1 David’s son Shelomoh (Solomon) became established over his kingdom and his god, Yahweh, was with him and ≈made him very powerful.

2 Shelomoh spoke to all Yisrael (Israel), to the army commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, to all of Yisrael’s leaders, including the clan leaders. 3 ≈So Shelomoh led all the assembly to the ≈worship place at Gibeon because the ≈sacred tent was there that Yahweh’s servant Mosheh (Moses) had made in the wilderness. 4 David had brought God’s box uphill from Kiryat-Yearim and *he’d erected a tent for it in Yerushalem (Jerusalem).[ref] 5 The bronze altar made by Betsalel (son of Uri, son of Hur) was there ≈in front of Yahweh’s tent, and Shelomoh and the assembly ≈requested Yahweh’s guidance there.[ref] 6 ≈So Shelomoh went up to the bronze altar there at the ≈sacred tent, and ≈in front of Yahweh, he sacrificed one thousand burnt offerings on it.

7 That night, God appeared to Shelomoh and told him, “Ask for what you want me to give you.”

8 “You showed outstanding loyal commitment to my father David,” Shelomoh ≈replied to God, “and you’ve made me king in his place. 9 Now, Yahweh God, may your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you yourself have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust on the ground. 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge now ≈as I come and go in front of these people, because who could make good judgements for this great people of yours?”

11 “Because that was in your heart,” God ≈replied to Shelomoh “and you didn’t ask for wealth, riches, or ≈fame, or the life of those who hate you, and also you didn’t ask ≈for a long life, but you’ve asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself ≈to help you lead my people that I’ve made you king over, 12 then I’ll give you that wisdom and knowledge, along with wealth and riches and fame. You’ll have more than any king that preceded you or any that follows.”

13 Then Shelomoh left the ≈sacred tent at Gibeon and returned to Yerushalem, where he reigned over Yisrael.

Solomon’s Military and Commercial Activity

14 Then Shelomoh built up his chariots and horsemen, and ≈soon had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen which he stationed in the chariot cities and with *him in Yerushalem.[ref] 15 The king made silver and gold in Yerushalem as common as stones, and he made imported cedar timber as common as the local sycamore trees that were ≈plentiful in the lowlands. 16 Shelomoh’s horses ≈were imported from Egypt (Heb. Mitsrayim) and from the traders in Kue (in modern southern Türkiye/Turkey).[ref] 17 ≈Egyptian chariots cost six hundred silver coins and horses cost one hundred and fifty. (The Hittites and Aramean kings were able to get them ≈for the same price.)

2 Then Shelomoh ≈decided to build a temple to honour Yahweh, as well as a ≈palace for himself, 2 ≈so he conscripted seventy thousand men as porters, eighty thousand as stone-cutters in the hillside quarries, and 3,600 supervisors.

Alliance with Huram of Tyre

3 Shelomoh ≈contacted King Hiram in Tsor (Tyre), “≈In the time of my father David, you sent cedar timber to him so he could build himself a palace to live in. 4 Listen, I am building a ≈temple to honour my god Yahweh, to consecrate to him. There we’ll sacrifice spiced incense to him, plus the regular bread display, and burnt offerings in the morning and in the evening, on rest days and on the new moons, and ≈other appointed times of Yahweh our god. ≈Yisrael is required to do this forever. 5 ≈We want to build an impressive building, because our god is more powerful than all the other gods. 6 ≈But who could ≈stay strong enough to build a house for him, since the ≈sky and the heavens of the heavens can’t contain him? And who am I that I could build for him a house for him—≈maybe I’m good enough to burn incense to him?[ref] 7 ≈So then, send me a skilled man who can work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, and in iron, and in purple and crimson and violet, and who knows how to engrave. He will work with the skilled craftsmen who my father David appointed and who are with me here in Yerushalem and across Yehudah. 8 ≈Also, send to me cedar, cypress, and algum timber from there in Lebanon, because I myself know that your servants know how to cut the trees from Lebanon’s forests. And listen, my servants will ≈help your servants 9 so they can supply me with plenty of timber, because the temple that I’m building will be large and beautiful. 10 I’ll pay your wood-cutters three thousand tonnes of ground wheat and the same of barley, four hundred thousand litres of wine and the same of olive oil.

11 King Hiram of Tsor (Tyre) wrote back to King Shelomoh, “Yahweh has appointed you as king over his people because he loves them. 12 Blessed be Yisrael’s god Yahweh who made the heavens and the earth, who’s given King David the king a wise son with insight and understanding, who’ll build a temple for Yahweh and a palace for his kingdom.

13 “I’ll send Huram-Avi to you—he’s a skilled craftsman 14 ≈His mother’s from the ≈tribe of Dan, and his father a man of Tsor, knowing to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in stone and in timber, in purple and in violet, in fine linen and in crimson, and ≈do any kind of engraving. ≈He can follow any pattern that’s given to him by your ≈designers, and the designers of my master, David, your father. 15 So then go ahead and send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine that *you promised to send to *us, 16 then we’ll cut the trees you need from Lebanon and raft them to Yafo by sea. ≈The responsibility of getting them up the hills to Yerushalem will be yours.

17 Shelomoh had all the foreign men living in Yisrael counted (similar to what his father David had done), and it came to 153,600. 18 He conscripted seventy thousand as porters, eighty thousand as stone-cutters, and 3,600 as supervisors to keep the others working.

Solomon Builds the Temple

3 Then Shelomoh began to build Yahweh’s temple on Mt. Moriyah in Yerushalem, where @Yahweh had appeared to his father David. It was at the threshing floor of Ornan the Yebusite where David ≈had planned for it,[ref] 2 and they began the construction in early-May of the fourth year of Shelomoh’s reign.[fn] 3 ≈The temple foundation was twenty-seven metres long and nine metres wide, 4 and the nine metre long front entrance porch was nine metres high.[fn] @Shelomoh overlaid the inside walls with pure gold. 5 For the ≈main building, he overlaid it first with cypress planking, then with pure gold, then ≈carved palm trees and chains along the walls. 6 The gold they use came from Parvaim.[fn] ≈The main building was also overlaid with valuable gemstones. 7 He overlaid the temple beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he engraved winged creatures on the walls.

8 Then he made the ≈most sacred room inside the temple. It was nine metres long (the full width of the temple) and the same width. He overlaid it with thirty kilograms pure gold (beaten into thin sheets).[ref] 9 Each gold nail weighed half a kilogram, and he also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

10 He cast molten metal into two winged creatures in the ≈most sacred room and overlaid them with gold.[ref] 11 Each of the creatures had two wings, each 2.3 metres long. One of the wings reached the temple wall, and the other wing was stretched out to touch the other creature’s wingtip, 12 and ≈the same for its companion, 13 so the total span of the two winged creatures was nine metres. They were made standing on their feet, and placed with their faces towards the opening into the main hall. 14 The ≈curtain separating the two rooms was made from fine-linen with blue, purple, and red thread, and with winged creatures embroidered onto it.[ref]

15 At the front of the temple, he made two sixteen metre tall pillars which each had a ‘capital’ topping that was another two metres high. 16 Ornamental chains were made for the inner sanctuary and to go around the tops of the pillars, and there were one hundred pomegranate models hanging on the chains. 17 There was one pillar on each side of the east-facing entrance—the lefthand one was named Yakin and the righthand one was named Boaz.

4 Then he made a ≈square, bronze altar, nine metres on each side and 4.5m high,[ref] 2 and he made the large, round metal water tank (called ‘The Sea’) which was 4.5m diameter and over two metres high. 3 ≈Below the outer rim were two rows of small, ornamental bulls spaced 45cm apart that were also part of the same casting. 4 ≈Supporting ‘The Sea’ were twelve large cast bulls—facing outwards with three facing each of the four compass points. 5 ≈The sides of the tank were eight centimeters thick. The tank’s brim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, resembling a lily blossom. @The tank held sixty-six thousand litres of water. 6 Then he made ten washbasins, placing five on ≈each side for the priests to rinse the burnt offerings in. The priests used ‘The Sea’ to wash in.[ref]

7 He made the ten gold lampstands as per their design, and placed them in the temple ≈with five on each side.[ref] 8 He made ten tables and also placed them in the temple ≈with five on each side, plus he made one hundred gold basins.[ref]

9 He made the courtyard for the priests, as well as the large courtyard with its doors overlaid with bronze, 10 and he placed ‘The Sea’ in the southeast corner.

11 ≈Meanwhile, Huram made the tubs and shovels (for the ashes from the altar) and other small bowls.

≈So Huram finished the work for God’s temple that King Shelomoh had assigned to him: 12 the two pillars, and the ≈bowl-shaped the capitals on top of each pillar, and the two ≈sets of latticework to cover those two bowls of the capitals, 13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the latticework—two rows of pomegranates to cover each of the two bowls of the capitals that ≈decorated the tops of the pillars. 14 He also made the washbasins and their stands, 15 ‘The Sea’ and the twelve bulls that hold it up, 16 and the tubs and shovels, the forks, and other utensils.

Those were all items made of polished bronze that Huram-Abi made for King Shelomoh for Yahweh’s temple.

17 The king had them cast in the clay between Sukkot and Tseredah down by the Yordan River. 18 Shelomoh had ≈so many items made that they didn’t even try to weigh all the bronze.

19 Shelomoh had all the items for God’s temple made, including the gold altar and the tables ≈for displaying the sacred bread, 20 and the pure gold lampstands and their lamps for the inner sanctuary according to their designs, 21 the pure gold flower ornaments, lamps, tongs, 22 the pure gold lamp trimmers, the basins and spoons, and fire pans. Also the temple entrance, its inner doors into the very sacred room, and the outer temple doors were all gold.

