2 Kings

Chapter 1

¹ And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. ² And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber that {was} in Samaria, and he was injured. And he sent messengers, and he said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will live from this injury.” ³ But the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria. And speak to them, ‘Is {it} because there is no God in Israel you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? ⁴ And therefore, thus says Yahweh, “The bed that you have gone up there, you will not come down from it, for surely you will die.”’” And Elijah went.

⁵ And the messengers returned to him. And he said to them, “What {is} this, you have returned?” ⁶ And they said to him, “A man went up to meet us, and he said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and you will speak to him, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Is {it} because there is no God in Israel you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore the bed that you have gone up there, you will not go down from it, for you will surely die.’”’” ⁷ And he spoke to them, “What {was} the custom of the man who came up to meet you, and he spoke to you these words?” ⁸ And they said to him, “A man—an owner of hair and a belt of skin was tied on his hips.” And he said, “He {is} Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ And he sent to him a captain of 50 and his 50. And he went up to him, and look—sitting on the top of the hill. And he spoke to him, “Man of God, the king speaks, ‘Come down.’” ¹⁰ And Elijah answered, and he spoke to the captain of the 50, “And if I {am} a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens, and let it consume you and your 50.” And fire came down from the heavens, and it consumed him and his 50. ¹¹ And he returned, and he sent to him another captain of 50 and his 50. And he answered, and he spoke to him, “Man of God, thus says the king, ‘Quickly, come down.’” ¹² And Elijah answered, and he spoke to them, “If I {am} a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens, and let it consume you and your 50.” And the fire of God came down from the heavens, and it consumed him and his 50. ¹³ And he returned, and he sent a third captain of 50 and his 50. And he went up, and the third captain of 50 came, and he kneeled on his knees opposite to Elijah, and he pleaded with him, and he spoke to him, “Man of God, please let my life and the life of your servants, these 50, be precious in your eyes. ¹⁴ Look—fire came down from the heavens, and it consumed the two captains of the 50, the first ones, and their fifties. But now, let my life be precious in your eyes.” ¹⁵ And the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid from his face.” And he got up, and he went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ And he spoke to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron—was {it} because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore, the bed that you have gone up there, you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.’”

¹⁷ And he died according to the word of Yahweh that Elijah spoke. And Joram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, because a son did not belong to him. ¹⁸ But the rest of the words of Ahaziah that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

Chapter 2

¹ And it happened, when Yahweh took up Elijah in the windstorm {to} the heavens, and Elijah went and Elisha from Gilgal. ² And Elijah said to Elisha, “Now, stay here, because Yahweh has sent me up to Bethel.” And Elisha said, “{By} the life of Yahweh and {by} the life of your spirit, I will not leave you.” And they went down {to} Bethel. ³ And sons of the prophets who {were in} Bethel went out to Elisha, and they said to him, “Do you know that today Yahweh is taking your lord from over your head?” And he said, “I myself also know. Be quiet.” ⁴ And Elijah said to Elisha, “Now, stay here, because Yahweh has sent me {to} Jericho.” And he said, “{By} the life of Yahweh and {by} the life of your spirit, I will not leave you.” And they came {to} Jericho. ⁵ And sons of the prophets who {were} in Jericho drew near to Elisha, and they said to him, “Do you know that today Yahweh is taking your lord from over your head?” And he said, “I myself also know. Be quiet.” ⁶ And Elijah said to him, “Now, stay here, because Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “{By} the life of Yahweh and {by} the life of your spirit, I will not leave you.” And they went, the two of them. ⁷ And 50 men from the sons of the prophets went, and they stood opposite from a distance. And the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ And Elijah took his coat, and he folded {it}, and he struck the waters, and they were divided, here and here. And they crossed over, the two of them, on the dry ground. ⁹ And it happened, as they crossed over, and Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I will do for you before I will be taken from with you.” And Elisha said, “And, please, may a double portion of your spirit be to me.” ¹⁰ And he said, “You have made {it} difficult by asking. If you see me being taken from with you, it will be for you thus. But if it is not, it will not be.” ¹¹ And it happened, they were walking, walking and speaking, and look—a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and they separated between the two of them. And Elijah went up in the windstorm {to} the heavens. ¹² And Elisha was looking, and he was crying out, “My father, my father, chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” But he no longer saw him. And he grabbed his clothes, and he tore them into two pieces. ¹³ And he raised up the coat of Elijah that had fallen from on him. And he returned, and he stood on the edge of the Jordan. ¹⁴ And he took the coat of Elijah that had fallen from on him, and he struck the waters, and he said, “Where {is} Yahweh, the God of Elijah—even he?” And he struck the waters, and they were divided, here and here, and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵ And sons of the prophets who {were} in Jericho saw him from opposite, and they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and they prostrated themselves to him, to the ground. ¹⁶ And they said to him, “Look, please—there are with your servants 50 men, sons of military prowess. Please, let them go, and they will seek your lord, in case the Spirit of Yahweh lifted him, and he threw him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.” And he said, “Do not send.” ¹⁷ But they urged him until shaming, and he said, “Send.” And they sent 50 men, and they searched three days, but they did not find him. ¹⁸ And they returned to him (and he was staying in Jericho), and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

¹⁹ And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please, look—the dwelling place of the city {is} good, just as my lord is seeing. But the waters {are} bad, and the land is barren.” ²⁰ And he said, “Bring to me a new bowl, and put salt there.” And they brought {it} to him. ²¹ And he went out to the source of the waters, and he threw salt there. And he said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘I have healed these waters. Death or barrenness will not be from there any longer.’” ²² And the waters were healed, up to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

²³ And he went up from there {to} Bethel, and he was going up on the road, and young men—they came out from the city, and they were mocking him. And they said to him, “Go up, bald one! Go up, bald one!” ²⁴ And he turned behind him, and he saw them, and he cursed them in the name of Yahweh. And two female bears came out from the forrest and they mauled from them 42 of {the} boys. ²⁵ And he went from there to Mount Carmel. And from there, he returned {to} Samaria.

Chapter 3

¹ And Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah. And he was king 12 years. ² But he did that which was evil in the eyes of Yahweh—however, not as his father or as his mother. And he removed the pillar of Baal that his father made. ³ However, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin. He did not turn aside from it.

⁴ And Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder. And he would return to the king of Israel 100,000 young rams and 100,000 rams {with} wool. ⁵ And it happened, after the death of Ahab, and the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ And King Jehoram went out from Samaria on that day. And he inspected all Israel. ⁷ And he went, and he sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to Moab, to the war?” And he said, “I will go up. As me, so you. As my people, so your people. As my horses, so your horses.” ⁸ And he said, “Where {is} this, the way we will go up?” And he said, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.” ⁹ And the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they circled around {the} way seven days. But water was not for the army or for the cattle which {were} on their feet. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel said, “Oh! Surely Yahweh called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” ¹¹ And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here a prophet of Yahweh, that we might seek Yahweh by him?” And one {person} from the servants of the king of Israel answered, and he said, “Here {is} Elisha the son of Shaphat who poured water onto the hands of Elijah.” ¹² And Jehoshaphat said, “There is with him the word of Yahweh.” And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What {belongs} to me and to you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No, for Yahweh has called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” ¹⁴ And Elisha said, “{By} the life of Yahweh of hosts, whom I stand to his face, that unless I am lifting the face of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look to you, nor would I see you. ¹⁵ But now, bring to me a person who plays stringed instruments.” And it was, when the person who played stringed instruments played, and the hand of Yahweh was on him. ¹⁶ And he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Making this valley cisterns, cisterns.’ ¹⁷ For thus says Yahweh: ‘You will not see wind, and you will not see rain, but this valley will be filled {with} water. And you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.’ ¹⁸ And this is light in the eyes of Yahweh, and he gives Moab into your hand. ¹⁹ And you will strike every fortified city and every choice city, and every good tree you will fell, and all the springs of water you will stop up, and every good portion you will ruin with stones.” ²⁰ And it happened, in the morning when the offering went up, and look—waters were coming from the way of Edom, and the land was filled with the waters.

²¹ And all Moab heard that the kings had gone up to fight against them. And they were called together from every person who tied a belt and upwards, and they stood beside the border. ²² And they got up early in the morning, and the sun rose over the waters. And Moab saw the waters from opposite—red like blood. ²³ And they said, “This {is} blood! The kings have surely killed themselves, and they struck, each one, his companion. And now—to the spoil, Moab!” ²⁴ And they came to the camp of Israel, and Israel got up, and they struck Moab, and they fled from their face. And they came into it, and striking Moab. ²⁵ And the cities they tore down, and every good portion they threw, each person his stone, and they filled it. And every spring of water they stopped up, and every good tree they felled, until he made its stones remain in Kir-Hareseth. And the slingers went around, and they struck it. ²⁶ And the king of Moab saw that the war was stronger than him. And he took with him 700 men who drew a sword to break through to the king of Edom, but they were not able. ²⁷ And he took his son, the firstborn who would be king in his place, and he lifted him up {as} a burnt offering on the wall, and great wrath was against Israel. And they departed away from him, and they returned to the land.

Chapter 4

¹ And a woman, one from the wives of the sons of the prophets, cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, died, and you yourself know that your servant was one who feared Yahweh. And the moneylender has come to take two of my children for himself to {be} slaves.” ² So Elisha said to her, “What will I do for you? Inform me: what is there for you in the house?” And she said, “There is not for your female servant anything in the house except a flask of oil.” ³ And he said, “Go, ask for yourself {for} containers from the outside, from all of your neighbors, empty containers. Do not let it be few. ⁴ And go, and shut the door behind you and behind your sons, and pour on all these containers. And the full one, set aside.” ⁵ And she went from him, and she shut the door behind her and behind her sons. They were bringing near to her, and she was pouring. ⁶ And it happened, as {she} filled the containers, and she said to her son, “Bring near to me another container.” And he said to her, “There is not another container.” And the oil stood. ⁷ And she came, and she informed the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil, and repay your debt. And you and your sons—you will live on the rest.”

⁸ And the day happened, and Elisha passed by to Shunem, and there {was} a great woman, and she grabbed him to eat bread. And it happened, as often as he passed by, he turned aside to there to eat bread. ⁹ And she said to her husband, “Look, please. I know that he {is} a holy man of God, the one continually passing by to us. ¹⁰ Please, let us make a small upper chamber of a wall, and let us put for him there a bed and a table and a chair and a lampstand. And it will be, when he comes to us, he will turn aside to there.” ¹¹ And the day happened, and he came to there. And he turned aside to the upper chamber, and he lay down there. ¹² And he said to Gehazi his young man, “Call for this Shunammite.” And he called for her, and she stood to his face. ¹³ And he said to him, “Now, say to her, ‘Look, you have trembled all this trembling concerning us. What to do for you? Is there to speak for you to the king or to the captain of the army?’” But she said, “In the midst of my people I am living.” ¹⁴ And he said, “But what to do for her?” And Gehazi said, “However, a son there is not for her, and her husband is old.” ¹⁵ And he said, “Call for her.” And he called for her, and she stood in the entrance. ¹⁶ And he said, “At this appointed time, like the living time, you will embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, man of God—do not lie to your female servant.”

