AudioBible NIV 14 2Chronicles Dramatized New International Version High Quality

introduction to second chronicles second chronicles continues the history of King David's royal line the book ignores the Northern Kingdom of Israel that broke away during Civil War they were not regarded as the true Israel this book like first chronicles shows that the Jewish people's relationship with God was special this book parallels the events recorded in the books of first and second Kings the author quite possibly the priest Ezra writing about 450 to 430 BC measures Kings on the basis of their faithfulness to God he wrote chronicles after the people had returned from exile in Babylon so that they could understand their heritage and unique relationship to God they had suffered captivity and the loss of God's covenant blessings because they did not keep his law but now they had the opportunity for obedience and blessing once again 2nd chronicles chapter 1 Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great then Solomon spoke to all Israel to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel the heads of families and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon for God's tent of meeting was there which Moses the Lord's servant had made in the desert now David had brought up the Ark of God from kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem but the bronze altar that Bezalel son of your I the son of hur had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the Lord so Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him ask for whatever you want me to give you Solomon answered God you have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place now Lord God let your promise to my father David be confirmed for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth give me wisdom and knowledge that I may lead this people for who is able to govern this great people of yours God said to Solomon since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth riches or honour nor for the death of your enemies and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you came therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you and I will also give you wealth riches and honour such as no King who was before you ever had and none after you will have then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon from before the tent of meeting and he reigned over Israel Solomon accumulated chariots and horses he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem the king made silver and gold is common in Jerusalem as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore fig trees in the foothills Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from qyy the royal merchants purchased them from qyy they imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver and a horse for a hundred and fifty they also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans chapter two Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself he conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as Stonecutters in the Hills and 3,600 as Foreman over them Solomon sent this message to Hiram king of Tyre send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in now I am about to build for the name of the lord my god and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him for setting out the consecrated bread regularly and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbath's and new moons and at the appointed feasts of the Lord our God this is a lasting ordinance for Israel the temple I'm going to build will be great because our God is greater than all other gods but who is able to build a temple for him since the heavens even the highest heavens cannot contain him who then am I to build a temple for him except as a place to burn sacrifices before him send me therefore a man skilled to work in gold and silver bronze and iron and in purple crimson men blue yarn and experienced in the art of engraving to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled craftsmen whom my father David provided sent me also cedar pine and algum logs from Lebanon for I know that your men are skilled in cutting timber there my men will work with yours to provide me with plenty of lumber because the temple I build must be large and magnificent I will give your servants the woodsmen who cut the timber twenty thousand cores of ground wheat twenty thousand cores of barley twenty thousand baths of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon because the Lord loves his people he has made you their King and Hiram added praise be to the Lord the God of Israel who made heaven and earth he has given King David a wise son endowed with intelligence and discernment who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself I am sending you Hyrum a by a man of great skill whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from tyre he is trained to work in gold and silver bronze and iron stone and wood and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and linen he is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him he will work with your craftsmen and with those of my Lord David your father now let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil and wine he promised and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need and we'll float them in rafts by sea down to Joppa you can then take them up to Jerusalem Solomon took a census of all the aliens who were in Israel after the census his father David had taken and they were found to be one hundred fifty three thousand six hundred he assigned 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80 thousand to be Stonecutters in the hills with three thousand six hundred foreman over them to keep the people working chapter three then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared to his father David it was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite the place provided by David he began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign the foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was 60 cubits long and 20 cubits wide using the cubit of the old standard the portico at the front of the temple was 20 cubits long across the width of the building and 20 cubits high he overlaid the inside with pure gold he paneled the main hall with pine and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree and chain designs he adorned the temple with precious stones and the gold he used was gold of parvum he overlaid the ceiling beams doorframes walls and doors of the temple with gold and he carved cherubim on the walls he built the most holy place its length corresponding to the width of the temple 20 cubits long and 20 cubits wide he overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold the gold nails weighed fifty shekels he also overlaid the upper parts with gold in the most holy place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold the total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits one wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the temple wall while its other way also five cubits long touch the wing of the other cherub similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall and its other wing also five cubits long touched the wing of the first cherub the wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits they stood in their feet facing the main hall he made the curtain of blue purple and crimson yarn and fine linen with cherubim worked into it in the front of the temple he made two pillars which together with 35 cubits long each with a Capitol on top measuring five cubits he made interwoven chains and put them on top of the pillars he also made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains he erected the pillars in front of the temple one to the south and one to the north the one to the south he named jaqen and the one to the north Boaz [Music] this concludes disc 24 chapter four he made a bronze altar 20 cubits long 20 cubits wide and 10 cubits high he made the sea of cast metal circular in shape measuring 10 cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high it took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it below the rim figures of bulls encircled it tend to a cubit the Bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the sea the sea stood on 12 Bulls 3 facing north 3 facing west 3 facing south and 3 facing east the sea rested on top of them and their hindquarters were toward the center it was a hand breadth in thickness and its rim was like the rim of a cup like a lily blossom it held three thousand baths he then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north in them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed but the sea was to be used by the priests for washing he made 10 gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple 5 on the south side and 5 on the north he made 10 tables and placed them in the temple 5 on the south side and 5 on the north he also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls he made the courtyard of the priests and the large court and the doors for the court and overlaid the doors with bronze he placed the sea on the south side at the southeast corner he also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls so Hyrum finished the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God the 2 pillars the two bowl shaped capitals on top of the pillars the two sets of Network decorating the two bowl shaped capitals on top of the pillars the 400 pomegranates for the two sets of network 2 rows of pomegranates for each Network decorating the bowl shaped capitals on top of the pillars the stands with their basins the sea and the 12 Bulls under it the pots shovels meat forks and all related articles all the objects that Hyrum a buy made for King Solomon for the Temple of the Lord were of polished bronze the King had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and xerath on all these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze was not determined Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God's temple the golden altar the tables on which was the bread of the presence the lamb stands of pure gold with their lamps to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed the gold floral work and lamps and tongs they were solid gold the pure gold wick trimmers sprinkling bowls dishes and sensors and the gold doors of the temple the inner doors to the most holy place and the doors of the main hall chapter 5 when all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished he brought in the things his father David had dedicated the silver and gold and all the furnishings and he placed them in the Treasuries of God's temple then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel all the heads of the tribes and the Chiefs of the Israelite families to bring up the Ark of the Lord's covenant from Zion the City of David and all the men of Israel came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month when all the elders of Israel had arrived the Levites took up the ark and they brought up the ark in the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it the priests who were Levites carried them up and King Solomon and the entire Assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted the priests then brought the Ark of the Lord's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple the most holy place and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles these poles were so long that their ends extending from the ark could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary but not from outside the holy place and they are still there today there was nothing in the arc except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt the priests then withdrew from the holy place all the priests who were there had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions all the Levites who were musicians Asaph Heymann juju 'then and their sons and relatives stood on the east side of the altar dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals harps and Liars they were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets the trumpeters and singers joined in unison as with one voice to give praise and thanks to the Lord accompanied by trumpets cymbals and other instruments they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and saying he is good his love endures forever then the Temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God chapter 6 then Solomon said the Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud I have built a magnificent temple for you a place for you to dwell for ever while the whole Assembly of Israel was standing there the King turned around and blessed them and then he said praise be to the Lord the God of Israel who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David for he said since the day I brought my people out of Egypt I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my name to be there nor have I chosen anyone to be the leader over my people Israel but now I have chosen Jerusalem for my name to be there and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel my father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the name of the Lord the God of Israel but the Lord said to my father David because it was in your heart to build a temple for my name you did well to have this in your heart nevertheless you are not the one to build the temple but your son who is your own flesh and blood he is the one who will build the temple for my name the Lord has kept the promise he made I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel just as the Lord promised and I have built the temple for the name of the Lord the God of Israel there I have placed the ark in which is the Covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole Assembly of Israel and spread out his hands now he had made a bronze platform five cubits long five cubits wide