The Ark Brought to the Temple

5 ≈After all the work which Solomon did for Yahweh’s temple was completed, Solomon brought in the sacred things of his father David: the gold and silver, and all the items, he placed in the temple treasuries.[ref]

2 Then Shelomoh assembled the Israeli elders, and all the heads of the tribes, the Israeli ≈clan leaders to Yerushalem, to bring the box ≈containing Yahweh’s agreement up the hill from the city of David, that is, Tsiyyon (Zion).[ref] 3 ≈So in October, all those Israeli leaders gathered to be with the king for a feast, 4 and once ≈everyone was there, the Levites lifted up the sacred chest 5 and carried it up towards the temple. The priests (who are also Levites) carried it, along with the sacred tent and everything that had been in it. 6 Then King Shelomoh and all the assembled Israelis with him, gathered in front of the box, sacrificing sheep and cattle which were too many to count. 7 The priests then took the box ≈containing Yahweh’s agreement, in to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house (the holy of holies)—to under the winged creatures 8 whose outstretched wings would now be over the sacred chest and even over the top of its carrying poles. 9 ≈Those long poles stuck out and could be seen from the front of that inner room, but couldn’t be seen from the main room, and they’re still there to this day. 10 There was nothing in the box except the two stone tablets that Mosheh (Moses) had ≈put in at Horev (Mt. Sinai), which represented the agreement that Yahweh ≈had made with the Israelis after they’d left Egypt (Heb. Mitsrayim).[ref]

11 ≈Then the priests left the holy place in the temple. All the priests who were there, consecrated themselves to serve the priestly duties, irrespective of which division they were part of. 12 All the Levites who were singers (Asaf, Heyman, Yedutun, and their sons and their brothers) stood on the east side of the altar. ≡They were dressed in fine linen and had cymbals, and harps and lyres, along with 120 priests playing trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and singers performed together to praise and thank Yahweh, with the trumpets and cymbals on the highlights of the song to praise Yahweh:[ref]

“Yahweh is good to us,

because his loyal commitment continues forever.”

Then Yahweh’s temple filled with a cloud 14 and the priests weren’t able to stay on their feet and continue ministering because Yahweh’s brilliance had filled the temple.

6 Then Shelomoh ≈prayed, “≈Yahweh, you said that you would live in a dark cloud, 2 ≈but I’ve built a ≈beautiful residence for you—a place for you to live in forever.”

3 ≈Then while all the people stood there, Shelomoh turned toward them and ≈pronounced a blessing over them, 4 saying, “Blessed be Yahweh the god of Yisrael who spoke ≈physically to my father David, and ≈then caused it to actually happen, when you said back then,[ref] 5 ‘From the time that I brought my people out of Egypt, I hadn’t choosen a city from all the tribes of Yisrael as a place to build a house so my name could be there. Nor had I chosen a man to be leader over my people Israel, 6 ≈but now I’ve chosen Yerushalem (Jerusalem) ≈to be my place of residence and I’ve chosen you, David, to be over my people Yisrael.’

7 “My father David wanted to build a temple for Yisrael’s god Yahweh, 8 ≈but Yahweh told *him, ‘≈It’s good that you wanted to build a house to honour me, 9 ≈but you won’t be the one to build it. It’ll be your own ≈biological son who’ll build the temple to honour my ≈reputation.’

10 “≈Now Yahweh has fulfilled what he said, and I’m here sitting on Yisrael’s throne instead of my father David, just as Yahweh said, and I’ve had this temple built to honour Yisrael’s god Yahweh. 11 I’ve placed the sacred chest in there—@the box that contains the agreement that Yahweh made with Yisrael’s descendants.”

12 Then @Shelomoh stood in front of the altar to Yahweh in front of all the assembled Israelis, and spread out his hands 13 because *he’d made a bronze platform and had it placed in the centre of the courtyard. The square platform was just over two metres on each side, and stood just over a metre off the ground. ≈Firstly he stood on it, then he knelt down onto his knees in front of all the assembled Israelis and spread his hands out to the #sky 14 and said, “Yahweh, God of Yisrael, there isn’t any god like you in the heavens or on the earth—one who keeps his agreement and shows loyal commitment to your servants who are walking ≈with total integrity as you watch them. 15 ≈Everything you verbally told my father David that you’d do, you’ve used your power to make it all happen, including this today. 16 And now, Yahweh, God of Yisrael, keep something else for your servant David my father when you told him, ‘There’ll ≈always be one of your descendants sitting on Yisrael’s throne, as long as they obey my instructions just like you have.’[ref] 17 ≈So now, Yahweh, God of Yisrael, let what you said to your servant, to David, be confirmed.

18 “But will God really live with humans here on the earth? Wow, the skies and the heavens of the heavens can’t contain you—how much less this house that I’ve built.[ref] 19 ≈Nevertheless Yahweh my god, listen to your servant’s prayer and request ≈and take notice. 20 ≈Watch over this building where you said ≈that you’d be present and hear &my prayers when your servant prays towards this place.[ref] 21 Listen ≈to what your servant and your Israeli people are requesting when they pray towards this place. Listen from where you live in the heavens, and hear and forgive.

22 “If someone is accused of wronging their neighbour and is forced to make a sworn statement in front of your altar in this temple, 23 then ≈listen from the heavens and ≈decide who’s telling the truth. ≈Then punish the guilty party as they deserve, and do good to the other side as a reward for their innocence.

24 “And if your Israeli people are ≈defeated by their enemies because they’ve disobeyed you, but they return to you and confess, and pray, and in this place they ≈request your favour, 25 then listen to them from the heavens and forgive the disobedience of your Israeli people, and bring them back to this land that you gave to their ancestors and to them.

26 “When ≈the clouds hold back and give no rain because they’ve ≈disobeyed you, but then they pray towards this place and ≈acknowledge you and turn away from their disobedience because you’ve punished them, 27 then listen to them from the heavens and forgive the ≈disobedience of your servants and your Israeli people. Teach them the ≈right way to live their lives, and give rain to your land which you gave your people as a ≈permanent inheritance.

28 “If this land suffers from famine, or if there’s blight or mildew, or locusts or grasshoppers, plague or sickness, or if an enemy army surrounds them, 29 then if any person or all your Israeli people stretch out their hands towards this temple with their prayers and requests because they each acknowledge their individual pain and suffering, 30 then listen to them from your where you live there in the heavens and forgive them. ≈Reward each person according to their behaviour, because you know ≈people’s motives—only you know ≈what’s in people’s minds. 31 Do that so they’ll respect you and ≈living how you want them to, as they live in ≈this country that you gave to our ancestors.

32 “Also, any foreigners who don’t belong to your Israeli people, who come to this land because they’ve ≈heard that you’re very great and powerful, if they turn toward this temple and pray 33 then listen to them as well from where you live there in the heavens. Do whatever that foreigner requests from you and that all the people groups in the world will learn about your reputation, and ≈honour and obey you like your Israeli people do, and to know that this temple that I’ve built is called by your name.

34 “When you send your people off to battle their enemies, and they pray towards this city that you’ve chosen and this temple that I’ve had built to honour your name, 35 then listen from the heavens to their prayer and their requests, and ≈uphold their cause.

36 “When they disobey you (and there’s no one who doesn’t), and you’re angry with them and allow an enemy ≈to get the upper hand, and their captors takes them a distant or nearby land as captives, 37 and then in that land where they’re captives, they turn and admit their wickedness and their disobedience, and request your favour, 38 and they turn to you with total sincerity in that other country and pray towards the land that you gave their ancestors, and the city that you chose, and toward the temple that I’ve built to honour your name, 39 then listen from where you live in the heavens to their prayer and their requests, and ≈uphold their cause and forgive your people who’ve ≈disobeyed you.

40 “Now my god, please let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to prayers offered towards this place.

41 “≈So now Yahweh God, along with the sacred box of your strength, come and enter your resting place. Yahweh God, may your priests be dressed in salvation, and your faithful ones enjoy your goodness.[ref] 42 Yahweh God, don’t ≈ignore those who you’ve chosen. Remember the loyal commitment of your servant David.”

7 When Shelomoh (Solomon) finished praying, fire came down from the skies and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and Yahweh’s ≈brilliant light filled the temple.[ref] 2 The priests weren’t able to go into Yahweh’s ≈temple because of Yahweh’s ≈brilliant light, 3 and when all the ≈Israelis saw the fire come down and saw the ≈bright light above the ≈temple, they fell to their knees with their faces bowed down low to the stone pavement, and worshipped and thanked Yahweh saying, “He is certainly good—his loyal commitment really will continue forever.”[ref]

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to Yahweh—5 King Shelomoh sacrificed twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep, and so the king and all the people dedicated God’s ≈temple. 6 The priests were standing in their positions, as well as the Levites with the instruments that King David had made to give thanks to Yahweh. When ≈they assisted David in praising Yahweh, they would sing, “≈Yes, his loyal commitment continues forever,” and the priests ≈would blow their trumpets in front of them as all the ≈Israelis stood there.

7 Then Shelomoh consecrated the middle of the courtyard ≈in front of Yahweh’s ≈temple building so he could offer burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings there, because the bronze altar that *he’d made wasn’t able to ≈handle the large number of burnt offerings and grain offerings, and the fats.

8 Then Shelomoh and all Yisrael feasted for the next seven days—the huge gathering spread from Levo-Hamat in the far north, all the way to the Egyptian riverbed in the far south. 9 On the eighth day, they ≈had a solemn service, because they’d observed seven days of celebration for the altar ?≈with seven days of feasting. 10 ≈Finally after some three weeks, @Shelomoh sent the people ≈home—they were cheery and ≈encouraged because of the goodness that Yahweh had ≈displayed to David and Shelomoh, and for his Israeli people.

11 ≈So Shelomoh finished Yahweh’s ≈temple and the king’s ≈palace—he’d succeeded in ≈implementing everything that he’d envisaged.

God’s Second Appearance to Solomon

12 ≈One night, Yahweh appeared to Shelomoh in a dream and told him, “I’ve heard your prayer, and I’ve chosen this ≈temple to be the place where my people will offer sacrifices to me. 13 If I restrain the skies ≈so there’s no rain, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send disease among my people, 14 ≈then if my people ≈who are known by my name humble themselves and pray, and ≈request my help and turn back from their evil ways, then I myself will hear >them from the heavens, and I’ll forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears will be attentive to prayers ≈offered towards this place, 16 as I’ve chosen and consecrated this ≈temple to be associated with my name forever—I’ll be permanently present there. 17 ≈Also, if you’ll obey me like your father David did, and do everything that I’ve instructed you, and keep my rules and regulations, 18 then ≈I’ll ensure that your descendants rule your kingdom, just as I ≈promised your father David when I said, ‘≈You won’t fail to have one of your descendants ruling over Yisrael.’ 19 ≈However, if you all turn away, and abandon my rules and instructions that I gave you all, and ≈decide to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I’ll remove @these people from my land that I gave them. ≈Also this temple that I consecrated for ≈myself, I’ll ≈throw it away where I can’t see it, and I’ll make it ≈an object of scorn and ridicule among all the other nations.