¹⁷ And the woman became pregnant, and she gave birth {to} a son at this appointed time, like the living time, that Elisha spoke to her. ¹⁸ And the child grew, and the day happened, and he went out to his father, to the harvesters. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to the young man, “Lift him to his mother.” ²⁰ And he lifted him, and he brought him to his mother. And he sat on her knees until noon, and he died. ²¹ And she went up, and she laid him on the bed of the man of God. And she shut behind him, and she went out. ²² And she called to her husband, and she said, “Please, send to me one from the young men and one of the donkeys, and let me run to the man of God, and let me return.” ²³ And he said, “Why are you going to him today? {It is} not a new moon nor a Sabbath.” And she said, “Peace.” ²⁴ And she saddled the donkey, and she said to her young man, “Lead and go! Do not hold back for me to ride unless I say to you.” ²⁵ And she went, and she came to the man of God, to Mount Carmel.

And it happened, when the man of God saw her from opposite, and he said to Gehazi his young man, “Look, that Shunammite woman there. ²⁶ Now, please, run to meet her and say to her, ‘{Is} welfare for you? {Is} welfare for your husband? {Is} welfare for the boy?’” And she said, “Peace.” ²⁷ And she came to the man of God, to the mountain, and she grabbed his feet. And Gehazi drew near to push her away, and the man of God said, “Leave her, for her spirit is bitter for her, but Yahweh has hidden {it} from me, and he has not informed me.” ²⁸ And she said, “Did I ask {for} a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not put me at ease?’” ²⁹ And he said to Gehazi, “Gird your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you find a person, you will not bless him, and if a person blesses you, you will not answer him. But you will put my staff on the face of the young man.” ³⁰ And the mother of the young man said, “{By} the life of Yahweh and {by} the life of your spirit, I will not leave you.” And he got up, and he went after her. ³¹ And Gehazi passed by to their faces, and he put the staff on the face of the young man, but there was no sound and there was no attentiveness. And he returned to meet him, and he informed him, saying, “The young man did not wake up.”

³² And Elisha came in to the house, and look—the young man was dead, laid on his bed. ³³ And he went in, and he shut the door behind the two of them. And he prayed to Yahweh. ³⁴ And he went up, and he lay on the child, and he put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his palms on his palms. And he bent down near him, and the flesh of the child grew warm. ³⁵ And he returned, and he walked in the house—once here and once here. And he went up, and he bent down near him. And the young man sneezed up to seven times, and the young man opened his eyes. ³⁶ And he called to Gehazi, and he said, “Call to that Shunammite woman!” And he called her, and she came to him. And he said, “Lift up your son.” ³⁷ And she came in, and she fell on his feet, and she prostrated herself to the ground. And she lifted her son, and she went out.

³⁸ And Elisha returned to Gilgal (and the famine {was} in the land), and the sons of the prophets were sitting to his face. And he said to his young man, “Place the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹ And one went out to the field to gather herbs, and he found a vine of the field, and he gathered from it gourds of the field, the fullness of his clothes. And he came, and he cut {it} into the pot of stew, for they did not know. ⁴⁰ And they poured {it} out for the men to eat. And it happened, when they ate from the stew, and they themselves cried out, and they said, “Death {is} in the pot, man of God!” And they were not able to eat. ⁴¹ And he said, “And bring flour.” And he threw {it} into the pot. And he said, “Pour {it} out for the people, and they will eat.” And there was not a harmful thing in the pot.

⁴² And a man came from Baal-Shalishah, and he brought to the man of God bread of the firstfruits, 20 loaves of barley bread, and new corn in his sack. And he said, “Give {them} to the people, and they will eat.” ⁴³ And the one serving him said, “How will I give this to the face of 100 men?” And he said, “Give {them} to the people, and they will eat, for thus says Yahweh, ‘Eating and leaving over.’” ⁴⁴ And he gave {them} to their face, and they ate, and they had leftovers, according to the word of Yahweh.

Chapter 5

¹ And Naaman the captain of the army of the king of Aram was a great man to the face of his lord and was lifted of face because through him Yahweh gave deliverance to Aram. But the man was mighty of military prowess, afflicted with a skin disease. ² And troops went out {from} Aram, and they took captive from the land of Israel a young little girl. And she was to the face of the wife of Naaman. ³ And she said to her queen mother, “O that my lord {was} to the face of the prophet who {is} in Samaria. Then he would take him away from his skin disease.” ⁴ And he came, and he informed his lord, saying, “Like this and like this the young girl who {is} from the land of Israel has spoken.” ⁵ And the king of Aram said, “Go, come, and let me send a letter to the king of Israel.” And he went, and he took in his hand ten disks of silver and 6,000 gold and ten changes of clothes. ⁶ And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now, when this letter comes to you, look—I have sent to you Naaman my servant and you will take him away from his skin disease.” ⁷ And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, and he tore his clothes, and he said, “{Am} I God, killing and making alive, that this one is sending to me to take a man away from his skin disease? For surely, please, know and see that he is seeking an opportunity against me.”

⁸ And it happened, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel tore his clothes, and he sent to the king saying, “Why did you tear your clothes? Please, let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ And Naaman came on his horses and on his chariots. And he stood {in} the opening of the house of Elisha. ¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and let your skin return to you and be clean. ¹¹ And Naaman was furious, and he went, and he said, “Look—I said to myself, ‘Surely he will come out, and he will stand, and he will call on the name of Yahweh his God, and he will wave his hand to the place, and he will take away the skin disease. ¹² Are not Abanah and Pharpar the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Can I not bathe in them and I will be clean?” And he turned, and he went away in heat. ¹³ And his servants drew near, and they spoke to him, and they said, “My father, {if} the prophet spoke to you a great matter, would you not do {it}? And moreover when he has said to you, ‘Wash and be clean?’” ¹⁴ And he went down, and he dipped in the Jordan seven times, according to word of the man of God. And his skin returned, like the skin of a young little boy, and he was clean.

¹⁵ And he returned to the man of God, he and all of his camp, and he came, and he stood to his face. And he said, “Look, please—I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. And now, please take a blessing from your servant.” ¹⁶ But he said, “{By} the life of Yahweh, whom I stand to his face, I will not take.” And he urged him to take, but he refused. ¹⁷ And Naaman said, “But {If} not, please, may a load of a pair of mules, earth, be given to your servant, for your servant will no longer make a burnt offering or a sacrifice to other gods except to Yahweh. ¹⁸ For this matter, may Yahweh forgive your servant: when my lord comes {to} the house of Rimmon to prostrate himself there, and he is leaning on my hand, and I prostrate myself {in} the house of Rimmon. When I prostrate myself {in} the house of Rimmon, please may Yahweh forgive your servant in this matter.” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Go in peace.” And he went from him a stretch of land.

²⁰ And Gehazi the young man of Elisha, the man of God, said, “Look—my lord spared Naaman this Aramean from taking from his hand that which he brought. {By} the life of Yahweh, if I will not run after him, and I will take something from him.” ²¹ And Gehazi pursued after Naaman. And Naaman saw a person running after him, and he got down from on the chariot to meet him. And he said, “Peace?” ²² And he said, “Peace. My lord sent me, saying, ‘Look, now this: two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please, give to them a disk of silver and two changes of clothing.’” ²³ And Naaman said, “Be resolved—take two disks.” And he urged him, and he bound two silver disks in two bags and two changes of clothing. And he gave {them} to two of his young men, and they lifted {them} to his face. ²⁴ And he came to the hill, and he took {them} from their hand, and he deposited {them} in the house. And he sent the men, and they went. ²⁵ And he himself came, and he stood beside his lord, and Elisha said to him, “From where, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go here or there.” ²⁶ And he said to him, “{Did} not my heart go just as a man turned from on his chariot to meet you? {Is this} a time to take silver or to take clothing or olives trees or vineyards or sheep or cattle or male servants or female servants? ²⁷ And the skin disease of Naaman will cling to you and to your seed to perpetuity.” And he went out from before his face, afflicted with a skin disease as the snow.

Chapter 6

¹ And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, please—the place where we are sitting there to your face is too tight for us. ² Please, let us go as far as the Jordan, and let us take from there, each person one beam, and let us make for ourselves there a place to sit there.” And he said, “Go.” ³ And the one said, “Be resolved, please, and go with your servants.” And he said, “I myself will go.” ⁴ And he went with them. And they came to the Jordan, and they cut down the trees. ⁵ And it happened, the one was felling the beam, and the iron fell into the water. And he cried out, and he said, “Alas, my lord, but it was lent!” ⁶ And the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he made him see the place, and he cut off a tree, and he threw {it} to there, and the iron floated. ⁷ And he said, “Lift {it} up for yourself.” And he stretched out his hand, and he took it.

⁸ And the king of Aram was fighting against Israel. And he consulted with his servants, saying, “{Make} my camp to such {and} such a place.” ⁹ And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware of passing by that place, for there Aram is coming down.” ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God had said to him, and he warned it, and he was guarded there not once and not twice. ¹¹ And the heart of the king of Aram became stormy concerning this matter. And he called to his servants, and he said to them, “Will you not inform me who from those {belonging} to us {is} to the king of Israel?” ¹² And one from his servants said, “No, my lord the king, for Elisha the prophet who {is} in Israel informs the king of Israel the things that you speak in the room of your bed.” ¹³ And he said, “Go and see where he {is}, and I will send, and I will take him.” And it was declared to him, saying, “Look, in Dothan.”

¹⁴ And he sent to there horses and a chariot and a heavy army, and they came {at} night, and they surrounded around the city. ¹⁵ And the one serving the man of God rose early, getting up, and he went out, and look—an army surrounding the city and horse and chariot. And his young man said to him, “Oh, my lord! What will we do?” ¹⁶ And he said, “Do not fear, for more numerous {are} those with us than those with them.” ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, and he said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, and he will see.” And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and look—the mountain {was} full of horses and a chariot of fire {was} all around Elisha. ¹⁸ And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and he said, “Please, strike this nation with blinding light.” And he struck them with blinding light according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹ And Elisha said to them, “This {is} not the way, and this {is} not the city. Walk after me, and let me lead you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.

²⁰ And it happened, when they came {to} Samaria, and Elisha said, “Yahweh, open the eyes of these {people}, and they will see.” And Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw, and look—in the midst of Samaria. ²¹ And the king of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, “Will I strike {them}? Will I strike {them}, my father?” ²² And he said, “Do not strike {them}. Those who you took captive with your sword and with your bow—would you strike {them}? Put bread and water to their faces, and they will eat, and they will drink, and they will go to their lord.” ²³ And he prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and they drank, and he sent them, and they went to their lord. And the troops of Aram did not continue any longer to come into the land of Israel.

²⁴ And it happened after thus, and Ben-Hadad the king of Aram assembled all of his camp, and he went up, and he laid seige against Samaria. ²⁵ And a great famine was in Samaria, and look—laying siege against it, until a head of a donkey was in exchange for 80 silver, and a fourth of the kab of doves droppings {was} in exchange for five silver. ²⁶ And it happened, the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, and a woman cried out to him, saying, “Save, my lord, the king!” ²⁷ And he said, “Yahweh will not save you—from where will I save you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?” ²⁸ And the king said to her, “What {belongs} to you?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, and we will eat him today, and my son we will eat tomorrow.’” ²⁹ And we boiled my son, and we ate him. And I said to her on the next day, “Give your son, and we will eat him.” But she has hidden her son. ³⁰ And it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, and he tore his clothes (and he was passing by on the wall). And the people saw, and look—sackcloth {was} on his skin, from beneath. ³¹ And he said, “Thus may God do to me, and thus may continue, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat stands on him today.”

