No More Learning

11:1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was
dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.

11:2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah,
took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's
sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in
the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.

11:3 And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And
Athaliah did reign over the land.

11:4 And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over
hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him
into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an
oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king's son.

11:5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall
do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be
keepers of the watch of the king's house; 11:6 And a third part shall
be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard:
so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.

11:7 And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they
shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.

11:8 And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his
weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be
slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.

11:9 And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things
that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men
that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on
the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.

11:10 And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king
David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD.

11:11 And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand,
round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left
corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.

11:12 And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him,
and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him;
and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.

11:13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the
people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD.

11:14 And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the
manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all
the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah
rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.

11:15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds,
the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without
the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the
priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.

11:16 And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which
the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain.

11:17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and
the people, that they should be the LORD's people; between the king
also and the people.

11:18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and
brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces
thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And
the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.

11:19 And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the
guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king
from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the
guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.

11:20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in
quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house.

11:21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.

12:1 In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty
years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of
Beersheba.

12:2 And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all
his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

12:3 But the high places were not taken away: the people still
sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

12:4 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated
things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of
every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set
at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into
the house of the LORD, 12:5 Let the priests take it to them, every man
of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house,
wheresoever any breach shall be found.

12:6 But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king
Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.

12:7 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other
priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the
house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but
deliver it for the breaches of the house.

12:8 And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people,
neither to repair the breaches of the house.

12:9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid
of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh
into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put
therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.

12:10 And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the
chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they
put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the
LORD.

12:11 And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that
did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and
they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the
house of the LORD, 12:12 And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to
buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the
LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

12:13 Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of
silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of
silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD:
12:14 But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the
house of the LORD.

12:15 Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they
delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt
faithfully.

12:16 The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house
of the LORD: it was the priests'.

12:17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and
took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

12:18 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that
Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah,
had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was
found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king's
house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from
Jerusalem.

12:19 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
12:20 And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in
the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla.

12:21 For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of
Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with
his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his
stead.

13:1 In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king
of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in
Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.

13:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and
followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to
sin; he departed not therefrom.

13:3 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he
delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the
hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days.

13:4 And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him:
for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria
oppressed them.

13:5 (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from
under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in
their tents, as beforetime.

13:6 Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of
Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained
the grove also in Samaria. ) 13:7 Neither did he leave of the people
to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand
footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them
like the dust by threshing.

13:8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and
his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel? 13:9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they
buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

13:10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began
Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and
reigned sixteen years.

13:11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he
departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel sin: but he walked therein.

13:12 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his
might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 13:13
And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne:
and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

13:14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And
Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face,
and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the
horsemen thereof.

13:15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto
him bow and arrows.

13:16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow.
And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's
hands.

13:17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then
Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD's
deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt
smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

13:18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto
the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and
stayed.

13:19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest
have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till
thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

13:20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the
Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

13:21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold,
they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of
Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of
Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

13:22 But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of
Jehoahaz.

13:23 And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them,
and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them
from his presence as yet.

13:24 So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in
his stead.

13:25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of
Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the
hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him,
and recovered the cities of Israel.

14:1 In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel
reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah.

14:2 He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and
reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

14:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not
like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his
father did.

14:4 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people
did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.

14:5 And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his
hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father.

14:6 But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto
that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the
LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the
children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every
man shall be put to death for his own sin.

14:7 He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took
Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.

14:8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son
of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the
face.

14:9 And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah,
saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in
Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed
by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

14:10 Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee
up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to
thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?
14:11 But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel
went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the
face at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah.

14:12 And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled
every man to their tents.

14:13 And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son
of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and came to Jerusalem,
and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the
corner gate, four hundred cubits.

14:14 And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that
were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the
king's house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

14:15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might,
and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 14:16 And Jehoash
slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of
Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead.

14:17 And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death
of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.

14:18 And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 14:19 Now they made a
conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they
sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there.

14:20 And they brought him on horses: and he was buried at Jerusalem
with his fathers in the city of David.

14:21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, which was sixteen
years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.

14:22 He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king
slept with his fathers.

14:23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah
Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria,
and reigned forty and one years.

14:24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he
departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin.

14:25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto
the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel,
which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai,
the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.

14:26 For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very
bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper
for Israel.

14:27 And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel
from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son
of Joash.

