II Kings

Old Testament · 25 chapters · 719 verses.

Chapter 1

1:1And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
1:2And Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper chamber in Samaria and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub, god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.”
1:3But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Rise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub, god of Ekron?
1:4Therefore, thus says the LORD: You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, for you shall surely die.’” And Elijah departed.
1:5And the messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?”
1:6And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the LORD: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub, god of Ekron? Therefore, you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, for you shall surely die.’”
1:7And he said to them, “What sort of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?”
1:8And they said to him, “He was a hairy man, with a leather belt fastened around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
1:9Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the captain went up to him, and behold, Elijah was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’”
1:10And Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from the heavens and consumed him and his fifty men.
1:11And again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king: ‘Come down quickly.’”
1:12And Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from the heavens and consumed him and his fifty men.
1:13And again the king sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, came, and fell on his knees before Elijah. And he pleaded with him, saying, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.
1:14Behold, fire came down from the heavens and consumed the first two captains of fifty and their fifty men. But now, let my life be precious in your sight.”
1:15And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he rose and went down with him to the king.
1:16And he said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Because you sent messengers to inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub, god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel whose word you may inquire of?—therefore, you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, for you shall surely die.”
1:17And he died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. And Joram reigned in his place in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.
1:18And the rest of the acts of Ahaziah, which he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Chapter 2

2:1And when the LORD was about to take Elijah up into the heavens by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha went from Gilgal.
2:2And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please remain here, for the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
2:3And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master from over your head?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be silent.”
2:4And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please remain here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.
2:5And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master from over your head?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be silent.”
2:6And Elijah said to him, “Please remain here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
2:7And fifty men from the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
2:8And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters. And they were divided to one side and the other, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
2:9And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
2:10And he said, “You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be.”
2:11And as they went on, walking and speaking, behold, a chariot of fire with horses of fire came between the two of them; and Elijah went up into the heavens by a whirlwind.
2:12And Elisha saw it and cried, “My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garments and tore them in two.
2:13And he picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen from him, and returned and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
2:14And he took Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen from him, and struck the waters, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah—even He?” And when he struck the waters, they were divided to one side and the other, and Elisha crossed over.
2:15And when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him from across the way, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
2:16And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty able men. Please let them go and seek your master, lest the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.” But he said, “You shall not send them.”
2:17Yet they pressed him until he was ashamed, and he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men, and they sought for three days but did not find him.
2:18And they returned to him while he was remaining in Jericho. And he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
2:19And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the site of the city is good, as my lord sees, but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”
2:20And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” And they brought it to him.
2:21And he went out to the spring of the waters, cast the salt into it, and said, “Thus says the LORD: I have healed these waters; no more death or barrenness shall come from them.”
2:22So the waters were healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.
2:23And he went up from there to Bethel. And as he was going up along the way, young boys came out from the city and mocked him, saying, “Go up, baldhead! Go up, baldhead!”
2:24And he turned around, saw them, and cursed them in the Name of the LORD. And two bears came out of the forest and mauled forty-two of the boys.
2:25And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Chapter 3

3:1And Joram son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years.
3:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, though not like his father and his mother, for he removed the pillar of Baal that his father had made.
3:3Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin; he did not turn aside from them.
3:4Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.
3:5But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
3:6And King Joram went out from Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel.
3:7And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, and my horses as your horses.”
3:8And he said, “By which way shall we go up?” And he said, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.”
3:9So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And they marched by a roundabout way for seven days, but there was no water for the army or for the livestock that followed them.
3:10And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.”
3:11But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may seek the LORD through him?” And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”
3:12And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went down to him.
3:13And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.”
3:14And Elisha said, “As the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, if I did not show regard for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you.
3:15But now, bring me a musician.” And when the musician played, the hand of the LORD came upon him.
3:16And he said, “Thus says the LORD: Dig ditch after ditch in this valley.
3:17For thus says the LORD: You shall see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley shall be filled with water, and you shall drink—you, your livestock, and your animals.
3:18And this is a light thing in the sight of the LORD; He shall also give Moab into your hand.
3:19And you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, fell every good tree, stop every spring of water, and ruin every good field with stones.”
3:20And in the morning, at the time when the grain offering was offered, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, and the land was filled with water.
3:21Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So everyone old enough to bear arms was summoned, and they stood at the border.
3:22And they rose early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water; and the Moabites saw the water opposite them, red like blood.
3:23And they said, “This is blood! The kings have surely fought together and struck down one another. Now then, Moabites, to the spoil!”
3:24But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose and struck the Moabites, and they fled before them. And the Israelites went forward into Moab, striking the Moabites as they went.
3:25And they broke down the cities, and each man cast his stone upon every good field until they had filled it. And they stopped every spring of water and felled every good tree, until only Kir-hareseth was left with its stones. And the slingers surrounded it and struck it.
3:26And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew the sword, to break through to the king of Edom; but they were not able.
3:27Then he took his firstborn son, who was to reign in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And great wrath came against Israel; and they withdrew from him and returned to their land.

