Give me wisdom now, so I may go in and out among this people, because who can rule this great people that belongs to you?

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,

Solomon also sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre:

"Just as you did with my father David, sending him cedars to build him a palace to live in, do the same for me. Look, I'm building a temple dedicated to the name of the LORD my God, to his glory, so we can burn fragrant incense in his presence, display rows of the bread of his presence continuously, and make burnt offerings in the morning, evening, on Sabbath days, during New Moon festivals, and during appointed festivals scheduled by the LORD our God. This is mandated forever in Israel.

but the poles were long enough for their ends to extend to the front of the inner sanctuary, even though they could not be seen from outside. They remain there to this day.

After this, the priests vacated the Holy Place. (Meanwhile, all the priests who were participating consecrated themselves, irrespective of their Levitical divisions.

the trumpeters and musicians played in union, praising and giving thanks to the LORD. They praised the LORD loudly and sang, "He is good, and his gracious love is eternal," accompanied by the trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments.) As they did this, a cloud filled the Temple, that is, the LORD's Temple,

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.

Listen to the requests from your servant and from your people Israel as they pray in this direction, and listen from the place where you reside from heaven! then hear and forgive.

"If a man sins against his neighbor and he is required to take an oath, and he then comes to take an oath in front of your altar in this Temple,

"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,

whatever prayer or request is made, no matter whether it's made by a single man or by all of your people Israel, each praying out of his own illness and anguish and stretching out their hands toward this Temple,

"Now concerning the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, when he comes from a land far away for the sake of your great name, your mighty acts, and your obvious power, when they come and pray in the direction of this Temple,

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,

"And now, my God, please let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers that are uttered in this place.

"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,

"Now therefore my eyes will remain open and my ears will remain listening to the prayers that are offered in this place.

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.

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!

"Furthermore, even though this Temple seems so exalted, everyone who passes by it will be so astounded that they will ask, "Why did the LORD do this to this land and to this Temple?'

They will answer, "Because they abandoned the LORD God of their ancestors, who brought them from the land of Egypt, adopted other gods, worshipped them, and served them, therefore the LORD has brought all of this disaster on them.'"

During this time, he also rebuilt the towns that Hiram had restored to him, and he settled Israelis in them.

After this, Solomon traveled to Hamath-zobah and captured it.

were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not eliminated. Solomon put them to work as conscripted laborers, which they continue to do to this day.

After this, Solomon visited Ezion-geber and Elath at the seashore in the land of Edom.

In reply, they told him, "If you will be kind to this people, please them, and speak appropriately to them with kind words, they'll serve you forever."

"This is what you should tell the people who asked you: "Your father made our burden heavy, but you must make it lighter for us!'" the young men who had grown up with Rehoboam replied. "Tell them "My little finger will be thicker than my father's whole body!

That's how Israel came to be in rebellion against David's dynasty to this day.

"This is what the LORD says: "You are not to fight or even to approach your relatives in battle. Every soldier is to return to his own home, for this development comes from me."'" So they listened to what the LORD had to say and called off their attack on Jeroboam.

After this he married Absalom's daughter Maacah, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

Right then, Shemaiah the prophet approached Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he told them, "This is what the LORD says: "You abandoned me, so I've abandoned you to Shishak.'"

After this, King Rehoboam made shields out of bronze to take their place, committing them to the care and custody of the commanders of those who guarded the entrance to the royal palace.

After this Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephron and its villages.

Asa cried out to the LORD his God, telling him, "LORD, there is no one except for you to help between the powerful and the weak. So help us, LORD God, because we're depending on you and have come against this vast group in your name. LORD, you are our God. Let no mere mortal man defeat you!"

After this, the Spirit of God came to rest on Oded's son Azariah,

The LORD's eyes keep on roaming throughout the earth, looking for those whose hearts completely belong to him, so that he may strongly support them. But because you have acted foolishly in this, from now on you will have wars."

Chenaanah's son Zedekiah made iron horns for himself and told them, "This is what the LORD says, "With these horns you are to gore the Arameans until they are eliminated!'"