and three cubits high and had placed it in the center of the outer court he stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole Assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven he said Oh Lord God of Israel there is no god like you in heaven or on earth you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way you have kept your promise to your servant David my father with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it as it is today now Lord God of Israel keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said you shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel if only your sons are careful and all they do to walk before me according to my law as you have done and now O Lord God of Israel let your word that you promised your servant David come true what will God really dwell on earth with men the heavens even the highest heavens cannot contain you how much less this temple I have built yet give attention to your servants prayer and his plea for mercy O Lord my god hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence may your eyes be open toward this temple day and night this place of which you said you would put your name there may you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place hear from heaven your dwelling place and when you hear forgive when a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple then hear from heaven and act judge between your servants repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence when your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turned back and confess your name praying and making supplication before you in this temple then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their fathers when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants your people Israel teach them the right way to live and send rain on a land you gave your people for an inheritance when famine or plague comes to the land or blight or mildew locusts are grasshoppers or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities whatever disaster or disease may come and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel each one aware of his afflictions and pains and spreading out his hands toward this temple then hear from heaven your dwelling place forgive and deal with each man according to all he does since you know his heart for you alone know the hearts of men so that they will fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers as for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name in your mighty hand and your outstretched arm when he comes and prays toward this temple then hear from heaven your dwelling place and do whatever the foreigner asks of you so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you as do your own people Israel and may know that this house I have built bears your name when your people go to war against their enemies wherever you send them and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the Temple I have built for your name then hear from heaven their prayer and their plead and uphold their cause when they sin against you for there is no one who does not sin and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy who takes them captive to a land far away or near and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say we have sinned we have done wrong and acted wickedly and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken and pray toward the land you gave their father's toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your name then from heaven your dwelling place hear their prayer and their pleas and uphold their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you now by God may your eyes be opened and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place now arise O Lord God and come to your resting place you and the Ark of your might may your priests Oh Lord God be clothed with salvation that your Saints rejoice in your goodness O Lord God do not reject your anointed one remember the great love promised to David your servant chapter 7 when Solomon finished praying fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple the priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it when all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord saying he is good his love endures forever then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord and King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats so the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God the priests took their positions as did the Levites with the Lord's musical instruments which King David had made for praising the Lord in which were used when he gave thanks saying his love endures forever opposite the Levites the priests blew their trumpets and all the Israelites were standing Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings the grain offerings and the fat portions so Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days and all Israel with him a vast assembly people from Lees behemoth to the wadi of egypt on the eighth day they held an assembly for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more on the 23rd day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel when Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace the Lord appeared to him at night and said I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices when I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain will command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my name may be there forever my eyes and my heart will always be there as for you if you want before me as David your father did and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws I will establish your royal throne as I covenant it with David your father when I said you shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel but if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them then I will uproot Israel from my land which I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my name I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples and though this temple is now so imposing all who pass by will be appalled and say why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple people will answer because they have forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers who brought them out of Egypt and have embraced other gods worshipping and serving them that is why he brought all this disaster on them chapter 8 at the end of 20 years during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram had given him and settled Israelites in them Solomon then went to Hema tha's Oba and captured it he also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in haman he rebuilt upper beth horon and lower beth horon his fortified cities with walls and with gates and bars as well as bailiff and all his store cities and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses whatever he desired to build in jerusalem in lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled all the people left from the Hittites amirite parasites Hivites and Jebusites these people were not Israelites that is their descendants remaining in the land whom the Israelites had not destroyed these Solomon conscripted for his slave labor force as it is to this day but Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work they were his fighting men commanders of his captains and commanders of his chariots and charioteers they were also King Solomon's chief officials 250 officials supervising the men Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the palace he had built for her for he said my wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel because the places the Ark of the Lord has entered are wholly on the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for Sabbath's New Moon's and the three annual feasts the feast of unleavened bread the feast of weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles in keeping with the ordinance of his father David he appointed the divisions of the priests for their duties and the Levites to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day's require he also appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates because this was what David the man of God had ordered they did not deviate from the Kings commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter including that of the Treasuries all Solomon's work was carried out from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion so the temple of the Lord was finished then Solomon went to easi in beber and Eli on the coast of Edom and Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers men who knew the sea these with Solomon's men sailed to Ophir and brought back 450 talents of gold which they delivered to King Solomon chapter 9 when the Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's Fame she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions arriving with a very great Caravan with camels carrying spices large quantities of gold and precious stones she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind Solomon answered all her questions nothing was too hard for him to explain to her when the Queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon as well as the palace he had built the food on his table the seating of his officials the attending servants in their robes the cup bearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord she was overwhelmed she said to the king the report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true but I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes indeed not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me you have far exceeded the report I heard how happy your men must be how happy your officials who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom praise be to the Lord your God who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever he has made you king over them to maintain justice and righteousness then she gave the King 120 talents of gold large quantities of spices and precious stones there had never been such spices as those the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon the men of Hyrum and the men of Solomon brought gold from over they also brought algum wood and precious stones the King used the algum wood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace and to make harps and Liars for the musicians nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for he gave her more than she had brought to him then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country the weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold 600 beacons of hammered gold went into each shield he also made 300 small shields of hammered gold with 300 beakers of gold and each shield the King put them in the palace of the forest of Lebanon then the King made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with pure gold the throne had six steps and a footstool of gold was attached to it on both sides of the seat were arm rests with a lion standing beside each of them 12 Lions stood on the six steps wanted either end of each step nothing like it had ever been made for any other Kingdom all King Solomon's goblets were gold and all the household articles in the palace of the forest of Lebanon were pure gold nothing was made of silver because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's day the King had a fleet of trading ships manned by Hiram's men once every three years it returned carrying gold silver and ivory and apes and baboons King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth all the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart year after year everyone who came brought a gift articles of silver and gold and robes weapons and spices and horses and mules Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots and twelve thousand horses which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem he ruled over all the Kings from the river to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt the King made silver is common in Jerusalem is stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore fig trees in the foothills Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries as for the other events of Solomon's reign from beginning to end are they not written in the records of nathan the prophet in the prophecy of a high of the shiloh night and in the visions of it oh the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years then he rested with his father's and was buried in the City of David his father and Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king chapter 10 Rehoboam went to Shechem for all the israelites had gone there to make him King when Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this he was in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon he returned from Egypt so they sent for Jeroboam and he and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him your father put a heavy yoke on us but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us and we will serve you Rehoboam answered come back to me in three days so the people went away then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime how would you advise me to answer these people yes they replied if you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer they will always be your servants but Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him he asked them what is your advice how should we answer these people who say to me lighten the yoke that your father put on us the young men who had grown up with them replied tell the people who have said to you your father put a heavy yoke on us but make our yoke lighter tell them my little finger is thicker than my father's waist my father laid on you a heavy yoke I will make it even heavier my father scourge dyou with whips I will scourge you with scorpions three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rio Boehm as the King had said come