\NormalFont\ShortTitle{2 KINGS}
{\MTB This book contains the account of the prophet Elijah and of many kings who ruled Israel and Judah until other nations conquered Israel and Judah. We call this book
\par }{\MT 2 Kings

\par }\ChapOne{1}{\SH Elijah condemned King Ahaziah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
King
Ahab
died,
{\ADD{
the
country
of}}
Moab
rebelled
against
Israel.
\VS{2}One
day,
Ahaziah,
{\ADD{
the
new
king
of
Israel,}}
fell
through
the
wooden slats/boards
around
the
edge
of
the
flat
roof
{\ADD{
of
his
palace}}
in
Samaria.
He
was
badly
injured,
so
he
summoned
some
messengers
and
told
them, “Go
to
Ekron
{\ADD{
city
in
Philistia}},
and
ask
their
god Baalzebub
whether
I
will ◄recover/become
well►.”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}But
an
angel
from
Yahweh
said
to
Elijah,
the
prophet
from Tishbe
{\ADD{
town}}, “The
king
of
Samaria
{\ADD{
is
sending}}
some
messengers
{\ADD{
to
Ekron}}.
Go
and
meet
them
and
say
to
them, ‘Is
it
because
there
is
no
God
in
Israel
that
you
are
going
to
Ekron
to
ask Baalzebub,
the
god
of
those
people,
{\ADD{
whether
you
will
recover}}?
\VS{4}Yahweh
says
{\ADD{
that
you
should
tell
King
Ahaziah}}
that
he
will
not
recover
from
his
being
injured;
he
will
surely
die.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}{\ADD{
So
Elijah
went
to
meet}}
the
messengers
{\ADD{
and
told
that
to
them,
and
they}}
returned
to
the
king
{\ADD{
instead
of
going
to
Ekron}}.
The
king
asked
them, “Why
did
you
return
{\ADD{
so
soon}}?”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}They
replied, “A
man
came
to
meet
us,
and
said
to
us, ‘Return
to
the
king
who
sent
you
and
tell
him
that
Yahweh
says, “◄Is
it
because
there
no
God
in
Israel
that
you
are
sending
{\ADD{
messengers}}
to
Ekron
to
consult Baalzebub,
their
god?/You
seem
to
think
there
is
no
God
in
Israel,
with
the
result
that
you
are
sending
{\ADD{
messengers}}
to
Ekron
to
ask Baazebub,
their
god,
{\ADD{
whether
you
will
recover}}.► [RHQ]
{\ADD{
Go
tell
the
king
that}}
he
will
not
recover
from
being
injured;
instead,
he
will
surely
die.” ’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{7}The
king
said
to
them, “The
man
who
came
to
meet
you
and
told
that
to
you,
what
did
he
look
like?”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}They
replied, “He
was
a
hairy
man
and
he
had
a
{\ADD{
wide}}
leather
belt
around
his
waist.”
The
king
exclaimed, “That
was
Elijah!”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Then
the
king
sent
an
officer
with 50
soldiers
to
seize
Elijah.
They
found
Elijah
sitting
on
the
top
of
a
hill.
The
officer
called
out
to
him, “Prophet,
the
king
commands
that
you
come
down
here!”
\par }{\PP \VS{10}But
Elijah
replied, “I
am
a
prophet;
so,
I
command
that
fire
come
down
from
the
sky
and
burn
up
you
and
your 50
soldiers!”
Immediately,
fire
came
down
from
the
sky
and
completely
burned
up
the
officer
and
his 50
{\ADD{
soldiers}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{11}{\ADD{
When
the
king
found
out
about
that,}}
he
sent
another
officer
with 50
more
soldiers.
They
went
{\ADD{
to
where
Elijah
was}},
and
the
officer
called
out
to
him, “Prophet,
the
king
commands
that
you
come
down
immediately!”
\par }{\PP \VS{12}But
Elijah
replied, “I
am
a
prophet;
{\ADD{
to
prove
that,}}
I
command
that
fire
come
down
from
the
sky
and
kill
you
and
your
soldiers!”
Then
a
fire
from
God
came
down
from
the
sky
and
killed
the
officer
and
his
soldiers.
\par }{\PP \VS{13}{\ADD{
When
the
king
heard
about
that}}
he
sent
another
officer
with 50
more
soldiers.
{\ADD{
They
went
to
where
Elijah
was}},
and
the
officer
prostrated
himself
in
front
of
Elijah,
and
said
to
him, “Prophet,
I
plead
with
you,
be
kind
to
me
and
my 50
soldiers,
and ◄do
not
kill
us/allow
us
to
remain
alive►!