³² And Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And he sent a man from before his face, before the messenger came to him, and he himself said to the elders, “Do you see that this son of a murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and push him with the door. Is {that} not the sound of the feet of his lord behind him?” ³³ He was still speaking with them, and look—the messenger was coming down to him. And he said, “Look—this disaster {is} from Yahweh. Why will I hope for Yahweh any longer?”

Chapter 7

¹ And Elisha said, “Hear the word of Yahweh. Thus says Yahweh: ‘At {this} time tomorrow, a seah of flour {will be} in exchange for a shekel, and two seahs of barley {will be} in exchange for a shekel in the gate of Samaria.’” ² And the third {officer} who {belonged} to the king, leaning on his hand, answered the man of God, and he said, “Look—Yahweh is making windows in the heavens. Will this thing be?” And he said, “Look at you—seeing with your eyes, but from there, you will not eat.”

³ And four men were afflicted with a skin disease {at} the entrance of the gate. And they said, one man to his companion, “Why are we sitting here until we die? ⁴ If we say we will enter the city, and the famine {is} in the city, then we will die there. But if we sit here, then we will die. But now, come, let us fall to the camp of Aram. If they let us live, we will live. But if they kill us, then we will die.” ⁵ And they got up in the twilight to go to the camp of Aram. And they came up to the edge of the camp of Aram, and look—there was not there a person. ⁶ And the Lord caused the camp of Aram to hear a sound of a chariot, a sound of a horse, a sound of a great army. And they said, each man to his brother, “Look—the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to come against us.” ⁷ And they got up, and they fled in the twilight. And they abandoned their tents and their horses and their donkeys—the camp just as it {was}—and they fled to their life. ⁸ And those who were afflicted with a skin disease came up to the edge of the camp, and they went to one tent, and they ate, and they drank. And they lifted from there silver and gold and clothing, and they went, and they hid {it}. And they returned, and they went to another tent, and they lifted from there, and they went, and they hid {it}.

⁹ And they said, each man to his companion, “Not thus we should be doing this day. It {is} a day of {good} news, but we are keeping quiet. And we will wait until the light of the morning, and punishment will find us. And now, go, and let us come, and let us inform the house of the king.” ¹⁰ And they came, and they called to the gatekeeper of the city. And they informed them, saying, “We came to the camp of Aram. But look—there was not there a person or the sound of a man, except the horse was tied, and the donkey was tied, and the tents—just as they {were}.” ¹¹ And the gatekeepers called, and they informed the house of the king within. ¹² And the king got up {at} night, and he said to his servants, “Now, let me inform you that which Aram has done to us. They know that we {are} hungry, and they went out from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘For they will go out from the city, and we will capture them alive, and we will go to the city.’” ¹³ And one from his servants answered, and he said, “And, please, let us take five from the remaining horses which were left in it. Look at them—like all the population of Israel who are left in it. Look at them—like all the population of Israel who are finished. And let us send, and let us see.” ¹⁴ And they took two chariot horses, and the king sent after the camp of Aram, saying, “Go and see.” ¹⁵ And they went after them up to the Jordan, and look—all the road was full of clothing and equipment that Aram had thrown in their hurry. And the messengers returned, and they informed the king.

¹⁶ And the people went out, and they plundered the camp of Aram. And it happened, a seah of fine flour {was} in exchange for a shekel, and two seahs of barley grains {were} in exchange for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh. ¹⁷ And the king had appointed the third {officer} who was leaning on his hand over the gate, but the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had spoken, which he spoke when the king came down to him. ¹⁸ And it happened, when the man of God spoke to the king, saying, “Two seah of barley {will be} in exchange for a shekel, and a seah of flour {will be} in exchange for a shekel. It will be at {this} time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” ¹⁹ And the third {officer} had answered the man of God, and he had said, “Look—Yahweh is making windows in the heavens. Will this thing be?” And he said, “Look at you—seeing with your eyes, but from there you will not eat.” ²⁰ And thus it happened to him, and the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

Chapter 8

¹ And Elisha spoke to the woman, who he made her son live, saying, “Get up and go, you and your house, and sojourn where you will sojourn, for Yahweh has called for a famine, and also it will come to the land seven years.” ² And the woman got up, and she did according to the word of the man of God. And she went, she and her house, and she sojourned in the land of the Philistines {for} seven years. ³ And it happened at the end of seven years, and the woman returned from the land of the Philistines. And she went out to cry out to the king on behalf of her house and on behalf of her land. ⁴ And the king was speaking to Gehazi, the young man of the man of God, saying, “Please report to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” ⁵ And it happened, he was reporting to the king that he made the dead live, and look—the woman who he made her son live was crying out to the king on behalf of her house and on behalf of her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, the king, this {is} the woman, and this {is} her son, who Elisha made live.” ⁶ And the king inquired of the woman, and she reported to him. So the king gave to her one eunuch, saying, “Return everything that {belongs} to her and all the produce of the field from the day she left the land and up to now.”

⁷ And Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben Hadad the king of Aram was sick. And it was declared to him, saying, “The man of God has come to here.” ⁸ And the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, and go to meet the man of God. And you will inquire of Yahweh through him, saying, ‘Will I live from this sickness?’” ⁹ And Hazael went to meet him and he took a gift in his hand, and every good thing of Damascus, a burden of 40 camels. And he came, and he stood to his face, and he said, “Your son, Ben Hadad the king of Aram, sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I live from this sickness?’” ¹⁰ And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will surely live.’ But Yahweh has made me see that he will surely die.” ¹¹ And he made his face stand, and he set until shaming, and the man of God wept. ¹² And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” And he said, “Because I know that which you will do evil to the sons of Israel. Their fortresses you will send into the fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their infants you will dash to pieces, and their pregnant women you will split open.” ¹³ And Hazael said, “But what {is} your servant, the dog, that he will do this great thing?” And Elisha said, “Yahweh has made me see you—king over Aram.” ¹⁴ And he went from with Elisha, and he came to his lord. And he said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he said, “He said to me, ‘Surely you will live.’” ¹⁵ And it happened, from the following day, and he took the covering, and he dipped in the waters, and he spread {it} over his face, and he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

¹⁶ And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, became king. ¹⁷ He was a son of 32 years when he became king, and he was king eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab became a wife to him. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. ¹⁹ But Yahweh was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David, his servant, just as he had said to him—to give to him a lamp for his sons all the days.

²⁰ In his days, Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah, and they made a king be king over them. ²¹ And Joram crossed over to Zair, and with all the chariots with him. And it happened, he himself got up {at} night, and he struck Edom, the one surrounding him and the captains of the chariots, but the people fled to their tents. ²² And Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah rebelled at that time. ²³ And the rest of the words of Joram, and all that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ²⁴ And Joram slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Ahaziah his son was king in his place.

²⁵ In the year of the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, became king. ²⁶ Ahaziah {was} a son of 22 years when he became king, and he was king one year in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Athaliah the daughter of Omri the king of Israel. ²⁷ And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, as the house of Ahab, for he {was} a son-in-law of the house of Ahab. ²⁸ And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war with Hazael the king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead, but the Arameans struck Joram. ²⁹ And King Joram returned to heal himself in Jezreel from the wounds that Arameans had struck him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael the king of Aram. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, went down to see Joram, the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was wounded.

Chapter 9

¹ And Elisha the prophet called to one from the sons of the prophets, and he said to him, “Gird your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go {to} Ramoth-Gilead. ² And you will come to there, and see Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, there. And you will come, and you will make him get up from the midst of his brothers, and you will bring him {to} an inner room in an inner room. ³ And you will take the flask of oil, and you will pour {it} on his head, and you will say, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “I have anointed you as king over Israel.”’ Then you will open the door, and you will flee, and you will not tarry.” ⁴ And the young man—the young man, the prophet—went {to} Ramoth-Gilead. ⁵ And he came and look—the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, “A word {belongs} to me concerning you, O captain.” And Jehu said, “Concerning who, from all of us?” And he said, “Concerning you, O captain.” ⁶ And he got up, and he came to the house, and he poured the oil on his head. And he said to him, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you as king over the people of Yahweh, over Israel. ⁷ And you will strike the house of Ahab your lord, and I will avenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yahweh from the hand of Jezebel. ⁸ And all of the house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off the one of Ahab who urinates on a wall and the one who is restrained and the one who is set free in Israel. ⁹ And I will give the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. ¹⁰ And the dogs will eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, but there will be no burying.’” And he opened the door, and he fled.

¹¹ And Jehu came out to the servants of his lords, and he said to him, “Peace? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You yourselves know the man and his speech.” ¹² And they said, “A lie! Now, inform us.” And he said, “He said like this and like this to me, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “I have anointed you as king over Israel.”’” ¹³ And they hurried, and they took, each one his clothing, and they set {them} beneath him to the bone of the steps. And they blasted on the trumpet, and they said, “Jehu is king.”

¹⁴ And Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. And Joram was guarding in Ramoth-Gilead, he and all Israel, from the face of Hazael the king of Aram. ¹⁵ And King Joram returned to heal in Jezreel from the wounds that Arameans had stricken when he fought with Hazael the king of Aram. Jehu said, “If it is your desire, do not let a fugitive go out from the city, to go to report in Jezreel.” ¹⁶ And Jehu rode, and he went to Jezreel, because Joram was laying down there. And Ahaziah the king of Judah went down to see Joram.

¹⁷ And the watchman was standing on the watchtower in Jezreel, and he saw the crowd of Jehu when he came, and he said, “I am seeing a crowd.” And Jehoram said, “Take a chariot, and send to call them, and he will say, ‘Peace?’” ¹⁸ And the chariot of the horse went to call him, and he said, “Thus says the king: ‘Peace?’” And Jehu said, “What {is} to you and to peace? Turn around to after me.” And the watchman declared, saying, “The messenger has come up to them, but he has not returned.” ¹⁹ And he sent out a second chariot of a horse, and he came to them, and he said, “Thus says the king: ‘Peace.’” And Jehu said, “What {is} to you and to peace? Turn around to after me.” ²⁰ And the watchman declared, saying, “He has come up to them, but he has not returned, and the driving {is} like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives with madness.”

²¹ And Joram said, “Get harnessed.” And he harnessed his chariot, and Jehoram the king of Israel and Ahaziah the king of Judah went out, each man in his chariot, and they went out to call Jehu. And they found him on the portion of Naboth, the Jezreelite. ²² And it happened, when Jehoram saw Jehu, and he said, “Peace, Jehu?” And he said, “How {is} peace during the promiscuity of Jezebel, your mother, and her many sorceries?” ²³ And Jehoram turned his hands and he fled, and he said to Ahaziah, “Deceit, Ahaziah!” ²⁴ And Jehu filled his hand with the bow, and he struck Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out from his heart. And he sank down in his chariot. ²⁵ And he said to Bidkar, his third {officer}, “Lift and throw him in the portion of the field of Naboth, the Jezreelite. For remember—me and you, riding {as} pairs after Ahab his father, and Yahweh lifted this utterance against him: ²⁶ ‘If not the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons I have seen yesterday, declares Yahweh, and I will repay to you in this portion, declares Yahweh.’ But now, lift, throw him in the portion, according to the word of Yahweh.”