Chapter 4

4:1Now a certain woman from among the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, is dead; and you know that your servant feared the LORD. But the creditor has come to take my two sons as his slaves.”
4:2And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a small jar of oil.”
4:3And he said, “Go, borrow vessels for yourself from outside, from all your neighbors—empty vessels, and not just a few.
4:4Then go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour the oil into all these vessels; and when each is full, set it aside.”
4:5So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. They brought the vessels to her, and she poured.
4:6And when the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There is no other vessel.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
4:7And she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons shall live on the rest.”
4:8And one day Elisha passed through Shunem. And a woman of standing was there, and she urged him strongly to eat food. So whenever he passed through, he turned aside there to eat food.
4:9And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this man who continually passes by us is a holy man of God.
4:10Please let us make a small walled upper room and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lampstand. Then whenever he comes to us, he may turn aside there.”
4:11And one day he came there, turned aside to the upper room, and lay down there.
4:12And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” And he called her, and she stood before him.
4:13And he said to Gehazi, “Now say to her, ‘Behold, you have taken all this trouble for us. What may be done for you? Shall I speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” And she said, “I dwell among my own people.”
4:14And he said, “What then may be done for her?” And Gehazi said, “Truly, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
4:15And he said, “Call her.” And he called her, and she stood in the doorway.
4:16And he said, “At this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not deceive your maidservant.”
4:17And the woman conceived and bore a son at that time the following year, as Elisha had said to her.
4:18And the boy grew. And one day he went out to his father among the reapers.
4:19And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” And his father said to the servant, “Carry him to his mother.”
4:20And he carried him and brought him to his mother. And the boy sat on her knees until noon, and then he died.
4:21And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door behind him, and went out.
4:22And she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return.”
4:23And he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” And she said, “All is well.”
4:24Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Drive on; do not slow down for me unless I tell you.”
4:25So she went and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. And when the man of God saw her from afar, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, there is the Shunammite woman.
4:26Now run to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the boy?’” And she said, “All is well.”
4:27And when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in bitter distress; and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
4:28And she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”
4:29Then he said to Gehazi, “Fasten your belt, take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. And lay my staff on the face of the boy.”
4:30And the mother of the boy said, “As the LORD lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he rose and followed her.
4:31And Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the face of the boy, but there was no sound and no response. So he returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”
4:32And when Elisha came into the house, behold, the boy was dead, lying on his bed.
4:33And he went in, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.
4:34Then he went up and lay upon the boy, putting his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands. And he stretched himself upon him, and the flesh of the boy became warm.
4:35Then he returned and walked back and forth in the house; and he went up and stretched himself upon him again. And the boy sneezed seven times, and the boy opened his eyes.
4:36And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her, and she came to him. And he said, “Take up your son.”
4:37And she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground. Then she took up her son and went out.
4:38And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. And the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Set on the large pot and cook stew for the sons of the prophets.”
4:39And one went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine. And he gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, came in, and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were.
4:40And they poured it out for the men to eat. And as they were eating the stew, they cried out and said, “Death is in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.
4:41And he said, “Then bring flour.” And he cast it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
4:42And a man came from Ba‘al-Shalishah and brought the man of God food from the firstfruits: twenty loaves of barley bread and fresh heads of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”
4:43But his servant said, “How shall I set this before one hundred men?” And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: They shall eat and have some left.”
4:44So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.

Chapter 5

5:1Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man before his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was a mighty warrior, though he had a skin disease.
5:2And the Arameans had gone out in raiding bands and had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel; and she served Naaman’s wife.
5:3And she said to her mistress, “If only my master were before the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his skin disease.”
5:4And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.”
5:5And the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went and took in his hand ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of garments.
5:6And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now, when this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his skin disease.”
5:7And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments and said, “Am I God, to put to death and to make alive, that this man sends someone to me to heal him of his skin disease? But consider now and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
5:8And when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your garments? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
5:9So Naaman came with his horses and his chariot and stood at the doorway of Elisha’s house.
5:10And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”
5:11But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, stand, call in the Name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the diseased place and heal me of the skin disease.’
5:12Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in fury.
5:13But his servants came near and spoke to him, saying, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
5:14Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
5:15And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. And now, please accept a gift from your servant.”
5:16But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will not accept it.” And Naaman urged him to accept it, but he refused.
5:17And Naaman said, “If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant, for your servant will no longer offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to other gods, but only to the LORD.
5:18In this matter may the LORD forgive your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to bow himself there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon—when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant in this matter.”
5:19And he said to him, “Go in peace.” And when he had gone from him a short distance,
5:20Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, by not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”
5:21So Gehazi pursued Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”
5:22And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’”
5:23And Naaman said, “Please accept two talents.” And he urged him and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him.
5:24And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and stored them in the house. Then he sent the men away, and they departed.
5:25And he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”
5:26And he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to take silver, to take garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and cattle, male servants and female servants?
5:27Therefore, the skin disease of Naaman shall cling to you and to your offspring forever.” And he went out from his presence, diseased and white as snow.

Chapter 6

6:1And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us.
6:2Please let us go to the Jordan, and let each man take a log from there, and let us make a place there for ourselves to dwell.” And he said, “Go.”
6:3Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he said, “I will go.”
6:4So he went with them. And they came to the Jordan and cut down trees.
6:5And as one was felling a log, the iron axe head fell into the water. And he cried out and said, “Alas, my lord! It was borrowed.”
6:6And the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. Then he cut a stick, cast it there, and made the iron float.
6:7And he said, “Lift it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.
6:8Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel. And he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.”
6:9And the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware of passing this place, for the Arameans are going down there.”
6:10And the king of Israel sent word to the place of which the man of God had spoken to him and warned him. And he was on his guard there, not merely once or twice.
6:11And the heart of the king of Aram was troubled over this matter. So he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me who among us is for the king of Israel?”
6:12And one of his servants said, “No one, my lord, O king; but Elisha the prophet who is in Israel tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your innermost bedchamber.”
6:13And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
6:14So he sent there horses, chariots, and a great army. And they came by night and surrounded the city.
6:15And the servant of the man of God rose early and went out; and behold, an army with horses and chariots was surrounding the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my lord! What shall we do?”
6:16And he said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
6:17And Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes, that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
6:18And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha.
6:19And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
6:20And when they came into Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
6:21And when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Shall I strike them, my father? Shall I strike them?”
6:22And he said, “You shall not strike them. Would you strike those whom you had taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
6:23So he prepared a great feast for them. And when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Aramean raiding bands came no more into the land of Israel.
6:24And afterward Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, went up, and besieged Samaria.
6:25And there was a great famine in Samaria. And behold, they besieged it until a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter measure of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.
6:26And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Save me, my lord, O king!”
6:27And he said, “If the LORD does not save you, how can I save you—from the threshing floor or from the winepress?”
6:28And the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
6:29So we boiled my son and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him.’ But she hid her son.”
6:30And when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his garments. And as he passed by on the wall, the people saw, and behold, he wore sackcloth underneath, against his flesh.
6:31And he said, “Thus may God do to me, and thus may He add, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on him today.”
6:32Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take off my head? See, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
6:33While he was still speaking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. And he said, “Behold, this calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