\VS{14}{\ADD{
We
know
that}}
two
times
fire
came
down
from
the
sky
and
killed
officers
and
the 50
soldiers
who
were
with
them.
So
now,
please
be
kind
to
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Then
the
angel
from
Yahweh
said
to
Elijah, “Go
down
{\ADD{
and
go
}}
with
him.
Do
not
be
afraid
of
him.”
So
Elijah
went
with
them
to
the
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{16}{\ADD{
When
Elijah
arrived,}}
he
said
to
the
king, “This
is
what
Yahweh
says: ‘You
sent
messengers
to
go
to
Ekron
to
ask Baalzebub,
their
god,
{\ADD{
whether
you
would
recover}}.
You
acted
as
though [RHQ]
there
is
no
God
in
Israel
to
consult.
So
you
will
not
recover
from
being
injured;
instead,
you
are
going
to
die!’ ”
\VS{17}So
Ahaziah
died,
which
is
what
Yahweh
told
Elijah
would
happen.
Ahaziah’s
{\ADD{
younger}}
brother
Joram
became
the
new
king,
when
Jehoram,
the
son
of
Jehoshaphat,
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost
two
years.
Ahaziah’s
brother
became
the
king
because
Ahaziah
had
no
son
{\ADD{
to
become
the
king}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{18}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
about}}
all
the
other
things
that
Ahaziah
did,
they
are [RHQ]
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.

\par }\Chap{2}{\SH Elijah is taken up to heaven
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}When
Yahweh
was
about
to
take
{\ADD{
the
prophet}}
Elijah
up
to
heaven
in
a ◄whirlwind/twisting
wind►,
Elijah
and
{\ADD{
his
fellow
prophet}}
Elisha
were
traveling
{\ADD{
south}}
from
Gilgal
{\ADD{
town}}.
\VS{2}Elijah
said
to
Elisha, “Stay
here,
because
Yahweh
has
told
{\ADD{
only}}
me
to
go
to
Bethel
{\ADD{
town}}.”
\par }{\PP But
Elisha
replied, “Just
as
certainly
as
Yahweh
lives
and
you
live,
I
will
not
leave
you!”
\par }{\PP So
they
went
down
{\ADD{
together}}
to
Bethel.
\VS{3}A
group
of
prophets
came
to
Elisha
{\ADD{
and
Elijah
before
they
entered
the
town}},
and
they
asked
Elisha, “Do
you
know
that
Yahweh
is
going
to
take
your
master/boss
{\ADD{
Elijah}}
away
from
you
today?”
\par }{\PP Elisha
answered, “Certainly
I
know
that,
but
don’t
talk
about
it!” [IDM]
\VS{4}Then
Elijah
said
to
Elisha, “Stay
here,
because
Yahweh
has
told
{\ADD{
only}}
me
to
go
to
Jericho.”
\par }{\PP But
Elisha
replied
{\ADD{
again}}, “Just
as
certainly
as
Yahweh
lives
and
you
live,
I
will
not
leave
you!”
\par }{\PP So
they
went
{\ADD{
together}}
to
Jericho
{\ADD{
city}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}{\ADD{
As
they neared}}
Jericho,
a
group
of
prophets
who
were
from
there
came
to
Elisha
and
said
to
him, “Do
you
know
that
Yahweh
is
going
to
take
your
master/boss
{\ADD{
Elijah}}
away
from
you
today?”
\par }{\PP He
answered
again, “Certainly
I
know
that,
but
don’t
talk
about
it!” [IDM]
\par }{\PP \VS{6}Then
Elijah
said
to
Elisha, “Stay
here,
because
Yahweh
has
told
{\ADD{
only}}
me
to
go
to
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}.”
\par }{\PP But
{\ADD{
again}}
Elisha
replied, “As
certainly
as
Yahweh
lives
and
you
live,
I
will
not
leave
you!”
\par }{\PP So
they
continued
walking
together.
\VS{7}Fifty
men
from
a
group
of
prophets
{\ADD{
who
were
from
Jericho}}
also
went,
but
they
watched
from
a
distance
as
Elijah
and
Elisha
stopped
at
the
edge
of
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}.
\VS{8}Then
Elijah
rolled
up
his
cloak
and
struck
the
water
with
it.
