Solomon addressed all Israel, including those who commanded units of a thousand and a hundred, the judges, and all the leaders of all Israel who were heads of families.

Solomon took a census of all the male resident foreigners in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all.

Images of bulls were under it all the way around, ten every eighteen inches all the way around. The bulls were in two rows and had been cast with "The Sea."

and the pots, shovels, and meat forks. All the items King Solomon assigned Huram Abi to make for the Lord's temple were made from polished bronze.

The poles were so long their ends extending out from the ark were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. They have remained there to this very day.

All the Levites who were musicians, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, wore linen. They played cymbals and stringed instruments as they stood east of the altar. They were accompanied by 120 priests who blew trumpets.

The priests were unable to enter the Lord's temple because the Lord's splendor filled the Lord's temple.

The king and all the people were presenting sacrifices to the Lord.

The priests stood in their assigned spots, along with the Levites who had the musical instruments used for praising the Lord. (These were the ones King David made for giving thanks to the Lord and which were used by David when he offered praise, saying, "Certainly his loyal love endures.") Opposite the Levites, the priests were blowing the trumpets, while all Israel stood there.

and built up Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to him, and all the cities where chariots and horses were kept. He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.

Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews and they continue in that role to this very day.

These men worked for Solomon as supervisors; there were a total of 250 of them who were in charge of the people.

Huram sent him ships and some of his sailors, men who were well acquainted with the sea. They sailed with Solomon's men to Ophir, and took from there 450 talents of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of hammered gold were used for each shield.

He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.

There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.

There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.

All of King Solomon's cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon's time.

Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were the fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.

In each city there were shields and spears; he strongly fortified them. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

Those among all the Israelite tribes who were determined to worship the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors.

They supported the kingdom of Judah and were loyal to Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years; they followed the edicts of David and Solomon for three years.

Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, in King Rehoboam's fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

Shemaiah the prophet visited Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were assembled in Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, "This is what the Lord says: 'You have rejected me, so I have rejected you and will hand you over to Shishak.'"

Now Jeroboam had sent some men to ambush the Judahite army from behind. The main army was in front of the Judahite army; the ambushers were behind it.

The men of Judah turned around and realized they were being attacked from the front and the rear. So they cried out for help to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets,

That day the Israelites were defeated; the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors.

Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers; they were all skilled warriors.

and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried off a huge amount of plunder.

Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old, male or female.

The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.

They were accompanied by the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah, and by the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

These were their divisions by families: There were a thousand officers from Judah. Adnah the commander led 300,000 skilled warriors,

From Benjamin, Eliada, a skilled warrior, led 200,000 men who were equipped with bows and shields,

These were the ones who served the king, besides those whom the king placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their respective thrones, dressed in their royal robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying before them.

All the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, "Attack Ramoth Gilead! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king!"

Nevertheless you have done some good things; you removed the Asherah poles from the land and you were determined to follow the Lord."

All the men of Judah were standing before the Lord, along with their infants, wives, and children.

Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: "Listen to me, you people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win."

When they began to shout and praise, the Lord suddenly attacked the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

When the men of Judah arrived at the observation post overlooking the desert and looked at the huge army, they saw dead bodies on the ground; there were no survivors!

All the kingdoms of the surrounding lands were afraid of God when they heard how the Lord had fought against Israel's enemies.

However, the high places were not eliminated; the people were still not devoted to the God of their ancestors.

Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, "Because you made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will shatter what you have made." The ships were wrecked and unable to go to sea.

His brothers, Jehoshaphat's sons, were Azariah, Jechiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All of these were sons of King Jehoshaphat of Israel.

but have instead followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. You encouraged the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord, just as the family of Ahab does in Israel. You also killed your brothers, members of your father's family, who were better than you.

While Jehu was dishing out punishment to Ahab's family, he discovered the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's relatives who were serving Ahaziah and killed them.

So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah's son Joash and sneaked him away from the rest of the royal descendants who were to be executed. She hid him and his nurse in the room where the bed covers were stored. So Jehoshabeath the daughter of King Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada the priest and sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah so she could not execute him.

The Levites and all the men of Judah did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath. Jehoiada the priest did not release his divisions from their duties.

Jehoiada the priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David's spears and shields that were kept in God's temple.

Then she saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters stood beside the king and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets, and the musicians with various instruments were leading the celebration. Athaliah tore her clothes and yelled, "Treason! Treason!"

Jehoiada the priest sent out the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, and ordered them, "Bring her outside the temple to the guards. Put the sword to anyone who follows her." The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord's temple.

