When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him, behold, he [was] leprous in the forehead. So they rushed him away from there, and he also hastened to go out, for Yahweh had smitten him.

So King Uzziah was leprous until the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house as a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. And Jotham his son [was] over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.

And Uzziah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him with his ancestors in the burial field which belonged to the kings, because, they said, "He [was] leprous." And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Jotham [was] twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother [was] Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.

And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Uzziah had done--only he did not go into the temple of Yahweh. But the people still acted corruptly.

He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

Ahaz [was] twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh like David his ancestor.

Then Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram who defeated him and captured many captives from him and brought [them to] Damascus. Moreover, he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, and he defeated him by a great attack.

Now a prophet of Yahweh was there; Oded [was] his name. And he went out before the army that was coming to Samaria and said to them, "Look, [it is] on account of the anger of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, against Judah [that] he gave them into your hands, and you killed them in a rage reaching to the heavens.

for Ahaz took a portion [from] the house of Yahweh and the house of the king and the princes, and he gave [it] to the king of Assyria, but it was no help to him.

Hezekiah became king when he [was] twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother [was] Abijah the daughter of Zechariah.

And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done.

And the wrath of Yahweh was upon Judah and Jerusalem. And he made them as an abhorrence, as a desolation and an object of scorn, as you see with your own eyes.

And he stood the Levites [in] the house of Yahweh with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the command of David and Gad, the seer of the king, and Nathan the prophet, for the command [was] by the hand of Yahweh by the hand of his prophets.

Then all the assembly bowed down, and the song was sung, and the trumpeters trumpeted--all [together] until the end of the burnt offering.

And when the offering was finished, the king and all who were found with him knelt down and bowed themselves.

And the number of burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy cattle, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs--all these [were] to offer to Yahweh.

And beside the many burnt offerings [was] the fat of the peace offerings and the libations for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of Yahweh was established.

The hand of God was also upon Judah, to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and the princes concerning the word of Yahweh.

So many people gathered in Jerusalem to hold the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month; [it was] a very great assembly.

And there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing such as this in Jerusalem.

Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy dwelling place in the heavens.

And when all this was finished, all Israel who were found in the cities of Judah went out and shattered the stone pillars, cut down the Asherahs, and destroyed the high places and the altars from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh {to the very last one}. Then all the Israelites returned, each to his own property [and] to their cities.

And the gift of the king [was] out of his own possessions for the burnt offerings--the burnt offerings for the morning and the evening and for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and appointed feasts, as is written in the law of Yahweh.

Then they brought the offerings and tithes and holy objects faithfully. And over them [as] leader [was] Conaniah the Levite. And Shimei his brother [was] second [in rank].

And Jehiel, Azaziah, Nathan, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah [were] chief officers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by appointment of King Hezekiah. And Azaraiah [was] leader of the house of God.

Now Kore the son of Imlah, the Levite, the gatekeeper of the east gate [was] over the freewill offerings of God, to give offerings to Yahweh and the most holy things.

And the enrollment of the priests [was] according to the house of their fathers, and the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, according to their posts by their working groups.

When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and [that] his face [was set] for battle against Jerusalem,

After this Sennacherib the king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (now he and all his armies with him [were] against Lachish) to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all of Judah that [was] in Jerusalem, saying,

Who among all the gods of those nations whom my ancestors utterly destroyed was able to save his people from my hand, that your God will be able to save you from my hand?

And many brought tribute to Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations thereafter.

But Hezekiah did not reciprocate according to the benefit [placed] upon him, because his heart became proud. So wrath was upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

And thus [in the matter of] the envoys of the commanders of Babylon who had been sent to him to seek the sign that had happened in the land, God forsook him, to test him [and] to know all [that was] in his heart.

Manasseh [was] twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

And when he was in distress he entreated Yahweh his God and greatly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors

and prayed to him. And God responded to him and heard his plea and let him return to Jerusalem to his kingdom. And Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.

Amon [was] twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

And he did what [was] evil in the eyes of Yahweh as Manasseh his father had done. And Amon sacrificed to all the idols that Manasseh his father had made, and he served them.

Josiah [was] eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and he walked in the ways of David his ancestor and did not deviate [to] the right or [to] the left.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he [was] still a boy, he began to seek the God of David his ancestor. And in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherahs, the idols, and the images.

And they came to Hilkiah the high priest and gave the money that was brought for the house of God, which the Levites, the guardians of the threshold, had gathered from the hand of Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the whole remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And Shaphan brought the scroll to the king and {also informed} the king, saying, "All that was put into the hand of your servants they are doing.

They have dispensed the money which was found in the house of Yahweh and have put it into the hand of the overseers and those doing the work."