A
path
opened
up
for
them
through
the
river,
and
they
walked
across
{\ADD{
as
though
they
were}}
on
dry
ground.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}When
they
came
to
the
other
side,
Elijah
said
to
Elisha, “What
do
you
want
me
to
do
for
you
before ◄I
am
taken
away/Yahweh
takes
me
away►?”
\par }{\PP Elisha
replied, “I
want
to
receive
twice
as
much
of
your
power
{\ADD{
as
you
have
had,}} (OR
enable
me
to
very powerfully
continue
your
ministry).”
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Elijah
replied, “You
have
asked
for
something
which
is
difficult
{\ADD{
for
me
to
cause
to
happen}}.
But,
if
you
see
me
when ◄I
am
taken
from
you/Yahweh
takes
me
from
you►,
you
will
get
what
you
are requesting.
But
if
you
do
not
see
me,
then
you
will
not
get
it.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}As
they
were
walking
and
talking,
suddenly
a
chariot
that
had
fire
{\ADD{
surrounding
it}},
pulled
by
horses
which
also
had
fire
{\ADD{
surrounding
them}},
appeared.
{\ADD{
The
chariot
driver}}
drove
the
chariot
between
Elijah
and
Elisha
and
separated
them.
Then
Elijah
was
taken
up
to
heaven
in
a ◄whirlwind/twisting
wind►.
\VS{12}Elisha
saw
it.
He
cried
out, “My
father/master!
My
father/master!
The
chariots
of
us Israeli
people
and
their drivers
{\ADD{
have
taken
my
master
away}}!”
{\ADD{
They
disappeared
into
the
sky,}}
and
Elisha
never
saw
Elijah
again.
Then
Elisha
tore
his
own
robe
into
two
pieces
{\ADD{
to
show
that
he
was
sad}}.
\VS{13}Elijah’s
cloak
{\ADD{
had
fallen
off
when
he
was
taken
away,
so}}
Elisha
picked
it
up
and
returned
to
the
bank
of
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}.
\VS{14}He
{\ADD{
rolled
up
the
cloak
and}}
struck
the
water
with
it,
and
cried
out, “Will
Yahweh,
the
God
who
{\ADD{
enabled}}
Elijah
{\ADD{
to
perform
miracles,
enable
me
to
do
similar
things}}?”
Then
the
water
separated,
and
a
path
opened
up
for
him,
and
Elisha
went
across.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}When
the
group
of
prophets
from
Jericho
saw
what
happened,
they
exclaimed, “Elisha
now
has
the
power
that
Elijah
had!” [MTY]
They
walked
over
to
him
and
bowed
down
in
front
of
him.
\VS{16}{\ADD{
One
of}}
them
said, “Sir,
if
you
permit
us, 50
of
our
strongest
men
will
go
and
search
for
your
master
{\ADD{
on
the
other
side
of
the
river}}.
Perhaps
the
Spirit
of
Yahweh
has
left
him
on
some
mountain
or
in
some
valley.”
\par }{\PP Elisha
replied, “No,
do
not
send
them.”
\par }{\PP \VS{17}But
they
kept insisting.
Finally
he
was
tired
of
saying “No,”
and
he
said, “Okay,
send
them.”
So 50
men
searched
for
three
days,
but
they
did
not
find
Elijah.
\VS{18}They
returned
to
Jericho,
and
Elisha
was
still
there.
He
said
to
them, “I
told
you
that
you
should
not
go,
{\ADD{
because
you
would
not
find
him}}!” [RHQ]
\par }{\SH Elisha
made
the
water
pure
\par }{\PP \VS{19}Then
the
leaders
of
{\ADD{
Jericho}}
city
came
to
talk
with
Elisha.
One
of
them
said, “Our
master,
we
have
a
problem.
You
can
see
that
this
is
a
very
nice
place
{\ADD{
to
live
in}}.
But
the
water
is
bad,
and
as
a
result,
crops
will
not
grow
on
the
land.”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Elisha
said
to
them, “Put
some
salt
in
a
new
bowl
and
bring
the
bowl
to
me.”
So
they
brought
it
to
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Then
he
went
out
to
the
spring
{\ADD{
from
which
the
people
in
the
town
got
water}}.
He
threw
the
salt
into
the
spring.
Then
he
said, “This
is
what
Yahweh
says: ‘I
have
made
this
water
good/pure.
No
longer
will
anyone
die,
from
having
drunk
this
water,
and
now
crops
will
be
able
to
grow.’ ” [LIT]
\VS{22}And
the
water
became
pure,
just
as
Elisha
said
it
would
be.
Since
that
time
it
has
always
remained
pure.