²⁷ And Ahaziah the king of Judah saw, and he fled the way of the house of the garden. And Jehu pursued after him, and he said, “Also strike him to the chariot in the ascent of Gur which {is} near Ibleam.” And he fled {to} Megiddo, and he died there. ²⁸ And his servants caused him to ride to Jerusalem, and they buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹ And in the year of the 11 th year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.

³⁰ And Jehu came to Jezreel, and Jezebel heard. And she set her eyes with paint, and she made her head good, and she looked down through the window. ³¹ And Jehu came in the gate, And she said, “Peace, Zimri, murderer of his lord?” ³² And he lifted his face to the window, and he said, “Who {is} with me? Who?” And two, three eunuchs looked down to him. ³³ And he said, “Drop her.” And they dropped her, and some of her blood sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled her. ³⁴ And he went, and he ate, and he drank, and he said, “Now, attend to this cursed woman and bury her, for a daughter of a king {is} she.” ³⁵ And they went to bury her, but they did not find among her except the skull, and the feet, and the palms of the hands. ³⁶ And they returned, and they informed him, and he said, “It {is} the word of Yahweh that he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah, the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the portion of Jezreel, the dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel, ³⁷ and the corpse of Jezebel will be like dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, that they will not say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

Chapter 10

¹ And to Ahab {belonged} 70 sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and he sent to Samaria, to the captains of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying, ² “And now, when this letter comes to you, and with you {are} the sons of your lords, and with you {are} chariot and horses and fortified city and weapon, ³ and you will see the best and the most upright from the sons of your lords, and you will set {him} on the throne of his father. And fight on behalf of the house of your lords.” ⁴ And they were very, very afraid, and they said, “Look—the two kings did not stand to his face. And how will we stand ourselves?” ⁵ And he sent the one who {was} over the house and the one who {was} over the city and the elders and the guardian to Jehu, saying, “We {are} your servants, and all that you say to us we will do. We will not make a person king. Do the good in your eyes.” ⁶ And he wrote a second letter to them, saying, “If you {are} for me, and you are listening to my voice, take the heads of the men of the sons of your lords and come to me at the time tomorrow to Jezreel.” And the sons of the king {were} 70 men, with the great ones of the city who were raising them. ⁷ And it happened, when the letter came to them, and they took the sons of the king, and they slaughtered 70 men. And they put their heads in baskets, and they sent {them} to him, to Jezreel. ⁸ And the messenger came, and he informed him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the sons of the king.” And he said, “Put them {in} two piles {at} the entrance of the gate until the morning.” ⁹ And it happened in the morning, and he went out, and he stood, and he said to all the people, “You {are} righteous. Look—I myself conspired against my lord, and I killed him. But who struck all these? ¹⁰ Know then that {a word} does not fall from the word of Yahweh to the ground that Yahweh has spoken concerning the house of Ahab. And Yahweh has done that which he spoke through the hand of his servant, Elijah.” ¹¹ And Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel and all his great ones and those who were known {by} him and his priests without leaving for him a survivor.

¹² And he got up, and he came, and he went {to} Samaria. He {was in} Beth-Eked of the shepherds in the way, ¹³ and Jehu found the brothers of Ahaziah the king of Judah, and he said, “Who {are} you?” And they said, “We {are} the brothers of Ahaziah, and we came down for the welfare of the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” ¹⁴ And he said, “Seize them alive!” And they seized them alive, and they slaughtered them near the pit of Beth-Eked—42 men, and he did not leave over a person from them.

¹⁵ And he went from there, and he found Jehonadab the son of Recab to meet him, and he blessed him, and he said to him, “Is there with your heart what is upright, just as my heart {is} with your heart?” And Jehonadab said, “It is.” “And it is, give your hand.” And he gave his hand, and he lifted him to himself into the chariot. ¹⁶ And he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for Yahweh.” And they had him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ And he came {to} Samaria, and he struck all the people who remained of Ahab in Samaria, until he exterminated him, according to the word of Yahweh that he spoke to Elijah.

¹⁸ And Jehu gathered all the people, and he said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ And now, call to me all the prophets of the Baal—all his servants and all his priests. Do not let a person be missing, for a great sacrifice {belongs} to me for the Baal. All those who are missing will not live.” However Jehu acted with cunning, in order to destroy the servants of the Baal. ²⁰ And Jehu said, “Consecrate a festive assembly for the Baal.” And they called. ²¹ And Jehu sent in all Israel, and all the servants of the Baal came, and a person was not left over who had not come. And they entered the house of the Baal, and the house of the Baal was filled mouth to mouth. ²² And he said to the person who {was} over the wardrobe, “Bring out clothing for all the servants of the Baal.” And he brought out to them the robe. ²³ And Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Recab entered the house of the Baal, and he said to the servants of the Baal, “Search and see, lest there be here with you some of the servants of Yahweh, except the servants of the Baal by themselves.” ²⁴ And they entered to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. And Jehu set for himself 80 men outside, and he said, “The man who escapes from the men who I am bringing into your hands—his life in the place of his life.”

²⁵ And it happened, when he finished making the burnt offering, and Jehu said to the runners and to the third {officers}, “Go! Strike them! Do not let a man go out.” And they struck them to {the} mouth of {the} sword, and the runners and the third {officers} threw {them}, and they went up to the city of the house of the Baal. ²⁶ And they brought out the pillars of the house of the Baal, and they burned it. ²⁷ And they broke down the pillar of the Baal, and they broke down the house of the Baal, and they put it as a bathroom, until this day. ²⁸ And Jehu exterminated the Baal from Israel.

²⁹ Only the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which caused Israel to sin—Jehu did not turn aside from after them: the calves of gold that {were in} Bethel and that {were} in Dan. ³⁰ And Yahweh said to Jehu, “Because you did good by doing what is upright in my eyes, according to all that {is} in my heart you did to the house of Ahab, sons of {the} fourth will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” ³¹ But Jehu did not take care to walk in the law of Yahweh the God of Israel with all his heart. He did not turn aside away from the sins of Jeroboam, which caused Israel to sin.

³² In those days, Yahweh began to cut off Israel. And Hazael struck them in every border of Israel, ³³ from the Jordan, from the rising of the sun, all the land of Gilead—the Gadite and the Reubenite and the Manassite, from Aroer, which {is} near the valley of Arnon, and Gilead and Bashan. ³⁴ But the rest of the words of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? ³⁵ And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son was king in his place. ³⁶ And the days that Jehu was king over Israel {were} 28 years in Samaria.

Chapter 11

¹ And Athaliah {was} the mother of Ahaziah, and she saw that her son died. And she got up, and she destroyed all the seed of the kingdom. ² But Jehosheba the daughter of King Joram, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and she stole him from the midst of the sons of the king who were to be killed—he and his wet-nurse in the room of the beds. And they hid him from the face of Athaliah, and he was not killed. ³ And he was with her {in} the house of Yahweh, hiding himself six years, and Athaliah was queen over the land.

⁴ And in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent, and he took the captains of the hundreds {belonging} to the Carians and to the runners, and he brought them to himself at the house of Yahweh. And he cut for them a covenant, and he made them swear in the house of Yahweh, and he made them see the son of the king. ⁵ And he commanded them, saying, “This {is} the thing that you will do: the third from you who are coming {on} the Sabbath and {will be} keepers of the watch of the house of the king, ⁶ and the third {will be} at the gate of Sur, and the third {will be} at the gate behind the runners. And you will keep the watch of the house, alternating.” ⁷ And two of the hands among you, everyone going out {on} the Sabbath, and they will keep the watch of the house of Yahweh for the king. ⁸ And you will surround around the king, all around, each man and his weapons in his hand, and the person who comes to the ranks will be killed, and be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.

⁹ And the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And they took, each man, his men, the one coming in {on} the Sabbath with the ones going out {on} the Sabbath, and they came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest gave to the captains of the hundreds the spears and the shields that {belonged} to King David, that {were} in the house of Yahweh. ¹¹ And the runners stood, each man and his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, to the altar and to the house, around the king, all around. ¹² And he brought out the son of the king, and he set the crown on him and the testimony, and they made him king, and they anointed him. And they struck palm, and they said, “May the king live!”

¹³ And Athaliah heard the sound of the runners, the people, and she came to the people, {to} the house of Yahweh. ¹⁴ And she saw, and look—the king was standing near the column, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters {were} near the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blasting on the trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothing, and she called out, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!” ¹⁵ And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, inspectors of the army, and he said to them, “Bring her out to away from house {belonging} to the ranks. And the one who comes after her, kill {her} with the sword.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill in the house of Yahweh.” ¹⁶ And they put two hands to her, and she went the way of the coming in of the horses, the house of the king, and she was killed there.

¹⁷ And Jehoiada cut the covenant between Yahweh and between the king and between the people, to become a people for Yahweh, and between the king and between the people. ¹⁸ And all the people of the land went {to} the house of the Baal, and they broke down his altar, and his images they smashed well, and they killed Mattan the priest of the Baal to the face of the altars, and the priest set sentry over the house of Yahweh. ¹⁹ And he took the captains of the hundreds and the Carians and the runners and all of the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of Yahweh, and they entered the way of the gate of the runners, the house of the king. And he sat on the throne of the kings. ²⁰ And all of the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, and Athaliah they killed with the sword {at} the house of the king.

²¹ Joash {was} a son of seven years when he became king.

Chapter 12

¹ In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he was king 40 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Zibiah, from Beersheba. ² And Joash did what was upright in the eyes of Yahweh all of his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ Only the high places they did not remove. The people were still sacrificing and were burning incense on the high places.

⁴ And Joash said to the priests, “All the silver of the sacred things that {is} brought {into} the house of Yahweh: the silver passing over a man, the silver of lives, his assessment, all the silver which goes up on the heart of a man to bring into the house of Yahweh, ⁵ the priests will take for them, each man from his acquaintance, and they will strengthen the damage of the house, for every {place} where damage is found there.” ⁶ And it happened, in the year of the 23 rd year of King Joash, the priests had not strengthened the damage of the house. ⁷ And King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and for the priests, and he said to them, “Why are you not strengthening the damage of the house? And now, you will not take silver from your acquaintances, but for the damage of the house you will give it.” ⁸ So the priests agreed to not accept silver from the people and to not strengthen the damage of the house.