21 Then this ≈temple which everyone admires as they pass by, will be devastated and @people will ≈ask, ‘Why did Yahweh do ≈such terrible things to that ≈temple and to that land?’

22 ‘It happened because they abandoned Yahweh, the god of their ancestors,’ others will reply. ‘He brought them out from slavery in Egypt, ≈but then they obtained other gods and worshipped them and served them—that’s why he sent them all this misery.’ ”

8 ≈After the twenty years that it took Shelomoh to build Yahweh’s ≈temple and his ≈palace, 2 *he rebuilt the cities that King Huram had given to *him, and he ≈got Israelis to live in them.

3 Then Shelomoh ≈attacked Hamat-Tsovah and ≈captured it. 4 He ≈rebuilt Tadmore in the wilderness, and storage cities in the Hamat region. 5 He ≈rebuilt the fortified cities of Upper-Beyt-Horon and Lower-Beyt-Horon with walls and barred gates, 6 as well as Baalat and all the storage cities, and all the cities for Shelomoh’s chariots and horsemen that he wanted to build in Yerushalem and Lebanon, and throughout his kingdom. 7 All the people ≈who lived in Yisrael but who were actually remnants of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Yebusites 8 ≈who were descendants of groups that the Israelis hadn’t completely destroyed, were forced to become Shelomoh’s labourers and they continue in that role until the present time. 9 ≈However, Shelomoh didn’t make the Israelis become labourers, because they became his ≈soldiers, officers, chariot commanders, and horsemen. 10 ≈Some 250 Israelis were also King Shelomoh’s ≈chief officials who had authority over the people.

11 Shelomoh brought his wife, Far-oh’s (Pharaoh’s) daughter, up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, because he said, “My wife mustn’t live in the ≈palace of Yisrael’s King David, because the places where Yahweh’s box has been are sacred.”

12 Then Shelomoh sacrificed burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar that had been built in front of the temple’s porch. 13 He ≈followed Mosheh’s instructions about the daily sacrifices for the rest days and the new moons, and for the appointed three times per year: the Celebration of Flat Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Celebration Living in Shelters.[ref] 14 Then as his father David had instructed, he assigned the priests into divisions for their various tasks, and the Levites who would praise and minister in front of the priests and help in their daily tasks, and gatekeepers in their divisions at the various gates. That was all what David, the man of God had commanded. 15 The priests and Levites followed the king’s instructions concerning all their duties, as well as their supervision of the treasuries.

16 ≈So now, all of Shelomoh’s work on Yahweh’s ≈temple was completed—from the foundation through to it’s completion and operation.

17 Then Shelomoh went to Etsyon-Gever and to Eylat on the edge of the ocean, in the Edom ≈region. 18 King Huram (from Tsor/Tyre) sent ships to him as his servants who knew the sea well. Then Shelomoh’s men boarded the ships and sailed with them to Ofir, where they obtained fifteen tonnes of gold and brought it back to King Shelomoh.

9 The queen from the Sheva region had heard ≈all about Shelomoh, and she came to Yerushalem with some hard questions. Her party included a large number of camels carrying lots of spices and gold and valuable gemstones. She came to Shelomoh and ≈discussed everything that was on her mind with him.[ref] 2 Shelomoh responded to all her ≈queries, and there wasn’t any subject that *he wasn’t able to speak to. 3 When the queen from Sheva saw Shelomoh’s wisdom, and ≡saw the ≈palace that he’d built 4 and the food at his table, as well as the seating of his servants, his well-dressed ministers standing by, his cup-bearers in their uniforms, and the burnt offerings that he sacrificed at Yahweh’s ≈temple, it ≈took her breath away 5 and she told the king, “Everything I heard in my own country about you and you wisdom was true. 6 I didn’t believe ≈what they reported to me until I saw it with my own eyes, and wow, the reports that I heard ≈didn’t even cover half of the extent of your wisdom! 7 Your men are blessed, and even your servants are blessed to be able to continually stand in front of you and listen to your wisdom. 8 Let your god Yahweh be blessed—the one who delighted in you to place you on his throne as *his king. Your god loved Yisrael and wanted to establish them forever, ≈so he’s placed you over them as king—to give justice and ≈do what is right.”

9 Then she gave the king four tonnes of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and valuable gemstones. Nobody before had ever seen such a large amount of spices as what the queen from Sheva gave to King Shelomoh.

10 (≈Also, King Huram’s servants working together with Shelomoh’s servants brought gold from Ofir, as well as algum wood and valuable gemstones. 11 The king made the algum wood into staircases for Yahweh’s ≈temple and for the king’s ≈palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Nothing like that had been seen before in Yehudah.)

12 King Shelomoh gave the queen from Sheba ≈everything she wanted—more than what she’d brought to the king. Then she ≈departed with her servants and went back to her country.

13 In one year, Shelomoh received about twenty tonnes of gold, 14 as well as what the merchants and traders brought in. All the Arabian kings, and all the ?≈local governors brought gold and silver to Shelomoh. 15 King Shelomoh made two hundred large shields of beaten gold—six hundred gold coins worth of beaten gold ≈went into each shield. 16 ≈Also, three hundred ≈smaller shields—three hundred gold coins worth of beaten gold ≈went into each shield.

17 Then the king made a large, ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to *it. It had armrests on ≈each side, with a lion statue beside each armrest. 19 There were twelve statues of lions standing on the six steps—one at each end of each step. No throne like that existed in any other kingdom.

20 All of King Shelomoh’s ≈cups were made of gold, and all the ≈various dishes in ‘The House of the Lebanon Forest’ were refined gold. Nothing was made of silver, because in the ≈time of Shelomoh’s reign, silver wasn’t considered valuable 21 because the king’s ships went to Tarshish with Huram’s servants. Every three years the fleet would ≈bring back gold, silver, ivory, and apes and baboons, 22 ≈so King Shelomoh became greater than all the other kings in the world, both in wealth and in wisdom.

23 ≈Kings from all over the world wanted to come and listen to the wisdom that God had ≈given Shelomoh. 24 Each of them would bring gifts: gold and silver items, clothes, myrrh and spices, horses and mules. (This continued ≈year after year.)

25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he kept some in the chariot cities and some ≈close by in Yerushalem.[ref] 26 He ended up ruling over all the kings in the region from the Euphrates River in the northeast, west to the area of the Philistines, and south down to the Egyptian border.[ref] 27 The king made silver as common as stones, and cedar timber as common as the sycamore fig trees in the lowlands. 28 Horses were brought in from Egpyt (Heb. Mitsrayim) for Shelomoh and from ≈other countries as well.[ref]

29 Everything else that Shelomoh did, from the beginning to the end, was written down by the prophet Natan, and the prophecy by Ahiyah (from Shiloh) and the prophet Iddo’s visions about Nevat’s son Yaraveam (Jeroboam) were also written down. 30 Shelomoh reigned from Yerushalem over all Yisrael for forty years, 31 then he ≈died and was buried with his father in ‘The City of David’, and his son Rehaveam (Rehoboam) ≈replaced him as king.

10 Then Rehaveam (Rehoboam) went to Shekem where all Yisrael had gathered ≈for his coronation. 2 ≈Meanwhile, Nevat’s son Yaraveam (Jeroboam) had fled from King Shelomoh and was down in Egypt, ≈but when he heard about the coming coronation, *he returned from Egypt. 3 ≈So the leaders of the northern tribes summoned @Yaraveam, and he went with them to speak to Shelomoh’s son Rehaveam and all Yisrael, saying, 4 “Your father ≈made us work very hard, but now, lighten the ≈demands that your father ≈made on us, and we’ll serve you.”

5 “Come back to me in three days.” @Rehaveam ≈answered, so the people departed.

6 Then King Rehaveam consulted with the older men who’d advised his father Shelomoh when he was still alive, ≈asking &them, “How do you all advise me to answer the people?”

7 “If you are good to those people and ≈do things that please them, and speak ≈kindly to them,” they ≈answered, “then they’ll ≈serve you for a long time to come.”

8 ≈However, @Rehaveam ≈rejected their advice, and consulted some of the young men ≈there who’d grown up with him. 9 “≈How would you guys suggest that I answer the people who’ve asked me to lighten the burden on them from the days of my father?”

10 “≈Those people tell you that your father was hard on them and that you should lighten their load,” ≈his contemporaries advised him. “≈But you should tell that that your little finger is thicker than your father’s waist, 11 ≈and that whereas he required them to contribute, you’ll be even more demanding. Tell them that he might have whipped you with leather whips, but that you’ll whip them with scorpions!”

12 ≈So Yaraveam and all the people ≈returned to King Rehaveam on the third day ≈as he’d prearranged, 13 and ignoring the advice of the older men, the king answered @the people harshly. 14 ≈He passed on the suggestion of the younger men, telling &the people, “I’ll make your ≈burden even heavier. My father rebuked you all with whips, but I’ll ≡do it with scorpions.” 15 ≈So the king ≈took no notice of the people’s request, because ≈it was God turning events around so that what Yahweh had said to Yaraveam (Nevat’s son) through Ahiyah (from Shiloh), would come to pass.

16 ≈When all ≈the Israelis saw that the king hadn’t listened to them, and the people from the northern tribes answered the king, “What ≈did David have to do with us anyway? ≈We had nothing to gain from Yeshay’s (Jesse’s) son. ≈You might as well all head home, and then they’ll see what happened to David’s dynasty.”

≈So they all went home[ref] 17 and Rehaveam ended up ≈only ruling over the Israelis living in the Yehudah region.

18 King Rehaveam (still in Shekem) sent out Hadoram, his supervisor of the forced labourers, but the ≈Israelis hurled stones at him and killed him. When he heard about that, King Rehoboam ≈forced his way into his chariot ≈and escaped to Yerushalem, 19 and northern Yisrael has rebelled against David’s ≈descendants until today.

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.

Death of Rehoboam; Summary of Rehoboam’s Reign

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.