When he heard this, the king asked him, "How many times do I have to ask you? Tell me nothing but the truth, and do it in the name of the LORD!"

Give him this order: "Place him in prison on survival rations only until I come back safely.'"

After this, King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem,

where Hanani's son Jehu, the seer, went out to meet him. He asked King Jehoshaphat, "Should you be helping those who are wicked, yes or no? Should you love those who hate the LORD? Wrath is headed your way directly from the LORD because of this.

and appointing judges throughout the land in all of the walled cities of Judah, city by city. He issued this reminder to the judges:

He issued this reminder to them:

"LORD God of our ancestors, you are the God who lives in heaven, are you not? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, don't you? In your own hands you grasp both strength and power, don't you? As a result, no one can oppose you, can they? You are our God, who expelled the former inhabitants of this land right in front of our people Israel, aren't you? Then you gave it to your friend Abraham's descendant forever, didn't you?

"If evil comes upon us, such as war as punishment, disease, or famine and we stand in your presence in this Temple (because your Name is in this Temple) and cry out to you in our distress, then you will hear and deliver.'

Our God, you are going to punish them, aren't you? We have no strength to face this vast multitude that has come against us, nor do we know what to do, except that our eyes are on you."

"Pay attention, everyone in Judah, in Jerusalem, and you, too, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says to you: "Stop being afraid, and stop being discouraged because of this vast invasion force, because the battle doesn't belong to you, but to God.

You won't be fighting in this battle. Take your stand, but stand still, and watch the LORD's salvation on your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem! Never fear and never be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, since the LORD is with you.'"

Three days later, they assembled together in the Beracah Valley, where they blessed the LORD, which is why the name of that place is called Beracah Valley to this day.

Edom remains in revolt against Judah to this day. Libnah revolted against Jehoram's rule, too, because he had abandoned the LORD God of his ancestors.

In addition to all of this, he built high places in the mountains of Judah, led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into cultic sexual immorality, and made Judah go astray.

After this, a letter arrived from Elijah the prophet. It said:

"This is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: "You haven't lived like your father Jehoshaphat and like King Asa of Judah. Instead, you have lived like the kings of Israel by causing Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit cultic sexual immorality just like Ahab's dynasty did! And you've killed your brothers who were better than you your own father's dynasty!

And as for you, you will suffer from a serious disease of your bowels. Eventually, day-by-day you will excrete your own bowels because of this disease."

After all of this happened, the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable illness.

Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years. He left this earth to nobody's regret and they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

After this, Jehoiada drew up a covenant between himself as an individual with all the people, and between himself as king, that they would be the LORD's people.

Whenever the chest was brought to the king's officials by the descendants of Levi, the royal secretary and the chief priest's designated officer would come, empty the chest, and take it back to its place. They did this day after day until they had collected a large amount of cash.

They abandoned the LORD's Temple and the God of their fathers, and they served Asherim and idols. As a result this guilt of theirs resulted in wrath coming upon Judah and Jerusalem.

Then Jehoiada the priest's son Zechariah was clothed by the Spirit of God, and he stood above the people and told them, "This is what God has to say: "Why are you breaking the LORD's commandments. You'll never be successful! Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.'"

This is how King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had shown him: he killed his son. As he lay dying, Zechariah cried out, "May the LORD watch this and avenge."

But even while the prophet was speaking, the king asked him, "Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?" So the prophet stopped speaking, but he also said, "I know God has determined to destroy you, because you've done all this and ignored my counsel."

After this, King Amaziah of Judah sought some advice and then challenged Jehoahaz' son King Joash of Israel, the grandson of Jehu, telling him, "Come out and let's fight each other!"

He launched a military excursion against the king of the Ammonites and defeated him. As a result, that year the Ammonites paid 100 talents of silver in tribute, as well as 10,000 kors of wheat and 10,000 kors of barley. The Ammonites continued to pay this same amount in tribute over the following two years.