\par }{\SH Elisha
cursed
boys
who
made fun
of
him
\par }{\PP \VS{23}Elisha
left
Jericho
and
went
up
to
Bethel.
As
he
was
walking
along
the
road,
a
group
of
young
boys
from
Bethel
{\ADD{
saw
him
and}}
started
to
make fun
of
him.
They
continued
shouting, “Go
away,
you bald-headed
man!”
\VS{24}Elisha
turned
around
and
looked/glared
at
them.
He
asked
Yahweh
to ◄curse
them/do
something
bad
to
them►.
Immediately
two
bears
came
out
of
the
woods
and mauled
forty-two
of
them.
\VS{25}Elisha
left
Bethel
and
went
to
Carmel
Mountain,
and
after
that
he
returned
to
Samaria
{\ADD{
city}}.

\par }\Chap{3}{\SH The war between Israel and Moab
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
Jehoshaphat
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost 18
years,
Ahab’s
son
Joram
became
the
king
of
Israel.
He
ruled
in
Samaria
{\ADD{
city}}
for
twelve
years.
\VS{2}He
did
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil,
but
he
did
not
do
as
much
evil
as
his
father
and
mother
had
done,
and
he
got
rid
of
the
pillar
{\ADD{
for
worshiping}}
Baal
which
his
father
had
made.
\VS{3}But
he
committed
the
sins
that
{\ADD{
King}}
Jeroboam
had
committed
and
which
led
the Israeli
people
to
sin,
and
he
did
not
stop
committing
those
sins.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}Mesha,
the
king
of
Moab,
raised
sheep.
{\ADD{
Every
year}}
he
was
forced
to
give 100,000
lambs
and
the
wool
from 100,000
rams
to
the
king
of
Israel,
{\ADD{
because
his
kingdom
was
controlled
by
the
king
of
Israel}}.
\VS{5}But
after
King
Ahab
died,
Mesha
rebelled
against
the
king
of
Israel.
\VS{6}So
King
Joram
left
Samaria
and
gathered
together
all
his
soldiers.
\VS{7}Then
he
sent
this
message
to
Jehoshaphat,
the
king
of
Judah: “The
king
of
Moab
has
rebelled
against
me.
So
will
your
army
join
my
army
and
fight
against
the
army
of
Moab?”
\par }{\PP Jehoshaphat
replied, “Yes,
we
will
help
you.
We
are
ready
to
do
whatever
you
want
us
to.
My
soldiers
and
my
horses
are
ready
to
help
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}He
asked, “On
which
road
shall
we
march
to
attack
them?”
\par }{\PP Joram
replied, “We
will
go
{\ADD{
south
to
Jerusalem,
where
your
army
will
join
us.
Then
we
will
all
go
south
of
the
Dead
Sea,
and
then
turn
north}}
through
the
Edom
Desert.”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}So
the
king
of
Israel
{\ADD{
and
his
army}}
went
with
the
kings
of
Judah
and
Edom
{\ADD{
and
their
armies}}.
They
marched
for
seven
days.
Then
there
was
no
water
left
for
their
soldiers
or
for
their
animals
that
carried
supplies.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}The
king
of
Israel
exclaimed, “This
is
a
terrible
situation!
{\ADD{
It
seems
that}}
Yahweh
will
allow
the
three
of
us
to
be
captured
by
{\ADD{
the
army
of}} [MTY]
Moab!”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}Jehoshaphat
said, “Is
there
a
prophet
here
who
can
ask
Yahweh
for
us
{\ADD{
what
we
should
do}}?”
\par }{\PP One
of Joram’s
army
officers
said, “Elisha,
the
son
of
Shaphat,
is
here.
He
was
Elijah’s
assistant.” [IDM]
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Jehoshaphat
said, “{\ADD{
It
will
be
good
to
ask
him,
because}}
he
speaks
what
Yahweh
tells
him
to
say.”
\par }{\PP So
those
three
kings
went
to
Elisha.
\VS{13}Elisha
said
to
the
king
of
Israel, “Why
do
you
come
to
me [RHQ]?
Go
and
ask
those
prophets
that
your
father
and
mother
consulted!”
\par }{\PP But
Joram
replied, “No,
{\ADD{
we
want
you
to
ask
Yahweh,
because
it
seems
that}}
Yahweh
is
going
to
allow
us
three
kings
to
be
captured
by
the
army
of
Moab.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Elisha
replied, “I
serve
Yahweh,
the
commander
of
the
armies
of
angels
in
heaven.