13 In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Yaraveam (Jeroboam), Aviyah started his reign over Yehudah (Judah). 2 He ruled from Yerushalem for three years. (His mother was Uriel’s daughter Mikayah from Giveah.)

≈However war started between Aviyah and Yaraveam.

3 Aviyah ≈launched the attack with four-hundred thousand ≈strong warriors, and Yaraveam drew up in formation against him with eight-hundred thousand ≈strong warriors in his army.

4 Aviyah ≈stood on the top of Mt. Tsemarayim in the Efrayim hill-country and ≈shouted, “Yaraveam and all Yisrael, listen to me. 5 ≈Don’t you all understand that Yisrael’s god Yahweh ≈made a formal agreement that the kingdom of Yisrael was given forever to David and his descendants? 6 ≈But Nevat’s son Yaraveam, who was a servant of David’s son Shelomoh, ≈took action and rebelled against his master, 7 and ≈a bunch of wicked good-for-nothings gathered around @Yaraveam and ≈created a force against Shelomoh’s son, Rehaveam, when Rehaveam was ≈still an inexperienced, young man and couldn’t stand up to them. 8 ≈So now you’re all saying that you’ll ≈stand against the kingdom ≈that Yahweh established through David’s descendants. ≈There are certainly many of you, and you have the gold calves that Yaraveam made as gods for you all. 9 Didn’t you all drive out the Levites, as well as Yahweh’s priests who were Aharon’s descendants? Then you all ≈appointed for yourselves ‘priests’ like they have in other countries, so that anyone who comes to consecrate himself by bringing a young bull from the herd and seven rams can become a ‘priest’ of your non-gods.

10 “≈But as for us, Yahweh is our god and we haven’t abandoned him. Our priests who minister to Yahweh are Aharon’s descendants, and the Levites ≈assist them. 11 ≈Every morning and every evening, they sacrifice burnt offerings to Yahweh, and spiced incense. There’s sacred bread on the ≈display table, and the lamps in the gold lampstand give light every evening because we are following the instructions of our god Yahweh, ≈but you all have abandoned him. 12 ≈So listen! God is ≈guiding us and his priests will blast their trumpets to sound against you all. ≡Listen you Israelis: don’t fight against Yahweh, the god of your ancestors, because you won’t succeed.”

13 ≈But meanwhile, Yaraveam had ≈sent some men around to ambush them from behind, so they were both in front of the army from Yehudah and in ambush behind them.

14 When the warriors from Yehudah turned, wow, ≈they realised that they were being attacked from in front and from behind. They ≈called out to Yahweh for help ≈while the priests blew their trumpets. 15 Then the men from Yehudah ≈shouted a loud battle cry and God defeated Yaraveam and all Yisrael ≈in front of Aviyah and Yehudah. 16 Yisrael’s ≈soldiers fled away from Yehudah’s army, and God ≈enabled Yehudah to defeat them. 17 Aviyah and his ≈men thrashed them badly, and some five-hundred thousand of their chosen ≈warriors were killed. 18 ≈So the Israelis were subdued at that time, and the people from Yehudah were victorious because they ≈trusted in Yahweh, the god of their ancestors.

19 Aviyah chased after Yaraveam and they captured the cities of Beyt-El, Yeshanah, and Efron and the surrounding villages from @Yisrael. 20 Yaraveam ≈never regained military strength during Aviyah’s ≈reign, and after a time Yahweh struck him with sickness and he died.

21 ≈Meanwhile, Aviyah ≈became more powerful. He took fourteen wives for himself, and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of ≈what Aviyah did, including his sayings and his behaviour, was written down by the prophet Iddo.

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’s given 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 disgusting 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.

16 In the thirty-sixth year of King Asa’s reign, Yisrael’s king Baasha ≈invaded Yehudah and built Ramah to ≈prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of Yehudah’s King Asa. 2 Asa took gold and silver from the ≈temple treasuries and the king’s ≈palace, and he sent it to King Ben-Hadad of Aram (modern Syria), who lived in Damascus, ≈requesting, 3 “I want a ≈peace treaty between you and me, and between your ≈family and ≈mine. Listen, I’ve sent gold and silver to you. Go and break your agreement with Yisrael’s King Baasha, ≈so he’ll ≈give up on his attack against me.”

4 Ben-Hadad ≈accepted King Asa’s ≈suggestion and sent his army captains to fight against Yisrael’s cities. They struck Iyyon, Dan, and Abel-Mayim, and all the storehouses in the Naftali cities. 5 ≈When King Baasha heard about that, he stopped ≈fortifying Ramah and ≈abandoned the project, 6 ≈so King Asa took men there from Yehudah. They carried away all the building stones from Ramah, along with the timber which Baasha had been using, and used it all to build Geva and Mitspah (north of Yerushalem).

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 assistantYehohanancommanded 280,000, 16 ≈Next was Zikri’s son Amasyah who volunteered for Yahweh and commanded two-hundred thousand≈warriors. 17 From the tribe ofBenyamin, Elyada led two-hundred thousandmenequipped with bows and shields, 18 ≈next to him wasYehozavad 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.

18 King Yehoshafat ≈became very wealthy and was highly honoured, ≈but then he allied himself by marriage to Yisrael’s King Ahav. 2 ≈Some years later, he went ≈up to Ahav in Shomron (Samaria), and Ahab sacrificed lots of sheep and cattle for him and for the people who were with him, and he incited him to ≈attack Ramot-Gilead—3 Yisrael’s King Ahav ≈suggested to Yehudah’s King Yehoshafat, “Will you ≈join me to attack Ramot-Gilead?”

“≈Wherever you’ll be, I’ll be there,” he ≈responded. “Your people ≈are like my own people, and we’re with you in battle.” 4 ≈Then he added, “≈But we should get Yahweh’s advice first.”

5 ≈So Yisrael’s king gathered four hundred of his prophets and ≈asked them, “Should we ≈attack Ramot-Gilead or not?”

“Go ≈ahead,” they answered, “and God will give ≈victory to the king.”

6 ≈But Yehoshafat ≈asked, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here that we can ≈ask?”

7 The king of Yisrael told Yehoshafat, “There’s still one man ≈who would ask Yahweh, ≈but I myself hate him because ≈he never prophesies anything good about me—≈it’s always something evil. He’s Yimlah’s son, Mikayah.”

“≈You shouldn’t talk like that,” said Yehoshafat.

8 ≈So Yisrael’s king ≈ordered an official, “Get Yimlah’s son, Mikayah here ≈as quick as possible.”

Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab

9 ≈Now the kings of Yisrael and Yehudah were both clothed in their royal robes and sitting there on their thrones near Shomron’s (Samaria’s) entrance gate. They were up on a threshing floor, and all the prophets were prophesying ≈in front of them. 10 Kenaanah’s son Tsidkiyah made himself some iron horns and said, “Yahweh says that you’ll gore Aram with these until they’re destroyed.” 11 All the rest of Ahav’s prophets agreed, saying, “Yes, go and attack Ramot-Gilead and you’ll succeed—Yahweh will give the king ≈victory.”

12 The messenger who went to fetch Mikayah ≈warned him, “Listen, the king ≈is pleased with what the other prophets agreed on. Just say the same as them and give a favourable message.”

13 ≈But Mikayah ≈responded, “As sure as Yahweh lives, I’ll only say what my god tells me to say.”

14 ≈When he got to the king, King Ahav ≈asked him, “Mikayah, should we ≈attack Ramot-Gilead for battle, or should I ≈hold back?”

“Go ≈ahead and succeed,” he ≈answered. “≈You’ll be given victory over them.”

15 ≈But the king said to him, “How many times must I keeping making you promise that you’ll ≈only say what Yahweh says—not just what I want to hear?” 16 ≈So @Mikayah ≈responded, “I saw all Yisrael scattered on the hills like sheep without shepherds, and Yahweh said, ‘≈They don’t have any master, so they’ll all just go home in peace.’ ”[ref]

17 ≈Ahav remarked to Yehoshafat, “Didn’t I tell you that he wouldn’t prophesy anything good about me—only ≈disaster?”

18 ≈But @Mikayah ≈continued, “≈Well, listen to what Yahweh says. I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne and all the ≈heavenly soldiers standing on ≈each side of him, 19 and Yahweh said, ‘Who’ll entice Yisrael’s King Ahab so he’ll ≈attack and then he’ll fall at Ramot-Gilead?’ ≈Some suggested one thing, and others suggested something else. 20 Then ?≈a spirit went out, and stood ≈in front of Yahweh and said, ‘I myself will entice him.’ ‘≈How would you do it?’ Yahweh ≈asked him. 21 @The spirit ≈replied, ‘I’ll go and ≈inspire all Ahav’s prophets to tell lies.’ Yahweh said, ‘≈That’ll work. Go and do it.’

22 “≈So now, listen. Yahweh placed a deceiving spirit in the mouth of those prophets of yorus, and Yahweh ≈has decreed that you’ll face disaster.”

23 Then Kenaanah’s son Tsidkiyah ≈went up to Mikayah ≈and slapped him hard on the cheek, saying, “Yeah! ≈Since when did Yahweh’s spirit leave me and start speaking to you?”

24 “Well, you’ll find out soon,” answered Mikayah, “on the day when you go room by room in some house to ≈try to hide.”

25 “≈Arrest Mikayah,” ≈ordered King Ahav, “and return him to Amon the city ≈governor, and to ≈my son Yoash. 26 ≈Tell them that the king’s ordered that this man be put in prison, and be given only strictly-rationed bread and water until I return safely.”

27 “If you return ≈safely,” Mikayah ≈retorted, “then Yahweh mustn’t have spoken to me.”

28 ≈So Yisrael’s King Ahav and Yehudah’s king Yehoshafat went to Ramot-Gilead. 29 ≈Ahav told Yehoshafat, “≈I’ll get changed so I’m not recognised, and go into the battle, ≈but you wear your royal robe.” ≈So Yisrael’s king disguised himself, and they went into the battle.