14:28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and
his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath,
which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 14:29 And Jeroboam slept
with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son
reigned in his stead.

15:1 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began
Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.

15:2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned
two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah
of Jerusalem.

15:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that his father Amaziah had done; 15:4 Save that the
high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense
still on the high places.

15:5 And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day
of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son
was over the house, judging the people of the land.

15:6 And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
15:7 So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his
fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

15:8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did
Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.

15:9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his
fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

15:10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote
him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

15:11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written
in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

15:12 This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying,
Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation.
And so it came to pass.

15:13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and
thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in
Samaria.

15:14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to
Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him,
and reigned in his stead.

15:15 And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he
made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel.

15:16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the
coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore
he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped
up.

15:17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began
Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in
Samaria.

15:18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he
departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
who made Israel to sin.

15:19 And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem
gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him
to confirm the kingdom in his hand.

15:20 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty
men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the
king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not
there in the land.

15:21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
15:22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned
in his stead.

15:23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son
of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two
years.

15:24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he
departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin.

15:25 But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired
against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's
house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites:
and he killed him, and reigned in his room.

15:26 And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did,
behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel.

15:27 In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the
son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned
twenty years.

15:28 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he
departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin.

15:29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of
Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh,
and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and
carried them captive to Assyria.

15:30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the
son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his
stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

15:31 And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold,
they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

15:32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel
began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign.

15:33 Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he
reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha,
the daughter of Zadok.

15:34 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: he did
according to all that his father Uzziah had done.

15:35 Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed
and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate
of the house of the LORD.

15:36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
15:37 In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the
king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.

15:38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in
his stead.

16:1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son
of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.

16:2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the
sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.

16:3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made
his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the
heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.

16:4 And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on
the hills, and under every green tree.

16:5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel
came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not
overcome him.

16:6 At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and
drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt
there unto this day.

16:7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria,
saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the
hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel,
which rise up against me.

16:8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of
the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a
present to the king of Assyria.

16:9 And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of
Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people
of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

16:10 And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of
Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to
Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it,
according to all the workmanship thereof.

16:11 And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king
Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king
Ahaz came from Damascus.

16:12 And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the
altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.

16:13 And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and
poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace
offerings, upon the altar.

16:14 And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD,
from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house
of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

16:15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the
great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat
offering, and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with
the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat
offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the
blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and
the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.

16:16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz
commanded.

16:17 And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the
laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen
that were under it, and put it upon the pavement of stones.

16:18 And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house,
and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for
the king of Assyria.

16:19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 16:20
And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in
the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

17:1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of
Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.

17:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not
as the kings of Israel that were before him.

17:3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea
became his servant, and gave him presents.

17:4 And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had
sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the
king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of
Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.

17:5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and
went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.

17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and
carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in
Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

17:7 For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the
LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt,
from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other
gods, 17:8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD
cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of
Israel, which they had made.

17:9 And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were
not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places
in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced
city.

17:10 And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and
under every green tree: 17:11 And there they burnt incense in all the
high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before
them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: 17:12
For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall
not do this thing.

17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all
the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil
ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the
law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my
servants the prophets.

17:14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks,
like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD
their God.

17:15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made
with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against
them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the
heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had
charged them, that they should not do like them.

17:16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and
made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and
worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

17:17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through
the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to
do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

17:18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them
out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

17:19 Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but
walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.

17:20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted
them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast
them out of his sight.

17:21 For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made
Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from
following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.

17:22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam
which he did; they departed not from them; 17:23 Until the LORD
removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants
the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to
Assyria unto this day.

17:24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from
Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed
them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and
they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

17:25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that
they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them,
which slew some of them.

17:26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations
which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not
the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among
them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of
the God of the land.

17:27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of
the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell
there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.

17:28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria
came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the
LORD.
17:29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the
houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation
in their cities wherein they dwelt.

17:30 And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth
made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, 17:31 And the Avites
made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in
fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

17:32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest
of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the
houses of the high places.

17:33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the
manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

17:34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not
the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their
ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded
the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; 17:35 With whom the LORD
had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other
gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to
them: 17:36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him
shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.

17:37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the
commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for
evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.

17:38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget;
neither shall ye fear other gods.

17:39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you
out of the hand of all your enemies.

17:40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former
manner.