Chapter 7

7:1And Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: About this time tomorrow, a measure of fine flour shall sell for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.”
7:2Then the officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if the LORD were to make windows in the heavens, could this thing be?” And he said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
7:3Now four men with a skin disease were at the entrance of the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?
7:4If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit here, we shall also die. Now then, come, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we shall live; and if they put us to death, then we shall die.”
7:5So they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. And when they came to the edge of the camp of the Arameans, behold, no one was there.
7:6For the LORD had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, the sound of horses, and the sound of a great army. And they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.”
7:7So they rose and fled at twilight and left their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—the camp just as it was—and fled for their lives.
7:8And when these men with a skin disease came to the edge of the camp, they entered one tent and ate and drank. And they carried away silver, gold, and garments from there and went and hid them. Then they returned, entered another tent, carried things away from there, and went and hid them.
7:9Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, yet we are silent. If we wait until the morning light, guilt will overtake us. Now then, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
7:10So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, saying, “We went to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, no one was there, nor was there the sound of a man—only horses tied, donkeys tied, and tents just as they were.”
7:11And the gatekeepers called out, and the report was told within the king’s household.
7:12And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are famished, so they have gone out from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out from the city, we shall seize them alive and enter the city.’”
7:13And one of his servants answered and said, “Please let some men take five of the horses that remain in the city. Behold, those who remain here will fare like all the multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send and see.”
7:14So they took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the camp of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.”
7:15And they went after them as far as the Jordan; and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels that the Arameans had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.
7:16Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. And a measure of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
7:17Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned over the gate. And the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, according to the word that the man of God had spoken when the king came down to him.
7:18And it happened according to the word that the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two measures of barley shall sell for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria.”
7:19And the officer had answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if the LORD were to make windows in the heavens, could this thing be?” And he had said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
7:20And so it happened to him; for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

Chapter 8

8:1And Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Rise and go, you and your household, and sojourn wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and it is also coming upon the land for seven years.”
8:2So the woman rose and did according to the word of the man of God. And she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
8:3And at the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines. And she went out to appeal to the king for her house and her field.
8:4Now the king was speaking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please recount to me all the great things that Elisha has done.”
8:5And as he was recounting to the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”
8:6And the king questioned the woman, and she recounted it to him. Then the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the produce of the field from the day she left the land until now.”
8:7And Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told to him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”
8:8And the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God. And inquire of the LORD through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’”
8:9So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand—every good thing of Damascus, a load of forty camels. And he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’”
8:10And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that he shall surely die.”
8:11And he fixed his gaze and kept it there until Hazael was ashamed. Then the man of God wept.
8:12And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” And he said, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel. You will set their fortified cities on fire, kill their young men with the sword, dash their infants to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.”
8:13And Hazael said, “But what is your servant, a dog, that he should do such a great thing?” And Elisha said, “The LORD has shown me that you shall be king over Aram.”
8:14Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master. And he said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he said, “He told me that you shall surely recover.”
8:15But on the next day, he took the bedcover, dipped it in water, and spread it over his face, so that he died. And Hazael reigned in his place.
8:16And in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, while Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign.
8:17He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
8:18And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for a daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
8:19Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David His servant, as He had said to him that He would give him a lamp through his sons always.
8:20In his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah, and the Edomites set a king over themselves.
8:21Then Jehoram crossed over to Zair with all the chariots. And he rose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, along with the commanders of the chariots; and the people fled to their tents.
8:22So Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah rebelled at that time.
8:23And the rest of the acts of Jehoram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
8:24And Jehoram lay with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.
8:25In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign.
8:26Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Athaliah daughter of Omri, king of Israel.
8:27And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.
8:28And he went with Joram son of Ahab to battle against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead; and the Arameans wounded Joram.
8:29And King Joram returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth-gilead, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was wounded.

Chapter 9

9:1And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Fasten your belt, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
9:2When you arrive, look there for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, have him rise from among his fellow officers, and take him into an inner room.
9:3Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: I have anointed you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not delay.”
9:4So the young man, the young prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.
9:5And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were sitting there. And he said, “I have a word for you, commander.” And Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, commander.”
9:6And he rose and went into the house. Then the young prophet poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel.
9:7You shall strike the house of Ahab your lord, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD at the hand of Jezebel.
9:8And the whole house of Ahab shall perish. I will cut off from Ahab every male, whether slave or free, in Israel.
9:9And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah.
9:10And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the plot of Jezreel, and no one shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.
9:11And Jehu came out to the servants of his lord, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his kind of talk.”
9:12And they said, “That is false. Tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: I have anointed you king over Israel.’”
9:13Then they hurried, and each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. And they blew the trumpet and said, “Jehu is king!”
9:14So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram and all Israel had been guarding Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram.
9:15But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Jehu said, “If this is your will, let no one escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”
9:16Then Jehu rode in his chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there; and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see Joram.
9:17And the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu’s company as it came and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is all well?’”
9:18So the horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is all well?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Fall in behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he has not returned.”
9:19Then he sent a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is all well?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
9:20And the watchman reported, saying, “He reached them, but he has not returned. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi, for he drives like a madman.”
9:21Then Joram said, “Harness my chariot.” And his chariot was harnessed. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his own chariot. They went out to meet Jehu and found him in the plot of Naboth the Jezreelite.
9:22And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is there peace, Jehu?” And he said, “What peace can there be while the sexual immorality of Jezebel your mother and her sorceries are so many?”
9:23Then Joram wheeled around and fled, and said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
9:24And Jehu drew the bow with his full strength and struck Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he collapsed in his chariot.
9:25Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up and cast him into the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember, when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, the LORD laid this oracle upon him:
9:26‘Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—an utterance of the LORD—and I will repay you in this plot—an utterance of the LORD.’ Now therefore, pick him up and cast him into the plot, according to the word of the LORD.”
9:27And when Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “Strike him also!” They struck him in the chariot at the ascent of Gur, near Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo and died there.
9:28And his servants carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the City of David.
9:29Now Ahaziah had begun to reign over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab.
9:30And Jehu came to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard of it, she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked out through the window.
9:31And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Did Zimri have peace, murderer of his lord?”
9:32And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is with me? Who?” And two or three eunuchs looked down at him.
9:33And he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and Jehu trampled her underfoot.
9:34Then he went in, ate and drank, and said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.”
9:35And they went to bury her, but found nothing of her except the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands.
9:36And they returned and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the plot of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel,
9:37and the carcass of Jezebel shall be like dung on the face of the field in the plot of Jezreel, so that no one shall be able to say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