back to me in three days the King answered them harshly rejecting the advice of the elders he followed the advice of the young men and said my father made your yoke heavy I will make it even heavier my father scourge you with whips I was scourge you with scorpions so the King did not listen to the people for this turn of events was from God to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through a hijack the Shila night when all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them they answered the king what share do we have in David what part in Jesse's son to your tents o Israel look after your own house Oh David so all the Israelites went home but as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah Rehoboam still ruled over them King Rehoboam sent out a tan Iram who was in charge of forced labour but the Israelites stoned him to death King Rehoboam however managed to get into his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem so Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day chapter 11 when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem he mustered the house of Judah and Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men to make war against Israel and to regain the king for Rehoboam but this word of the Lord came to shamaya the man of God say to Rio Boehm son of Solomon king of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin this is what the Lord says do not go up to fight against your brothers go home every one of you for this is my doing so they obeyed the words of the Lord and turn back from marching against Jeroboam Rio Boehm lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah Bethlehem Edom Toccoa better Soko adul 'm Gath Marisha Ziff @array 'm lakish azita zora a jalan and hebron these were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin he strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them with supplies of food olive oil and wine he puts shields and Spears in all the cities and made them very strong so Judah and Benjamin were his the priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him the Levites even abandoned their pasture lands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord and he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord the God of Israel followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord the god of their fathers be strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported real born son of Solomon three years walking in the ways of David and Solomon during this time Rehoboam married may haloth who was the daughter of David's son Jeremiah and of Ava Hale the daughter of Jesse son Alya she bore him sons Jewish Shah Mariah and Zay ham then he married Mecca daughter of Absalom who bore him Abijah @ty ziza and Shalom ahthe Rio Boehm loved may occur daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines in all he had 18 wives and 60 concubines 28 sons and 60 daughters Rio Baum appointed a by Jess son of Mecca to be the chief prince among his brothers in order to make him King he acted wisely dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin and to all the fortified cities he gave them abundant provisions and took many wives for them chapter 12 after rehabilition Bandhan the law of the Lord because they had been unfaithful to the Lord scheisse king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans so kites and Kushites that came with him from Egypt he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem then the prophet Sameach came to Rio Boehm and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak and he said to them this is what the Lord says you have abandoned me therefore I now abandon you too shy shocked the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said the Lord is just when the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves this word of the Lord came to Shanaya since they have humbled themselves I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance my wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem to Shishak they will however become subject to him so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lat when Shishak king of egypt attack jerusalem he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace he took everything including the gold shield Solomon had made so King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these through the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the Royal Palace whenever the King went to the Lord's temple the guards went with him bearing the shields and afterward they returned them to the guard room because Rehoboam humbled himself the Lord's anger turned from him and he was not totally destroyed indeed there was some good in Judah King Rehoboam established himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued his king he was 41 years old when he became King and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his name his mother's name was Naima she was an ammonite he did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord as for the events of Rhea Boehm's reign from beginning to end are they not written in the records of shamea the prophet and of hitto the seer that deal with genealogies there was continual warfare between Rio Boehm and Jeroboam Rio Boehm rested with his father's and was buried in the City of David and Abijah his son succeeded him as king chapter 13 in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam Abijah became king of Judah and he reigned in Jerusalem three years his mother's name was mayic ax a daughter of Uriel of Gibeah there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam Abijah went into battle with a force of four hundred thousand able fighting men and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops Abijah stood on mount samarium in the hill country of ephraim and said Jeroboam in all Israel listen to me don't you know that the Lord the God of Israel has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt yet Jeroboam son of Nebat an official of Solomon son of David rebelled against his master some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them and now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord which is in the hands of David's descendants you are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden cars that Jeroboam made to be your gods but didn't you drive out the priests of the Lord the sons of Aaron in the Levites and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull in seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods as for us the Lord is our God and we have not forsaken him the priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron and the Levites a system every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord they sent out the bread on the ceremonially clean table in light the lamps on the gold lamp stand every evening we are observing the requirements of the Lord our God but you have forsaken him God is with us he is our leader his priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you men of Israel do not fight against the Lord the God of your father's for you will not succeed now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear then they cried out to the Lord the priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry at the sound of their battle cry God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah the Israelites fled before Judah and God delivered them into their hands Abijah and his men inflicted heavy losses on them so that there were 500,000 casualties among israel's able men the men of Israel were subdued on that occasion and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord the god of their fathers Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel Jonah and Ephraim with their surrounding villages Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah and the Lord struck him down and he died but Abijah grew in strength he married 14 wives and had twenty two sons and sixteen daughters the other events of a by Jews reign what he did and what he said are written in the annotations of the Prophet IDO chapter 14 and a Baiju rested with his father's and was buried in the City of David ASA his son succeeded him as king and in his days the country was at peace for ten years ASA did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God he removed the foreign altars and the high places smashed the Sacred Stones and cut down the Ashura poles he commanded Judah to seek the Lord the god of their fathers and to obey his laws and commands he removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah and the kingdom was at peace under him he built up the fortified cities of Judah since the land was at peace no one was at war with him during those years for the Lord gave him rest let us build up these towns he said to Judah and put walls around them with towers gates and bars the land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God we sought him and he has given us rest on every side so they built and prospered ASA had an army of 300 thousand men from Judah equipped with large shields and with spears and 280,000 from Benjamin armed with small shields and with bows all these were brave fighting men Zera the coucher marched out against them with a vast army and 300 chariots and came as far as Marisha asa went out to meet him and they took up battle positions in the valley of Zartha near Marisha then ASA called to the Lord his God and said Lord there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty help us O Lord our God for we rely on you and in your name we have come against this vast army o Lord you are our God do not let man prevail against you the Lord struck down the Kushites before ASA and Judah the Kushites fled and ASA and his army pursued them as far as Geer are such a great number of Kushites fell that they could not recover they were crushed before the Lord and his forces the men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder they destroyed all the villages around gr4 the terror of the Lord had fallen upon them they plundered all these villages since there was much booty there they also attacked the camps of the herdsmen and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels then they returned to Jerusalem chapter 15 the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of oh did he went out to meet ASA and said to him listen to me ASA and all Judah and Benjamin the Lord is with you when you are with him if you seek him he will be found by you but if you forsake him he will forsake you for a long time Israel was without the true God without a priest to teach and without the law but in their distress they turned to the Lord the God of Israel and sought him and he was found by them in those days it was not safe to travel about for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil one nation was being crushed by another in one city by another because God was troubling them with every kind of distress but as for you be strong and do not give up for your work will be rewarded when asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of oh did the Prophet he took courage he removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of ephraim he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord's temple then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of aces reign at that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord the god of their fathers with all their heart and soul all who would not seek the Lord the God of Israel were to be put to death whether small or great man or woman they took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation with shouting and with trumpets and horns all Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly they sought God eagerly and he was found by them so the Lord gave them rest on every side King ASA also deposed his grandmother maica from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a repulsive Ashura Pole ASA cut the pull-down broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley although he did not remove the high places from Israel aces heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life he brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated there was no more war until the 35th year of aces reign chapter 16 in the 36th year of aces reign Bay Asia king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Rhema to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of ASA king of Judah ASA then took the silver and gold out of the Treasuries of the Lord's temple and of his own Palace incented to ben-hadad king of Arum who was ruling in Damascus let there be a treaty between me and you he said as there was between my father and your father see I am sending you silver and gold now break your treaty with baya king of Israel so he will withdraw from me then hey Dad agreed with King ASA and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel they conquered I John Dan Abel Mayim and all the store cities of nefta lie when baya heard this he stopped building Rhema and abandoned his work then King ASA brought all the men of Judah and they carried away from Rima the stones and timber baya had been using with them he built up giba and Misbah at that time inane I the seer came to ASA king of Judah and said to him because you relied on the king of arum and not on the Lord your God the army of the king of Arum has escaped from your hand we're not the Kushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen yes when you relied on the Lord he delivered them into your hand for the eyes of the Lord ranged throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him you have done a foolish thing and from now on you will be at war ASA was angry with the seer because of this he was so enraged that he put him in prison at the same time ASA brutally oppressed some of the people the events of aces reign from beginning to end are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel in the 39th year of his reign ASA was afflicted with a disease in his feet though his disease was severe even in his own Asst he did not seek help from the Lord but only from the physicians then in the 41st year of his reign ASA died and rested with his father's they buried him in the tomb that he had cut up for himself in the City of David they laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes and they made a huge fire in his honor chapter 17 Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel he stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and put Garrison's in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father ASA had captured the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because in his early years he walked in the ways his father David had followed he did not consult the bales but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel the Lord established the kingdom under his control and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat so that he had great wealth and honor his heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord furthermore he removed the high places and the Ashura poles from Judah in the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben Hale Obadiah Zechariah Nathanael and Makia to teach in the towns of Judah with them were certain Levites Sameach Nathania zebediah a Sahel shimira mauve Shahana 'then adonai Joe - by Jeff and table Adonijah and the priests Elisha ma and Joe Horeb they taught throughout Judah taking with them the book of the law of the Lord they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people the fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the land surrounding Judah so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute and the Arabs brought him flocks 7700 Rams and 7700 goats jehosophat became more and more powerful he built forts and store cities in Judah and had large supplies in the towns of Judah he also kept experienced fighting men in Jerusalem their enrollment by families was as follows from Judah commanders of units of 1000 aDNA the commander with 300 thousand fighting men next ji-ho Hainan the commander with 280,000 next a messiah son of Zechariah who volunteered himself for the service of the Lord with 200 thousand from Benjamin Alya a valiant soldier with two hundred thousand men armed with bows and shields next Jehoshaphat with 180,000 men armed for battle these were the men who served the king besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout Judah chapter 18 now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor and he allied himself with a hab by marriage some years later he went down to visit a hab in Samaria a hab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack ramoth-gilead a hab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah will you go with me against ramoth-gilead Jehoshaphat replied I am as you are and my people as your people we will join you in the war but Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel first seek the counsel of the Lord so the king of Israel brought together the prophets 400 men and asked them shall we go to war against the ramoth-gilead or shall I refrain go the answered for God will give it into the Kings hand but Jehoshaphat asked is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of the king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat there is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me but always bad he is makea son of imlah the king should not say that Jehoshaphat replied so the king of Israel called one of his officials and said bring michaiah son of imlah at once dressed in their royal robes the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance to the gate of Samaria with all the prophets prophesied before them now Zedekiah son of Cana Ana had made iron horns and he declared this is what the Lord says with these you will gore the arameans until they are destroyed all the other prophets were prophesying the same thing attack ramoth-gilead and be victorious they said for the Lord will give it into the Kings hand the messenger who had gone to summon michaiah said to him look as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the King let your word agree with theirs and speak favorably but Makia said surely as the Lord lives I can tell him only what my god says when he arrived the king asked him Nakia shall we go to war against ramoth-gilead or shall I refrain attack and be victorious he answered for they will be given into your hand the king said to him how many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord then Makia answered I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd and the Lord said these people have no master let each one go home in peace the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me but only bad Makia continued therefore hear the word of the Lord I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the hosts of heaven standing on his right and on his left and the Lord said who will entice a hab king of Israel into attacking ramoth-gilead and going to his death there one suggested this and another that finally a spirit came forward stood before the Lord and said I will entice him by what means the Lord asked I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets he said you will succeed in enticing him said the Lord go and do it so now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours the Lord is decreed disaster for you then Zedekiah son of Cana Ana went up and slapped Makia in the face which way did the spirit from the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you he asked Makia replied you will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room the king of Israel then ordered take Nakia and sent him back to Amman the ruler of the city and to joash the king's son and say this is what the king says put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I returned safely Makia declared if you ever return safely the Lord has not spoken to me then he added mark my words or do people so the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to ramoth-gilead the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat I will enter the battle in disguise that you wear your royal robes so the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle now the king of Arum had ordered his chariot commanders to not fight with anyone small or great except the king of Israel when the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat they thought this is the king of Israel so they turned to attack him but Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him glad drew them away from him for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel they stopped pursuing him but someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor the king told the chariot driver wheel around and get me out of the fighting I've been wounded all day long the battle raged and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening then at sunset he died chapter 19 when Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem G hue the seer the son of a nein I went out to meet him and said to the king should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord because of this the wrath of the Lord is upon you there is however some good in you for you have rid the land of the Asura hopes and have set your heart on seeking God Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord the god of their fathers he appointed judges in the land in each of the fortified cities of Judah he told them consider carefully what you do because you are not judging for man but for the Lord who is with you whenever you give a verdict now let the fear of the Lord be upon you judge carefully for with the Lord our God there is no injustice for partiality or bribery in Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes and they lived in Jerusalem he gave them these orders you must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord in every case that comes before you from your fellow countrymen who live in the cities whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law commands decrees or ordinances you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord otherwise his wrath will come on you and your brothers do this and you will not sin Mariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the Lord and zebediah son of Ishmael leader of the tribe of Judah would be over you in any matter concerning the King and the Levites will serve as officials before you act with courage may the Lord be with those who do well chapter 20 after this the Moabites and ammonites with some of the men you Knights came to make war on Jehoshaphat some men came and told you - a vast army is coming against you from Edom from the other side of the sea it is already and has Azam tamer that is and get I alarmed Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah the people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord indeed they came from every town in Judah to seek Him then Jehoshaphat stood up in the Assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said O Lord God of our fathers are you not the God who is in heaven you rule over all the kingdoms of the nation's power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you o our God did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend they have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your name saying if calamity comes upon us whether the sword of judgment or plague or famine we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your name and will cry out to you in our distress and you will hear us and save us but now here are men from Amon Moab and Mount Seir whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt so they turned away from them and did not destroy them see how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance o our God will you not judge them for we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us we do not know what to do but our eyes are upon you all the men of Judah with their wives and children and little ones stood there before the Lord then the Spirit of the Lord came upon jahaziel son of Zechariah the son of benaiah the son of jehoiada mattaniah a Levite and descendant of Asaph as he stood in the Assembly he said listen King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem this is what the Lord says to you do not to be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army for the battle is not yours but gods tomorrow marched down against them they will be climbing up by the passives is and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the desert of Giroux you will not have to fight this battle take up your positions stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you Oh Judah and Jerusalem do not be afraid do not be discouraged go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down and worshiped before the Lord than some Levites from the kola fights in kora heights stood up and praise the Lord the God of Israel with very loud voice early in the morning they left for the desert of Toccoa as they sent out Jehoshaphat stood and said listen to me Judah and people of Jerusalem have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld have faith in his prophets and you will be successful after consulting the people Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army saying give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever as they began to sing in praise the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah and they were defeated the men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them after they finished slaughtering the men from sear they helped to destroy one another when the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground no one had escaped so Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value more than they could take away there was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Baraka where they praised the Lord this is why it is called the valley of Baraka to this day then led by Jehoshaphat all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies they entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lutes and trumpets the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel and the Kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace for his God had given him rest on every side so Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah he was 35 years old when he became king of Judah and he reigned in Jerusalem 25 years his mother's name was a Zuba daughter of Shahi he walked in the ways of his father ASA and did not stray from them he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord the high places however were not removed and the people still had not set their hearts on the god of their fathers the other events of Jehoshaphat's reign from beginning to end are written in the annals of G Hughes son of inane I which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel later Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with a Isaiah king of Israel who was guilty of wickedness he agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships after these were built an easy and gaber Eleazar son Abdullah vayhue of Mauritius prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying because you have made an alliance with dejas AIA the Lord will destroy what you have made the ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade chapter 21 then Jehoshaphat rested with his father's and was buried with them in the City of David anja Horeb his son succeeded him as king Jahan's brothers the sons of Jehoshaphat were Azariah Jehiel Zechariah Azariah Hugh McHale in chef attire all these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel their father had given them many gifts of silver and gold and articles of value as well as fortified cities in Judah but he had given the kingdom to Joy Horeb because he was his firstborn son