⁹ And Jehoiada the priest took one box, and he pierced a hole in its door, and he gave it beside the altar, on the right hand. When a person came {to} the house of Yahweh, and the priests, the ones guarding the threshold, gave into there all the silver that was brought {to} the house of Yahweh. ¹⁰ And it happened, when they saw that the silver {was} abundant in the box, and the scribe of the king and the great priest went up, and they bound {it}, and they numbered the silver that was found {in} the house of Yahweh. ¹¹ And they gave the silver that was counted to the hands of the people doing the work, the ones inspecting the house of Yahweh. And they brought it out to the craftsmen of the wood and to the builders, the ones making the house of Yahweh, ¹² and to the people building the wall and to the hewers of the stone, and to acquire wood and hewed stones to strengthen the damage of the house of Yahweh, and for everything that came out concerning the house to strengthen {it}. ¹³ However, {in} the house of Yahweh, bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets—all the instruments of gold or instruments of silver were not made from the silver that was brought {to} the house of Yahweh, ¹⁴ because they gave it to the people doing the work. And they strengthened the house of Yahweh with it. ¹⁵ And they did not audit the men who they gave the silver into their hand to give to the people doing the work, for they were acting with trustworthiness. ¹⁶ {The} silver of {the} guilt offering and the silver for the sin offerings were not brought {into} the house of Yahweh—they belonged to the priests.

¹⁷ Then Hazael the king of Aram went up, and he fought against Gath, and he captured it. And Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And Joash the king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had consecrated and his holy things and all of the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the house of the king, and he sent {them} to Hazael the king of Aram, and he went up away from Jerusalem.

¹⁹ But the rest of the words of Joash, and all that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ²⁰ And his servants got up, and they conspired a conspiracy, and they struck Joash {in} Beth-Millo, the going down {to} Silla. ²¹ And Jozabad the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Amaziah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 13

¹ In the year of the 23rd year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, the king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria—17 years. ² And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. And he walked after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin—he did not turn away from it. ³ And the nose of Yahweh grew hot against Israel, and he gave them into the hand of Hazael the king of Aram and into the hand of Ben Hadad the son of Hazael all the days. ⁴ And Jehoahaz entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him, because he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Aram had oppressed them. ⁵ And Yahweh gave to Israel a savior, and they came out from under the hand of Aram. And the sons of Israel settled in their tents as yesterday {and} the day before. ⁶ Nevertheless, they did not turn aside from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin—he walked in it. And even the Asherah stood in Samaria. ⁷ For he did not leave over for Jehoahaz people, except 50 horsemen, and ten chariot, and 10, 000 footmen, for the king of Aram destroyed them, and he set them like the dust for threshing. ⁸ But the rest of the words of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? ⁹ And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Johoash his son became king in his place.

¹⁰ In the year of the 37th year of Joash the king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria—16 years. ¹¹ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn aside from all of the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin—he walked in it. ¹² But the rest of the words of Jehoash, and all that he did, and his might that he fought with Amaziah the king of Judah—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? ¹³ And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

¹⁴ And Elisha grew sick {with} his sickness that he would die by it. And Jehoash the king of Israel went down to him, and he wept on his face, and he said, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, “Bring a bow and arrows.” And he brought to him a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ And he said to the king of Israel, “Drive your hand on the bow.” And he drove his hand. And Elisha put his hands over the hands of the king. ¹⁷ And he said, “Open the window to the east.” And he opened. And Elisha said, “Shoot.” And he shot, and he said, “An arrow of victory for Yahweh and an arrow of victory against Aram. And you will strike Aram in Aphek up to completion.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Take the arrows.” And he took, and he said to the king of Israel, “Strike to the ground.” And he struck three times, and he stood. ¹⁹ And the man of God was angry on account of him, and he said, “Striking five or six times, then you would have struck Aram up to completion. But now three times you will strike Aram.”

²⁰ And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the troops of Moab came into the land, coming yearly. ²¹ And it happened, they were burying a man, and look—they saw the troop, and they threw the man into the grave of Elisha. And he went, and the man touched the bones of Elisha. And it happened, and he got up onto his feet.

²² And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ²³ But Yahweh showed them favor, and he had compassion on them, and he turned to them on account of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And he was not willing to destroy them, and he did not cast them away from his face until now. ²⁴ And Hazael the king of Aram died, and Ben Hadad his son became king in his place. ²⁵ And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz returned, and he took the cities from the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael that he took from the hand of Jehoahaz his father in the war. Three times Jehoash struck him, and he returned the cities of Israel.

Chapter 14

¹ In the second year of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, the king of Judah, became king. ² He was a son of 25 years when he became king, and he was king 29 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Jehoaddan, from Jerusalem. ³ And he did what was upright in the eyes of Yahweh, only not like David his father. Like everything that Joash his father did, he did. ⁴ Only the high places were not removed—the people still were sacrificing and burning incense at the high places. ⁵ And it happened, just as the kingdom was strong in his hand, and he struck his servants, the ones who had struck the king, his father. ⁶ But the sons of the ones striking he did not kill, according to what is written on the Scroll of the Law of Moses, that Yahweh commanded, saying, “Fathers will not be killed on account of sons, and sons will not be killed on account of fathers—rather a person will be killed in exchanged for his sin.” ⁷ He himself struck Edom in the valley of Salt—10,000 {people}—and he seized the Sela in the war. And he called its name Joktheel until this day.

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us cause {our} faces to be seen.” ⁹ And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah the king of Judah saying, “The thorn that {was} in the Lebanon sent to the cedar that {was} in the Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ And an animal of the field that {was} in the Lebanon passed by, and it trampled the thorn. ¹⁰ You have certainly struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you. Be honored, but stay in your house. And why should you stir up calamity, so that you will fall—you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah did not listen. And Jehoash the king of Israel went up, and they cause {their} faces to be seen—he and Amaziah the king of Judah in Beth-Shemesh, which {belongs} to Judah. ¹² And Judah was struck to the face of Israel. And they fled, each man to his tent. ¹³ And Jehoash the king of Israel captured Amaziah the king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, in Beth-Shemesh. And he came to Jerusalem, and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem at the Gate of Ephraim up to the Gate of the Corner—400 cubits. ¹⁴ And he took all the gold and the silver and all the equipment that was found {in} the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the house of the king and the sons of the pledges. And he returned to Samaria.

¹⁵ But the rest of the words of Jehoash, what he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah the king of Judah—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶ And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam his son became king in his place.

¹⁷ And Amaziah the son of Joash, the king of Judah, lived 15 years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel. ¹⁸ But the rest of the words of Amaziah—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ¹⁹ For they conspired a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there. ²⁰ And they carried him on the horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. ²¹ And all the people of Judah took Azariah (and he {was} a son of 16 years), and they made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ²² He himself built up Elath, and he returned it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers.

²³ In the year of the 15th year of Amaziah the son of Joash, the king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash, the king of Israel, became king in Samaria—41 years. ²⁴ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. ²⁵ He himself restored the border of Israel from Lebo-Hamath to the Sea of the Desert, according to the word of Yahweh the God of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who {was} from the Gath-Hepher. ²⁶ For Yahweh saw the very bitter affliction of Israel, and {there was} none being bound and none set free, and there was no helper for Israel. ²⁷ But Yahweh had not spoken to wipe out the name of Israel from under the heavens. And he rescued them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash.

²⁸ But the rest of the words of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? ²⁹ And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 15

¹ In the year of the 27th year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, the king of Judah, became king. ² He was a son of 16 years when he became king, and he was king 52 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Jekoliah, from Jerusalem. ³ And he did what was upright in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that Amaziah his father had done. ⁴ Only, the high places were not removed—the people still were sacrificing and burning incense at the high places. ⁵ And Yahweh touched the king, and he suffered a skin disease until the day of his death, and he lived in a house of separation. And Jotham the son of the king {was} over the house, judging the people of the land. ⁶ But the rest of the words of Azariah, and all that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ⁷ And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Jotham his son became king in his place.

⁸ In the year of the 38th year of Azariah the king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria—six months. ⁹ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, just as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. ¹⁰ And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and he struck him in front of the people, and he killed him. And he became king in his place. ¹¹ But the rest of the words of Zechariah, look at them—written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel. ¹² It {was} the word of Yahweh that he had spoken to Jehu, by saying, “Sons of fourth will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” And it was thus.

¹³ Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the year of the 39th year of Azariah the king of Judah and he was king a month of days in Samaria. ¹⁴ And Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and he came {to} Samaria, and he struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria. And he killed him, and he became king in his place. ¹⁵ But the rest of the words of Shallum and his conspiracy that he conspired, look at them—written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶ Then Menahem struck Tiphsah and all who {were} in it, and its borders from Tirzah, because it did not open. And he struck, all its pregnant women he split open. ¹⁷ In the year of the 39th year of Azariah the king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel—ten years in Samaria. ¹⁸ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin all his days. ¹⁹ Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave to Pul 1,000 disks of silver, so that his hands would be with him to strengthen the kingdom in his hand. ²⁰ And Menahem brought out the silver over Israel, over all the mighty ones of wealth, to give to the king of Assyria 50 silver shekels for one man. And the king of Assyria returned, and he did not stand there in the land. ²¹ But the rest of the words of Menahem, and all that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? ²² And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son became king in his place.

²³ In the year of the 50th year of Azariah the king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria—two years. ²⁴ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. ²⁵ And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his third {officer}, conspired against him, and he struck him in Samaria, in the palace of the house of the king—Argob and Arieh and with him 50 men of the sons of the Gileadites. And he killed him, and he became king in his place. ²⁶ But the rest of the words of Pekahiah, and all that he did, look at them—written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel.

²⁷ In the year of the 52nd year of Azariah the king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria—20 years. ²⁸ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah the king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser the king of Assyria came, and he took Ijon and Abel-Beth Maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee—all the land of Naphtali, and he exiled them to Assyria. ³⁰ And Hoshea the son of Elah conspired a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and he struck him, and he killed him. And he became king in his place, in the 20th year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. ³¹ But the rest of the words of Pekah and all that he did, look at them—written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Israel.

³² In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, Jotham the son of Azariah, the king of Judah, became king. ³³ He was a son of 25 years when he became king, and he was king 16 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. Like all that Azariah his father did, he did. ³⁵ Only the high places were not removed—the people still were sacrificing and were burning incense at the high places. He himself built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh. ³⁶ But the rest of the words of Jotham that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ³⁷ In those days, Yahweh began to send Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. ³⁸ And Jotham slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Ahaz his son became king in his place.

Chapter 16

¹ In the year of the 17th year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, the king of Judah, became king. ² Ahaz {was} a son of 20 years when he became king, and he was king 16 years in Jerusalem. But he did not do what was upright in the eyes of Yahweh his God, like David his father. ³ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. And he even made his son pass through in the fire, like the abominations of the nations, whom Yahweh had driven them out from the face of the sons of Israel. ⁴ And he sacrificed, and he burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

⁵ Then Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel, came up {to} Jerusalem for war. And they layed siege against Ahaz, but they were not able to fight. ⁶ At that time, Rezin the king of Aram restored Elath to Aram, and he drove the Judahites out of Elath. And Arameans came to Elath, and they have lived there to this day.

⁷ And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser the king of Assyria, saying, “I {am} your servant and your son. Come up and deliver me from the palm of the king of Aram and from the palm of the king of Israel, the ones who have risen up against me.” ⁸ And Ahaz took the silver and the gold that was found {in} the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the house of the king, and he sent a bribe to the king of Assyria. ⁹ And the king of Assyria listened to him, and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and he seized it, and he exiled it to Kir. And he killed Rezin.

¹⁰ And King Ahaz went to meet Tiglath-Pileser the king of Assyria {in} Damascus, and he saw the altar that {was} in Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work. ¹¹ And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Thus Uriah the priest did until King Ahaz came from Damascus. ¹² And the king came from Damascus, and the king saw the altar. And the king drew near to the altar, and he offered up on it. ¹³ And he made his burnt offering and his grain offering smoke, and he poured out his drink offering, and he sprinkled the blood of the peace offerings that {belonged} to him on the altar. ¹⁴ And the altar of bronze that {was} to the face of Yahweh—and he brought forward from the face of the house, from between the altar and from between the house of Yahweh. And he gave it to the side of altar to the north. ¹⁵ And King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, “On the large altar make the burnt offering of the morning and the grain offering of the evening and the burnt offering of the king and his grain offering and the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their grain offering and their drink offerings smoke. And you will sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all blood of sacrifice. But the altar of bronze will be for me to seek.” ¹⁶ And Uriah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷ And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the stands, and he removed the wash bowl from on them. And he took down ‘The Sea’ from on the oxen of bronze that {were} beneath it, and he put it on the floor of stones. ¹⁸ And he removed the covering of the Sabbath that they built in the house and the entrance of the king, the outer one, {from} the house of Yahweh, from the face of the king of Assyria. ¹⁹ But the rest of the words of Ahaz that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ²⁰ And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 17

¹ In the 12th year of Ahaz the king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king in Samaria over Israel—nine years. ² And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, only not as the kings of Israel who were to his face. ³ Shalmaneser the king of Assyria went up against him, and Hoshea became a servant for him, and he brought back tribute for him. ⁴ And the king of Assyria found in Hoshea a conspiracy, that he had sent messengers to So the king of Egypt, and he had not brought up tribute to the king of Assyria, as year by year. And the king of Assyria arrested him, and he bound him in a house of imprisonment. ⁵ And the king of Assyria went up against all the land, and he went up {to} Samaria, and he besieged against it {for} three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he exiled Israel to Assyria. And he settled them in Halah and on Habor, the River of Gozan, and {in} the cities of Media.

⁷ And it happened because the sons of Israel sinned against Yahweh their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh the king of Egypt. And they had feared other gods, ⁸ and they walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Yahweh drove out from the face of the sons of Israel, and of the kings of Israel that they did. ⁹ And the sons of Israel did things secretly that were not right against Yahweh, their God. And they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from a tower of watchmen to a fortified city. ¹⁰ And they stood up for themselves pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. ¹¹ And they burned incense there in all the high places, like the nations that Yahweh exiled from their faces. And they did evil things to make Yahweh angry. ¹² And they the served idols, which Yahweh said to them, “You will not do this thing.” ¹³ And Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of all of his prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments, my statutes, according to all of the Law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by the hand of my servants, the prophets.” ¹⁴ But they did not listen, and they hardened their necks like the necks of their fathers who did not trust in Yahweh, their God. ¹⁵ And they rejected his statutes and his covenant that he cut with their fathers and his testimonies that he warned them. And they walked after what was empty, and they became empty, and after the nations that {were} around them, whom Yahweh had commanded them not to act like them. ¹⁶ And they abadoned all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and they made a molten image for themselves—two calves. And they made an Asherah pole, and they prostrated themselves to all the host of the heavens, and they served the Baal. ¹⁷ And they made their sons and their daughters pass through in the fire. And they divined divinations, and they sought omens. And they sold themselves by doing what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh to make him angry. ¹⁸ And Yahweh was exceedingly enraged at Israel, and he removed them away from his face. Not {one} was left—only the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Even Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God. And they walked in the statutes of Israel that they made. ²⁰ And Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel, and he afflicted them, and he gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he cast them away from his face. ²¹ For he tore Israel away from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel away from after Yahweh, and he made them sin a great sin. ²² And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, that he did. They did not turn away from it, ²³ until Yahweh removed Israel away from his face, according to what he had spoken by the hand of all his servants, the prophets. And Israel went into exile away from its land to Assyria, until this day.

²⁴ And the king of Assyria brought {people} from Babylon and from Kuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and he settled {them} in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria, and they lived in its cities. ²⁵ And it happened, in the beginning of their living there, they did not fear Yahweh. And Yahweh sent the lions among them, and they were killing among them. ²⁶ And they said to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you exiled and you settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land. And he has sent the lions against them, and look at them—killing them because they are not knowing the custom of the God of the land.”

²⁷ And the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Cause one from the priests whom you exiled from there to go to there, and they will go, and they will settle there. And he will teach them the custom of the God of the land.” ²⁸ And one from the priests whom they exiled from Samaria came, and he settled in Bethel. And he was teaching them how they should fear Yahweh. ²⁹ And they were making, nation {by} nation, its gods, and they put them in the house of the high places that the Samaritans had made, nation {by} nation, in their cities where they were settling there. ³⁰ And the men of Babylon made Succoth-Benoth, and the men of Kuthah made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. And the Sepharvites were burning their sons in the fire to Adrammelek and Anammelek the gods of Sepharvim. ³² And they were fearing Yahweh, but they made for themselves priests of high places from their whole {people}, and they were making {sacrifices} for them in the house of the high places. ³³ Yahweh they were fearing, but their gods they were serving, according to the custom of the nations that exiled them from there.

³⁴ To this day, they are acting according to the first customs. They are not fearing Yahweh, and they are not acting according to their statutes or according to their custom or according to the law or according to the commandment that Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, whom he set his name {as} Israel. ³⁵ And Yahweh had cut with them a covenant, and he had commanded them saying, “You will not fear other gods, and you will not prostrate yourselves to them, and you will not serve them, and you will not sacrifice to them. ³⁶ except only Yahweh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm—him you will fear, and to him you will prostrate yourselves, and to him you will sacrifice. ³⁷ And the statutes and the customs and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you will take care to do all the days, and you must not fear other gods. ³⁸ And the covenant that I cut with you, you will not forget, and you will not fear other gods, ³⁹ except only Yahweh your God you will fear, and he himself will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ But they do not take care, but rather according to their first custom they are acting. ⁴¹ And these nations are fearing Yahweh, but their idols they are serving. Also, their sons and the sons of their sons—just as their fathers acted, they are acting to this day.

Chapter 18

¹ And it happened in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, the king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, the king of Judah, became king. ² He was a son of 25 years when he became king, and he was king 29 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. ³ And he did what was upright in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that David his father did. ⁴ He himself removed the high places, and he shattered the pillars, and he cut down the Asherah pole. And he crushed the serpent of bronze that Moses had made, because until those days the sons of Israel were offering incense to it (and he called it “Nehushtan”). ⁵ In Yahweh the God of Israel he trusted, and after him none was like him among all the kings of Judah, nor those who were before him. ⁶ And he clung to Yahweh—he did not turn away from after him, and he kept his commandments, which Yahweh commanded Moses. ⁷ And Yahweh was with him. In every {place} that he went out, he succeeded. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and he did not serve him. ⁸ He himself struck the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from a tower of watchmen up to a fortified city.

⁹ And it happened in the fourth year of King Hezekiah—it {was} the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, the king of Israel—Shalmaneser the king of Assyria went up against Samaria, and he laid siege against it. ¹⁰ And they captured it, at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah—it {was} the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Israel—Samaria was captured. ¹¹ And the king of Assyria exiled Israel to Assyria. And he led them to Halah and to Habor the river of Gozan and cities of the Medes, ¹² because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, but they transgressed his covenant—all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded—and they did not take care, and they did not do.

¹³ And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib the king of Assyria went up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them. ¹⁴ And Hezekiah the king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria, to Lachish, saying, “I have sinned. Return from against me. Whatever you give to me, I will lift.” And the king of Assyria put on Hezekiah the king of Judah 300 rounds of silver and 30 rounds of gold. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah gave all the silver that was found {in} the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the house of the king. ¹⁶ At that time, Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Yahweh and the columns that Hezekiah the king of Judah overlaid, and he gave them to the king of Assyria. ¹⁷ And the king of Assyria sent the general and the chief eunuch and the chief commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a heavy army {to} Jerusalem. And they went up, and they came {to} Jerusalem. And they went up, and they came, and they stood by the conduit of the upper pool that {was} on the highway of the Field of the Fuller. ¹⁸ And they called out to the king, and Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who {was} over the house, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, went out to them.

¹⁹ Then the chief commander said to them, “Now, say to Hezekiah ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What {is} this trust which you trust? ²⁰ You say only a word of lips, counsel and might for war. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? ²¹ Now look—you trust for yourself in the staff of this bruised reed, in Egypt, which a man leans on it, and it goes into his palm, and it pierces it. Thus {is} Pharaoh the king of Egypt to all the people who trust in him. ²² But if you say to me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ {is} it not he whom Hezekiah has removed his high places and his altars, and he said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘To the face of this altar you must prostrate yourself in Jerusalem?’” ²³ And now, wager, please, with my lord, with the king of Assyria. And I will give to you 2, 000 horses, if you are able to give for yourself riders on them. ²⁴ And how will you drive back the face of the captain of one of the servants of my lord, the least one? But you trust for yourself in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen! ²⁵ Now, have I come up against this place to destroy it without Yahweh? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”

²⁶ And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and Shebnah and Joah said to the chief commander, “Please, speak Aramaic to your servants, for we are hearing. But do not speak Judean with us in the ears of the people who {are} on the wall.” ²⁷ But the chief commander said to them, “To your master and to you has my lord sent me to speak these words? Is it not for the men who are sitting on the wall to eat their dung and to drink their urine with you?” ²⁸ And the chief commander stood, and he called out in a loud voice {in} Judean. And he spoke, and he said, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he is not able to rescue you from his hand. ³⁰ And do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’ ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make a blessing with me, and come out to me, and eat, each man, of his vine and, each man, of his fig tree, and drink, each man, of the waters of his well, ³² until I come. And I will take you to a land like your land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive tree of oil and honey. And live, and do not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” ³³ Did the gods of the nations actually rescue, each one his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where {are} the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where {are} the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Indeed, did they rescue Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who {is} among all the gods of the lands that has rescued their land from my hand that Yahweh will rescue Jerusalem from my hand?’”

³⁶ But the people remained silent, and they did not answer him a word, for it {was} a commandment of the king, saying, “You will not answer him.” ³⁷ And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who {was} over the house, and Shebna the scribe and Joah,the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah, torn of clothing. And they reported to him the words of the chief commander.

Chapter 19

¹ And it happened when King Hezekiah heard, and he tore his clothes, and he covered himself with sackcloth, and he went {into} the house of Yahweh. ² And he sent Eliakim, who {was} over the house, and Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests covering themselves with sackcloth to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. ³ And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day {is} a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, for sons have come up to the birth canal, but there is no strength for birth. ⁴ Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all the words of the chief commander, who the king of Assyria his lord sent him to defy the living God, and he will reproach the words that Yahweh your God has heard. And you will lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.’” ⁵ And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, ⁶ and Isaiah said to them, “Thus you will say to your lord: ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Do not be afraid from the face of the words that you have heard, {with} which the young men of the king of Assyria insulted me. ⁷ Look at me—giving a spirit on him, and he will hear a report, and he will return to his land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his land.”’” ⁸ And the chief commander returned, and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he pulled out from from Lachish. ⁹ And he heard concerning Tirhakah the king of Cush, saying, “Look—he went out to fight with you.” And he returned, and he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “Thus you will say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, saying ‘Do not let your God whom you are trusting in him deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ¹¹ Look—you yourself have heard that which the kings of Assyria did to all the lands by destroying them. But you yourself will be delivered? ¹² Did the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed rescue them: Gozan or Haran or Rezeph or the sons of Eden who {were} in Tel Assar? ¹³ Where {is} the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad or the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”

¹⁴ And Hezekiah took the letters from the hand of the messengers, and he read them. And he went up {to} the house of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out to the face of Yahweh. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the face of Yahweh, and he said, “Yahweh the God of Israel, dwelling {above} the cherubim, you {are} he—the God, you alone, over all the kingdoms of the earth. You yourself made the heavens and the earth. ¹⁶ Stretch out your ear, Yahweh, and hear; open your eyes, Yahweh, and see. And hear the words of Sennacherib, that he sent it to mock the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their land. ¹⁸ And they have given their gods into the fire, for they {are} not gods, but rather {the} work of {the} hands of humanity, wood and stone, and they have destroyed them. ¹⁹ But now Yahweh our God, save us, please, from his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Yahweh, {are} God, you alone.”

²⁰ And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib the king of Assyria, I have listened. ²¹ This {is} the word that Yahweh has spoken about him:

     “She despises you; she derides you,

         a maiden, the daughter of Zion.

     She shakes a head after you,

         the daughter of Jerusalem.

     ²² Whom have you mocked and have you taunted?

         And against whom have you raised a voice

     and have you lifted your eyes upward?

         Against the Holy One of Israel!

     ²³ By the hand of your messengers

         you mocked my Lord,

     and you said,

         ‘With the multitude of my chariots

     I myself went up {to} the heights of the mountains,

         the highest elevations of Lebanon.

     And I cut down the heights of its cedars,

         the choicest of its cypress trees,

     so that I may enter the lodging place of its end,

         the forest of its orchard.

     ²⁴ I myself dug,

         and I drank foreign waters.

     And I dried up,

         with the sole of my footstep,

     all the rivers of Egypt.’

        

     ²⁵ Did you not hear

         from long ago, I put it;

     from days of old, and I planned it?

         Now I have brought it, and it will happen

     by laying waste {into} heaps of ruins

         fortified cities.

     ²⁶ And their inhabitants {are} short of hand—

         they are dismayed, and they are ashamed.

     They are plants of {the} field

         or a shoot of grass,

     grass of roofs,

         scorching heat to the face of standing grain.

     ²⁷ But I know your sitting down

         and your going out

     and your coming in

         and your raging against me.

     ²⁸ Because of your raging against me,

         and your arrogance has gone up in my ears,

     and I will put my hook in your nose,

         and my bit in your lips.

     And I will turn you back

         on the path that you came on it.”

²⁹ And this {is} the sign for you:

     the {first} year, eating what grows of itself,

         and in the second year, self-seeded plant.

     But in the third year, sow and harvest

         and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

     ³⁰ And the remaining survivors of the house of Judah

         will again {be} a root downward,

     and it will make fruit upward.

     ³¹ For from Jerusalem a remnant will come out

         and survivors from Mount Zion.

     The zeal of Yahweh will do this. ³² Therefore, thus says Yahweh to the king of Assyria:

     “He will not enter into this city,

         nor will he shoot an arrow there,

     nor will he meet it {with} a shield,

         nor will he pour out a siege ramp against it.

     ³³ By the way which he came on it,

         he will return,

         and he will not enter into this city,”

             declares Yahweh. ³⁴ “For I will defend over this city to save it,

         for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant.”’”

³⁵ And it happened during that night, and the angel of Yahweh went out, and he struck in the camp of Assyria 185, 000 {men}. And they got up early in the morning, and look—all of them {were} dead corpses. ³⁶ And he pulled out, and he went, and Sennacherib the king of Assyria returned, and he stayed in Nineveh. ³⁷ And it happened, he was prostrating himself {in} the house of Nisrok his god, and Adrammelek and Sharezer struck him with the sword, and they themselves escaped {to} the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

Chapter 20

¹ In those days, Hezekiah was sick to dying. And Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet, came to him, and he said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Command your house, for you are dying, and you will not live.’” ² And he turned his face to the wall, and he prayed to Yahweh, saying, ³ “Oh Yahweh, please remember that I have walked about to your face with faithfulness and with a whole heart, and the good in your eyes I have done.” And Hezekiah wept a great weeping. ⁴ And it happened, Isaiah had not gone out to the middle courtyard, and the word of Yahweh was to him, saying, ⁵ “Return, and you will say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, ‘Thus says Yahweh the God of David, your father: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look at me—healing you. On the third day, you will go up {to} the house of Yahweh. ⁶ And I will add 15 years to your days, and I will rescue you and this city from the palm of the king of Assyria. And I will defend over this city for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant.”’” ⁷ And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs.” And they brought {it}, and they set {it} on the sore, and he lived.

⁸ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What {is} the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and will I go up on the third day to the house of Yahweh?” ⁹ And Isaiah said, “This {is} the sign for you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing that he has spoken: {will} the shadow go forward ten steps, or will it go back ten steps?” ¹⁰ And Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to stretch out ten steps. No, for the shadow will go backwards ten steps.” ¹¹ And Isaiah the prophet called to Yahweh. And he made the shadow go back on the steps that it went down, on the steps of Ahaz, backwards ten steps.

¹² At that time, Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah was sick. ¹³ And Hezekiah listen to them, and he showed them the whole house of his treasure: the silver and the gold and the spices and the best oil and the house of his armor and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was not a thing that Hezekiah did not show them, in his house or in all his realm. ¹⁴ And Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and he said to him, “What did these men say, and from where are they coming to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a distant land, from Babylon.” ¹⁵ And he said, “What did they see in your house?” And Hezekiah said, “They saw everything that {is} in my house. There was not a thing that I did not show them in my treasuries.”

¹⁶ And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh: ¹⁷ ‘Look—days are coming, and everything that {is} in your house and that your fathers stored away until this day will be lifted to Babylon. A thing will not be left,’ says Yahweh. ¹⁸ ‘And from your sons who will come forth from you, who you will bear—they will be taken, and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” ¹⁹ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahweh that you have spoken {is} good.” And he said, “Is it not, rather, peace and stability will be in my days?” ²⁰ But the rest of the words of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool and the tunnel, and he brought water to the city—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ²¹ And Hezekiah slept with his fathers. And Manasseh his son became king in his place.

Chapter 21

¹ Manasseh {was} a son of 12 years when he became king. He was king 55 years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother {was} Hephzibah. ² And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like the abominations of the nations that Yahweh drove out from the face of the sons of Israel. ³ And he turned back, and he built the high places that Hezekiah his father destroyed, and he made altars rise for the Baal, and he made an Asherah pole, just as Ahab the king of Israel did, and he prostrated himself to all the host of the heavens, and he served them. ⁴ And he built altars in the house of Yahweh, where Yahweh said, “In Jerusalem I will put my name.” ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of Yahweh. ⁶ And he made his son pass through in the fire, and he practiced divination, and he read omens, and he made a ritual pit and soothsayers. He multiplied doing what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to make {him} angry. ⁷ And he placed the idol of the Asherah, that he made, in the house {about} which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon, his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name in perpetuity. ⁸ And I will not continue to make the foot of Israel wander from the ground that I gave to their fathers. If only they will take care to act according to all that I commanded them, and to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” ⁹ But they did not take care, and Manasseh led them astray to do what was evil, more than the nations that Yahweh destroyed from the face of the sons of Israel.

¹⁰ And Yahweh spoke by the hand of his servants, the prophets, saying, ¹¹ “Because Manasseh the king of Judah has done these evil abominations, more than all that the Amorites who {were} to his face did, and he has even made Judah sin with his idols, ¹² therefore, thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Look at me—bringing disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that everyone who hears it—his two ears will ring. ¹³ And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem away, just as one wipes a bowl—he wipes and he turns {it} on its face. ¹⁴ And I will abandon the remnant of my inheritance, and I will give them into the hand of their enemies. And they will become spoil and plunder for all their enemies, ¹⁵ because they have done what is evil in my eyes, and they have been making me angry from the day that their fathers went out from Egypt and up to this day.’”

¹⁶ And Manasseh even poured out very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem mouth to mouth, beside his sin which he made Judah sin by doing what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. ¹⁷ But the rest of the words of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ¹⁸ And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son became king in his place.

¹⁹ Amon {was} a son of 22 years when he became king, and he was king two years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz from Jotbah. ²⁰ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, just as Manasseh his father did. ²¹ And he walked in every way that his father had walked. And he served the idols that his father had served, and he prostrated himself to them. ²² And he abandoned Yahweh the God of his fathers, and he did not walk in the way of Yahweh. ²³ And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and they killed the king in his house. ²⁴ And the people of the land struck everyone who conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. ²⁵ But the rest of the things of Amon that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ²⁶ And he buried him in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. And Josiah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 22

¹ Josiah {was} a son of eight years when he became king, and he was king 31 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Yedidah the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. ² And he did what was upright in the eyes of Yahweh. And he walked in every way of David his father, and he did not turn away, right or left.

³ And it happened, in the 18 th year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Yahweh, saying, ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and he will completely {count} the silver that was brought {into} the house of Yahweh, which the guards of the threshold collected from the people. ⁵ And let it be given to the hand of the ones doing the work, the ones overseeing the house of Yahweh. And they will give it to the ones doing the work, who {are} in the house of Yahweh, to strengthen the damage of the house, ⁶ to the craftsmen and to the builders, and to the masons, and to buy wood and quarried stones to strengthen the house.” ⁷ However, the silver that is given to their hand will not be accounted for {by} them, because they are acting with faithfulness.

⁸ And Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, the scribe, “I found the Scroll of the Law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it. ⁹ And Shaphan the scribe went to the king, and he brought back the king a word. And he said, “Your servants poured out the silver that was found in the house, and they gave it to the hand of the ones doing the work, the ones overseeing the house of Yahweh.” ¹⁰ And Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave to me a scroll.” And Shaphan read it to the face of the king. ¹¹ And it happened, when the king heard the words of the Scroll of the Law, and he tore his clothes. ¹² And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam the son of Shaphan and Akbor the son of Micaiah and Shaphan the scribe and Asaiah the servant of the king, saying, ¹³ “Go, seek Yahweh on my behalf and on behalf of the people and on behalf of all Judah, concerning the words of this scroll that was found. For great {is} the heat of Yahweh that it is kindled against us on account that our fathers did not listen to the words of this scroll by acting according to all that was written concerning us.”

¹⁴ And Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Akbor and Shaphan and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the clothes (and she was living in Jerusalem in the second {quarter}), and they spoke to her. ¹⁵ And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Say to the man who sent you to me: ¹⁶ “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Look at me—bringing disaster to this place and to its inhabitants—all the words of the scroll that the king of Judah read. ¹⁷ Because they abandoned me, and they burned incense to other gods, in order to make me angry against all the works of their hands. And my heat is kindled against this place, and it will not extinguish.’” ¹⁸ But to the king of Judah, the one sending you to seek Yahweh, thus you will say to him: “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘The words that you heard, ¹⁹ because your heart is tender, and you have humbled yourself from the face of Yahweh when you heard that which I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, to become a horror and a curse, and you have torn your clothes, and you have wept to my face, and also I myself have heard,’ declares Yahweh. ²⁰ ‘Therefore, look at me—gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your graves in peace, and your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’”’” And they brought back the king a word.

Chapter 23

¹ And the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ² And the king went up {to} the house of Yahweh and every man of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him and the priests and the prophets and all the people, from {the} small and to {the} great. And he read in their ears all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been found in the house of Yahweh. ³ And the king stood by the pillar, and he cut the covenant to the face of Yahweh to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all {his} heart and with all his {spirit} to cause the words of this covenant that were written on that scroll to stand. And all the people stood in the covenant.

⁴ And the king commanded Hilkiah the great priest and the priests of the second {rank} and the guards of the threshold to bring out from the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for the Baal and for the Asherah and for all the host of the heavens. And he burned them from outside of Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and he lifted their ashes {to} Bethel. ⁵ And he put away the pagan priests, whom the kings of Judah gave so that he burned incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and the surrounding areas of Jerusalem, and the ones who burned incense to the Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of the heavens. ⁶ And he brought out the Asherah pole from the house of Yahweh to outside of Jerusalem, to the valley of Kidron, and he burned it in the valley of Kidron. And he crushed {it} to a dust, and he threw its dust over the graves of the sons of the people. ⁷ And he broke down the houses of the male temple prostitutes that {were} in the house of Yahweh, where the women were weaving there houses for the Asherah. ⁸ And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense there, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that {were at} the entrance of the gate of Joshua the official of the city that {were} on the left of a man at the gate of the city. ⁹ However, the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem. Rather, they ate unleavened bread in the midst of their brothers. ¹⁰ And he defiled the Topheth, which {was} in the Valley of the son of Hinnom, so that a person could not make his son or his daughter pass through in the fire to the Molech. ¹¹ And he made the horses that the kings of Judah gave to the sun cease from coming {to} the house of Yahweh, to the hall of Nathan-Melech the eunich that {was} in the courtyards. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. ¹² And the king broke down the altars that {were} on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, that the kings of Judah made and the altars that Manasseh made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh. And he ran from there, and he threw their dust to the valley of Kidron. ¹³ And the king defiled the high places that {were} on the face of Jerusalem, that {were} from the right of the Mount of Destruction that Solomon the king of Israel built for Ashtaroth the abhorrence of the Sidonians and for Chemosh the abhorrence of Moab and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon. ¹⁴ And he smashed the pillars, and he cut down the Asherah poles, and he filled their place with human bones.

¹⁵ And also the altar that {was} in Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam the son of Nebat made, who caused Israel to sin—both that altar and the high place he broke down, and he burned the high place. He crushed {them} to dust, and he burned {the} Asherah pole. ¹⁶ And Josiah turned, and he saw the graves that {were} there on the mountain, and he sent, and he took the bones from the graves, and he burned {them} on the altar, and he defiled it according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. ¹⁷ And he said, “What is this monument that I am seeing?” And the men of the city said to him, “The grave of the man of God who came from Judah, and he proclaimed these things that you did on the altar of Bethel.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Leave him untouched. Do not let a person shake up his bones.” And they saved his bones, the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. ¹⁹ And also Josiah removed all the houses of the high places that {were} in the cities of Samaria that the kings of Israel made, provoking anger. And he did to them like all the works that he did in Bethel. ²⁰ And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who {were} there on the altars, and he burned human bones on them. And he returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ And the king commanded all the people, saying, “Do Passover for Yahweh your God according to what is written on this scroll of the covenant.” ²² For it had not been done like this Passover since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor all the days of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah, ²³ except in the 18 th year of King Josiah. This Passover was done for Yahweh in Jerusalem.

²⁴ And also Josiah removed the ritual pits and the soothsayers and the images and the idols and all the abhorrences that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, for the sake of causing the words of the Law that were written on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh to stand. ²⁵ And a king was not like him to his face, who returned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his spirit and with all his power according to all the Law of Moses. And after him, one like him has not arisen.

²⁶ However, Yahweh did not turn from the great burning of his nose {with} which his nose burned against Judah on account of all the offenses {by} which Manasseh made him angry. ²⁷ And Yahweh said, “I will also remove Judah away from my face, just as I removed Israel. And I will reject this city that I chose, Jerusalem and the house {about} which I said, ‘My name will be there.’”

²⁸ But the rest of the words of Josiah, and all that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ²⁹ In his days, Pharaoh Necho the king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria near the Euphrates River. And King Josiah went to meet him, but he killed him in Megiddo when he saw him. ³⁰ And his servants made him ride dead from Megiddo, and they brought him {to} Jerusalem, and they buried him in his grave. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and they anointed him, and they made him king in place of his father.

³¹ Jehoahaz {was} a son of 23 years when he became king, and he was king three months in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ³² And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like everything that his fathers did. ³³ And Pharaoh Necho bound him in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, from being king in Jerusalem. And he gave a fine against the land—100 rounds of silver and a round of gold. ³⁴ And Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of Josiah his father, and he turned his name {to} Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz, and he came {to} Egypt, and he died there. ³⁵ And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh. However, he assessed the land to give the silver according to the mouth of Pharoah. Each man, according to his assessment, he forcibly collected the silver and the gold, the people of the land, to give to Pharoah Neco.

³⁶ Jehoiakim {was} a son of 25 years when he became king, and he was king 11 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. ³⁷ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like everything that his fathers did.

Chapter 24

¹ In his days, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up, and Jehoiakim was a servant to him—three years. And he turned back, and he rebelled against him. ² And Yahweh sent against him troops of Chaldeans and troops of Aram and troops of Moab and troops of the sons of Ammon. And he sent them against Judah to destroy it according to the word of Yahweh that he spoke by the hand of his servants the prophets. ³ However, it was according to the mouth of Yahweh against Judah, to remove {them} away from his face with the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did, ⁴ and also the innocent blood that he poured out, and he filled Jerusalem {with} innocent blood, and Yahweh was not willing to forgive. ⁵ But the rest of the words of Jehoiakim, and all that he did—are they not written on the scroll of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? ⁶ And Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. ⁷ And the king of Egypt did not continue again to go out from his land, because the king of Babylon took from the river of Egypt as far as the Euphrates River—everything that belonged to the king of Egypt.

⁸ Jehoiachin {was} a son of 18 years when he became king, and he was king in Jerusalem three months. And the name of his mother {was} Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. ⁹ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that his father did.

¹⁰ At that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up {to} Jerusalem, and the city entered into siege. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, and his servants were besieging against it, ¹² and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon—he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his eunuchs. And the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his being king. ¹³ And he brought out from there all the treasure of the house of Yahweh, and the treasure of the house of the king, and he cut off all the vessels of gold that Solomon the king of Israel made in the temple of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had spoken. ¹⁴ And he exiled all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of the army, exiling 10, 000 {people} and every crastman and smith. {A person} was not left except the poor of the people of the land. ¹⁵ And he exiled Jehoiachin in Babylon. And the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the citizens of the land he led {into} exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ¹⁶ and all of the men of the army, 7, 000 {people}, and the craftsmen and the smiths, 1, 000 {people}, the whole—the mighty ones who made war. And the king of Babylon brought them {into} exile to Babylon. ¹⁷ And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his place, and he turned his name {to} Zedekiah.

¹⁸ Zedekiah {was} a son of 21 years when he became king, and he was king 11 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like everything that Jehoiakim did. ²⁰ For on account of the nose of Yahweh it happened in Jerusalem and in Judah, until he threw them away from his face. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Chapter 25

¹ And it happened, in the ninth year of his being king, in the tenth month on the tenth of the month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem. And he camped against it, and they built a siegework against it all around. ² And the city came into the siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth of the month, and the famine took hold in the city, and bread was not for the people of the land. ⁴ And the city was breached, and all the men of the war {fled} by night {on} a way of {the} gate between the two walls that {were} near the garden of the king, but Chaldeans {were} over the city all around. And he went the way of the desert plain. ⁵ But the army of Chaldeans pursued after the king, and they overtook him in the desert plain of Jericho. And all his army scattered away from him. ⁶ And they seized the king, and they brought him up to the king of Babylon, to Riblah. And they spoke a judgment on him. ⁷ And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah to his eyes. And he blinded the eyes of Zedikiah, and he bound him with two bronze {chains}, and he brought him {to} Babylon.

⁸ And in the fifth month on the seventh of the month—it {was} the year of the 19 th year of King Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the chief of the guards, the servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ And he burned the house of Yahweh and the house of the king. And all the houses of Jerusalem and every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁰ And all the army of the Chaldeans, who {were with} the chief of the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around. ¹¹ But the rest of the people who were left in the city and the fallen ones who fell to the king of Babylon and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan chief of the guard exiled. ¹² But the chief of the guards let some of the poor of the land remain for vinedressers and for farmers.

¹³ But the Chaldeans smashed the pillars of bronze that {were in} the house of Yahweh and the pedestals and the Sea of bronze that {were} in the house of Yahweh, and they lifted their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴ And they took the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the spoons and all the utensils of bronze that they ministered with them. ¹⁵ And the chief of the guard took the censers and the bowls that {were} gold {as} gold and that {were} silver {as} silver. ¹⁶ The two pillars, the one Sea, and the pedestals that Solomon made for the house of Yahweh—a weight was not for the bronze of all these vessels. ¹⁷ The height of the first pillar {was} 18 cubits, and the capital on it {was} bronze, and the height of the capital {was} three cubits, and latticework and pomegranates {were} on the capital all around—the whole {was} bronze. And like these {was} the second pillar concerning the latticework.

¹⁸ And the chief of the guards took Seraiah the high priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three guards of the threshold. ¹⁹ And from the city he took one eunuch, because he {was} an inspector over the men of the war, and five men from those who saw the face of the king who were found in the city and the scribe, the official of the host, the one who drafted the people of the land and 60 men from the people of the land who were found in the city. ²⁰ And Nebuzaradan the chief of the guard took them, and he made them go to the king of Babylon, to Riblah. ²¹ But the king of Babylon struck them, and he killed them in Riblah in the land of Hamath. And Judah was exiled away from its land.

²² And the people who remained in the land of Judah, who Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon allowed to remain—and he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over them. ²³ And all the captains of the armies, they and the men, heard that the king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah, and they came to Gedaliah the Mizpah and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and Johanan the son of Kareah and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite and Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite—they and their men. ²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and he said to them, “Do not be afraid from the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and he will be good to you.” ²⁵ And it happened in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama from the seed of the kingdom, came and ten men with him, and he struck Gedaliah, and he died, and the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him in Mizpah. ²⁶ And all the people from {the} least and up to {the} great and the captains of the armies got up, and they went {to} Egypt, for they were afraid from the face of the Chaldeans.

²⁷ And it happened in the 37 th year of the exile of Jehoiachin the king of Judah in the 12 th month on the 27 th of the month, Evil-Merodach the king of Babylon lifted the head of Jehoiachin the king of Judah from the house of prison in the year he became king. ²⁸ And he spoke well with him, and he gave his throne above the throne of the kings who {were} with him in Babylon. ²⁹ And he changed the clothes of his prison, and he ate bread continually to his face all the days of his life. ³⁰ And his allowance, a continual allowance, was given to him from the king, a provision of a day by its day all the days of his life.