Chapter 10

10:1Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, the elders, and the guardians of Ahab’s sons, saying,
10:2“Now when this letter comes to you, since your lord’s sons are with you, and you have chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons,
10:3choose the best and most worthy of your lord’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your lord’s house.”
10:4But they were exceedingly afraid and said, “Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand?”
10:5And the one who was over the house, the one who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and all that you say to us we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your eyes.”
10:6Then he wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are for me and will listen to my voice, take the heads of your lord’s sons and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the king’s sons were seventy men, and they were with the great men of the city who were rearing them.
10:7And when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered them—seventy men. And they put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
10:8And the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” And he said, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”
10:9And in the morning he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are innocent. Behold, I conspired against my lord and killed him; but who struck down all these?
10:10Know now that not one word of the LORD shall fall to the ground, which the LORD spoke against the house of Ahab; for the LORD has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah.”
10:11Then Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men, his close friends, and his priests, until he left him no survivor.
10:12And he rose and departed for Samaria. On the way, he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds.
10:13And Jehu found the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they said, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah, and we are going down to greet the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons.”
10:14And he said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and slaughtered them at the cistern of Beth-eked—forty-two men. He did not leave one of them.
10:15And when he departed from there, he found Jehonadab son of Rechab coming to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to me, as my heart is to yours?” And Jehonadab said, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot.
10:16And he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.” So he had him ride in his chariot.
10:17And when he came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed them, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.
10:18Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu shall serve him much.
10:19Now therefore, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be absent, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is absent shall not live.” But Jehu acted in deceit, in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
10:20And Jehu said, “Consecrate a solemn assembly for Baal.” And they proclaimed it.
10:21Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was left who did not come. And they entered the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other.
10:22And he said to the one who was over the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the servants of Baal.” And he brought out the garments for them.
10:23Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rechab entered the house of Baal. And Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Search and see that there is no servant of the LORD here among you, but only the servants of Baal.”
10:24And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said, “If any of the men whom I deliver into your hands escapes, your life shall be for his life.”
10:25And as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and strike them; let no one come out.” And they struck them with the edge of the sword. Then the guards and officers cast them out and entered the inner chamber of the house of Baal.
10:26And they brought out the sacred pillars of the house of Baal and burned them.
10:27Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day.
10:28Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
10:29Only, Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin—the gold calves that were at Bethel and in Dan.
10:30And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.”
10:31But Jehu did not take care to walk in the Law of the LORD, God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam, by which he caused Israel to sin.
10:32In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel, and Hazael struck them throughout all the territory of Israel:
10:33from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead—the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites—from Aroer, which is by the Brook of Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.
10:34And the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
10:35And Jehu lay with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place.
10:36And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Chapter 11

11:1And when Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring.
11:2But Jehosheba daughter of King Jehoram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death. She put him and his nurse in a bedchamber, and they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death.
11:3And he remained hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
11:4And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the captains of hundreds of the Carites and the guards, and brought them to him in the house of the LORD. And he made a covenant with them, put them under oath in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son.
11:5And he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do: one-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall keep watch over the king’s house;
11:6one-third shall be at the Gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the guards. Thus you shall keep watch over the house and guard it.
11:7And the two divisions of you, all who go off duty on the Sabbath, shall keep watch over the house of the LORD for the king.
11:8And you shall surround the king on every side, each with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes within the ranks shall be put to death. Stay with the king whenever he goes out and whenever he comes in.”
11:9And the captains of hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each took his men, those coming on duty on the Sabbath together with those going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
11:10And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields that had belonged to King David, which were in the house of the LORD.
11:11And the guards stood, each with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, surrounding the king on every side.
11:12Then he brought out the king’s son, placed the crown upon him, and gave him the Testimony. And they made him king and anointed him; and they clapped their hands and said, “Let the king live!”
11:13And when Athaliah heard the sound of the guards and the people, she came to the people in the house of the LORD.
11:14And she looked, and behold, the king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters were beside the king. And all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her garments and cried out, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”
11:15And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were over the army and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be put to death in the house of the LORD.”
11:16So they seized her, and she went by way of the horses’ entrance to the king’s house; and there she was put to death.
11:17And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people, and also between the king and the people.
11:18Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and broke it down. They thoroughly broke its altars and its images in pieces, and put Mattan the priest of Baal to death before the altars. And the priest appointed overseers over the house of the LORD.
11:19And he took the captains of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land. And they brought the king down from the house of the LORD and came by way of the Gate of the Guards to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.
11:20And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death by the sword at the king’s house.

Chapter 12

12:1Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.
12:2In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Zibiah of Beersheba.
12:3And Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
12:4Only, the high places were not removed; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.
12:5And Joash said to the priests, “All the money of the sacred offerings that is brought into the house of the LORD—the money from each person who passes over in the census, the money from each person’s valuation, and all the money anyone’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD—
12:6let the priests receive it, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any damage is found.”
12:7But by the twenty-third year of King Joash, the priests had not repaired the damage to the house.
12:8Then King Joash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the house? Now therefore, take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.”
12:9And the priests agreed that they would neither take money from the people nor be responsible for repairing the house.
12:10Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the house of the LORD. And the priests who kept the threshold put into it all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.
12:11And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, put it into bags, and counted the money found in the house of the LORD.
12:12Then they gave the weighed money into the hands of those who supervised the work on the house of the LORD. And they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the LORD,
12:13and to the masons and stonecutters, and to buy timber and hewn stone for repairing the damage to the house of the LORD, and for every expense required to repair the house.
12:14But no silver basins, wick trimmers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessel of gold or silver were made for the house of the LORD from the money that was brought into the house of the LORD;
12:15for they gave it to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD.
12:16And they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hands they gave the money to pay the workers, for they dealt faithfully.
12:17The money from guilt offerings and the money from sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it belonged to the priests.
12:18Then Hazael king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and captured it. And Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.
12:19And Joash king of Judah took all the sacred gifts that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, together with his own sacred gifts and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Aram. Then Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
12:20And 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?
12:21And his servants rose and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash in the house of Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla.
12:22And Jozachar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 13