As
surely
as
he
lives,
if
I
did
not
respect
Jehoshaphat
the
king
of
Judah,
I
would
not
even
think
about
doing
anything
to
help
you.
\VS{15}But,
bring
a
musician
to
me.”
\par }{\PP {\ADD{
So
they
did
that}}.
And
when
the
musician
played
{\ADD{
on
his
harp}},
the
power
of
Yahweh
came
on
Elisha.
\VS{16}He
said, “Yahweh
says
that
he
will
cause
this
dry stream-bed
to
be
full
of
water.
\VS{17}The
result
will
be
that
your
soldiers
and
your
animals
that
carry
supplies
and
your
livestock
will
have
plenty
of
water
to
drink.
\VS{18}That
is
not
difficult
for
Yahweh
to
do.
{\ADD{
But
he
will
do
more
than
that}}.
He
will
also
enable
you
to
defeat
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
Moab.
\VS{19}You
will
conquer
all
their
beautiful
cities,
cities
that
have
high
walls
around
them.
You
must
cut
down
all
their
fruit
trees,
stop
water
from
flowing
from
their
springs,
and
ruin
their
fertile
fields
by
covering
them
with
rocks.”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}The
next
morning,
at
the
time
when
they
offered
the
sacrifices
{\ADD{
of
grain}},
they
were
surprised
to
see
water
flowing
from
Edom
and
covering
the
ground.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}When
the
people
of
Moab
heard
that
the
three
kings
had
come
{\ADD{
with
their
armies}}
to
fight
against
them,
all
the
men
who
were
able
to
fight
in
battles,
from
the
youngest
men
to
the
oldest
ones,
were
summoned,
and
they ◄took
their
positions/prepared
to
fight►
at
the
{\ADD{
southern}}
border
of
their
land.
\VS{22}But
when
they
rose
early
the
next
morning,
they
saw
that
the
water
across
from
them
appeared
to
be
as
red
as
blood.
\VS{23}They
exclaimed, “It
is
blood!
The
three
enemy
armies
must
have
fought
and
killed
each
other!
So
let’s
go
and
take
everything
that
they
have
left!”
\par }{\PP \VS{24}But
when
they
reached
the
area
where
the Israeli
soldiers
had
set
up
their
tents,
the Israelis
attacked
the
soldiers
from
Moab
and
forced
them
to
retreat.
The Israeli
soldiers
pursued
the
soldiers
from
Moab
and
killed
many
of
them.
\VS{25}The Israelis
also
destroyed
their
cities.
And
whenever
they
passed
fertile
fields,
they
threw
rocks
on
those
fields,
until
the
fields
were
covered
with
rocks.
They
stopped
water
from
flowing
from
the
springs
and
cut
down
the
fruit
trees.
Finally,
only
{\ADD{
the
capital
city,}}
Kir-Hareseth,
remained.
The Israeli
soldiers
who
threw
stones
with
slings
surrounded
the
city
and
attacked
it.
\VS{26}When
the
king
of
Moab
realized
that
his
army
was
being
defeated,
he
took
with
him 700
men
who
fought
with
swords,
and
they
tried
to
force
a
way
through
the Israeli
lines
of
soldiers
to
escape
to
{\ADD{
get
help
from}}
the
king
of
Syria,
but
they
were
unable
to
escape.
\VS{27}Then
the
king
of
Moab
took
his
oldest
son,
who
would
have
become
the
next
king,
and
killed
him
and
offered
him
for
a
sacrifice
{\ADD{
to
their
god
Chemosh}},
burning
him
on
top
of
the
city
wall.
The Israeli
soldiers
were
horrified,
with
the
result
that
they
left
that
city
and
returned
to
their
own
country.

\par }\Chap{4}{\SH Elisha helped a poor widow
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}One
day
the
widow
of
one
of
{\ADD{
Yahweh’s}}
prophets
came
to
Elisha
and
cried
out
to
him, “My
husband,
who
worked
with
you,
is
dead.
You
know
that
he
revered
Yahweh
{\ADD{
very
much}}.
But
now
a
man
to
whom
he owed
a
lot
of
money
has
come
to
me.
{\ADD{
And
because
I
cannot
pay
back
the
money,
he
is threatening}}
to
take
away
my
two
sons
to
be
his
slaves
{\ADD{
as
payment
for
what
I owe
him}}!”
\par }{\PP \VS{2}Elisha
replied, “What
can
I
do
to
help
you?
Tell
me,
what
do
you
have
in
your
house?”