30 ≈Meanwhile, Aram’s king had ordered his chariot commanders, “Only attack Yisrael’s king—≈don’t bother fighting anyone else.” 31 ≈However, when &those chariot commanders saw King Yehoshafat, they ≈mistook him for Yisrael’s king and ≈wheeled around to fight him, ≈but Yehoshafat cried out to Yahweh for help and *he helped him—God drew them away from him 32 ≈because when the chariot commanders ≈realised that it wasn’t the king of Yisrael, they turned back from chasing him. 33 ≈However, one Aramean ≈warrior drew his bow without knowing where Ahav was, and struck Yisrael’s king ≈at a joint in his armour. @Ahav ≈ordered the charioteer, “Turn ≈around and get me out of here, because I’ve been seriously wounded.” 34 The battle ≈continued all that day, and Yisrael’s king was propped up in his chariot ≈to watch the Arameans, ≈but he died as the sun was setting.

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 ≈country and ≈you’ve been sincere in wanting to follow God.”

4 Yehoshafat lived in Yerushalem ≈but one time he went out to the people of Beer-Sheva in the Efrayim hill country and ≈encouraged them back to Yahweh, the god of their ancestors. 5 He appointed judges in Yehudah’s fortified cities ≈to serve across the country, 6 and he told them, “≈Take care in what you all do, because you’re not serving men as judges, but serving Yahweh when you make judicial decisions. 7 ≈So revere Yahweh and judge cases carefully, because our god Yahweh doesn’t tolerate injustice, partiality, or bribery.”

8 Yehoshafat also appointed some Levites and priests in Yerushalem, as well as ≈leaders from some Israeli families to be judges ≈on Yahweh’s behalf based in Yerushalem, 9 and he ≈instructed them, “You all ≈must revere Yahweh and be trustworthy and sincere. 10 When any of your ≈fellow Israelis who live in the cities bring any case to you ≈involving violent crime, interpreting laws or regulations, etc., you must caution them so they won’t sin against Yahweh and induce his anger to come on you all or them, so do that and you won’t be guilty. 11 And listen, the chief priest Amaryah is over you all in any ≈religious matter, and Yishmael’s son Zevady is the leader of ≈Yehudah for any ≈civil matter ≈concerning the king. ≈Also you have the Levite officials to assist you all. ≈Act with courage and let Yahweh assist those doing what’s right.”

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.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory

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, judgement, 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.

Jehoram Rules in Judah; Jehoram’s Reign

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.

Jehoram King of Judah

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 ≈eliminate David’s descendants because of the ≈promise he’d made with David to ‘keep his lamp burning’ forever.[ref]

Revolt of Edom

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.

Elijah’s Letter

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.

Disease and Death of Jehoram

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.

22 The inhabitants of Yerushalem made his youngest son Ahazyah[fn] king in his place, because all ≈his older brothers had been killed by the Arab invaders. ≈So Yehoram’s son Ahazyah reigned as Yehudah’s king. 2 *He was twenty-two[fn] when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for one year. His mother was Atalyah, a ≈granddaughter of Yisrael’s King Omri. 3 @King Ahazyah ≈behaved just like King Ahav’s family had done because his mother ≈gave him evil advice, 4 ≈so he did ≈what Yahweh had said was evil just like Ahav’s family, because after his father’s death, they had become @Ahazyah’s advisors, ≈giving destructive suggestions. 5 He ≈followed their advice and joined King Yehoram (son of Yisrael’s King Ahav) to fight against Aram’s King Hazael at Ramot-Gilead, where Yehoram was wounded by the Arameans. 6 Yehoram returned to Yizreel to recover because he’d been wounded at Ramah in the battle against Aram’s King Hazael. So Yehudah’s King Ahazyah went ≈up to Yizreel to see Yehoram.

7 God ≈caused Ahazyah’s downfall through his visit to Yehoram. When @Ahaziah arrived, he went with Yehoram to meet Nimshi’s son Yehu, who Yahweh had appointed to kill all of Ahav’s descendants. 8 ≈While Yehu was executing judgement on Ahav’s descendants, he discovered Yehudah’s officials there, including Ahazyah’s nephews who’d been serving him, and he killed them all as well. 9 Then Yehu went searching for Ahazyah and found him hiding in Shomrom (Samaria) city. They captured him and took him to Yehu, and killed him. They did bury him, because they said, “He was ≈the grandson of King Yehoshafat who ≈tried hard to please Yahweh.” ≈After that, there were no ≈descendants of Ahazyah who were powerful enough to become Yehudah’s king.

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 are 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 are 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.

Joash Crowned King

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!”

The Death of Athaliah; Athaliah Murdered

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 instruments 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.

Apostasy of Joash; Jehoiada’s Policies Are Reversed

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.

Jehoiada’s Reforms Reversed; The Wickedness of Joash

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.”

The End of Joash’s Reign; Death of Joash

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]

Slaughter of the Edomites; War against Edom

(2 Kings 14.7)

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.”

17 ≈Some time later, Yehudah’s King Amatsyah ≈consulted his advisors, then sent a challenge to Yisrael’s King Yoash (son of Yehoahaz, son of Yehu), “Let’s face each other on the battlefield.” 18 ≈But Yisrael’s King Yosash ≈replied, “A thistle that was in Lebanon sent to a cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ but some random animal passed through the Lebanese countryside and trampled the thistle. 19 You ≈defeated Edom and ≈now it’s gone to your head. ≈So stay in your chair at home and don’t get over-excited, otherwise both you and Yehudah will be toppled.”

20 ≈But King Amatsyah ≈took no notice, because God ≈was planning for him to be defeated for worshipping Edom’s gods. 21 ≈So Yisrael’s King Yoash ≈advanced, and ≈the two armies faced each other at Beyt-Shemesh in Yehudah, 22 and Yehudah was ≈badly defeated by Yisrael, and ≈all their warriors fled back home. 23 Yisrael’s King Yoash captured King Amatsyah (son of Yoash, son of Yehoahaz) at Beyt-Shemesh and took him to Yerushalem. Then he tore down Yerushalem’s wall from the Efrayim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about 180m long. 24 He took all the gold and silver and ≈other valuable items that Oved-Edom had been guarding in the temple back to Shomron (Samaria), along with any valuables from the ≈palace and some hostages.

Death of Amaziah

25 After the death of Yisrael’s King Yoash (son of Yehoahaz), Yehudah’s King Amatsyah lived for a further fifteen years. 26 The account of everything else done by Amatsyah ≈was written in the scroll of ‘The Kings of Yehudah and Yisrael’. 27 From the time that Amatsyah had turned from following Yahweh, ≈there was a conspiracy to assassinate him in Yerushalem, ≈but he fled to Lakish. ≈However, they ≈traced him to Lakish and killed him there. 28 They used horses to carry his body back to Yerushalem, and he was buried with his ancestors in ‘The City of David’.[fn]

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.

Uzziah Is Punished for His Pride; Uzziah’s Sin and Punishment; Pride and Apostasy

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.

5 ≈So his god Yahweh ≈allowed @King Ahaz ≈to be defeated by the king of Aram—they attacked and took many prisoners back to Damascus. ≈In addition, @Yahweh ≈allowed the king of Yisrael to be victorious and they slaughtered many fighters.[ref] 6 Yisrael’s King Pekah (Remalyah’s son) killed 120,000 ≈powerful warriors in Yehudah in one day, after they’d abandoned the god of their ancestors. 7 A warrior from Efrayim named Zikri killed King Ahaz’s son Maaseyah, Azrikam the ≈palace supervisor, and Elkanah the king’s second-in-command.

Intervention of Oded

8 Yisrael’s soldiers captured two-hundred thousand of their relatives, including their wives and ≈children. They also took a lot of plunder back to Shomron (Samaria) with them.

9 ≈Now there was a prophet of Yahweh ≈named Oded, and he went out to the army of Yisrael as it was returning to Shomron, and told them, “Listen, Yahweh, the god of your ancestors was angry with Yehudah, so he ≈helped you all defeat them. ≈However, you all killed them in rage and ≈God has taken notice. 10 Now you want to ≈keep the people of Yerushalem and Yehudah as your own male and female slaves, ≈but that would certainly make you all guilty before your god Yahweh. 11 ≈So then, listen to me and return those captives because ≈they’re your own relatives, as Yahweh ≈is extremely angry at you all.”

12 Then ≈some of the leaders of the Efrayim tribe took action and confronted ≈those returning from battle: Azaryah (Yehohanan’s son), Berekyah (Meshillemot’s son), Yehizkiyah (Shallum’s son), and Amasa (Hadlai’s son) 13 told @the ones returning, “Don’t bring those captives here, because ≈that would be disobedience and adding to the rest of our disobedience and wrongs, as Yahweh’s already angry at us here in Yisrael.” 14 ≈So the returning ≈soldiers released the captives in front of the leaders and all the assembled people, and ≈dropped all the plunder there as well. 15 Then some men from Yisrael ≈were called out by name to come and search the plunder to find clothes and dress the naked captives from Yehudah and give them sandals. Then they ≈gave them food and drink, as well as oil to rub on their wounds. They gave donkeys to those who ≈couldn’t easily walk, and took them to Yeriho (The City of Palms) which was nearer their relatives, then those men returned to Shomron (Samaria).

Ahaz Closes the Temple; Assyria Refuses to Help Judah; Ahaz Asks Assyria for Help

(2 Kings 16.7-9)

16 Around that time, King Ahaz ≈requested help from the Assyrian kings 17 as the Edomites had been and attacked Yehudah and taken captives. 18 ≈Also the Philistines had raided the lowland cities and the Negev, and they’d captured Beyt-Shemesh, Ayyalon, Gederoth, as well as Sokoh, Timnah, and Gimzo with their surrounding villages 19 because Yahweh was humbling King Ahaz as he’d ≈thrown off restraint in Yehudah and been very unfaithful to Yahweh. 20 ≈So the Assyrian King Tiglat-Pileser came, ≈except he ended up ≈adding to his troubles rather than helping. 21 Ahaz gave the Assyrian king ≈valuables from the temple and the palace and from other leaders, ≈but that didn’t help.

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.

The Purification of the Temple; Hezekiah Reopens the Temple; The Temple Cleansed

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, andfrom 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.

The Temple Rededication; The Temple Is Rededicated

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.”

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 offerings, 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.

