which I said, 'My name shall be there'!"

Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children. But all their families did not multiply like the men of Judah.

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

And he said to them, "You [are] the heads of the {families} for the Levites. Sanctify yourselves and your brothers and bring up the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel, to [the place] I have established for it.

for I have not lived in a house from the day that I brought out Israel unto this day. I have been from tent to tent and from tabernacle [to tabernacle].

In every [place] I have moved about, did I say one word [with] the judges of Israel I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, 'Why have you not built for me a house of cedar?'" '

and I have been with you wherever you went and have cut down your enemies from before you and will make a name for you, like the name of the great ones on the earth.

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, O Yahweh God, and what [is] my house that you have brought me thus far?

And this was a small [matter] in your eyes, O God. And you have spoken concerning the house of your servant for a long [time] and have shown me {future generations to come}, O Yahweh God.

O Yahweh, for the sake of your servant and according to your heart you have done all this greatness, to make known all [these] great things.

O Yahweh, there is none like you, and there is no God except you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

So now, O Yahweh, let the word that you spoke to your servant and to his house be established forever, that you might do what you have spoken.

For you, my God, {have informed} your servant [that] you will build a house for him. Therefore, your servant has found [courage] to pray before you.

So now, O Yahweh, you yourself [are] God, and you have spoken to your servant this good thing.

And now may you begin to bless the house of your servant {to continue forever} before you, for you, O Yahweh, have blessed. And it will be blessed forever."

But the princes of the {Ammonites} said to Hanun, "{Do you think} because David sent comforters to you [that] David honors your father? Is it not for the purpose of exploring [so as] to overthrow and spy out the land that his servants have come to you?"

Then David said to God, "I have sinned severely [in] that I have done this thing. But now, please forgive the sin of your servant, for I have been very foolish."

Then David said to God, "Was it not I [who] gave a command to count the people? Now I [am] he who has sinned, and I have certainly done wickedness, but these sheep, what have they done? O Yahweh, my God, please let your hand be against me and against the house of my father, but against your people, [let there be] no plague."

but it happened [that] the word of Yahweh [came] over me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have made much war; you shall not build a house for my name because you have shed much blood upon the ground before me.

Now see, with great effort I have made provision for the house of Yahweh: 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron [that] cannot be weighed, for there is an abundance. Also timber and stone I have provided, but to these you should add.

four thousand gatekeepers, [and] four thousand offering praise with the instruments that I have made for praise."

And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons. They were enrolled as one for the house of a father.

And Eleazar died, and he did not have sons, but only daughters. And the sons of Kish, their relatives, married them.

But God said to me, 'You may not build a house for my name because you [are] a man of war, and you have shed blood.'

And he said to me, 'Solomon your son, he himself shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him as a son to myself, and I myself will be as a father to him,

So I have provided for the house of my God according to all my strength, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and the wood for the things of wood, [along with] an abundance of onyx stones, stones for settings, stones of turquoise, and variegated stones, and all [kinds of] precious stones and alabaster stones.

And moreover, with respect to my provisions for the house of my God I have a treasure of gold and silver that I have given to the house of my God above all that I have provided for the holy house:

And indeed, who [am] I, and who [are] my people that we retain power to offer according to these [offerings] willingly? For everything [is] from you, and from your hand we have given to you.

O Yahweh our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build for you a house for your holy name is from your hand, and all [of it] is yours.

And I know, my God, that you yourself test the heart and are pleased with uprightness. I, in the uprightness of my heart, have willingly offered all these [things], and now I have seen your people who are found here willingly offer to you.

Grant to Solomon my son a heart of peace to keep your commands, your statutes, and your regulations to do everything, and to build the citadel for which I have provided."

Then Solomon said to God, "You yourself have shown steadfast loyal love to David my father and have made me king in his place.

Now, O Yahweh God, let your word to David my father be fulfilled, for you yourself have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

Then God said to Solomon, "Because this was with your heart and you did not ask for wealth, possessions, honor, and the lives of your enemies, and also did not ask for {long life}, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge that you might judge my people over whom I have made you king,

And Solomon sent [word] to Huram king of Tyre, saying, "As you have dealt with David my father and sent cedar to him to build for himself a house in which to live, [please deal with me].

So now I have sent a skilled man, knowledgeable [and with] understanding: my master Huram,

But I have built for you an exalted house, even a place for you to dwell in forever."

But I have chosen my name to be there in Jerusalem, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.'

Now Yahweh has fulfilled his word that he spoke. I have risen in the place of David my father and am seated on the throne of Israel as Yahweh has spoken. I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

And I have there the ark [in] which [is] the covenant of Yahweh that he {made} with the {Israelites}."

that you have kept for your servant David my father what you spoke to him. You spoke with your mouth, and by your hand you have fulfilled [it] on this day.

And now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David, my father, what you have spoken to him, saying, '{You shall not lack} a man to sit on the throne of Israel before me, if only your sons keep their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.'