13:1In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years.
13:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin; he did not turn aside from them.
13:3And the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hand of Hazael king of Aram and into the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael throughout those days.
13:4Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, for He had seen the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them.
13:5And the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped from under the hand of Aram. And the sons of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.
13:6Nevertheless, they did not turn aside from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, by which he caused Israel to sin, but walked in them. The sacred pole also remained standing in Samaria.
13:7For the king of Aram had left Jehoahaz no army except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for he had destroyed them and made them like dust at threshing.
13:8And 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?
13:9And Jehoahaz lay with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Joash his son reigned in his place.
13:10In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Joash son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.
13:11And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not turn aside from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin, but walked in them.
13:12And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
13:13And Joash lay with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
13:14Now Elisha became sick with the illness from which he died. And Joash king of Israel came down to him, wept over him, and said, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!”
13:15And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” And he took a bow and arrows.
13:16Then he said to the king of Israel, “Place your hand on the bow.” And he placed his hand on it. Then Elisha laid his hands upon the king’s hands.
13:17And he said, “Open the window eastward.” And he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot.” And he shot. And Elisha said, “The LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! For you shall strike Aram at Aphek until you have destroyed it.”
13:18Then he said, “Take the arrows.” And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.” And he struck it three times and stopped.
13:19And the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Aram until you had destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”
13:20And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now Moabite raiding bands entered the land at the turn of the year.
13:21And as they were burying a man, behold, they saw the raiding band and cast the man into Elisha’s grave. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
13:22And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
13:23But the LORD showed them favor, had compassion on them, and turned toward them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was not willing to destroy them or cast them from His presence up to that time.
13:24And Hazael king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad his son reigned in his place.
13:25Then Joash son of Jehoahaz recovered from the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the cities that he had taken in war from the hand of Jehoahaz his father. Joash struck him three times and recovered the cities of Israel.

Chapter 14

14:1In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash began to reign as king of Judah.
14:2He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
14:3And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, though not like David his father. He did according to all that Joash his father had done.
14:4Only, the high places were not removed; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.
14:5And as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants who had struck down his father the king.
14:6But he did not put the sons of those who had struck him to death, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; each shall be put to death for his own sin.”
14:7He struck ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and seized Sela in war. And he called its name Joktheel, as it is to this day.
14:8Then Amaziah sent messengers to Joash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us meet face to face.”
14:9And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thornbush in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ But a wild beast of the field in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thornbush.
14:10You have indeed struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Take your glory and remain in your house. Why should you provoke disaster, so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”
14:11But Amaziah did not listen. So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah met face to face at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
14:12And Judah was struck down before Israel, and they fled, each to his tent.
14:13And Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, son of Joash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then he came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits.
14:14And he took all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, together with the hostages, and returned to Samaria.
14:15And the rest of the acts of Joash, and what he did, and his might, and how he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
14:16And Joash lay with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.
14:17And Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.
14:18And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
14:19And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish and put him to death there.
14:20And they carried him back on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David.
14:21Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
14:22He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after the king lay with his fathers.
14:23In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years.
14:24And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not turn aside from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin.
14:25He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-Hepher.
14:26For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, and that no one remained, slave or free, and there was no helper for Israel.
14:27And the LORD had not said that He would blot out the name of Israel from under the heavens, so He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash.
14:28And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he fought and how he recovered Damascus and Hamath for Israel, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
14:29And Jeroboam lay with his fathers, the kings of Israel. And Zechariah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 15

15:1In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Uzziah son of Amaziah began to reign as king of Judah.
15:2He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
15:3And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Amaziah his father had done.
15:4Only, the high places were not removed; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.
15:5And the LORD struck the king, and he had a skin disease until the day of his death; and he dwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the palace, governing the people of the land.
15:6And the rest of the acts of Uzziah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
15:7And Uzziah lay with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. And Jotham his son reigned in his place.
15:8In the thirty-eighth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months.
15:9And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin.
15:10And Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him, struck him down before the people, and put him to death; and he reigned in his place.
15:11And the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
15:12This was the word of the LORD which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” And it was so.
15:13Shallum son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samaria.
15:14Then Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah and came to Samaria. And he struck Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, put him to death, and reigned in his place.
15:15And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy he made, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
15:16Then Menahem struck Tiphsah and all who were in it, and all its territory from Tirzah, because it did not open its gates to him. And he struck it and ripped open all its pregnant women.
15:17In the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned ten years.
15:18And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not turn aside all his days from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin.
15:19Pul king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver so that he would support him and strengthen his hold on the kingdom.
15:20And Menahem exacted the silver from Israel, from every wealthy man, to give to the king of Assyria—fifty shekels of silver from each man. Then the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain there in the land.
15:21And 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?
15:22And Menahem lay with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.
15:23In the fiftieth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years.
15:24And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin.
15:25Then Pekah son of Remaliah, his officer, conspired against him and struck him down in Samaria, in the citadel of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh; and fifty men of the Gileadites were with him. And he put him to death and reigned in his place.
15:26And 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.
15:27In the fifty-second year of Uzziah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years.
15:28And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he caused Israel to sin.
15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he deported them to Assyria.
15:30Then Hoshea son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah, struck him down, and put him to death; and he reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
15:31And 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.
15:32In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah began to reign as king of Judah.
15:33He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.
15:34And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD. He did according to all that Uzziah his father had done.
15:35Only, the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the high gate of the house of the LORD.
15:36And 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?
15:37In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah.
15:38And Jotham lay with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. And Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 16