30 Then King Hizkiyah sent invitations to all Yisrael and Yehudah (including Efrayim and Menashsheh) to come to Yahweh’s temple 2 ≈because the king had consulted with his officials and all the assembly in Yerushalem and decided to have a late celebration of the Passover in ≈April.[ref] 3 (They couldn’t have done it at the proper time because the priests hadn’t consecrated themselves sufficiently then, and so the people hadn’t gathered in Yerushalem.) 4 The plan ≈pleased the king and all the people, 5 so they ≈sent messages across all Yisrael and Yehudah from Beer-Sheva in the south to Dan in the far north for the people to come to Yerushalem to ≈celebrate the Passover to honour Yisrael’s god Yahweh. (They hadn’t previously been observing the written instructions.) 6 Runners took the letters from the king and his officials, going to all Yisrael and Yehudah with the king’s command: “Descendants of Yisrael, return to Yahweh, the god of Avraham, Yitshak, and Yisrael, and he will return to you all—the ≈group that escaped from the ≈control of the Assyrian kings. 7 Don’t be like your fathers and brothers who weren’t faithful to Yahweh, the god of their ancestors, provoking him ≈to leave them decimated as you can see. 8 ≈So don’t be stubborn like your ancestors were. ≈Obey Yahweh and come to the sanctuary that he’s consecrated forever, and serve your god Yahweh ≈so he will turn his anger away from you. 9 If you all return to Yahweh, your brothers and sons ≈will be shown mercy by their captors and be able to return to this land, because your god Yahweh is gracious and compassionate, and he won’t ≈ignore you if you all will turn back to him.

Celebration of Passover

10 The messengers went from city to city in the Efrayim and Menashsheh regions, as far north as Zevulun, ≈but @many people there laughed at them and mocked them. 11 ≈However, some of the people from Asher, Menashsheh, and Zevulun humbled themselves and went to Yerushalem. 12 Also in Yehudah, God moved the people to want to obey the king and his officials ?≈and Yahweh’s instructions.

13 ≈The next month, a huge crowd gathered in Yerushalem to celebrate the Festival of Flat Bread. 14 They ≈took action and removed the altars to Baal in Yerushalem, and all the incense altars, and threw them down into the Kidron valley to be burnt there. 15 ≈In the middle of the month, they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests and Levites had been ashamed, so they’d consecrated themselves, them they brought the burnt offerings into the ≈temple. 16 They they stood at their stations ≈as per the instructions written by Mosheh (Moses), then the Levites handed the bowls of blood to the priests to sprinkle on the altar. 17 Because many >people in the assembly hadn’t consecrated themselves, the Levites assisted them by slaughtering the lambs and consecrating them to Yahweh. 18 ≈Although most of the people who’d travelled down from Efrayim, Menashsheh, Yissaskar, and Zevulun hadn’t purified themselves, they ate the Passover food anyway ≈despite the written instructions, because Hizkiyah had prayed to Yahweh for them, “May Yahweh who is good, ≈declare as innocent 19 everyone who ≈sincerely wants to honour and obey Yahweh, the god of their ancestors, ≈even if they haven’t completed the formal purification ceremonies for the temple.” 20 Yahweh ≈took notice of Hizkiyah’s request, and ≈forgave the people, 21 ≈so the ≈Israelis who’d come to Yerushalem celebrated the Feast of Flat Bred for seven days with great ≈excitement. The Levites and priests praised ≈enthusiastically praised Yahweh every day using &their musical instruments. 22 Hizkiyah ≈sincerely thanked all the Levites who ≈were very insightful about worshipping Yahweh. Then everyone ate for the prescribed seven days—sacrificing peace offerings and confessing to Yahweh, the god of their ancestors.

23 Then the ≈whole group decided to celebrate for seven more days, ≈so they ≈enthusiastically celebrated for ≈another whole week 24 because Yehudah’s King Hizkiyah had provided a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the people, and the officials had also contributed another thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. Many more priests also consecrated themselves. 25 All the people from Yehudah celebrated, including the priests and Levites, and all those people who’d come down from Yisrael to stay in Yehudah (whether just for the occasion, or to live permanently), plus others living in Yehudah. 26 Everyone in Yerushalem was very happy, because nothing like that had happened in Yerushalem since the time when David’s son Shelomoh (Solomon) was king. 27 ≈Finally,, the priests and Levites stood up and ≈prayed a blessing on the people, and their voice was heard because their prayer reached @God’s holy residence in the heavens.

31 When that was all over, all those Israelis went out to Yehudah’s cities and shattered the pillars and cut down the Asherah poles, and they tore down the hilltop shrines and altars from the entire Yehudah-Benyamin region and also up in the Efrayim-Menashsheh region. Once they’d finished that, they all returned to their own land and cities.

Contributions for Worship

2 King Hizkiyah allocated the priests and Levites into divisions for the various different types of duties: for doing burnt offerings and peace offerings, for other services, and for thanksgiving and praise at the ≈temple gates. 3 The king ≈contributed some of his own funds for burnt offerings to be sacrificed each morning and evening, as well as for the Rest Days and the New Moon celebrations, and on the other special days as per the written instructions ≈that had come from Yahweh.[ref]

4 He told that people ≈living in Yerushalem to give the prescribed #portions to the priests and Levites, so that they could ≈focus on serving Yahweh,[ref] 5 and sd soon as the message reached them, the Israelis started giving the first portions of their harvests of grain and new wine, oil and honey, and all the produce from the countryside, so they brought a tenth of the harvests of all their crops. 6 The men of Yisrael and Yehudah ≈who were living in Yehudah’s cities also ≈brought a tenth of their cattle and sheep, as well as a tenth of sacred things consecrated to their god Yahweh, and it was all placed into large piles. 7 That all began in ≈May and was finished by ≈September, 8 and when King Hizkiyah and &his officials came and saw the piles, they ≈praised Yahweh and his ≈Israeli people. 9 ≈When Hizkiyah asked the priests and Levites about the piles, 10 and Azaryah the chief priest (a descendant of Tsadok) told him, “≈Since the people started brining their contributions to the ≈temple, we’ve been eating well and even had left-overs because Yahweh has blessed his people, and ≈all this is the remainder.”

Reorganization of Priests and Levites

11 ≈So then Hizkiyah ≈ordered >them to prepare the ≈temple storerooms, which they did, 12 and they brought in the contributions and the tenths that had been given and the ≈things faithfully dedicated to Yahweh. The Levite, Konanyah ≈was appointed as supervisor with his brother Shimei ≈as deputy. 13 ≈Those two supervised Yehiel, Azazyah, Nahat, Asahel, Yerimot, Yozavad, Eliel, Ismakyah, Mahat, and Benayah, by the arrangement of King Hizkiyah and Azaryah the ≈temple supervisor.

14 The Levite Imnah’s son, Kore ≈who guarded the temple’s eastern gate was ≈put in charge of the free-will offering to God—to ≈distribute those offerings to Yahweh, as well as any consecrated items. 15 Eden, Minyamin, Yeshua, Shemayah, Amaryah, and Shekanyah ≈faithfully assisted him in the priests’ cities to ≈distribute those things to the different divisions of priests, ≈regardless of their status or size. 16 Every male who was at least three years old ≈who was listed in the geneaological records, received a portion for their service in the ≈temple as each division performed their assigned duties. 17 ≈Each priestly clan kept genealogical records and received a portion, plus the Levites ≈who were at least twenty years old and according to their divisions, 18 as well as their wives and young children, and sons and daughters whose names were on the genealogies, because they had also faithfully consecrated themselves for the ≈sacred work. 19 Also, Aharon’s descendants the priests who had pasture land around their cities and who were named, were given a portion for each male, as well as each Levite included on the genealogical records.

20 So King Hizkiyah did that throughout Yehudah, and he continued to faithfully ≈follow the instructions of his god Yahweh. 21 ≈Whatever he did for the ≈temple operation as he followed God’s rules and commands, he ≈tried hard to be diligent and sincere, and he prospered.

32 After all ≈those acts of faithfulness, the Assyrian King Sennacherib (Heb. Sanheriv) ≈invaded Yehudah. He ≈besieged the fortified cities and prepared to capture them for himself. 2 ≈When King Hizkiyah saw the Sennacherib had ≈entered the country and clearly ≈intended to attack Yerushalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and ≈army leaders about blocking up the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4 Many people gathered and blocked the springs from feeding the stream that flowed through the area, saying, “Why should the Assyrian kings come and find ≈plenty of water?” 5 Then he strengthened ≈his fortifications, repairing broken sections of the wall, and built towers and an outer wall. He strengthened the ≈supporting wall on the east side of ‘The City of David’. He also manufactured many weapons and shields, 6 and he ≈appointed army commanders and assembled them at the plaza by the city gate, and ≈encouraged them with these words, 7 “Be strong and be courageous. Don’t be scared or discouraged because of the Assyrian king, or by his massive army, because we have someone on our side who’s ≈more powerful than him. 8 ≈They can only rely on human strength, but we have our god Yahweh to help us and fight our battles for us.” ≈So the people ≈took strength from King Hizkiyah’s ≈encouragement.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

9 ≈Later, when Assyrian King Sennacherib with his army was ≈surrounding Lakish city, he sent some servants to Yerushalem to Yehudah’s King Hizkiyah and ≈all the residents, saying, 10 “≈I Sennacherib, the king of Assyria ≈am asking what you’re all trusting in as you’re remaining there in Yerushalem while it’s besieged? 11 Hizkiyah tells you, ‘Our god Yahweh will rescue us from the Assyrian king,’ but he’s misleading you and you’ll all die of hunger and thirst! 12 Wasn’t it Hizkiyah who removed his hilltop shrines and his altars, and told the people of Yerushalem and all Yehudah, telling you all to only bow down at one altar and offer sacrifices on it. 13 Don’t you people know what my ancestors and I have done to the peoples from other countries? Were any of their gods able to save them from me? 14 Which one out of the gods of those nations which my ancestors destroyed shows a precedent that your god can rescue anyone from me? 15 ≈So don’t let Hizkiyah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don’t believe him because no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from my ancestors or from me. ≈So your god certainly won’t be able to protect you from my army.

16 Then Sennacherib’s servants said even more against the god Yahweh, and against his servant Hizkiyah, 17 plus he wrote letters ≈insulting Yisrael’s god Yahweh and speaking against him, writing, “Just like the gods of the other nations couldn’t save their people from me, so too Hizkiyah’s god won’t be able to ≈protect his people from my ≈strength.” 18 Then @the Assyrians ≈shouted loud threats ≈in Hebrew to the people of Yerushalem who were on the wall to try to frighten and terrify them so they could capture the city—19 ≈telling them Yerushalem’s god was just another god made by people and just as useless as the gods of other countries.