17:41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven
images, both their children, and their children's children: as did
their fathers, so do they unto this day.

18:1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king
of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

18:2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he
reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was
Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.

18:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that David his father did.

18:4 He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down
the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had
made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to
it: and he called it Nehushtan.

18:5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none
like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

18:6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him,
but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

18:7 And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went
forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him
not.

18:8 He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders
thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

18:9 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which
was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that
Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.

18:10 And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth
year of Hezekiah, that is in the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel,
Samaria was taken.

18:11 And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and
put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the
cities of the Medes: 18:12 Because they obeyed not the voice of the
LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the
servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them.

18:13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king
of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took
them.

18:14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to
Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou
puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto
Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty
talents of gold.

18:15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house
of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house.

18:16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the
temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah
had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

18:17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh
from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And
they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they
came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the
highway of the fuller's field.

18:18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna
the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.

18:19 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus
saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this
wherein thou trustest? 18:20 Thou sayest, (but they are but vain
words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou
trust, that thou rebellest against me? 18:21 Now, behold, thou
trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on
which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is
Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.

18:22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that
he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and
hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar
in Jerusalem? 18:23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my
lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses,
if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.

18:24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the
least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots
and for horsemen? 18:25 Am I now come up without the LORD against
this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this
land, and destroy it.

18:26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto
Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language;
for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in
the ears of the people that are on the wall.

18:27 But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy
master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the
men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink
their own piss with you? 18:28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a
loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of
the great king, the king of Assyria: 18:29 Thus saith the king, Let
not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out
of his hand: 18:30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD,
saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be
delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

18:31 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria,
Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then
eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and
drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: 18:32 Until I come and
take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a
land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye
may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he
persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.

18:33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land
out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 18:34 Where are the gods of
Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and
Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? 18:35 Who are
they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their
country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out
of mine hand? 18:36 But the people held their peace, and answered him
not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

18:37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the
household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the
recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words
of Rabshakeh.

19:1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent
his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the
house of the LORD.

19:2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the
scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to
Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

19:3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of
trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children are come to
the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

19:4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh,
whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living
God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard:
wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

19:5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

19:6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus
saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with
which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

19:7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour,
and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the
sword in his own land.

19:8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring
against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.

19:9 And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is
come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto
Hezekiah, saying, 19:10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah,
saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying,
Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

19:11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to
all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?
19:12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers
have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of
Eden which were in Thelasar? 19:13 Where is the king of Hamath, and
the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena,
and Ivah? 19:14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the
messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the
LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of
Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even
thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven
and earth.

19:16 LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and
see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to
reproach the living God.

19:17 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the
nations and their lands, 19:18 And have cast their gods into the fire:
for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone:
therefore they have destroyed them.

19:19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out
of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art
the LORD God, even thou only.

19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith
the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against
Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

19:21 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The
virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to
scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

19:22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast
thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against
the Holy One of Israel.

19:23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the LORD, and hast said,
With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the
mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar
trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into
the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.

19:24 I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my
feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.

19:25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient
times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou
shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.

19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were
dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as
the green herb, as the grass on the house tops, and as corn blasted
before it be grown up.

19:27 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and
thy rage against me.

19:28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine
ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy
lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

19:29 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such
things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which
springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and
plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.

19:30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet
again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

19:31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that
escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.

19:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He
shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come
before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

19:33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall
not come into this city, saith the LORD.

19:34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and
for my servant David's sake.

19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went
out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and
five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they
were all dead corpses.

19:36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned,
and dwelt at Nineveh.

19:37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of
Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with
the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon
his son reigned in his stead.

20:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet
Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the
LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

20:2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
saying, 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked
before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that
which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

20:4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle
court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 20:5 Turn again,
and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the
God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy
tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up
unto the house of the LORD.

20:6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver
thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will
defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

20:7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it
on the boil, and he recovered.

20:8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the
LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD
the third day? 20:9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the
LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the
shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? 20:10 And
Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten
degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

20:11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the
shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of
Ahaz.

20:12 At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of
Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard
that Hezekiah had been sick.

20:13 And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house
of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and
the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that
was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all
his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.

20:14 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto
him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And
Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.

20:15 And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah
answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there
is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.

20:16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.

20:17 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that
which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be
carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

20:18 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt
beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace
of the king of Babylon.