16:1In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham began to reign as king of Judah.
16:2Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as David his father had done.
16:3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel.
16:4And he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
16:5Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem for battle. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.
16:6At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and drove the men of Judah from Elath. And the Arameans came to Elath and dwell there to this day.
16:7Then Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising against me.”
16:8And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a bribe to the king of Assyria.
16:9And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria went up against Damascus and seized it; he deported its people to Kir and put Rezin to death.
16:10Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria and saw the altar that was in Damascus. And King Ahaz sent Urijah the priest a drawing of the altar and a model showing all its workmanship.
16:11And Urijah the priest built the altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Urijah the priest completed it before King Ahaz returned from Damascus.
16:12And when the king returned from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar and offered upon it.
16:13He burned his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splashed the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.
16:14And the bronze altar that was before the LORD he moved from the front of the house—from between the new altar and the house of the LORD—and set it on the north side of the new altar.
16:15Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, with their grain offering and their drink offerings. Splash upon it all the blood of the burnt offerings and all the blood of the sacrifices. As for the bronze altar, I will use it to seek guidance.”
16:16And Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.
16:17And King Ahaz cut off the panels from the stands and removed the basin from them. He took the Sea down from the bronze oxen beneath it and set it upon a stone pavement.
16:18And because of the king of Assyria, he removed from the house of the LORD the covered Sabbath entrance that had been built there, together with the king’s outer entrance.
16:19And the rest of the acts of Ahaz, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
16:20And Ahaz lay with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 17

17:1In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.
17:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, though not as the kings of Israel who were before him.
17:3Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute.
17:4But the king of Assyria discovered treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had not paid the yearly tribute to the king of Assyria. Therefore the king of Assyria seized him and bound him in prison.
17:5Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, came up against Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
17:6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
17:7This happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and because they had feared other gods,
17:8and had walked in the statutes of the nations that the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel, and in the statutes that the kings of Israel had established.
17:9And the sons of Israel secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places for themselves in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city.
17:10And they set up pillars and sacred poles for themselves on every high hill and under every green tree.
17:11And they burned incense there on all the high places, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did evil things to provoke the LORD.
17:12And they served idols, though the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”
17:13Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn back from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the Law that I commanded your fathers and sent to you by My servants the prophets.”
17:14But they would not listen. They stiffened their necks like the necks of their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their God.
17:15And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He made with their fathers, and the testimonies by which He warned them. They went after what was worthless and became worthless, and went after the nations around them, though the LORD had commanded them not to do as they did.
17:16And they forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves a cast-metal image—two calves—and made a sacred pole. They bowed themselves to all the host of the heavens and served Baal.
17:17And they made their sons and daughters pass through the fire, practiced divination, interpreted omens, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
17:18Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence. None was left except the tribe of Judah alone.
17:19Even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes that Israel had established.
17:20And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His presence.
17:21For He tore Israel away from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the LORD and caused them to commit a great sin.
17:22And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam committed; they did not turn aside from them,
17:23until the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had spoken by all His servants the prophets. And Israel was deported from its land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.
17:24And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.
17:25At the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, and the lions killed some of them.
17:26So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land. Therefore He has sent lions among them, and behold, the lions are killing them because they do not know the custom of the God of the land.”
17:27Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send back one of the priests whom you deported from there. Let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the custom of the God of the land.”
17:28So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and he taught them how they should fear the LORD.
17:29But each nation made its own gods and placed them in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans had made—each nation in the cities where they dwelt.
17:30The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth; the men of Cuthah made Nergal; and the men of Hamath made Ashima.
17:31And the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their sons in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
17:32They feared the LORD, yet they appointed for themselves priests of the high places from among their own people, who served for them in the houses of the high places.
17:33They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from which they had been deported.
17:34To this day they follow their former customs. They do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow the statutes, ordinances, Law, or commandment that the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, whose name He made Israel.
17:35And the LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, bow yourselves to them, serve them, or sacrifice to them.
17:36But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm—Him you shall fear, to Him you shall bow yourselves, and to Him you shall sacrifice.
17:37And the statutes, ordinances, Law, and commandment that He wrote for you, you shall observe and do all your days; and you shall not fear other gods.
17:38And you shall not forget the covenant that I made with you, and you shall not fear other gods.
17:39But you shall fear the LORD your God, and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
17:40But they would not listen; they continued to follow their former custom.
17:41Thus these nations feared the LORD, yet served their carved images. Their children and their children’s children continue doing as their fathers did, to this day.

Chapter 18

18:1And it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to reign as king of Judah.
18:2He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.
18:3And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
18:4He removed the high places, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the sacred pole, and crushed the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the sons of Israel had burned incense to it. And he called it “a piece of bronze.”
18:5He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.
18:6And he clung to the LORD. He did not turn away from following Him, but kept His commandments that the LORD commanded Moses.
18:7And the LORD was with him; wherever he went, he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
18:8He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.
18:9And 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.
18:10And at the end of three years they captured it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah—which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel—Samaria was captured.
18:11And the king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes,
18:12because they had not listened to the voice of the LORD their God, but had transgressed His covenant—all that Moses, servant of the LORD, had commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed.
18:13And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.
18:14Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have sinned. Withdraw from me; whatever you impose upon me, I will bear.” And the king of Assyria imposed upon Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
18:15And Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house.
18:16At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the temple of the LORD and the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave the metal to the king of Assyria.
18:17Then the king of Assyria sent the commander-in-chief, the chief official, and the chief cupbearer from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a great army. And they came up to Jerusalem and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
18:18And they called for the king. Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, went out to them.
18:19And the chief cupbearer said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What is this confidence in which you trust?
18:20You say, ‘I have counsel and strength for war,’ but these are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me?
18:21Behold, you trust in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans upon it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
18:22And if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall bow yourselves before this altar in Jerusalem’?
18:23Now make a wager with my lord the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to provide riders for them.
18:24How then can you repel a single captain among the least of my lord’s servants, while you trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
18:25Have 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.’”
18:26Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief cupbearer, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
18:27But the chief cupbearer said to them, “Has my lord sent me to speak these words only to your lord and to you? Has he not sent me also to the men sitting on the wall, who with you will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
18:28Then the chief cupbearer stood and called out with a loud voice in the language of Judah, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.
18:29Thus says the king: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he is not able to deliver you from my hand.
18:30And do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
18:31Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and each will drink water from his own well,
18:32until I come and take you to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey—that you may live and not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he persuades you, saying, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’
18:33Has any god of the nations ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
18:34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
18:35Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
18:36But the people kept silent and did not answer him a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.”
18:37Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their garments torn and told him the words of the chief cupbearer.