After this, some men who were chosen by name took charge of the captives, clothed those who were naked with clothes appropriated from the war booty, gave them clothes and sandals, fed them, gave them something to drink, anointed them with oil, provided those who weren't able to walk with donkeys to ride on, and took them back to their relatives at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

Now look! Our ancestors have been killed with swords and our sons, daughters, and wives are being held captive because of all of this.

After this, they went to King Hezekiah and told him, "We have cleansed all of the LORD's Temple, including the altar for burnt offerings, all of its utensils, the table of showbread, and all of its utensils.

Everybody in the assembly worshipped, the singers sang, and the trumpets sounded. They continued doing this until the burnt offering sacrifice was completed.

After this, Hezekiah announced, "Now that you've consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the LORD's Temple." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and everyone who was willing to do so brought burnt offerings.

This decision seemed to be a good one in the opinion of the king and of the entire assembly,

If you return to the LORD, your relatives and children will receive compassion from those who took them away captive, and they'll return to this land, because the LORD is both gracious and compassionate he will not turn away from you if you return to him."

Even though a large crowd of people from as far away as Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not completed consecrating themselves, they still ate the Passover in a manner not proscribed by the Law, because Hezekiah had prayed like this for them: "May the good LORD extend a pardon on behalf of

After this, the whole assembly agreed to celebrate for another seven days, and so they did and they were very happy to do so!

There was great joy throughout Jerusalem, because nothing had happened like this in Jerusalem since the days of David's son Solomon, king of Israel.

After this, the priests arose, blessed the people, and their voices were heard in prayer all the way to heaven, where God resides in holiness.

Azariah replied, "Since they began to bring their gifts into the LORD's Temple, we have eaten and have been satisfied. Now we still have plenty left, because the LORD has blessed his people so that we have all of this left over."

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

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:

"This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: "What are you leaning on that makes you stay behind while Jerusalem comes under siege?

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."?

Now therefore, don't let Hezekiah lie to you or mislead you like this. Don't believe him, because no god of any nation has been able to deliver his people from my control or from the control of my predecessors. So how much less will your God deliver you from me?'"

Sennacherib also wrote letters like this that insulted and slandered the LORD God of Israel: "Just as the gods of the nations in other lands haven't delivered their people from my control, so also the god of Hezekiah won't deliver his people from me!"

Meanwhile, King Hezekiah and Amoz's son Isaiah the prophet were praying about this and crying out to heaven.

During this time Hezekiah became critically ill, and he prayed to the LORD. The LORD spoke to him and gave him a sign.

But Hezekiah humbled himself while he was arrogant in heart, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem joined him in this. As a result, the LORD's wrath did not come upon them during Hezekiah's lifetime.

He also placed an image that he had carved in God's Temple, the place about which God had told to David and to his son Solomon, "I will place my name in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel,"

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.

"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.

Because they abandoned me and have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to become angry at everything they're doing, therefore my wrath is about to be poured out on this place, and it won't be quenched.'"'

"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:

"Because your heart was sensitive, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he had to say about this place and its inhabitants indeed, because you humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes, and cried out to me, I have heard you," declares the LORD.

"Look! I'm going to take you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in your grave in peace so that you won't have to see all the evil that I'm going to bring to this place and to its inhabitants."'" So they all brought back this message to the king.

"Put the holy ark in the Temple that Solomon, the son of Israel's King David, built. It will no longer be a burden on their shoulders. Now go serve the LORD your God and his people Israel. Prepare yourselves by divisions according to your ancestral households, keeping to what King David of Israel and his son Solomon wrote about this.

In addition to this, take your place in the Holy Place according to the groupings of the ancestral households of your relatives consistent with the division of the descendants of Levi by their ancestral households.

They set aside in reserve the burnt offerings, so they could distribute them in proportion to the divisions of their ancestral households for presentation by the people to the LORD, as is required by the book of Moses. They did this with respect to the bulls, also.

After this, because the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, were busy offering the burnt offerings and fat portions until evening, the descendants of Levi prepared the Passover for themselves and their fellow-descendants of Aaron, the priests.