Jehoiada then assigned the duties of the Lord's temple to the priests, the Levites whom David had assigned to the Lord's temple. They were responsible for offering burnt sacrifices to the Lord with joy and music, according to the law of Moses and the edict of David.

When they were finished, they brought the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make items for the Lord's temple, including items used in the temple service and for burnt sacrifices, pans, and various other gold and silver items. Throughout Jehoiada's lifetime, burnt sacrifices were offered regularly in the Lord's temple.

The conspirators were Zabad son of Shimeath (an Ammonite woman) and Jehozabad son of Shimrith (a Moabite woman).

Amaziah assembled the people of Judah and assigned them by families to the commanders of units of a thousand and the commanders of units of a hundred for all Judah and Benjamin. He counted those twenty years old and up and discovered there were 300,000 young men of fighting age equipped with spears and shields.

So Amaziah dismissed the troops that had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were very angry at Judah and returned home incensed.

He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in God's temple that were in the care of Obed-Edom, the riches in the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.

Uzziah had an army of skilled warriors trained for battle. They were organized by divisions according to the muster rolls made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, a royal official.

They commanded an army of 307,500 skilled and able warriors who were ready to defend the king against his enemies.

The rest of the events of Uzziah's reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done. (He did not, however, have the audacity to enter the temple.) Yet the people were still sinning.

Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked. So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin. They put the ones who couldn't walk on donkeys. They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of the date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria.

For our fathers were unfaithful; they did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God and abandoned him! They turned away from the Lord's dwelling place and rejected him.

Look, our fathers died violently and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off because of this.

On the first day of the first month they began consecrating; by the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of the Lord's temple. For eight more days they consecrated the Lord's temple. On the sixteenth day of the first month they were finished.

Then the priests slaughtered them. They offered their blood as a sin offering on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had decreed that the burnt sacrifice and sin offering were for all Israel.

When the sacrifices were completed, the king and all who were with him bowed down and worshiped.

and 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep were consecrated.

But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals, so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.)

Hezekiah and all the people were happy about what God had done for them, for it had been done quickly.

They were unable to observe it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem.

Don't be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord God of their ancestors, provoking him to destroy them, as you can see.

They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt sacrifices to the Lord's temple.

They stood at their posts according to the regulations outlined in the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests were splashing the blood as the Levites handed it to them.

Because many in the assembly had not consecrated themselves, the Levites slaughtered the Passover lambs of all who were ceremonially unclean and could not consecrate their sacrifice to the Lord.

The majority of the many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun were ceremonially unclean, yet they ate the Passover in violation of what is prescribed in the law. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: "May the Lord, who is good, forgive

The Israelites who were in Jerusalem observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. The Levites and priests were praising the Lord every day with all their might.

Hezekiah expressed his appreciation to all the Levites, who demonstrated great skill in serving the Lord. They feasted for the seven days of the festival, and were making peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their ancestors.

When all this was over, the Israelites who were in the cities of Judah went out and smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and demolished all the high places and altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Then all the Israelites returned to their own homes in their cities.

They made disbursements to all the males three years old and up who were listed in the genealogical records -- to all who would enter the Lord's temple to serve on a daily basis and fulfill their duties as assigned to their divisions.

As for the descendants of Aaron, the priests who lived in the outskirts of all their cities, men were assigned to disburse portions to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed in the genealogical records.

After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them.

Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria, while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers to Jerusalem. The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem. It read:

They called out loudly in the Judahite dialect to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, trying to scare and terrify them so they could seize the city.

They talked about the God of Jerusalem as if he were one of the man-made gods of the nations of the earth.

Many were bringing presents to the Lord in Jerusalem and precious gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah. From that time on he was respected by all the nations.

He ordered the altars of the Baals to be torn down, and broke the incense altars that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, idols and images, crushed them up and sprinkled the dust over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them.

They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the silver that had been brought to God's temple. The Levites who guarded the door had collected it from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim and from all who were left in Israel, as well as from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the residents of Jerusalem.

The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians,

supervised the laborers and all the foremen on their various jobs. Some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and guards.

The king went up to the Lord's temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the Levites. All the people were there, from the oldest to the youngest. He read aloud all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord's temple.

He made all who were in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. The residents of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

Preparations were made, and the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions as prescribed by the king.

Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

So all the preparations for the Lord's service were made that day, as the Passover was observed and the burnt sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord, as prescribed by King Josiah.

So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.