Chapter 19

19:1And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his garments, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
19:2And he sent Eliakim, who was over the house, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, all covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz.
19:3And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.
19:4Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the chief cupbearer, whom his lord the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up prayer for the remnant that remains.”
19:5So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
19:6And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your lord, Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled Me.
19:7Behold, I am putting a spirit in him, and he will hear a report and return to his land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”
19:8Then the chief cupbearer returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had departed from Lachish.
19:9And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
19:10“Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying, ‘Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
19:11Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction. And will you be delivered?
19:12Did the gods of the nations deliver those whom my fathers destroyed—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?
19:13Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
19:14Then Hezekiah took the letters from the hand of the messengers and read them. And he went up to the house of the LORD and spread them before the LORD.
19:15And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, who sits enthroned above the winged guardians, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth.
19:16Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to reproach the living God.
19:17Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,
19:18and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of human hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
19:19And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
19:20Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: I have heard what you prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.
19:21This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; behind you the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head.
19:22Whom have you reproached and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.
19:23By your messengers you have reproached the Lord and said, ‘With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the farthest reaches of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses. I have entered its farthest recess, its fruitful forest.
19:24I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters; with the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.’
19:25Have you not heard? Long ago I did it; from days of old I formed it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should turn fortified cities into heaps of ruins.
19:26Their inhabitants were powerless; they were dismayed and put to shame. They became like grass of the field and tender vegetation, like grass on the rooftops, scorched before it grows up.
19:27But I know your sitting down, your going out, your coming in, and your rage against Me.
19:28Because your rage against Me and your insolence have come up into My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way you came.
19:29And this shall be the sign to you: This year you shall eat aftergrowth, and in the second year what springs from it; but in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
19:30And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
19:31For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will do this.
19:32Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, shoot an arrow there, come before it with shield, or raise a siege ramp against it.
19:33By the way that he came, by that same way he shall return; and into this city he shall not come—an utterance of the LORD.
19:34For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.”
19:35And it came to pass that night that an angel of the LORD went out and struck one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead bodies.
19:36Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, went away, and returned home; and he dwelt in Nineveh.
19:37And as he was bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-Haddon his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 20

20:1In those days Hezekiah became sick and was near death. And Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet came to him and said, “Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.”
20:2Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,
20:3“Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You in faithfulness and with a heart wholly devoted to You, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
20:4And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
20:5“Return and say to Hezekiah, leader of My people, Thus says the LORD, God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.
20:6And I will add fifteen years to your days. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.”
20:7And Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” So they took it and laid it upon the boil, and he recovered.
20:8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”
20:9And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD that the LORD will do the word He has spoken: Shall the shadow advance ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”
20:10And Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to advance ten steps. No, let the shadow go back ten steps.”
20:11Then Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and He caused the shadow to go back ten steps on the steps of Ahaz, from where it had gone down.
20:12At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
20:13And Hezekiah listened to them and showed them all his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his entire armory, and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
20:14Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came from a distant land—from Babylon.”
20:15And he said, “What did they see in your house?” And Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my house; there was nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
20:16Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD:
20:17Behold, days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the LORD.
20:18And some of your sons who come from you, whom you father, shall be taken away; and they shall become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
20:19Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” And he said, “Why not, if there will be peace and stability in my days?”
20:20And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
20:21And Hezekiah lay with his fathers. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 21

21:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Hephzibah.
21:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel.
21:3For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, raised altars to Baal, and made a sacred pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. And he bowed himself to all the host of the heavens and served them.
21:4And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.”
21:5And he built altars to all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
21:6And he made his son pass through the fire, practiced sorcery, interpreted omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He multiplied evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
21:7And he set the carved sacred pole that he had made in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name forever.
21:8And I will no longer make Israel wander from the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they are careful to do according to all that I commanded them and according to all the Law that My servant Moses commanded them.”
21:9But they would not listen. And Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the sons of Israel.
21:10And the LORD spoke by His servants the prophets, saying,
21:11“Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations—he has done more evil than all that the Amorites did who were before him, and has also caused Judah to sin by his idols—
21:12therefore thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, so that both ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
21:13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
21:14And I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and give them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become prey and spoil to all their enemies,
21:15because they have done evil in My sight and have provoked Me to anger from the day their fathers came out of Egypt even to this day.”
21:16Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from one end to the other, besides the sin by which he caused Judah to sin, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
21:17And the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
21:18And Manasseh lay with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the Garden of Uzza. And Amon his son reigned in his place.
21:19Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
21:20And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done.
21:21And he walked in all the way that his father had walked, served the idols that his father had served, and bowed himself to them.
21:22And he forsook the LORD, God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.
21:23And the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his own house.
21:24But the people of the land struck down all who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
21:25And the rest of the acts of Amon, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
21:26And they buried him in his grave in the Garden of Uzza. And Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Chapter 22

22:1Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.
22:2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
22:3And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of King Josiah that the king sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying,
22:4“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and let him count the silver brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered from the people.
22:5And let them give it into the hand of the supervisors of the work in the house of the LORD, and let the supervisors give it to those doing the work in the house of the LORD, to repair the damage to the house—
22:6to craftsmen, builders, and masons—and to buy wood and hewn stones to repair the house.
22:7But no accounting shall be required of them for the silver given into their hand, for they are dealing faithfully.”
22:8Then Hilkiah the high priest said to 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.
22:9And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought the king back word, saying, “Your servants have emptied out the silver found in the house and have given it into the hand of the supervisors of the work in the house of the LORD.”
22:10Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
22:11And when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his garments.
22:12And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah servant of the king, saying,
22:13“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people, and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD kindled against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
22:14Then Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the garments. She was dwelling in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter, and they spoke with her.
22:15And she said to them, “Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Say to the man who sent you to Me,
22:16Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am bringing calamity upon this place and upon its inhabitants—all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read—
22:17because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, provoking Me to anger with all the work of their hands. Therefore My wrath burns against this place and shall not be quenched.
22:18But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus you shall say to him: Thus says the LORD, God of Israel, concerning the words you have heard:
22:19Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants—that they should become a desolation and a curse—and because you tore your garments and wept before Me, I also have heard—an utterance of the LORD.
22:20Therefore behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see any of the calamity that I am bringing upon this place.” And they brought the king back word.