20:19 Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD
which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and
truth be in my days? 20:20 And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and
all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought
water into the city, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20:21 And Hezekiah slept with his
fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned
fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Hephzibah.

21:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after
the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the
children of Israel.

21:3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father
had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as
did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and
served them.

21:4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD
said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.

21:5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts
of the house of the LORD.

21:6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times,
and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he
wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to
anger.

21:7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the
house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In
this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of
Israel, will I put my name for ever: 21:8 Neither will I make the feet
of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers;
only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded
them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded
them.

21:9 But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil
than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of
Israel.

21:10 And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, 21:11
Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath
done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him,
and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: 21:12 Therefore thus
saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon
Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall
tingle.

21:13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the
plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man
wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

21:14 And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver
them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and
a spoil to all their enemies; 21:15 Because they have done that which
was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day
their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.

21:16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had
filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he
made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the
LORD.

21:17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and
his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah? 21:18 And Manasseh slept with his
fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden
of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

21:19 Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

21:20 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his
father Manasseh did.

21:21 And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and
served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them: 21:22
And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way
of the LORD.

21:23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the
king in his own house.

21:24 And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired
against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king
in his stead.

21:25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 21:26
And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah
his son reigned in his stead.

22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah,
the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

22:2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and
walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the
right hand or to the left.

22:3 And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that
the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the
scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying, 22:4 Go up to Hilkiah the
high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the
house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the
people: 22:5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the
work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them
give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to
repair the breaches of the house, 22:6 Unto carpenters, and builders,
and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

22:7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that
was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.

22:8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have
found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave
the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

22:9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king
word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was
found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that
do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.

22:10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the
priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

22:11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the
book of the law, that he rent his clothes.

22:12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of
Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and
Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying, 22:13 Go ye, enquire of the
LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the
words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD
that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened
unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is
written concerning us.

22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and
Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son
of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt
in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.

22:15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell
the man that sent you to me, 22:16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will
bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all
the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: 22:17 Because
they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that
they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands;
therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not
be quenched.

22:18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD,
thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As
touching the words which thou hast heard; 22:19 Because thine heart
was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou
heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants
thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast
rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith
the LORD.

22:20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou
shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not
see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought
the king word again.

23:1 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of
Judah and of Jerusalem.

23:2 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men
of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the
priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great:
and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant
which was found in the house of the LORD.

23:3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the
LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his
testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul,
to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book.
And all the people stood to the covenant.

23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests
of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out
of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and
for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them
without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of
them unto Bethel.

23:5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah
had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of
Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned
incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets,
and to all the host of heaven.

23:6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without
Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron,
and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the
graves of the children of the people.

23:7 And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the
house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.

23:8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and
defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from
Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that
were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the
city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.

23:9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the
altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened
bread among their brethren.

23:10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children
of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass
through the fire to Molech.

23:11 And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to
the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber
of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned
the chariots of the sun with fire.

23:12 And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of
Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh
had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat
down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into
the brook Kidron.

23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on
the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of
Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and
for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the
abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

23:14 And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and
filled their places with the bones of men.

23:15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that
altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and
stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.

23:16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were
there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the
sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according
to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who
proclaimed these words.

23:17 Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the
city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from
Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the
altar of Bethel.

23:18 And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they
let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of
Samaria.

23:19 And all the houses also of the high places that were in the
cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the
Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the
acts that he had done in Bethel.

23:20 And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there
upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to
Jerusalem.

23:21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover
unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.

23:22 Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the
judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel,
nor of the kings of Judah; 23:23 But in the eighteenth year of king
Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.

23:24 Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and
the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in
the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might
perform the words of the law which were written in the book that
Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

23:25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to
the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his
might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose
there any like him.

23:26 Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his
great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of
all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.

23:27 And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as
I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I
have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

23:28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
23:29 In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against the king
of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him;
and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.

23:30 And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and
brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the
people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him,
and made him king in his father's stead.

23:31 Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

23:32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that his fathers had done.

23:33 And Pharaohnechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of
Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a
tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

23:34 And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the
room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took
Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there.

23:35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he
taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of
Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land,
of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaohnechoh.

23:36 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

23:37 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that his fathers had done.

24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim
became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against
him.

24:2 And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of
the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of
Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the
word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets.