11 When Rehaveam (Rehoboam) arrived in Yerushalem, he assembled the warriors of Yehudah and Benyamin: 180,000 chosen to fight against Yisrael to bring the kingdom back to Rehaveam. 2 But Yahweh spoke to the prophet Shemayah saying, 3 “Go and tell this to Shelomoh’s son King Rehaveam of Yehudah, and to all the Israeli people of the tribes of Yehudah and Benyamin: 4 Yahweh says that you musn’t go and fight with your relatives. Everyone should just go home again because everything that’s happened, came from me.” So they listened to the message from Yahweh, and called off the planned attack against Yeroboam.

5 So Rehaveam lived in Yerushalem and fortified the cities throughout Yehudah: 6 Beyt-Lehem, Eytam, Tekoa, 7 Beyt-Tsur, Sokoh, Adullam, 8 Gat, Mareshah, Zif, 9 Adorayim, Lakish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Ayyalon, and Hevron (all in Yehudah and Benyamin). 11 He strengthened the fortifications in those cities and towns, appointed an army commander, and stocked their storehouses with food and oil and wine. 12 He also equipped each of them with shields and spears, and made them well-protected. So Yehudah and Benyamin were under his control.

13 The priests and Levites throughout all Yisrael supported Rehaveam from every part of the country. 14 The Levites abandoned their property and their pastureland and moved to Yerushalem and across the rest of Yehudah, because Yaraveam and his sons rejected them from serving as priests to Yahweh. 15 Instead Yaraveam established his own priests for his hilltop shrines and for the goat and calf idols that he’d made.[ref] 16 As well as the priests and Levites, people from all the Israeli tribes who wanted to serve Yisrael’s god Yahweh, came to Yerushalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the god of their ancestors. 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Yehudah, and as the people followed the ways of David and Shelomoh, they strengthened Rehaveam’s rule for three years.

18 Rehaveam married Mahalat. She was the daughter of David’s son Yerimot, and her mother was Avihayil, the daughter of Eliav and granddaughter of Yishay (Jesse). 19 They had three sons: Yeush, Shemaryah, and Zaham. 20 After her, he married Avishalom’s daughter Maakah, and they had four sons: Aviyah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomit. 21 Rehaveam loved Maakah the most out of his eighteen wives and sixty slave-wives. He fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters, 22 but he appointed Maakah’s son Aviyah to be the leader of his older and younger brothers, because that would mark him as the future king. 23 He wisely sent his other sons to fortified cities across all the regions in Yehudah and Benyamin, where he set them up generously and asked the local people to give them wives.

12 However, after Rehaveam (Rehoboam) had become established and in firm control of his kingdom, he and all the people abandoned Yahweh’s instructions. 2 Because they were unfaithful to Yahweh, King Shishak from Egypt (Heb. Mitsrayim) came to attack Yerushalem in the fifth year of Rehaveam’s reign 3 with 1,200 chariots and sixty thousand horsemen, along with a huge number of troops including Egyptians, Libyans, Sukkites, and Kushites. 4 He captured Yehudah’s fortified cities, then moved towards Yerushalem.

5 Then the prophet Shemayah and the leaders of Yehudah who had fled to Yerushalem because of Shishak’s attacks came to Rehaveam. Shemayah told them, “Yahweh says that it was all of you who abandoned me, so then I’ve also abandoned you all to be defeated by Shishak.”

6 Then the king and the Israeli leaders humbled themselves and said, “Yahweh always does what is right and fair.”

7 When Yahweh saw that they’d humbled themselves, he gave this message to Shemayah, “They’ve humbled themselves so I won’t destroy them—my rage won’t pour out on Yerushalem using Shishak’s attack, and I’ll give them a way to recover in the future. 8 Nevertheless, they’ll become his servants, and they’ll learn the difference between serving me versus serving the kings of other nations.

9 When Egypt’s King Shishak invaded Yerushalem, he took the treasures from Yahweh’s temple and the king’s palace. He took everything valuable, including the gold shields that Shelomoh had made.[ref] 10 King Rehaveam replaced them with bronze shields, and distributed them to the leaders of those who guarded the entrance to the king’s palace. 11 After that, whenever the king went to Yahweh’s temple, the guards went with him carrying those bronze shields. Then when the king left again, they’d return them to the guardroom. 12 Because Rehaveam humbled himself, Yahweh stopped being angry with him and didn’t eliminate him, so things were reasonably good in Yehudah.

13 King Rehaveam consolidated his rule in Yerushalem. He reigned for a total of forty-one years—seventeen of which were from Yerushalem city where Yahweh had chosen from all the tribes in Yisrael to establish his reputation. (Rehaveam’s mother was the Ammonitess, Naamah.) 14 Rehaveam did evil things because he didn’t make it his priority to get direction from Yahweh.

15 The account of everything that Rehaveam did while he was king, including genealogical records, was recorded in the scrolls written by the prophets Shemayah and Iddo. Rehaveam and Yaraveam were at war with each other for his entire reign. 16 Then Rehaveam died, he was buried with his ancestors in ‘The City of David’, and his son Aviyah replaced him as king.

14 Then Aviyah died and they buried him with his ancestors in ‘The city of David’, and his son Asa, reigned in his place. During his rule, the country was peaceful for ten years. 2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of his god Yahweh—3 he removed the pagan altars and the hilltop shrines, smashed the sacred stone pillars, and cut the Asherah poles down. 4 He ordered the people in Yehudah to worship Yahweh, the god of their ancestors, and to obey his instructions and regulations. 5 He removed all the hilltop shrines from Yehudah’s cities and the incense altars, and the kingdom was peaceful under his rule. 6 He fortified Yehudah’s cities as the place was quiet without war during those years, because Yahweh had given him peace 7 and he’d told Yehudah, “Let’s build these cities and with walls around them, and towers, doors, and bars while the land is quiet around us because we’ve asked our god Yahweh for guidance. We’ve made our request and he’sgiven rest to us all around.” So they built and they prospered. 8 King Asa had an army of three-hundred thousand men from Yehudah who carried large shields and spears, as well as 280,000 men from Benyamin who also carried shields along with bows and arrows. They were all powerful warriors.

9 But then Zerah the Kushite (or Ethiopian) came out against them with an army of a million soldiers and three hundred chariots, and he advanced to Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to oppose them, and they deployed for battle in the Tsefatah valley near Mareshah. 11 Then King Asa called out to his god Yahweh, “Yahweh, it makes no difference to you if there’s one against you, or one million. Help us, Yahweh our god, because we rely on you, and we’ve come against this massive force trusting in your reputation. Yahweh, you’re our god—don’t let mere humans prevail against you.”

12 So Yahweh helped Asa and the army from Yehudah to defeat the Cushites, and they fled. 13 Asa and his army chased them southwest as far as Gerar. So many Kushites were killed that the rest couldn’t save themselves, because they had been destroyed in front of Yahweh and his army, and the men of Yehudah carried away a large amount of plunder. 14 They struck all the cities around Gerar, because the Kushites there were terrified of Yahweh. The men from Yehudah plundered all those cities, because they contained a lot of valuable goods. 15 They also attacked the Kushite cattle herdsmen, as well as capturing lots of sheep and camels before returning to Yerushalem.

15 Then God’s spirit came on Oded’s son Azaryah, 2 and he went out to King Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Yehudah and Benyamin: Yahweh is with you all, when you’re all with him. And if you all look for him, he’ll be found by you all, but if you abandon him, he’ll also abandon you all. 3 Yisrael has been without the true God for a long time as there hasn’t been a priest teaching, so God’s instructions have been forgotten. 4 However, they turned to Yisrael’s god Yahweh when they were in distress, and requested his help and he helped them.

5 “In those times, it wasn’t safe to travel away because there was wide unrest among the inhabitants of the surrounding regions. 6 Nation crushed nation, and city crushed city, because God sent them one trouble after another. 7 But all of you, be strong and don’t give up striving, because your hard work will be rewarded.”

8 When King Asa heard those words and the prophecy from the prophet Oded’s son, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from across Yehudah and Benyamin, and from the cities that he’d captured from the Efrayim hill country. Also, he repaired the altar to Yahweh that stood in front of Yahweh’s temple.

9 He assembled all the people from Yehudah and Benyamin, as well as the many people who had joined them from the tribes of Efrayim, Menashsheh, and Shimeon. (Many people had emmigrated from Yisrael into Yehudah when they had realised that his God Yahweh was helping him.) 10 They gathered together in Yerushalem in June of the fifteenth year of King Asa’s reign 11 and sacrificed seven hundred bulls to Yahweh and seven thousand sheep—all of which had come from the recent plunder. 12 They solemnly agreed to sincerely and diligently devote themselves to Yahweh, the god of their ancestors. 13 They decided that anyone who didn’t worship Yisrael’s god Yahweh must be killed, man or woman, and whether or not they had an important position. 14 They loudly promised that together to Yahweh, then shouted and blew trumpets and horns, 15 and all Yehudah celebrated that promise because they were totally sincere and committed. They asked Yahweh to give them guidance which he did, and he enabled them to have peace throughout their country.

16 King Asa also removed his mother Maakah from her position as queen because she made a disguisting Asherah pole. Asa cut down the pole and crushed it, and burnt it at the Kidron brook, 17 although they didn’t remove the hilltop shrines from Yisrael. Nevertheless, Asa maintained his singular devotion to Yahweh all his lifetime, 18 and he brought his father’s sacred things, and his own, into God’s temple house of God—gold and silver items. 19 There was no more war in Yehudah until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

7 At that time, the prophet Hanani went to Yehudah’s King Asa, and told him, “Because you relied on the king from Aram rather than on your god Yahweh, therefore the Aramean king’s army has escaped from being defeated by you. 8 Weren’t the Kushites and the Libyans overwhelming in number with chariots and horsemen, yet because you relied on Yahweh, he helped you defeat them, 9 because Yahweh sees everything that’s happening all over the world, and he strengthens those who trust him completely. You’ve been foolish in what you’ve just done, so from now on, you’ll be facing wars.” 10 But King Asa was angry at the prophet, very angry, and had him put in prison, and after that Asa oppressed some of his people.

11 All of Asa’s projects from the beginning of his reign to the end are written in the scroll about the kings of Yehudah and Yisrael. 12 King Asa got a disease the started in his feet in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. Even as it got worse, he didn’t try to get Yahweh to help him, only doctors. 13 Then Asa died in the forty-first year of his reign, 14 and he was buried in the tomb that he’d had carved out in ‘The City of David’. They laid his corpse on a bed of prepared spices and perfumes that had been mixed ready. Then they lit a large bonfire in his honour.

17 Then Asa’s son Yehoshafat (Jehoshaphat) replaced him as king, and he strengthened their defenses against Yisrael. 2 He placed troops in all of Yehudah’s fortified cities, and posted garrisons across Yehudah and in the cities in Efrayim that his father Asa had captured. 3 Yahweh helped Yehoshafat because he followed his ancestor David’s ways at the beginning, and didn’t ask the Baals for guidance, 4 because he asked his father’s god, and he followed God’s instructions rather than doing the evil things done in Yisrael. 5 So Yahweh enabled him to maintain control of his kingdom, and the Yehudah brought tribute to Yehoshafat, causing him to become very wealthy and highly respected. 6 He was completely devoted to doing what pleased Yahweh, even removing the hilltop shrines and the Asherah poles from Yehudah.

7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-Hayil, Ovadyah, Zekaryah, Netanel, and Mikayah, to teach in Yehudah’s cities. 8 They were accompanied by the Levites Shemayah, Netanyah, Zevadyah, Asahel, Shemiramot, Yehonatan, Adoniyah, Toviyah, and Tov-Adoniyah, along with two priests Elishama and Yehoram. 9 They took a scroll with Yahweh’s instructions written on it, and went around Yehudah’s cities teaching the people.

10 All the surrounding kingdoms were afraid of Yahweh, so they didn’t attack Yehoshafat. 11 Some of the Philistines brought tribute to Yehoshafat, including lots of silver. Also, the Arabians brought him flocks totalling 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats. 12 So Yehoshafat continued to become more powerful, and he built palaces in Yehudah as well as storehouses in the cities. 13 He accumulated many supplies in Yehudah’s cities.

He also had many powerful warriors in Yerushalem. 14 These are the leaders and numbers from each tribe:

• From the tribe of Yehudah, Adnah was the commander and he had three-hundred thousand warriors,
• 15 His assistant Yehohanan commanded 280,000,
• 16 Next was Zikri’s son Amasyah who volunteered for Yahweh and commanded two-hundred thousand warriors.
• 17 From the tribe of Benyamin, Elyada led two-hundred thousand men equipped with bows and shields,
• 18 next to him was Yehozavad with 180,000 equipped for war.

19 Those were the ones who served the king, along with the ones that the king had placed in Yehudah’s fortified cities.

19 Yehudah’s king Yehoshafat returned safely to his home in Yerushalem, 2 but Hanani’s son, the prophet Yehu confronted him, “Should you have helped the wicked, and befriended those that Yahweh hates? Yahweh’s angry with you because of what you’ve done. 3 However, you have some good points because you removed the Asherah poles from the countryand you’ve been sincere in wanting to follow God.”

20 Sometime after that, the Moabites and Ammonites, along with some of the Meunites[fn], came to battle against King Yehoshafat. 2 Some men came and told Yehoshafat, “A huge army is coming from Aram beyond the Dead sea to attack you, and take note: they’re already in Hatstson-Tamar, also known as Eyn-Gedi.” 3 Yehoshafat was alarmed and decided to request advice from Yahweh, and he ordered that all Yehudah should fast. 4 So Yehudah assembled to request Yahweh’s help—they came to Yerushalem from all of Yehudah’s cities to ask Yahweh for help.

5 Yehoshafat stood in front of all the people from Yerushalem and across Yehudah, in front of the new temple courtyard 6 and prayed, “Yahweh, the god of our ancestors, aren’t you the god who lives in the heavens? And you rule in all the kingdoms around the world, and you have full power and control—no one can stand against you. 7 Weren’t you our god who drove the previous inhabitants of this land out ahead of your Israeli people? Didn’t you give it to the descendants of Abraham—the one you loved forever?[ref] 8 Our ancestors lived in this land and they built a temple to honour you, saying, 9 ‘If disaster like war, judgment, or epidemic, or famine comes on us, we’ll stand in front of this temple, and in front of you, because your name is honoured here. And we will cry to you from our distress, and you will hear and deliver.’

10 You didn’t allow our Israeli ancestors to enter the countries of Ammon, Moab, or Edom when they were travelling from Egypt to Canaan. So our ancestors turned away from those areas and didn’t destroy them, but now they are coming here to attack us.[ref] 11 Look how they’re repaying us for not destroying them—they come here to drive us out from the land that you gave us as an inheritance. 12 So, our god, please punish them, because we’re not strong enough to battle this huge army that’s on its way. We simply don’t know what to do, so we’re looking to you to rescue us.”

13 At that time, all of Yehudah (men, women, and children) were standing in front of Yahweh 14 and Yahweh’s spirit came on Yahaziel. (Yahaziel was the son of Zekaryah, son of Benayah, son of Yeiel, son of Mattanyah the Levite and a descendant of Asaf.) In the middle of the assembly 15 he said, “Pay attention, all Yehudah and inhabitants of Yerushalem and King Yehoshafat. Yahweh has this to say to you all, ‘Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed by this huge force, because it’s not your battle but God’s.[ref] 16 Tomorrow, go down against them. Listen, they’re coming uphill near the Ascent of Tsits, and you’ll all find them at the end of the valley, facing the Yeruel wilderness. 17 You all won’t need to fight them—Just take your positions all of you from Yerushalem and wider Yehudah, and watch Yahweh save you. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. Go out there tomorrow and Yahweh will be with you all.’ ”[ref]

18 Then King Yehoshafat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people from Yerushalem and across Yehudah fell to their knees in front of Yahweh to worship him. 19 Then some of the Levites who were descendants of Kohat and Korah, stood up to loudly praise Yisrael’s god Yahweh.

20 They rose early the next morning and went out to the Tekoa wilderness, and as they were leaving Yehoshafat stood and called out, “Hear me, inhabitants of Yerushalem and Yehudah. Believe in our god Yahweh, and be confident. Believe his prophets and succeed.” 21 Then he consulted with the people, and he appointed some to sing to Yahweh and some to praise him for his splendour and sinlessness as they went out before the enemy army, and they were saying, “Give thanks to Yahweh, because his loyal commitment endures forever.”

22 As they began to sing and praise Yahweh, he sent ambushers against the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites who were attacking Yehudah, and they were defeated. 23 Then the Ammonites and Moabites turned on the Edomites and completely annihilated them, and after that they slaughtered each other. 24 When the men of Yehudah arrived at the place overlooking the wilderness, wow, they saw corpses all over the ground. No one had escaped.

25 Then Yehoshafat and his people went to plunder the spoils, and they found lots of goods among them, as well as clothing,[fn] and valuable items. They took that for themselves until there was nothing left to carry away—there was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it all. 26 On the fourth day, they assembled in the Berakah valley and they praised Yahweh there. That’s why it’s called Berakah valley (which means ‘praise/blessing’) to this day. 27 Then all the men from Yerushalem and across Yehudah returned to Yerushalem with King Yehoshafat leading them—celebrating because Yahweh had enabled them to defeat their enemies. 28 When they arrived at Yerushalem, they went to the temple, playing harps, lutes, and trumpets. 29 The nearby kingdoms were all very afraid of God when they heard that Yahweh had fought with Yisrael’s enemies, 30 so Yehoshafat’s kingdom was untroubled and his god gave him peace from all his neighbours.

31 Yehoshafat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned over Yehudah from Yerushalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Shilhi’s daughter, Azuvah. 32 He had similar priorities to his father Asa, doing what pleased Yahweh, and he didn’t deviate from that. 33 However, he never removed the hilltop shrines, and the people were not really serious about obeying the god of their ancestors.

34 Everything else that Yehoshafat did from the beginning to the end of his reign was written down by Hanani’s son Yehu in the scroll about Yisrael’s kings.

35 Later on, Yehudah’s King Yehoshafat made an alliance with Yisrael’s King Ahazyah (which was a wicked thing to do), 36 and they worked together to make ships at Etsyon-Gever to sail to Tarshish. 37 Then Dodavahu’s son Eliezer from Mareshah prophesied against Yehoshafat, saying, “When you allied yourself with Ahazyah, Yahweh broke through your works.” In due course, the ships were damaged and unable to sail to Tarshish.

21 Then Yehoshafat died and was buried with his ancestors in ‘The City of David’, and his son Yehoram (Jehoram) replaced him as king.

2 Yehoram’s younger brothers were Azaryah, Yehiel, Zekaryah, Azaryah, Mikael, and Shefatyah, 3 and their father gave them many gifts of gold and silver and precious things, along with fortified cities in Yehudah, however he handed the kingdom over to Yehoram because he was the oldest son. 4 After Yehoram established firm control of his father’s kingdom, he had all his brothers killed, as well as some of Yisrael’s leaders.

5 Yehoram was thirty-two years old when he became the king, and he ruled from Yerushalem for eight years. 6 He did many of the evil things that Yisrael’s kings had done, because he married one of King Ahav’s daughters and did things that Yahweh had said were evil. 7 Despite that, Yahweh wouldn’t elminate David’s descendants because of the promise he’d made with David to ‘keep his lamp burning’ forever.[ref]

8 Meanwhile, Edom had been under Yehudah’s control, but during Yehoram’s reign they rebelled and appointed their own king.[ref] 9 Yehoram took his commanders and all his chariots, and crossed the Yorden River, then at nighttime he attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariots.[fn] 10 However, Edom successfully rebelled against control by Yehudah, then Livnah also did the same, because Yehoram had abandoned Yahweh, the god of his ancestors. 11 Also he built hilltop shrines around Yehudah, and he caused Yerushalem’s inhabitants to prostitute themselves,[fn] and he drove Yehudah away from Yahweh.

12 Then King Yehoram received a written message from the prophet Eliyah (Elijah): “Your father David’s god Yahweh says that because you decided not to follow the ways of your father Yehoshafat or those of good King Asa, 13 but rather you imitated the behaviour of Yisrael’s king, then you’ve caused Yerushalem’s inhabits as well as wider Yehudah to commit adultery like Ahab’s family did. Also, you’ve killed your own blood brothers—people who were better than you. 14 So listen, now Yahweh is going to severely strike your people including your sons and your wives, as well as all your possessions, 15 and you yourself will get an intestinal disease that will get worse every day until your innids fall out.”

16 Then Yahweh stirred the Philistines up against Yehoram, as well as the Arabs who lived beside the Kushites, 17 and they attacked Yehudah. They did a lot of damage and took away everything valuable from the king’s palace. They also took his wives and sons, other than Yehoahaz, his youngest son.

18 After that, Yahweh caused an intestinal disease in Yehoram that couldn’t be cured, 19 and it progressed day after day until after two years, his intestines fell out and he died in great pain. His people didn’t make a bonfire in his honour like they’d done for his ancestors.

20 Yehoram was thirty-two when he became king, and he ruled from Yerushalem for eight years. No one regretted it when he died, and his body was buried in ‘The City of David’, but not in the royal tombs.

10 When Ahazyah’s mother Atalyah found out that her son had died, she took action and destroyed all the his family members who could become king of Yehudah. 11 However, a princess named Yehoshaveat took Ahazyah’s son Yoash, and she sneaked him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be killed, and she hid him and his nurse in a bedroom. Yehoshaveat was the daughter of the late King Yehoram, the wife of Yehoyada the priest (she was Ahazyah’s sister), and she hid him from Atalyah so she couldn’t kill him. 12 He stayed in hiding with them in the temple for six years while Atalyah ruled over Yehudah.

23 The following year, the priest Yehoyada took courage and made an agreement with the commanders of units of one hundred soldiers: Azaryah (Yehoram’s son), Yishmael (Yehohanan’s son), another Azaryah (Oved’s son), Maaseyah (Adayah’s son), and Elishafat (Zikri’s son). 2 They went throughout Yehudah and gathered all the Levites and the clan leaders from all the cities. When they came to Yerushalem, 3 all the assembly made an agreement with the young king in the temple, and Yehoyada told them, “Listen, the late king’s son will reign, just as Yahweh said concerning David’s descendants.[ref] 4 Now this is what all of you need to do: one third of you priests and Levites who’re on duty on the Rest Day, must guard the temple entrances. 5 Another third of you must guard the king’s palace, and the final third guard the Foundation Gate and all the people in the temple courtyard. 6 Don’t let anyone enter Yahweh’s temple other than the priests and the Levites who’re on duty, because they’re consecrated. Every one else must respect Yahweh’s instructions not to enter. 7 You Levites must be armed and surround the young king. You must kill anyone else who tries to enter the temple, but stay close to the king wherever he goes.

8 So the Levites and the other people did everything that Yehoyada the priest had instructed. Each leader took his men, both those starting duty on the Rest Day, as well as the others finishing their duties that day, because Yehoyada didn’t dismiss any of the groups. 9 Then Yehoyada the priest gave each of those commanders the spears, and the large and small shields which had been put in the temple by King David. 10 He stationed all the people, each one holding his weapon, right across the end of the temple around the altar and the temple, and all around the king. 11 Then they brought out young Yoash and put a crown on his head and gave him a scroll with the agreement on it, and proclaimed him as king. Then Yehoyada and his sons anointed him with olive oil and shouted, “Long live the king!”

12 When Atalyah heard the sound of people running, and people praising the king, she went to the temple 13 to look, and wow, the young king was standing where previous kings had stood by the pillar at the temple entrance, with the commanders and trumpeters beside him. The people were all cheering and blowing trumpets, and singers with intruments were leading the praising. Then Atalyah tore her robe and shouted out, “Treason! Treason!”

14 The Yehoyada the priest instructed the commanders, “Kill her, but not here at Yahweh’s temple. March her outside and kill anyone who sticks up for her.”

15 They seized her as she reached the Horse Gate in front of the palace and killed her there.

16 Then Yehoyada the priest got the people to formally agree that they and the king would be loyal to Yahweh, 17 so all the people went to Baal’s temple and tore it down. They smashed its altars and idols, and killed Baal’s priest Mattan in front of the altars. 18 Then Yehoyada created the roster for the temple duties of the priests and Levites that King David had previously assigned, including offering burnt offerings to Yahweh with happiness and singing, following Mosheh’s written instructions. 19 He also stationed guards at the temple gates so that no one could enter if they were ceremonially ‘unclean’.

20 Then Yehoyada took those commanders and the nobles and leaders and all the people, and they brought the king out of the temple and down into the palace through the Upper Gate, and sat him on the royal throne. 21 Then all of Yehudah’s people celebrated and then the city was peaceful and quiet as Atalyah had been put to death with the sword.

24 Yoash was seven years old when he became Yehudah’s king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for forty years. His mother was Tsivyah from Beer-Sheva. 2 Yoash did what pleased Yahweh throughout the lifetime of Yehoyada the priest. 3 Yehoyada procured two wives for him, and they bore him sons and daughters.

4 Sometime later, Yoah decided it would be good to repair Yahweh’s residence, 5 and he gathered the priests and Levites, and told them, “Go out to Yehudah’s cities and collect enough money across the country to renovate God’s house in the next few years. Make this a priority.” But the Levites didn’t get on to it, 6 so the king he summoned Yehoyada and demanded, “Why haven’t you followed up on sending the Levites throughout Yerushalem and across Yehudah to collect the annual tax instituted by Yahweh’s servant Mosheh (Moses) for the people to contribute to the costs of the sacred tent?”[ref]

7 (The wicked Atalyah had previously broken into Yahweh’s residence and taken some of the sacred items from Yahweh’s temple to be used for Baal worship.)

8 The king ordered that a chest be made and placed outside the main temple entrance. 9 They made an announcement in Yerushalem and throughout Yehudah to bring to Yahweh the tax instituted by God’s servant Mosheh when they were still in the wilderness. 10 All the officials and the people agreed with this policy, so they brought their contributions and dropped them into the chest until it filled up. 11 Every day when the Levites who’d been given oversight over the chest by the king, saw that it was full, they’d fetch one of the king’s secretaries along with one the the head priest’s officials, and they’d empty the box and return it to its place, so they amassed a large sum of money.

12 The king and Yehoyada the priest gave the collected funds to those who worked on the temple renovations. They used them to hire stone-workers and carpenters to restore the temple building, as well as for iron and bronze craftsmen. 13 So they started on the work and the temple restoration went ahead. They rebuilt the temple following it’s original specifications, and strengthened it. 14 Whey they’d finished, they brought the remainder of the funds back to the king and Yehoyada, and they made items for the temple, items used in ministery and for burnt offerings, and dishes and gold and silver items. During Yehoyada’s time, they were offering regular burnt sacrifices in Yahweh’s temple.

15 By then, Yehoyada was getting old, and he died at the age of 130, 16 and they buried him with the kings in ‘The City of David’, because he’d done so much good for Yisrael, and for God and his temple.

17 After Yehoyada’s death, Yehudah’s leaders went to young King Yoash and declared their loyalty to him, and he listened to them. 18 Then they abandoned the temple of their ancestors’ god Yahweh, and they worshipped the Asherah poles and idols, and God was angry at Yerushalem and Yehudah because of their disobedience. 19 He sent prophets to tell them to return back to him, and although they warned the people, they didn’t take any notice.

20 Then God’s spirit enveloped Zekaryah, the son of Yehoyada the priest, and he stood up and told the people, “God asks why you’re all violating his commands? Because you abandoned Yahweh, then he’s abandoned all of you.”[ref] 21 However, the people conspired against Zekaryah, and the king ordered him to be executed by stoning him in the temple courtyard. 22 King Yoash disregarded the loyal commitment that Yehoyada had shown to his father, and had killed his son. As he was dying, he said, “Let Yahweh see this and find a way to avenge.”

23 Around the end of the year, the Aramean army attacked Yehudah and Yerushalem, and killed all the people’s leaders. They sent all their plunder back to their king in Damascus. 24 Actually, the Arameans only had a smallish army, but Yahweh allowed them to defeat the much larger army from Yehudah and bring punishment to King Yoash, because they had abandoned Yahweh, the god of their fathers. 25 When they withdrew, they left Yoash with severe wounds, and then his servants conspired against him because he’d killed the son of the priest Yehoyada. So they killed him in his bed, and although they buried him in ‘The City of David’, he wasn’t buried with the other kings. 26 The ones who had conspired to kill him were: Zavad (a son of the Ammonite woman Shimeat) and Yhezavad (a son of the Moabite woman Shimrit).

27 The list of King Yoash’s sons, the many prophecies concerning him, and his renovations of the temple, are all written on ‘The Scroll of the Kings’. His son Amatsyah replaced him as king.

25 Amatsyah was twenty-five when he became Yehudah’s king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Yehoaddin from Yerushalem. 2 He mostly followed Yahweh’s instructions, but not whole-heartedly.

3 Once his rule was established, he killed those of his servants who had assassinated his father Yoash. 4 However, he didn’t order their sons to be executed because he obeyed Yahweh’s instructions that had been written down by Mosheh (Moses), “Fathers mustn’t die because of what their sons did, and sons mustn’t die because of what their parents did, but each individual should be punished for their own disobedience.”[ref]

5 Then Amatsyah summoned Yehudah’s men and appointed some by their clans to be leaders of hundreds and of thousands, for all of Yehudah and Benyamin. They counted three-hundred thousand men who were twenty and over, and suitable for fighting with a spear and shield. 6 He also hired one-hundred thousand powerful warriors from Yisrael for three tonnes of silver.

7 However, a man of God came and told him, “Your majesty, don’t let Yisrael’s soldiers go with you, because Yahweh isn’t with Yisrael—those Efrayimites.[fn] 8 Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will cause you to be defeated by the enemy, because God has the power to help and the power to overthrow.”

9 “So what should I do about all the silver that I’ve already paid to the troops from Yisrael?” Amatsyah asked.

“Yahweh can do much more for you than that,” God’s man replied.

10 So King Amatsyah dismissed the troops from Yisrael to go home again, but they were extremely angry with Yehudah, and they got home still feeling furious.

11 Then Amatsyah took courage and led his army out to the Salt Valley where they slaughtered ten thousand Edomite soldiers. 12 Yehudah rounded up another ten thousand and herded them to the top of a cliff where they drove them over to kill them.

13 However, during that time, the warriors that Amatsyah had sent back to Yisrael, raided Yehudah’s cities all the way from Shomron (Samaria) to Beyt-Horon. They’d killed three thousand people and taken back a large amount of plunder.

14 After King Amatsyah returned from fighting the Edomites, he brought back their idols and set them up to be his gods—bowing down to them and offering sacrifices. 15 That made Yahweh very angry at Amatsyah, and he sent a prophet to tell him, “Why did you want those gods who weren’t even able to save their own people from your army?”

16 While he was still speaking, the king snapped at him, “Who asked you to be my counsellor? Stop right this minute or they’ll strike you down?”

So the prophet stopped talking, but then he added, “I know that God has decided to destroy you because you’ve done that, and because you didn’t listen to my advice.”

26 Then all the people took sixteen year old Uzziyah and made him king to replace his father Amatsyah. 2 Uzziyah restored Eylat City to Yehudah and rebuilt it after the death of his father.

3 Uzziyah was sixteen when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for fifty-two years. His mother was Yekolyah from Yerushalem. 4 He did the things that Yahweh said were good, like his father Amatsyah had done. 5 He strived to follow God during the lifetime of Zekaryah who instructed him. During the time that he obeyed Yahweh, God made him successful.

6 Uzziyah went to attack the Philistines, and successfully broke through the walls at Gat, Yavneh, and Ashdod. He rebuilt Ashdod and other cities in the Philistia region. 7 God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who living in Gurbaal, and against the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziyah, and his fame spread as far as the Egyptian border because he was becoming more powerful.

9 King Uzziyah built fortified towers in Yerushalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and at the angle in the wall. 10 He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many wells because he had a lot of cattle—both in the lowlands and in the plains. He was also interested in horticulture so he had workers stationed in his vineyards and in his fertile fields.

11 Uzziyah’s army was trained for fighting battles and organised into divisions set up by Yeiel the scribe and the commander Maaseyah, under the supervision of Hananyah, one of the king’s officials. 12 There were 2,600 clan leaders who led the powerful warriors, 13 and the full force of 37,500 was under them to support the king against his enemies. 14 Uzziyah supplied shields, spears, helmets, armoured vests, bows, and slingshots for the entire army. 15 Using a local invention, he made war machines in Yerushalem to be placed on the towers and corners of the walls to fire arrows and large stones. His fame now spread widely because he’d received a lot of help that had made him very powerful.

16 However, at the peak of his strength he became very arrogant and that led to his destruction. He disobeyed his god Yahweh and went into the temple to burn incense on the incense altar. 17 The high priest Azaryah and eighty other brave priests went in after him. 18 They confronted King Uzziyah and challenged him, “It’s not permitted for you, Uzziyah, to sacrifice to Yahweh, only for Aharon’s descendants the priests—the ones consecrated to sacrifice. Leave the sanctuary, because you’ve disobeyed Yahweh God so now he won’t honour you.”[ref]

19 Then Uzziyah who was holding an incense pan, became very angry, but when he started raging at the priests, spots of leprosy suddenly appeared on his forehead while he was still there beside the incense altar in front of the priests. 20 The high priest Azaryah looked more closely, and confirming that it was indeed leprosy on his forehead, hurried him outside. The king was now also in a hurry because Yahweh had afflicted him.

21 King Uzziyah had leprosy until he died, so he had to live in an isolated residence and wasn’t allowed to approach the temple. His son Yotam (Jotham) stood in for him—supervising the palace and ruling Yehudah.

22 The record of all the other things done by Uzziyah while he was king was written by the prophet Yeshayah (Isaiah) (son of Amots). 23 When Uzziyah died, because of his leprosy they buried him with his ancestors in a grave in the countryside for kings, and his son Yotam replaced him as king.[ref]

27 Yotam (Jotham) was twenty-five when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for sixteen years. His mother was Yerusha, daughter of the priest Tsadok. 2 He did the things that Yahweh said were good like his father Uzziyah had done (except that he didn’t trespass in Yahweh’s temple), However, the people were still behaving corruptly.

3 He rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple, and extended the Ofel wall. 4 He built cities in the Yehudah hill country, and built fortresses and towers in the forests. 5 He attacked the Ammonite king and dominated them. Then for the next three years, the Ammonites brought him three tonnes of silver, and 2,000 tonnes each of wheat and barley each year. 6 Yotham became more powerful because he’d established a pattern of obeying his god Yahweh. 7 The record of all the other things done by Yotam while he was king, including all his battles, was written on the scroll ‘The kings of Yisrael and Yehudah’. 8 He was twenty-five when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for sixteen years. 9 Then (at forty-one years old), Yotam died and was buried in ‘The City of David’, and his son Ahaz replaced him as king.

28 Ahaz was twenty-five when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for sixteen years, but he didn’t do what Yahweh wanted, like his ancestor David had. 2 Instead, he followed the ways fo Yisrael’s kings, including casting metal idols for the Baal. 3 He offered incense in the Ben-Hinnom valley and he burnt his children with fire[fn] like the detestable customs of the nations that Yahweh had driven away as the Israelis had entered the region, 4 plus he offered sacrifices and burnt incense at the hilltop shrines, and on the hills, and under every large, green tree.

22 While King Ahaz was experiencing those troubles, he disobeyed Yahweh even more 23 and sacrificed to the gods of Damascus (because Aram had defeated him). He reasoned, “Since the gods of the Aramean kings helped them, I’ll sacrifice to them, and then they’ll help me.” However, that led to Ahaz’s fall, and to the fall of all Yehudah.[fn] 24 Then Ahaz gathered all the furnishings that were used in the temple, and broke them into pieces and locked the temple doors. Then he set up pagan altars at every Yerushalem intersection 25 and in every Yehudah city he set up hilltop shrines to make sacrifices to other gods, thus angering Yahweh, the god of his ancestors.

26 The record of all the other things done by Ahaz while he was king was written on the scroll ‘The kings of Yehudah and Yisrael’. 27 Then Ahaz died and was buried in ‘The City of David’, but not in the tombs of the other kings of Yisrael. Then his son Hizkiyah replaced him as king.[ref]

29 Hizkiyah was twenty-five when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Zekaryah’s daughter Aviyah. 2 He did what pleased Yahweh, like his ancestor King David had done.

3 In the very first month of his reign, he unlocked the temple doors and repaired them. 4 Then he summoned the priests and the Levites, and assembled them in the eastern temple courtyard 5 and told them, “Now you Levites, listen to me. You need to consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the residence of Yahweh, the god of your ancestors, and remove any defilement from the sacred place, 6 because our fathers were unfaithful and disobeyed our god Yahweh. Then they abandoned him and had no more interest in this temple and turned their back on it all. 7 They had extinguished the lamps and locked the temple up. After that, they didn’t burn any incense or offer any burnt sacrifices in the sacred place of Yisrael’s god. 8 That’s why Yahweh was angry at Yerushalem and all Yehudah, and allowed us to become a place of terror and horror and scorn as you’ve all seen with your own eyes. 9 As a result, our fathers fell in battle, and our wives and children have been captured and taken to other countries.

10 Now I sincerely want to make an agreement with Yisrael’s god Yahweh, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. 11 So lads, don’t mess around because Yahweh has chosen you all to stand in his presence to serve him, and to be ministering and burning incense.

12 Then these Levites took action:

• from the Kohatites: Mahat (Amasai’s son) and Yoel (Azaryah’s son),
• from the descendants of Merari: Kish (Avdi’s son) and Azaryah (Yehallelel’s son),
• from the Gereshonites: Yoah (Zimmah’s son) and Eden (Yoah’s son),
• 13 from Elitsafan’s descendants: Shimri and Yeiel,
• from Asaf’s descendants: Zekaryah and Mattanyah,
• 14 from Heyman’s descendants: Yehiel and Shimei, and
• from Yedutun’s descendants: Shemayah and Uzziel.

15 They assembled their relatives and consecrated themselves, then they entered the temple to purify it as the king had ordered as a result of Yahweh’s message. 16 The priests entered the inner part of the temple to purify it, and they brought out everything they found that shouldn’t be in there to the temple courtyard, and then the Levites took it all out to be burnt down in the Kidron valley.

17 They began the purification at the beginning of March and worked outwards to the porch by the eighth, and then eight more days for the courtyard, so they finished on the sixteenth.

18 Then they reported to King Hizkiyah, “We’ve purified all of Yahweh’s temple, including the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the bread display table and all its utensils. 19 We’ve prepared and consecrated all the items which King Ahaz had rejected in his reign of unfaithfulness, and they’re back in front of Yahweh’s altar.”

Temple sacrifices restored

20 Early the next morning, King Hizkiyah assembled the city officials, and went to Yahweh’s residence, 21 taking seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs, and seven male goats to be a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Yehudah. He instructed the priests (Aharon’s descendants) to sacrifice the animals to Yahweh on the altar. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls and took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Then they did the same for the rams, and then the lambs. 23 Finally, they brought the goats for the sin offering to the front, and the king and the people placed their hands on them 24 before the priests slaughtered them and splashed their blood on the altar so Yahweh would forgive the disobedience of all Yisrael. (The king had ordered the burnt offerings and the sin offering be for all Yisrael.)

25 Then he told the Levites to stand in the temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres—obeying what David and his prophets Gad and Natan had commanded. (Yahweh had actually given those orders through his prophets.) 26 The Levites stood with David’s instruments, and the priests with their trumpets, 27 then Hizkiyah said to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When they started to slaughter the animals, the people sang and praised Yahweh as the trumpets were blown and the other instruments played. 28 The entire assembly were bowing down and worshipping as the singers sang and the trumpeters played, until the burnt offering was completed, 29 then the king and everyone with him bowed down and worshipped. 30 Then King Hizkiyah and his officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh using compositions of David and the prophet Asaf, so they cheerfully sang praises and bowed down and worshipped.

31 Then Hizkiyah responded, “You’ve all consecrated yourselves to Yahweh, so come near and bring your sacrifices and thanksgivings in to the house of Yahweh.” So the assembly brought in their sacrifices and thanksgiving gifts, plus those who wanted to, brought their sacrifices to be burnt.

32 Altogether they brought seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs to be completed burnt on the altar, 33 as well as six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep as dedicated offerings. 34 There weren’t enough priests to skin all the burnt offerings, so their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and until all the priests had consecrated themselves, because the Levites hard worked quicker to consecrate themselves than the priests had. 35 In addition to the burnt offernings, there was the fat from the peace offerings, and there were drink offerings.

So the service of Yahweh’s temple was reinstituted 36 and Hizkiyah and all the people celebrated about what God had prepared for the people, because it had all happened fairly quickly.