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death

20 Then King Hizkiyah and Yeshayah (son of the prophet Amots) called out to the heavens requesting God’s help, 21 and Yahweh sent a messenger who destroyed the powerful warriors, and the leaders and chiefs in the Assyrian ≈army, and then their king had to ≈return home in shame. When he went into the temple of his god, some of ≈his sons ran him through with a sword.

22 ≈So that’s how Yahweh saved Hizkiyah and Yerushalem’s inhabitants from the Assyrian King Sennacherib, and from ≈the power of other nations, and he gave them peace on all sides. 23 Many >people came to Yerushalem to bring offerings for Yahweh and valuable gifts for Yehudah’s King Hizkiyah, and after all that, he ≈was highly respected by the other nations.

24 ≈Some time afterwards, King Hizkiyah became very sick ≈and was expected to die, but he prayed to Yahweh and @Yahweh ≈answered him with a miracle. 25 ≈However, Hizkiyah was ≈very proud and didn’t ≈thank >Yahweh, ≈so his anger fell on Yerushalem and Yehudah. 26 Then Hezekiah and Yerushalem’s inhabitants humbled themselves, and so Yahweh’s anger didn’t ≈affect them during Hizkiyah’s lifetime.

27 King Hizkiyah ≈had become vert wealthy, and he was highly respected. He established treasuries for gold and silver, for gemstones and spices, and for shields and other valuable things, 28 as well as storehouses for grain, wine, and olive oil, and stalls for ≈all kinds of livestock and &his flocks. 29 He built cities for himself, and acquired large numbers of ≈sheep and goats, and also cattle, because God had ≈made him very prosperous.

30 Hizkiyah ≈blocked off the upper outlet at the Gihon spring and directed @the water down the western side of ‘The City of David’. All his projects were successful, 31 and so when the Babylonian leaders sent messengers to ≈ask about the miracle that had been done in the country, God left him alone to test him and ≈see what he really believed.

32 The record of all the other things done by Hizkiyah ≈while he was king, including his loyal commitment, was written on the scroll ‘The kings of Yehudah and Yisrael’. 33 Then Hizkiyah died and was buried in the ≈upper tombs with David’s other descendants, and everyone in Yerushalem and across Yehudah honoured him. Then his son Menashsheh replaced him as king.

33 Menashsheh (Manasseh) was twelve when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for fifty-five years. 2 He did was what Yahweh ≈had said was evil, like the disgusting things of the ≈people groups that Yahweh had driven out ≈ahead of the Israelis.[ref] 3 The hilltop shrines that his father Hizkiyah had torn down, he turned around and rebuilt them and erected altars to the Baals, and he made Asherot poles, and he bowed down to all the stars in the sky and served them. 4 He built altars in Yahweh’s ≈temple in Yerushalem that Yahweh had previously said that his name would ≈always be associated with.[ref] 5 He built altars for all the stars in the sky in both of the temple courtyards, 6 and he made his sons pass through the fire in the Ben-Hinnom valley, and he practiced fortune-telling and sorcery and magic, and ≈connected with mediums and spirits. He did so much evil in Yahweh’s eyes that it provoked him into getting angry.

7 He made an idolatrous image and put it in the ≈temple, yes, where God had told David and his son Shelomoh, “My name ≈will be associated with that building forever, there in Yerushalem which was chosen from all the tribes of Yisrael.[ref] 8 If Yisrael will be careful to do everything that I’ve instructed them and follow all the regulations and statutes that were given to them through Mosheh, then I won’t force them to leave the land again that I gave to their ancestors.” 9 ≈So Menashsheh led Yehudah’s inhabitants astray, and all Yehudah—doing more evil than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed ahead of the ≈Israelis.

Manasseh Restored after Repentance; Manasseh Repents

10 Then Yahweh spoke to King Menashsheh and his people, ≈but they paid no attention, 11 ≈so Yahweh brought in the army leaders from the Assyrian king and they captured Menashsheh. They put a hook in his nose and put bronze chains around his feet, and took him away to Babylon. 12 When he was there suffering, he humbled himself in the presence of his ancestors’ god Yahweh, and pleaded with him for help. 13 ≈When he prayed, @Yahweh listened to him and answered his request and brought him back to Yerushalem to his kingdom, then Menashsheh ≈realised that Yahweh is really God.

14 After that, he rebuilt the outer wall for ‘The City of David’ on the west of Gihon to the Fish Gate and around the hill—also making it higher. Then he stationed army commanders in all of Yehudah’s fortified cities. 15 He removed the foreign gods and idols from the ≈temple, as well as all the altars that he’d built on the ≈temple mount and throughout Yerushalem, and he ≈dumped them all outside the city. 16 Then he rebuilt Yahweh’s altar and sacrificed peace offering and thank offerings on it, and he told Yehudah to serve Yisrael’s god Yahweh. 17 However, the people continued to offer sacrifices at the hilltop shrines, but now only to their god Yahweh.

The End of Manasseh’s Reign; Death of Manasseh

(2 Kings 21.17-18)

18 The record of all the other things done by Menashsheh ≈while he was king, including his prayer to his god and the messages spoken to him by the prophets, was written on the scroll ‘The kings of Yisrael’. 19 It’s written in ‘The Words of Hozay’ about his disobedience and unfaithful activities, and how he’d built the hilltop shrines and Asherah poles and idols before he’d humbled himself, as well as ≈the response to his pleading in his prayer. 20 Then Menashsheh ≈died and was buried at his ≈palace, and his son Amon ≈replaced him as king.

21 Amon was twenty-two when he became king, and he ruled from Yerushalem for two years. 22 He did what Yahweh ≈had said was evil, just like his father Menashsheh had done, and *he sacrificed to all the idols that his father had made, and served them. 23 He didn’t humble himself ≈and turn to Yahweh like his father had, ≈so Amon’s guilt was even worse.

24 Then @Amon’s servants conspired against him, and assassinated him in his ≈palace, 25 ≈but the local people executed all those who’d conspired against King Amon, and made his son Yoshiyah king in his place.

34 Yoshiyah was eight when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for thirty-one years.[ref] 2 He did what Yahweh ≈had said was right, and ≈made similar decisions to his ancestor David—not deviating to the right or the left.

Josiah Attacks Pagan Worship

3 In the eighth year of his reign while he was still a ≈teenager, he began to ≈learn more about the god of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year, he began to remove the hilltop shrines from Yerushalem and across Yehudah, as well as the Asherah poles, and the idols and metal images. 4 ≈He watched while they tore down the altars for the Baals and cut down the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles and the idols and metal images, then crushed them to powder which he scattered over the graves of those who’d sacrificed to them.[ref] 5 He burnt the bones of those priests on their altars, and so he purified Yerushalem and all Yehudah,[ref] 6 as well as in the cities in the tribes of Menashsheh, Efrayim, Shimeon, and as far north as Naftali, including in the ruins around them. 7 He tore down the altars and the Asherah poles, ground the idols into pieces, and cut down the incense altars in all Yisrael ≈before returning to Yerushalem.

The Book of the Law Is Discovered; Discovery of the Book of the Law

(2 Kings 22.3-20)

8 In his eighteenth year ≈as king, in order to purify the land and the ≈temple, he sent Atsalyah’s son Shafan, Maaseyah the city official, and Yoahaz’s son Yoah the secretary, to repair the residence of his god Yahweh. 9 They went to Hilkiyah the high priest and ≈handed over the funds that had been donated for God’s house, which had been collected by the Levites as doorkeepers—the money was from the tribes of Menashsheh, Efrayim, and other places in the northern kingdom of Yisrael, as well as from Yerushalem’s inhabitants and across all of Yehudah and Benyamin. 10 @The priests then ≈paid the workers who’d been assigned to work in Yahweh’s ≈temple to repair and strengthen it. 11 They also ≈paid the carpenters and builders to buy cut stone and timber for the beams and braces which Yehudah’s kings ≈had allowed to deteriorate, 12 and the ≈workers did their work faithfully. ≈Their supervisors were Yahat and Ovadyah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zekaryah and Meshullam (descendants of Levi’s son Kohat), and all the Levites who ≈were good on their musical instruments. 13 They also supervised the porters and those working on various other tasks. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officials, and guards.

The Book of the Law Found; Hilkiah Discovers God’s Law

14 When they were bringing the money out of the ≈temple, Hilkiyah the high priest found a scroll containing Yahweh’s instructions that had ≈been given via Mosheh (Moses). 15 Hilkiyah ≈informed the scribe Shafan that he had found a Torah scroll in the ≈temple, and *he gave *him the scroll. 16 Shafan took the scroll with him to the king and ≈reported to him, “Your servants are doing everything they were assigned to do. 17 They’ve taken the cash that was in Yahweh’s residence, and ≈passed it on to the supervisors ≈of the workers.” 18 Then Shafan told the king, “I’ve brought a scroll that the priest Hilkiyah gave me,” and then *he started reading it out to the king.

19 ≈When the king heard the words ≈with God’s instructions, he tore his clothes in grief. 20 Then *he commanded Hilkiyah, Shafan’s son Ahikam, Mikah’s son Avdon, Shafan himself, and the king’s special advisor Asayah, 21 “Go and ≈ask Yahweh on my behalf and on behalf of those in Yisrael and Yehudah, ≈what he wants us to do with respect to the instructions on the scroll that has just been found, because it seems that Yahweh ≈will be very angry at us because our ancestors haven’t ≈followed all of Yahweh’s instructions as they’re written on that scroll.”

The Prophet Huldah Consulted

22 ≈So Hilkiyah and ≈the others went to Yerushalem’s Second District to the prophetess Huldah (wife of Shallum, son of Tokahat, son of Hasrah who ≈took care of the temple robes). They ≈passed on the king’s question 23 and she ≈replied, “Yisrael’s god Yahweh says to tell ≈the king: 24 Yahweh says, ‘Listen, I’m going to bring disaster on this place and its inhabitants as per all the curses written on that scroll that was read to Yehudah’s king 25 because they’ve abandoned me and offered incense to other gods. That’s made me angry and so my rage will be poured out on this place, and it ≈can’t be prevented.’ 26 ≈However, Yehudah’s king sent you all to ≈ask for Yahweh’s direction, so tell him, ‘Yisrael’s god Yahweh says that after ≈hearing the words of the scroll, 27 because ≈you were sincere and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words about this place and its inhabitants. Yes, Yahweh declares that you’ve humbled yourself before me and torn your clothes, and wept ≈in front of me, and I’ve ≈personally heard you. 28 ≈So listen, I will ≈allow you to die and be buried in peace and so your eyes won’t see the disaster that I’ll ≈send to this place and its inhabitants.’ ”

≈So they ≈took that response back to the king.