And now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, let your word that you have spoken to your servant David be confirmed.

"But will God indeed dwell with humankind upon the earth? Look, the heavens and {the highest heavens} cannot contain you! Surely then this house that I have built [will not contain you!]

that your eyes may be open day and night to this house, to the place that you have promised to place your name there, that you may hear the prayer that your servant has prayed to this place.

"And if your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against you and they repent and confess your name and pray and plead before you in this house,

"When the heavens are stopped up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you and they pray to this place and confess your name and turn back from their sin when you humble them,

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon your land that you have given to your people as an inheritance.

that they may fear you [and] walk in your ways all the days that they [are] alive upon the face of the land that you have given to our ancestors.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens, from your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner asks of you, so that all peoples of earth will know of your name and fear you, as [do] your people Israel, and that they may know that your name {possesses} this house that I have built.

"When your people go out to battle against their enemy according to the way that you have sent them, and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,

but {if they repent} in the land where they were taken captive and {repent} and beg you for mercy in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and acted perversely and done wickedly,

and we return to you,' with their whole heart and with all their inmost being in the land of their captivity where they took them captive, and [if] they pray toward their land that you have given to their ancestors and the city that you have chosen and to the house that I have built for your name,

Then Yahweh appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

And now I have chosen and consecrated this house for my name to be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there {for all time}.

Now [as for] you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked and do according to all that I have commanded you and will keep my ordinances and judgments,

"But if you turn yourselves away and forsake my ordinances and my commandments which I have given before you [all] and will go and serve other gods and bow down to them,

then I will uproot them from upon my land that I have given to them, and this house that I have consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face, and I will make it a proverb and a taunt among all the nations.

Then the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus you should say to this people who have said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, so you yourself should lighten [it] for us.' Thus you should say to them, 'My little finger [is] thicker than the loins of my father.

So all Israel [saw] that the king would not listen to them, and the people answered the king, saying, "What portion [is there] for us in David? [We have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each to your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, David!" And all Israel went to their own tents.

Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem from before Shishak. And he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh: 'You yourselves have abandoned me, and I myself have surely abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.'"

And when Yahweh saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy. I will give to them some way of escape, that my anger not be poured out against Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

So now you yourselves are considering [that you are] strong before the kingdom of Yahweh [which is] in the hand the sons of David, since you yourselves are a great multitude and you have bull calves of gold that Jeroboam has made for idols.

Did you not drive out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, the Levites? Have you [not] made for yourselves priests like all the peoples of the lands? All who come {to be consecrated for priestly service} with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of [what is] not a god.

But as for us, Yahweh [is] our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests serving Yahweh [are] the sons of Aaron, the Levites, according to their service.

They offer burnt offerings to Yahweh {every morning} and {every evening}, sweet spices of incense, and the rows of bread upon the pure table. And the golden lampstand with its lamps [they] keep kindled {every evening}, for we are keeping the requirement of Yahweh our God, but you yourselves have forsaken him.

And look, God [is] with us at the head, and his priests [have] the trumpets for sounding blasts against you, O sons of Israel. Do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."

And he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround [them with] walls, towers, gates, and bars while the land [is] before us, because we have sought Yahweh our God. We have sought and he has given rest to us on every side." So they built and had success.

Then Asa cried out to Yahweh his God. And he said, "O Yahweh, there is none with you to help between the great and the powerless. Help us, O Yahweh our God, for we rely upon you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, you [are] our God! Let no man prevail against you!"

For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout all the earth to strengthen those whose heart is fully devoted to him. You have been foolish in this, for from now on you will have wars."

Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains like sheep that had no shepherd. And Yahweh said, 'These have no masters; let them return to his own house in peace.'"

Nevertheless some good things have been found in regard to you, for you burned the Asherahs out of the land and set your heart to seek God."

And a letter from Elijah the prophet came to him, saying, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father: 'Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father or in the ways of Asa, the king of Judah,

but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful like the unfaithfulness of the house of Ahab, and have also murdered your brothers of the house of your father who [were] better than you,

So the king called Jehoiada the chief, and he said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax of Moses, the servant of Yahweh, and [of] the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?"

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why are you transgressing the commandments of Yahweh so that you will not succeed? For you have forsaken Yahweh, so he will forsake you.'"

And Amaziah said to the man of God, "Now what [should I] do with the one hundred talents that I have given to the troops of Israel?" And the man of God said, "{Yahweh is able to give} to you more than this."

So {Yahweh became very angry} with Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, and he said to him, "Why have you sought the gods of the people who could not deliver their own people from your hand?"

And it happened [that] while he was speaking to him, he said to him, "Have we appointed you as a counselor to the king? Stop--{why should you be killed}?" So the prophet stopped and said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice."

Look, you say [that] you have struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you up to boast. Now remain at your home. Why stir up disaster that you fall, you and Judah with you?"