when Joe Haram established himself firmly over his father's Kingdom he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the princes of Israel Ahura was 32 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done for he married a daughter of Ahab he did evil in the eyes of the Lord nevertheless because of the covenant the Lord had made with David the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David he had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever in the time of Jehovah Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own King soja hora went there with his officers and all his chariots the surrounded him and his chariot commanders but he rose up and broke through by night to this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah Lipner revolted at the same time because Jehovah had forsaken the Lord the god of his father's he had also built high places on the hills of Judah and had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray Jehoram received a letter from Elisha the Prophet which said this is what the Lord the God of your father David says you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or of ASA king of Judah but you have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and you have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves just as the house of Ahab did you have also murdered your own brothers members of your father's house men who were better than you so now the Lord is about to strike your people your sons your wives and everything that is yours with a heavy blow you yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels until the disease causes your bowels to come out the Lord aroused against your home the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who live near the Kushites they attacked Judah invaded it and carried off all the goods found in the king's palace together with his sons and wives not a son was left to him except a Isaiah the youngest after all this the Lord afflicted Jehovah the incurable disease of the bowels in the course of time at the end of the second year his balls came up because of the disease and he died in great pain his people made no fire in his honor as they had for his father's Ahura was 32 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years he passed away - no one's regret and was buried in the City of David but not in the tombs of the Kings chapter 22 the people of Jerusalem made a Hosea Jahan's youngest son King in his place since the Raiders who came with the Arabs into the camp had killed all the older sons so ahaziah son of Jehovah Duda began to rain a Hosea was 22 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem one year his mother's name was a balaiah a granddaughter of Omri he too walked in the ways of the house of Ahab for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong he did evil in the eyes of the Lord as the house of Ahab had done for after his father's death they became his advisers to his undoing he also followed their counsel when he went with joram son of Ahab king of Israel to war against his ale king of aromat ramoth-gilead the Arameans wounded joram so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at ramoth in his battle with hayes al king of Arum then Ahaziah son of jehoiada went down to Jezreel to see joram son of Ahab because he had been wounded through a haze Aya's visited joram god brought about a Isaiah's downfall when he has I arrived he went out with joram to meet gu son of nimshi whom the lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab while Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab he found the princes of Judah and the sons of a Hosea's relatives who had been attending a Isaiah and he killed them he then went in search of a Hosea and his men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria he was brought to GU and put to death they buried him for they said he was a son of Jehoshaphat who sought the Lord with all his heart so there was no one in the house of a Hosea powerful enough to retain the kingdom when Ethel ayah the mother of a Hosea saw that her son was dead she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah but Jehovah the daughter of King Jehovah took joash son of Ahaz ayah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom because jehovah the daughter of king jehovah and wife of the priests jehoiada was a hosea sister she hid the child from Ethel ayah so she could not kill him he remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while atholea ruled the land this concludes disc 25 chapter xxiii in the seventh year jehoiada showed his strength he made a covenant with the commanders of units of a hundred Azariah son of gyro ham ishmael son of ji ho hey Ninh Azariah son of Oban may Asiya son of a daya and elisha fat son of Zechariah they went throughout judah and gathered the Levites and the heads of israelite families from all the towns when they came to jerusalem the whole assembly made a covenant with the king at the temple of god jehoiada said to them the king's son shall reign as the Lord promised concerning the descendants of David now this is what you are to do a third of you priests and Levites who are going on duty on the Sabbath are to keep watch at the doors a third of you at the Royal Palace and a third of the foundation gate and all the other men are to be in the courtyards of the temple of the Lord no one is to enter the temple of the Lord except the priests and Levites on duty they may enter because they are consecrated but all the other men are to guard what the Lord has assigned to them the Levites are to stationed themselves around the king each man with his weapons in his hand anyone who enters the temple must be put to death stay close to the king wherever he goes the Levites and all the men of Judah did just as jehoiada the priest ordered each one took his men those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty for jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions then he gave the commanders of units of a hundred the spears and the large and small shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of God he stationed all the men each with his weapon in his hand around the king near the altar in the temple from the south side to the north side of the temple jehoiada and his sons brought out the king son and put the crown on him they presented him with a copy of the Covenant and proclaimed him King they anointed him and shouted long live the king when a Valaya heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king she went to them at the temple of the Lord she looked and there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance the officers and the trumpeters were beside the king and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets and singers with musical instruments were leading the praises then a Goliath tore her robes and shouted treason treason jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of units of a hundred who were in charge of the troops and said to them bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her for the priests had said do not put her to death at the temple of the Lord so they seized her as she reached the entrance of the horse gate on the palace grounds and there they put her to death jehoiada then made a covenant that he and the people and the King would be the Lord's people all the people went to the temple of bail and tore it down they smashed the altars and idols and killed matching the priests of bail in front of the altars then jehoiada placed the oversight of the temple of the Lord in the hands of the priests who were Levites to whom David had made assignments in the temple to present the burnt offerings of the Lord as written in the law of Moses with rejoicing and singing as David had ordered he also stationed door keepers at the gates of the Lord's temple so that no one who was in any way unclean might enter he took with him the commanders of hundreds the nobles the rulers of the people and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the temple of the Lord they went into the palace through the upper gate and seated the king on the royal throne and all the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet because a Valaya had been slain with the sword chapter 24 joash was seven years old when he became king and he reigned in Jerusalem 40 years his mother's name was Sevilla she was from Beersheba joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of jehoiada the priest jehoiada chose two wives for him and he had sons and daughters sometime later joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord he called together the priests and levites and said to them go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel to repair the temple of your God do it now but the Levites did not act at once therefore the King summoned joe hoya to the chief priests and said to him why haven't you required the Levites to bring in from judah and jerusalem the tax imposed by moses the servant of the Lord and by the Assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony now the sons of that wicked woman ethyl aya had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the bales at the king's command a chest was made and placed outside at the gate of the temple of the Lord a proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the desert all the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly dropping them into the chest until it was full whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king's officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priests would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place they did this regularly and collected a great amount of money the king in jehoiada gave it to the men who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord they hired Mason's and carpenters to restore the Lord's temple and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple the men in charge of the work were diligent and the repairs progressed under them they rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it when they had finished they brought the rest of the money to the king and jehoiada and with it were made articles for the Lord's temple articles for the service and for the burnt offerings and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver as long as jehoiada lived burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord now jehoiada was old and full of years and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty he was buried with the kings in the City of David because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple after the death of jehoiada the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king and he listened to them they abandoned the temple of the Lord the god of their fathers and worshiped tashera poles and idols because of their guilt God's anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him and though they testified against them they would not listen then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of jehoiada the priest he stood before the people and said this is what God says why do you disobey the Lord's commands you will not prosper because you have forsaken the Lord he has forsaken you but they plotted against him and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord's temple King joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah's father jehoiada had shown him but killed his son who said as he lay dying may the Lord Jesus and call you to account at the turn of the year the army of Arum marched against joash it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people they sent all the plunder to their King in Damascus although the aramean army had come with only a few men the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army because Judah had forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers judgment was executed on joash when the Arameans withdrew they left joash severely wounded his officials conspired against him for murdering the son of jehoiada the priest and they killed him in his bed so he died and was buried in the City of David but not in the tombs of the Kings those who conspired against him was a bad son of shamea an ammonite woman and Jehoshaphat son of Shem Ruth a Moabite woman the account of his sons the many prophecies about him and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are written in the annotations on the book of the Kings and a messiah his son succeeded him as king chapter 25 a messiah was 25 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years his mother's name was Jehovah and she was from Jerusalem he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but not wholeheartedly after the kingdom was firmly in his control he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king yet he did not put their sons to death but acted in accordance with what is written in the law in the book of Moses where the LORD commanded father shall not be put to death for their children nor children put to death for their fathers each is to die for his own sins a messiah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin he then mustered those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men ready for military service able to handle the spear and shield he also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from for a hundred talents of silver but a man of God came to him and said O king these troops from Israel must not march with you for the Lord is not with Israel not with any of the people of Ephraim even if you go and fight courageously in battle God will overthrow you before the enemy for God has the power to help or to overthrow a messiah asked the man of God but what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops the man of God replied the Lord can give you much more than that so a messiah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home they