Josiah Makes a Covenant to Obey the Lord; The Covenant Renewed; Josiah’s Religious Reforms

(2 Kings 23.1-20)

29 Then the king summoned all the elders from Yerushalem and ≈from across Yehudah 30 and they all ≈walked up to the ≈temple with the inhabitants of Yerushalem and all Yehudah, and the priests and the Levites, and all the people ≈irrespective of their standing in the community. Then @the king read everything out to them that was on the Torah scroll that had been found in the ≈temple. 31 Then the king stood at his normal place and ≈made an agreement with Yahweh: to obey Yahweh and follow his instructions and his regulations and statutes, ≈sincerely and with all his energy—doing what was in the ≈joint understanding that had been written on the scroll. 32 Then he had everyone from Yerushalem and Benyamin take a stand in agreement to it, and so Yerushalem’s inhabitants ≈renewed their agreement with the god of their ancestors. 33 ≈So King Yoshiyah removed all the disgusting idols from ≈all the Yisraeli regions, and he ≈made everyone in Yisrael serve their god Yahweh—≈during his lifetime they never turned away from Yahweh, the god of their ancestors.

35 Then King Yoshiyah ≈prepared a ‘pass-over’ celebration in Yerushalem, and they slaughtered the ≈lambs at the end of March . 2 *He assigned the priests to ≈the various tasks that needed to be done, and ≈encouraged them to do their work well. 3 He told the Levites (they had been ≈separated from the other tribes in order to serve Yahweh) who were teaching all Yisrael, “Place the sacred box in the house that David’s son, Yisrael’s King Shelomoh (Solomon) had built—it won’t be a burden any more for your shoulders. Now serve your god Yahweh and his ≈Israeli people 4 and prepare yourselves in your clan divisions as per the instructions written by Yisrael’s King David and his son Shelomoh.[ref] 5 Then stand in the ≈temple area, ≈grouped by your clans ≈and ready to help the other tribes. 6 Consecrate yourselves and slaughter the ‘pass-over’ lambs for ≈the people ≈as per the instructions given through Mosheh (Moses) by Yahweh.

7 King Yoshiyah ≈provided thirty thousand lambs and young goats for the ‘pass-over’ sacrifices from his own flocks and three thousand bulls ≈from his own herds. 8 His officials ≈also contributed to the people, priests and Levites. The chief temple officials Hilkiyah, Zekaryah, and Yehiel donated 2,600 lambs and three hundred cattle to the priests. 9 The Levite leaders Konanyah and his younger brothers Shemayah, Netanel, along with Hashavyah, Yeiel, and Yozavad together contributed five thousand lambs and three hundred bulls.

10 ≈So everything was prepared as the king had commanded, and the priests stood at their places, and the Levites were there in their various divisions 11 and they slaughtered the ‘pass-over’ lambs, then the priests sprinkled the blood while the Levites skinned >the animals. 12 They set aside the animals to be burnt on the altar, ≈in order to give them to the various family groups to offer to Yahweh, following the instructions Mosheh had written down. They did the same thing with the cattle. 13 They roasted the ‘pass-over’ meal over the fire as per the instructions, and they boiled the meat of the sacred offerings in pots and kettles and pans, and ≈served the meat immediately to all the people who were there.[ref] 14 Afterwards, @the Levites prepared the meal for themselves and for the priests (Aharon’s descendants), because tge priests had been busy sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions right through to the evening. 15 The singers (Asaf’s descendants) were at their posts as had been commanded by King David, Asaf, Heyman, and the king’s prophet Yedutun. The ≈men guarding the gates didn’t have to leave their posts because their fellow Levites prepared >food for them.[ref]

16 ≈So on that day, everything that needed to done for worshipping Yahweh was done. They celebrated the ‘pass-over’ festival, and they sacrificed burnt offerings as King Yoshiyah had commanded. 17 The ≈Israelis who were there celebrated the ‘pass-over’ that ≈day, then they celebrated the ‘Festival of Flat Bread’ for seven days.[ref] 18 There hadn’t been a ‘pass-over’ celebration done like that is Yisrael since the ≈time of the prophet Shemuel (Samuel), and all of Yisrael’s kings had never done it like Yoshiyah did, along with the priests and Levites and the inhabitants of Yerushalem and across all Yehudah and Yisrael. 19 They celebrated that ≈festival in the eighteenth year of Yoshiyah’s reign.

20 After all of Yoshiyah’s ≈work on temple restoration, Egypt’s King Neko went to attack Karkemish city on the Euphrates river, and Yoshiyah went out to ≈confront him. 21 @Neko sent messengers to tell @Yoshiyah, “What’s ≈this got to do with you, King of Judah? ≈We’re not attacking you at present, ≈because we’re in a different fight, and God told me to hurry. ≈Don’t oppose God who’s with me, and don’t make him destroy you.” 22 ≈However, Yoshiyah ≈wouldn’t listen, but disguised himself ≈before going into battle. He didn’t listen to Neko ≈even though he was speaking for God, so he went to fight on the Megiddon plain.

23 King Yoshiyah was hit by the archers, and he told his servants, “≈Get me away from here because I’m badly wounded.” 24 ≈So his servants ≈lifted him off his chariot, and took him ≈on his reserve chariot back to Yerushalem where he died. He was buried in his ancestors’ tombs, and all Yerushalem and Yehudah mourned over *him.

25 The prophet Yermeyah (Jeremiah) wrote a ≈funeral song for him, which the male and female singers still use ≈at funerals to this day. ≈That became a custom in Yisrael—the words of that song are written in a scroll of funeral songs.

26 The record of all the other things done by Yoshiyah ≈while he was king and his loyal commitment ≈to following Yahweh’s instructions, 27 including his actions from the beginning to the end of his reign, was written on the scroll ‘The kings of Yisrael and Yehudah’.

36 Then the people of ≈Yehudah took Yoshiyah’s son Yehoahaz and made him king in Yerushalem to replace his father.

Jehoahaz King of Judah

2 Yehoahaz was twenty-three when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for only three months 3 before Egypt’s king deposed him and ≈forced the country to pay an annual tribute of ≈thirty kilograms of gold, and ≈three tonnes of silver. 4 Egypt’s King Neko took Yehoahaz to Egypt, and then the king made his younger brother Elyakim king over Yehudah and Yerushalem, ≈although he changed Elyakim’s name to Yehoyakim.[ref]

5 Yehoyakim was twenty-five when he became king and he reigned from Yerushalem for eleven years. ≈He did many things that Yahweh had said were evil.[ref] 6 Babylonia’s King Nebuchadnezzar (Heb. Nevukadnetstsar) attacked and captured Yehoyakim and took him to Babylon in bronze chains,[ref] 7 along with some items from Yahweh’s ≈temple that were taken to Babylon and placed in @the king’s temple *there.

8 The record of all the other things done by Yehoyakim ≈while he was king and the disgusting activities he did was written on the scroll ‘The kings of Yisrael and Yehudah’, and his son Yehoyakin ≈replaced him as king.

9 Yehoyakin was eighteen[fn] when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for just ten days. ≈He did many things that Yahweh had said were evil. 10 ≈At the beginning of the next year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent soldiers to bring him to Babylon, bringing valuable items from the ≈temple, and he made his younger brother Tsidkiyah king over Yehudah and Yerushalem.[ref]

11 Tsidkiyah was twenty-one when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for eleven years.[ref] 12 ≈He did many things that Yahweh had said were evil, in fact, he didn’t even humble himself when the prophet Yermeyah (Jeremiah) ≈brought him a message from Yahweh.

The Fall of Jerusalem

(2 Kings 25.1-21; Jeremiah 52.3b-11)

13 He ≈had become very stubborn and wouldn’t return to Yisrael’s god Yahweh, and he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who’d made him ≈promise in front of God to be loyal.[ref] 14 ≈In addition, all the leaders of the priests and the people of Yehudah ≈became more and more unfaithful and doing disgusting things often done in other nations, then they defiled Yahweh’s residence which he had consecrated in Yerushalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem

15 ≈So Yahweh, the god of their ancestors, ≈sent many messages via his prophets because he felt compassion on his people, and on his residence, 16 ≈but they mocked God’s messengers and ≈rejected the messages—ridiculing his prophets until Yahweh ≈became so angry that he couldn’t be stopped.

The Fall of Jerusalem

17 ≈So Yahweh ≈sent the Chaldean king against them, and #they ≈ran their young men through with the sword, even in the ≈temple, and #they didn’t spare any of the young men or women, or even those who were older or elderly—@God allowed @Nebuchadnezzar to thoroughly ≈defeat them.[ref] 18 Then he took ≈everything valuable, big or small, from God’s temple as well as from the king and his officials. 19 They ≈set God’s temple on fire, and tore down some of the wall surrounding Yerushalem, burnt all its palaces, and destroyed everything valuable.[ref] 20 ≈Anyone else who was still alive was taken to Babylon where they became servants to @the king and his children, until the time when the Persians ≈came to power. 21 That fulfilled God’s message that Yirmeyah had previously proclaimed, that the land would become desolate to make up for the Rest Days that had been ignored—that took seventy years. [ref]

22 During the first year that King Cyrus (Heb. Koresh) reigned over Persia, in order to further fulfil what Yahweh had said via the prophet Yirmeyah, Yahweh ≈worked on the spirit of King Cyrus who then wrote this ruling and sent messengers to announce it throughout his kingdom: 23 “I, Persia’s King Cyrus, declare that Yahweh, the god of the heavens, has given me all these earthly kingdoms, and he’s given me the job of building a house for him in Yerushalem which is in Yehudah. To help with that, ≈anyone who’s from there is allowed to return, and may their god Yahweh be with them and help them.[ref]