Chapter 23

23:1Then the king sent word, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him.
23:2And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, from least to greatest. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.
23:3And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD: to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, confirming the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.
23:4And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second rank, and the keepers of the threshold to bring out from the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of the heavens. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
23:5And he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places—in the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem—and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of the heavens.
23:6And he brought the sacred pole out of the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem to the Brook of Kidron. He burned it at the Brook of Kidron, beat it to dust, and cast its dust upon the graves of the common people.
23:7And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes that were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove coverings for Asherah.
23:8And 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. He also broke down the high places at the gates—at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which was on the left as one entered the city gate.
23:9Yet the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.
23:10And he defiled Topheth, which was in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, so that no man might make his son or daughter pass through the fire to Molech.
23:11And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the royal official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
23:12And the king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD. He smashed them there and cast their rubble into the Brook of Kidron.
23:13And the king defiled the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab; and for Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.
23:14And he broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the sacred poles, and filled their places with human bones.
23:15And he also broke down the altar at Bethel—the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat had made, by which he caused Israel to sin—both the altar and the high place. He burned the high place, beat it to dust, and burned the sacred pole.
23:16Then Josiah turned and saw the graves there on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the graves, burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD that the man of God had proclaimed when he foretold these things.
23:17Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city said to him, “It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.”
23:18And he said, “Leave him alone; let no man disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, along with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.
23:19And Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger; and he did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel.
23:20And he slaughtered all the priests of the high places who were there upon the altars and burned human bones upon them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
23:21And the king commanded all the people, saying, “Celebrate a Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”
23:22For no Passover like this had been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor through all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.
23:23But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the LORD in Jerusalem.
23:24And Josiah also put away the mediums, the spiritists, the household idols, the other idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, in order to establish the words of the Law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD.
23:25Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, all his soul, and all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; and after him none arose like him.
23:26Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great anger, with which His wrath burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.
23:27And the LORD said, “I will also remove Judah from My presence, as I removed Israel; and I will reject this city that I chose—Jerusalem—and the house of which I said, My Name shall be there.”
23:28And 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?
23:29In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to meet him, and Pharaoh Necho put him to death at Megiddo when he saw him.
23:30And his servants carried him dead from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own grave. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.
23:31Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
23:32And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
23:33And Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him at Riblah in the land of Hamath, so that he could not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed upon the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.
23:34And Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of Josiah his father and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Then he took Jehoahaz away; and Jehoahaz came to Egypt and died there.
23:35And Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he assessed the land in order to give the silver at Pharaoh’s command. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from each man according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho.
23:36Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Zebudah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
23:37And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.

Chapter 24

24:1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.
24:2And the LORD sent against him bands of Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that He had spoken by His servants the prophets.
24:3Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove it from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,
24:4and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive.
24:5And the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
24:6Then Jehoiakim lay with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
24:7And the king of Egypt no longer went out from his own land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
24:8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
24:9And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.
24:10At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.
24:11And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city while his servants were besieging it.
24:12Then Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon—he, his mother, his servants, his officials, and his court officers—and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
24:13And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut apart all the vessels of gold that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had spoken.
24:14And he deported all Jerusalem—all the officials and all the mighty warriors, ten thousand captives, and every craftsman and smith. None remained except the poorest people of the land.
24:15And he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. He also carried the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his court officers, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
24:16And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor—seven thousand—and the craftsmen and smiths—one thousand—all of them strong and fit for war.
24:17And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
24:18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
24:19And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
24:20For through the anger of the LORD this came upon Jerusalem and Judah, until He cast them from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Chapter 25

25:1And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem. He encamped against it and built siegeworks all around it.
25:2And the city remained under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
25:3On the ninth day of the month, the famine was severe in the city, and there was no food for the people of the land.
25:4Then the city wall was breached, and all the men of war fled by night through the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city; and the king went toward the Arabah.
25:5But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.
25:6Then they seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment upon him.
25:7And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they blinded Zedekiah, bound him with bronze chains, and brought him to Babylon.
25:8And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard and servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
25:9And he burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every prominent house he burned with fire.
25:10And the whole army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.
25:11And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard deported the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
25:12But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
25:13And the Chaldeans broke in pieces the bronze pillars that were in the house of the LORD, the stands, and the bronze Sea that was in the house of the LORD, and carried their bronze to Babylon.
25:14And they took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the bowls, and all the bronze vessels used in the service.
25:15The captain of the guard also took the firepans and the basins—whatever was made of gold or silver.
25:16As for the two pillars, the one Sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weighing.
25:17The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and upon it was a bronze capital three cubits high. Around the capital were latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze; and the second pillar had the same, with its latticework.
25:18Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold.
25:19And from the city he took one official who was in command of the men of war, five men admitted to the king’s presence who were found in the city, the chief scribe of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.
25:20And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
25:21And the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah, in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was exiled from its land.
25:22And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan.
25:23And when all the commanders of the forces and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.
25:24And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”
25:25And it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of royal offspring, came with ten men. They struck down Gedaliah and killed him, along with the Jews and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
25:26Then all the people, from least to greatest, and the commanders of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
25:27And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year he began to reign, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.
25:28And he spoke kindly to him and set his seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
25:29And Jehoiachin changed his prison garments and ate regularly at the king’s table all the days of his life.
25:30And his allowance—a continual allowance—was given to him by the king, the portion for each day, all the days of his life.