"Go! Seek Yahweh on my behalf and on behalf of those remaining in Israel and Judah concerning the words of the scroll that was found, for the anger of Yahweh that [was] poured out on us [is] great, because our ancestors have not kept the word of Yahweh, to do all that is written in this scroll."

Then Hilkiah and those whom the king [had sent] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the garments. (Now she was living in Jerusalem in the second district.) And they spoke to her concerning this.

because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants and you humbled yourself before me and tore your garments and wept before me, now I also have heard,' {declares} Yahweh.

And the king went up to the house of Yahweh with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with the priests and the Levites--all the people from great to small--and they read in their ears all the words of the scroll of the covenant that was found in the house of Yahweh.

So all the service of Yahweh was prepared on that day to keep the Passover and to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh, according to the command of King Josiah.

And there was no Passover like it kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. And none of the kings of Israel kept a Passover like that which Josiah and the priests and the Levites, and all of Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, kept.

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

So his servants took him out of the chariot and transported him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the burial sites of his ancestors. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned over Josiah.

Jehoahaz [was] twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

Jehoiakim [was] twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh his God.

Now the remainder of the words of Jehoiakim and the detestable things that he did and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

Jehoiachin [was] eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

Zedekiah [was] twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

But they were mocking the messengers of God and despising his words and scoffing at his prophets until the wrath of Yahweh rose against his people until there was no remedy.

And from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name).

The governor said to them that they could not eat from the holy food of the sanctuary until there was present a priest for the Urim and Thummim.

The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,

From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh. But the temple of Yahweh was not yet founded.

And they {sang responsively}, with praising and thanksgiving to Yahweh [saying], "For he is good, for his loyal love is everlasting for Israel." And all of the people responded with a great shout of joyful acclaim in praise to Yahweh because the house of Yahweh was laid.

No person could distinguish the sound of joyful acclaim from the sound of people weeping, for the people shouted with great joyful acclaim and the sound was heard from afar.

And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.

so that it may be investigated in the book of records of your ancestors. You will find in the book of records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and they have rebelled in its midst from ancient times. Because of that this city was destroyed.

Then when a copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates they returned in a hurry to Jerusalem against the Jews and they stopped them by force and power.

Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped, and was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in {Judah} and in Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

And the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report came to Darius, and then [answer] was received.

They sent to him the report {in which was written as follows}: "To Darius the king, all peace.

And this is the answer they returned to us: 'We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the house that was built formerly many years ago, [which] a great king of Israel had built and finished.

And now, if it seems good for the king, let it be investigated in the house of the treasury of the king in Babylonia [to see] if a decree was issued forth from King Cyrus to build this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send to us his desire on this matter."

But it was in Ecbatana in the province of Media, in the citadel, that a certain scroll had written on it, "A record.

This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Yahweh the God of Israel gave. The king granted him all his requests, for the hand of Yahweh was upon him.

He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

For on the first day of the first month he began the journey from Babylonia; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God [was] on him.

and who extended to me loyal love before the king and his counselors, and before all of the mighty officials of the king. I took courage, for the hand of Yahweh my God was upon me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horses to protect us from enemies on the way because we said to the king, "the hand of our God is favorable to all who seek him, but his strength and anger are against all who forsake them."

Then I weighed out to them silver and gold and the vessels, the offering of the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his commanders, and all of Israel who was present offered.

On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the river of Ahava to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushing on the way.

The amount and weight of all the weighed [items] was recorded at that time.

The exiles that returned from captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel; twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve goats as a sin offering. All was a burnt offering to Yahweh.

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children from Israel gathered to him. And the people wept bitterly.

Then Ezra stood up and made the chief priests, Levites, and all of Israel swear to do according to what was said. So they swore this oath.

Ezra rose from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He did not eat food nor drink water because he was mourning over the sin of the exiles.

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth day of the month. All the people sat in the public square of the house of God trembling because of this matter and from the rains.

There was found from the sons of the priests those who had married foreign women, from the sons of Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

{They pledged themselves} to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was a ram of the flock for their guilt.

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. It happened in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, that I myself was in the citadel in Susa,

When I heard these words, I sat and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.

O Lord, please let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to revere in your name. Please, let your servant be successful this day and give him compassion before this man." I was cupbearer for the king.

It happened in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. And I had never been sad before the king.

So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." And I was very much afraid.

I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days.

I got up during the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anybody what my God put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. No animal [was] with me except the animal that I was riding on.

I crossed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no place for {my mount} to cross over.

So I went up by the valley during the night and was examining the wall. Then I returned and came to the Valley Gate and returned.