were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the valley of salt where he killed ten thousand men of Seir the army of Judah also captured ten thousand man alive took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces meanwhile the troops that a messiah had sent back and had not allowed to take part in the war rated Judean towns from Samaria to beth horon they killed 3,000 people and carried off great quantities of plunder when a messiah returned from slaughtering the he brought back the gods of the people of Seir he set them up as his own gods bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them the anger of the Lord burned against a messiah and he sent a prophet to him who said why do you consult this peoples gods which could not save their own people from your hand while he was still speaking the king sent to him have we appointed you an advisor to the king stop why be struck down so the Prophet stopped but said I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel after amaziah king of judah consulted his advisors he sent this challenge to jehoash son of jehovah has the son of gu king of israel come meet me face to face but Jehoash king of israel replied to a messiah king of judah a thistle and lebanon sent a message to a cedar in lebanon give your daughter to my son and Mary then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot you say to yourself that you have defeated Edom and now you are arrogant and proud but stay at home why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also a messiah however would not listen for God so worked that he might hand them over to Jehoash because they sought the gods of Edom so Jehoash king of israel attacked he and amaziah king of judah faced each other at beth shemesh in Judah Judah was routed by Israel and every man fled to his home Jehoash king of Israel captured amaziah king of Judah the son of joash the son of Ahaz aya had bet Shemesh then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim gate to the corner gate a section about 600 feet long he took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of obed-edom together with the palace treasures in the hostages and returned to Samaria a messiah son of joash king of Judah lived for 15 years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehovah has king of Israel as for the other events of a messiahs reign from beginning to end are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel from the time that a messiah turned away from following the Lord they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to lakish but they sent men after him to lakish and killed him there he was brought back by horse and was buried with his father's in the city of Judah chapter 26 then all the people of Judah took Isaiah who was 16 years old and made him King in place of his father a messiah he was the one who rebuilt ilat' and restored it to Judah after a messiah rested with his father's Isaiah was 16 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 52 years his mother's name was Jack Alya she was from Jerusalem he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord just as his father a messiah had done he sought God during the days of Zechariah who instructed him in the fear of God as long as he sought the Lord God gave him success he went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath jab na and Ashdod he then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in gur bale and against the mill unites the ammonites brought tribute to isaiah and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt because he had become very powerful Isaiah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate at the valley gate and at the angle of the wall and he fortified them he also built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain he had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands for he loved the soil Isaiah had a well-trained army ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jil the secretary and may Asiya the officer under the direction of Hananiah one of the royal officials the total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2600 under their command was an army of 300 7500 men trained for war a powerful force to support the king against his enemies Isaiah provided shields spears helmets coats of armor bows and sling stones for the entire army in Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl stones his fame spread far and wide for he was greatly helped until he became powerful but after Isaiah became powerful his pride led to his downfall he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense Azariah the priest with 80 other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in they confronted him and said it is not right for you desire to burn incense to the Lord that is for the priests the descendants of Aaron who have been consecrated to burn incense leave the sanctuary for you have been unfaithful and you will not be honoured by the Lord God Isaiah who had a censor in his hand ready to burn incense became angry while he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple leprosy broke out on his forehead when Azariah the chief priests and all the other priests looked at him they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead so they hurried him out indeed he himself was eager to leave because the Lord had afflicted him king Isaiah had leprosy until the day he died he lived in a separate house leprous and excluded from the temple of the Lord Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land the other events of Isaiah's reign from beginning to end are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amos Isaiah rested with his father's and was buried near them in a field for burial that belonged to the Kings four people said he had leprosy and Joe than his son succeeded in his King chapter 27 Jotham was 25 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years his mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord just as his father Isaiah had done but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the Lord the people however continued their corrupt practices Jotham rebuilt the upper gate of the temple of the Lord and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of offal he built towns in the Judean Hills and forts and towers in the wooded areas Jotham made war on the king of the ammonites and conquered them that year the ammonites paid him a hundred talents of silver 10,000 cores of wheat and 10,000 cores of barley the ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God the other events in Joe themes reign including all his wars and the other things he did are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah he was 25 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years Jotham rested with his father's and was buried in the City of David and a has his son succeeded him as king chapter 28 a has was 20 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years unlike David his father he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made caste idols for worshiping the bales he burned sacrifices in the valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire following the detestable ways of the nation's the Lord had driven out before the Israelites he offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places on the hilltops and under every spreading tree therefore the Lord his God handed him over to the king of Arum the arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to damascus he was also given into the hands of the king of israel who did heavy casualties on him in one day pika son of remilia killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah because Judah had forsaken the Lord the god of their fathers zechariah and ephraim might warrior killed may Asiya the king's son Ezra come the officer in charge of the palace and elkanah second to the king the Israelites took captive from their kinsmen two hundred thousand wives sons and daughters they also took a great deal of plunder which they carried back to Samaria but a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria he said to them because the Lord the god of your father's was angry with Judah he gave them into your hand but you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven and now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves but aren't you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God now listen to me send back your fellow countrymen you have taken as prisoners for the Lord's fierce anger rests on you than some of the leaders in ephraim azariah son of ji-ho Henan berechiah son of Mesilla ma ji Hezekiah son of Shalem and a Mesa son of had lai confronted those who were arriving from the war you must not bring those prisoners here they said or we will be guilty before the Lord do you intend to add to our sin and guilt for our guilt is already great and his fierce anger rests on Israel so the soldiers gave up the prisoners in plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly the men designated by name took the prisoners and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked they provided them with clothes and sandals food and drink and healing balm all those who were weak they put on donkeys so they took them back to their fellow countrymen at Jericho the City of Palms and returned to Samaria at that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help the had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners while the Philistines had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah they captured and occupied beth shemesh a Jalan Khedira as well as SoCo Timna and Gimmes Oh with their surrounding villages the Lord had humbled Judah because of a has king of Israel for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the Lord TIG laughs policer king of Assyria came to him but he gave him trouble instead of help a has took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the princes and presented them to the king of Assyria but that did not help him in his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord he offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him for he thought since the gods of the kings of Arum have helped them I will sacrifice to them so they will help me but they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel he has gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and took them away he shut the doors of the Lord's temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem in every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and provoked the Lord the god of his father's to anger the other events of his reign and all his ways from beginning to end are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel a has rested with his father's and was buried in the city of Jerusalem but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel and Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king chapter 29 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years his mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord just as his father David had done in the first month of the first year of his reign he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them he brought in the priests and the Levites assembled them in the square on the east side and said listen to the Levites consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord the God of your father's remove all defilement from the sang - arey our fathers were unfaithful they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him they turned their faces away from the Lord's dwelling place and turned their backs on him they also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps they did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary - the God of Israel therefore the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn as you can see with your own eyes this is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord the God of Israel so that his fierce anger will turn away from us my sons do not be negligent now for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him to minister before him and to burn incense then these Levites said to work from the Khoa thighs may hat son of a messiah and joel son of Azariah from the Murrah rights Kish son of AB die and Azariah son of jahal L from the gershonites joah son of Zima and Eden son of Joel from the descendants of ellas a fan shimmery and Jael from the descendants of Asaph Zechariah and mattaniah from the descendants of Haman Jehiel and shamea from the descendants of Judah 'then shamaya and Accio when they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves they went in to purify the temple of the Lord as the King had ordered following the word of the Lord the priests went into the sanctuary of the Lord to purify it they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord's temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the Lord the Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley they began the consecration on the first day of the first month and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the Lord for eight more days they consecrated the temple of the Lord itself finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported we have purified the entire temple of the Lord the altar of burnt-offering with all its utensils and the table for setting out the consecrated bread with all its articles we have prepared and consecrated all the Articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was King they are now in front of the Lord's altar early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord they brought seven bowls seven Rams seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom for the sanctuary and for Judah the king commanded the priests the descendants of Aaron to offer these on the altar of the Lord so they slaughtered the Bulls and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar next they slaughtered the Rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar the goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the Assembly and they laid their hands on them the priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel because the King had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel he stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals harps and Liars in the way prescribed by David and GAD the Kings seer and Nathan the prophet this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets so the Levites stood ready with David's instruments and the priests with their trumpets Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar as the offering began singing to the Lord began also accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel the whole Assembly bowed in worship while the singers sang and the trumpeters played all this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed when the offerings were finished the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer so they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped then Hezekiah said you have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord so the Assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings the number of burnt offerings the Assembly brought was seventy Bulls a hundred Rams and two hundred male lambs all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord the animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred Bulls and three thousand sheep and goats the priests however were too few to skin all the burnt offerings so their kinsmen the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been there were burnt offerings in abundance together with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings so the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people because it was done so quickly chapter 30 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to ephraim and manasseh inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord the God of Israel the king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month they had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem the plan seems right both to the king and to the whole assembly they decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel from Beersheba to Dan calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord the God of Israel it had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written at the king's command couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials which read people of Israel returned to the Lord the God of Abraham Isaac and Israel that he may return to you who are left who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria do not be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord the God of their fathers so that he made them an object of horror as you see do not be stiff necked as your father's were submit to the Lord come to the sanctuary which he is consecrated forever serve the Lord your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you if you return to the Lord and your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate he will not turn his face from you if you return to him the courier's went from town to town in ephraim and manasseh as far as Zebulon but the people scorned and ridiculed them nevertheless some men of Asher Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered following the word of the Lord a very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread in the second month they removed the altars in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month the priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord then they took up their regular positions as prescribed in the law of Moses the man of God the priests sprinkled the blood handed to them by the Levites since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to the Lord although most of the many people who came from Ephraim Manasseh Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written but Hezekiah prayed for them saying may the Lord's who is good pardon every one who sets his heart on seeking God the Lord the god of his father's even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary and the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people the Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with great rejoicing while the Levites and priests sang to the Lord every day accompanied by the Lord's instruments of praise Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good understanding of the service of the Lord for the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised the Lord the god of their fathers the whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival seven more days so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully Hezekiah king of Judah provided a thousand Bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the Assembly and the officials provided them with a thousand Bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats a great number of priests consecrated themselves the entire Assembly of Judah rejoiced along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel including the aliens who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah there was great joy in Jerusalem for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people and God heard them for their prayer reached heaven his holy dwelling place chapter 31 when all this had ended the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah smashed the Sacred Stones and cut down the Ashura poles they destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in ephraim and manasseh after they had destroyed all of them the Israelites returned to their towns and to their own property Hezekiah assigned the priests and levites two divisions each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to minister to give thanks and to sing praises at the gates of the Lord's dwelling the King contributed from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbath's new moons and appointed feasts as written in the law of the Lord he ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion to the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the law of the Lord as soon as the order went out the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain new wine oil and honey and all that the fields produced they brought a great amount a tithe of everything the men of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithes of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God and they piled them in heaps they began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month when Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps they praised the Lord and blessed his people Israel Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps and Azariah the chief priests from the family of Zadok answered since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare because the Lord has blessed his people and this great amount is left over Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord and this was done then they faithfully brought in the contributions tithes and dedicated gifts Canon aya a Levite was in charge of these things and his brother Shammi I was next in rank Jehiel as isaiah nay hath a Sahel jeremiah Jos Abed Alya is Micaiah May hath and Barnea were supervisors unto kana nya and shimmy I his brother by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of the temple God Cory son of em nah the Levite keeper of the Eastgate was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts Eden miniman Joshua Sameach a Mariah and Czech Ania assisted him faithfully in the towns of the priests distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions old and young alike in addition they distributed to the male's three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks according to their responsibilities and their divisions and they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more according to their responsibilities and their divisions they included all the little ones the wives and the sons and daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records where they were faithful in consecrating themselves as for the priests the descendants of Aaron who lived on the farm lands around their towns or in any other towns men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among them and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of the Levites this is what Hezekiah did throughout judah doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God in everything that he undertook in the service of God's Temple and in obedience to the law and the commands he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly and so he prospered chapter xxxii after all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah he laid siege to the fortified cities thinking to conquer them for himself when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city and they helped him a large force of men assembled and they blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water they said then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it he built another wall outside that one and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City of David he also made large numbers of weapons and shields he appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words be strong and courageous do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him for there is a greater power with us than with him with him is only the arm of flesh but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles and the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said later when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to lakish he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there this is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says on what are you basing your confidence that you remain in Jerusalem under siege when Hezekiah says the Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria he is misleading you to let you die of hunger and thirst did not Hezekiah himself remove this God's high places and altars saying to Judah and Jerusalem you must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the other lands where the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand who of all the gods of these nations that my father's destroyed has been able to save his people from me how then can your God deliver you from my hand now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this do not believe him for no god of any nation or Kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers how much less will your God deliver you from my hand sanika ribs officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah the King also wrote letters insulting the Lord the God of Israel and saying this against him just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city they spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world the work of men's hands King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amos cried out in prayer to heaven about this and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian King so he withdrew to his own land in disgrace and when he went into the temple of his God some of his sons cut him down with the sword so the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others he took care of them on every side many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah from then on he was highly regarded by all the nations in those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death he prayed to the Lord who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign but Hezekiah heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown therefore the Lord's wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart as did the people of Jerusalem therefore the Lord's wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah Hezekiah had very great riches and honor and he made Treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones spices shields and all kinds of valuables he also made buildings to store the harvest of grain new wine and oil and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle and pens for the flocks he built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds for God had given him very great riches it was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David he succeeded in everything he undertook but when envoy's were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart the other events of Hezekiah is rain and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amos in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel Hezekiah rested with his father's and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David's descendants are all Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died and Manasseh his son succeeded him as king chapter 33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king and he reigned in Jerusalem 55 years he did evil in the eyes of the Lord following the detestable practices of the nation's the Lord had driven out before the Israelites he rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished he also erected altars to the bales and made Ashera poles he bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them he built altars in the temple of the Lord of which the Lord had said my name will remain in Jerusalem forever in both courts of the temple of the Lord he built altars to all the starry hosts he sacrificed his sons in the fire in the valley of Benham practice sorcery divination and witchcraft and consulted mediums and spiritists he did much evil in the eyes of the Lord provoking him to anger he took the carved image he had made and put it in God's temple of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon in this temple and in Jerusalem which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel I will put my name forever I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws decrees and ordinances given through Moses but Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray so that they did more evil than the nation's the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people but they paid no attention so the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria who took Manasseh prisoner put a hook in his nose bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon in his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the god of his father's and when he prayed to him the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David west of the Gihon spring in the valley as far as the entrance of the fish gate and encircling the hill of offal he also made it much higher he stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah he got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord as well as all the altars he had built on the temple Hill and in Jerusalem and he threw them out of the city then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it and told Judah to serve the Lord the of Israel the people however continued to sacrifice at the high places but only to the Lord their God the other events of Manasses reign including his prayer to his God and the words the seer spoke to him in the name of the Lord the God of Israel are written in the annals of the kings of Israel his prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself all are written in the records of the seers Manasseh rested with his father's and was buried in his palace and Ammon his son succeeded him as king Ammon was 22 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem two years he did evil in the eyes of the Lord as his father Manasseh had done Haman worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made but unlike his father Manasseh he did not humble himself before the Lord Haman increased his guilt Hammond's officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon and they made Josiah his son King in his place chapter 34 Josiah was 8 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 31 years he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David not turning aside to the right or to the left in the 8th year of his reign while he was still young he began to seek the god of his father David in his 12th year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places bashira poles carved idols and cast images under his direction the altars of the bales were torn down he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them and smashed the Ashura poles the idols and the images these he broke two pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem in the towns of Manasseh Ephraim and Simeon as far as NAFTA lie and in the ruins around them he tore down the altars and the Ashura poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel then he went back to Jerusalem in the 18th year of Josiah's reign to purify the land and the temple he sent Chafin son of a zalaya and may Asiya the ruler of the city with joyous and a joah has the recorder to repair the Temple of the Lord his God they went to Hill kaya the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God which the Levites who were the doorkeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord's temple these men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple they also gave money to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin the men did the work faithfully over them to direct them where Jay hath and Obadiah Levites descended from ur RI and Zechariah and Missoula descended from Kohath the Levites all who were skilled in playing musical instruments had charge of the laborers and supervise all the workers from job to job some of the Levites were secretaries scribes and doorkeepers while they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord Hill kaya the priests found the book of the law of the Lord that had been given through Moses Hill kaya said to Chafin the secretary I have found the book of the law in the temple of the Lord he gave it to Chafin then Chafin took the book to the king and reported to him your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them they have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers then shaving the secretary informed the king nakiya the priest has given me a book and Chafin read from it in the presence of the king when the King heard the words of the law he tore his robes he gave these orders to Hill Chaya a high come son of shaphan abdun son of micah Chafin the secretary and Isaiah the King's attendant go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found great is the Lord's anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book he'll kaya and those the King had sent with him went to speak to the prophetess holder who was the wife of Shalem son of talketh the son of Hazra keeper of the Wardrobe she lived in Jerusalem in the second district she said to them this is what the Lord the God of Israel says tell the man who sent you to me this is what the Lord says I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all that their hands have made my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched till the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord this is what the Lord the God of Israel says concerning the words you heard because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence I have heard you declares the Lord now I will gather you to your father's and you will be buried in peace your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here so they took her answer back to the king then the King called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem he went up to the temple of the Lord with the men of Judah the people of Jerusalem the priests and the Levites all the people from the least to the greatest he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the temple of the Lord the King stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord and keep his commands regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul and to obey the words of the Covenant written in this book then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledged themselves to it the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God the God of their fathers Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites and he had all who were present in Israel served the Lord their God as long as he lived they did not fail to follow the Lord the god of their fathers chapter 35 josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month he appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord's temple he said to the Levites who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord put the sacred art in the temple that Solomon's son of David king of Israel built it is not to be carried about on your shoulders now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel prepare yourselves by families in your divisions according to the directions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow countrymen the laypeople slaughter the Passover lambs consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for your countrymen doing what the LORD commanded through Moses Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand sheep and goats for the Passover offerings and also three thousand cattle all from the Kings own possessions his officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priests and levites Hill Chaya Zechariah and Jahi oh the administrators of God's temple gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and three hundred cattle also can Anaya along with shamaya and Nathanael his brothers and hash abaya Jael and Joseph add the leaders of the Levites provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites the service was arranged and the priest stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions as the King had ordered the Passover lambs were slaughtered and the priests sprinkled the blood handed to them while the Levites skinned the animals they set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord as is written in the book of Moses they did the same with the cattle they roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed and boiled the holy offerings in pots cauldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people after this they made preparations for themselves and for the priests because the priests the descendants of Aaron were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall so the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priesthood Asaph Heymann and juju 'then the king's seer the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them so at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord as King Josiah had ordered the Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the feast of unleavened bread for seven days the Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the Prophet Samuel and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah with the priests the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem this Passover was celebrated in the 18th year of Josiah's reign after all this when Josiah had set the temple in order Nicko king of egypt went up to fight at karkemish on the Euphrates and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle but nikko sent messengers to him saying what quarrel is there between you and me o king of Judah it is not you I am attacking at this time but the house with which I am at war God has told me to hurry so stop opposing God who is with me or he will destroy you Josiah however would not turn away from him but disguised himself to engage him in battle he would not listen to what Niko had said at God's command but went to fight him on the plain of megiddo archers shot King Josiah and he told his officers take me away I am badly wounded so they took him out of his chariot put him in the other chariot he had and brought him to Jerusalem where he died he was buried in the tombs of his father's and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah and to this day all the men and women singers commemorate Josiah in the laments these became a tradition in Israel and are written in the laments the other events of Josiah's reign and his acts of devotion according to what is written in the law of the Lord all the events from beginning to end are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah chapter 36 and the people of the land took jehovah has son of Josiah and made him King in Jerusalem in place of his father jehovah has was 23 years old when he became king and he reigned in jerusalem three months the king of egypt dethroned him in jerusalem and imposed on judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold the king of egypt made aliyah kim a brother of jehovah has king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Alaia Kim's name to Jehoiakim but nikko took ilya Kim's brother Jehovah has and carried him off to Egypt Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 11 years he did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the Lord and put them in his temple there the other events of Jehoiakim reign the detestable things he did and all that was found against him are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah and Jehovah King his son succeeded him as king jehoiakim was 18 years old when he became king and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days he did evil in the eyes of the Lord in the spring King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon together with articles of value from the temple of the Lord and he made Joe Hawkins uncle Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became King and he reigned in Jerusalem 11 years he did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before jeremiah the prophet who spoke the word of the Lord he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him taken oath in God's name he became stiff necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord the God of Israel furthermore all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more on following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord which he had consecrated in Jerusalem the Lord the god of their fathers sent word to them through his messengers again and again because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place but they mocked God's messengers despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy he brought up against them the king of the Babylonians who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary and spared neither young man nor young woman old man or aged God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar he carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God both large and small and the treasures of the Lord's temple and the treasures of the king and his officials they set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there he carried into exile to babylon the remnant who escaped from the sword and they became servants to him in his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power the land enjoyed its Sabbath rests all the time of its desolation it rested until the 70 years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing this is what Cyrus king of Persia says the Lord the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah any one of his people among you may the Lord his God be with him and let him go up you

Channel: The Bible-smith Project

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Keywords: he recited, Christian, Bible, ܩܪܝܢܐ, Holy Scripture, qaraʼa, 꾸란, he read, قرأ, Faith, 성경, Qur'an, Word, Language, Quran, scripture reading, The Bible-smith Project, Holy Bible, Reading, Foreign Language, God, qeryānā, Holy Spirit, القرآن‎‎, 복음, lesson, Jesus Christ, Jesus, Book, Testament, Scripture, Narration, maṣdar, Gospel, al-Qurʾān, Phrase, Koran, AudioBible

Id: p0Q2HUhpw4o

Length: 138min 42sec (8322 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 14 2014