\par }{\PP She
replied, “We
have
only
a
container
of
{\ADD{
olive}}
oil;
we
have
nothing
else.”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}Elisha
said, “Go
to
your
neighbors
and
borrow
from
them
as
many
empty
jars
as
you
can.
\VS{4}Then
take
the
jars
into
your
house
with
your
sons.
Shut
the
door.
Then
pour
olive
oil
from
your
container
into
the
other
jars.
When
each
jar
is
full,
set
it
aside
{\ADD{
and
fill
another
jar.
Keep
doing
that
until
all
the
jars
are
full}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}{\ADD{
So
she
did
what
Elisha
told
her
to
do}}.
Her
sons
kept
bringing
jars
to
her,
and
she
kept
filling
them.
\VS{6}Soon
all
the
jars
were
full.
So
she
said
to
one
of
her
sons, “Bring
me
another
jar!”
But
he
replied, “There
are
no
more
jars!”
And
then
the
olive
oil
stopped
flowing.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}When
she
told
Elijah
{\ADD{
what
had
happened}},
he
said
to
her, “Now
sell
the
jars
of
oil.
And
{\ADD{
with
the
money
you
get,}}
pay
what
you owe,
and
there
will
be
enough extra
money
to
keep
buying
food
for
yourself
and
your
sons.”
{\ADD{
So
she
did
that}}.
\par }{\SH Elisha
caused
the
son
of
the
woman
from
Shunem
to
become
alive
again
\par }{\PP \VS{8}One
day
Elisha
went
to
Shunem
{\ADD{
town}}.
There
was
a
wealthy
woman
who
lived
there
{\ADD{
with
her
husband}}.
One
day
she
invited
Elisha
to
her
house
for
a
meal.
{\ADD{
Elisha
went
there
and}}
from
then
on,
every
time
Elisha
was
in
Shunem,
he
went
to
their
house
to
eat
a
meal.
\VS{9}One
day
the
woman
said
to
her
husband, “I
am
sure
that
this
man
who
often
comes
here
is
a
prophet
{\ADD{
who
brings
messages
}}
from
God.
\VS{10}I
think
we
should
make
a
small
room
for
him
on
our
{\ADD{
flat}}
roof,
and
put
a
bed,
a
table,
a
chair,
and
a
lamp
in
it.
If
we
do
that,
whenever
he
comes
here,
he
will
have
a
place
to
stay.”
{\ADD{
So
they
did
that}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{11}One
day
Elisha
returned
to
Shunem,
and
he
went
up
to
that
room
to
rest.
\VS{12}He
said
to
his
servant
Gehazi, “Tell
the
woman
that
I
want
to
speak
to
her.”
{\ADD{
So
the
servant
went
and
told
her}}.
When
she
came
{\ADD{
to
the
doorway
of
Elisha’s
room}},
\VS{13}Elisha
said
to
Gehazi, “Tell
her
that
we
both appreciate
all
the
kind
things
that
she
has
done
for
us.
Then
ask
her
what
we
can
do
for
her.
Ask, ‘Do
you
want
{\ADD{
me
to
go
to}}
the
king
or
the
army
commander,
to
request
something
for
you?’ ”
\par }{\PP {\ADD{
Gehazi
told
her,}}
and
she
replied, “No,
{\ADD{
he
does
not
need
to
do
that,
because}}
my
family/relatives
are
able
to
give
me
what
I
need.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}{\ADD{
Later,}}
Elisha
asked
Gehazi, “What
do
you
think
that
we
can
do
for
that
woman?”
\par }{\PP He
replied, “She
does
not
have
a
son,
and
her
husband
is
an
old
man.
{\ADD{
So
maybe
we
should
ask
Yahweh
to
enable
her
to
have
a
son}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Elisha
told
Gehazi, “Call
her
back
again.”
{\ADD{
So
Gehazi
went
and
called
her}}.
And
when
the
woman
returned,
as
she
stood
in
the
doorway,
\VS{16}Elisha
said
to
her, “About
this
time
next
year
you
will
be
holding
your
{\ADD{
infant}}
son
in
your
arms.”
But
she
protested, “O,
sir,
you
are
a
prophet
{\ADD{
who
brings
messages
}}
from
God,
so
please
do
not
deceive/lie
to
me
by
saying
things
like
that!”
\par }{\PP \VS{17}But
a
few
months
later,
the
woman
became
pregnant,
and
she
gave
birth
to
a
son
at
that
time
the
following
year,
just
like
Elisha
had
predicted.
\par }{\PP \VS{18}When
the
child
was
older,
one
day
he
went
out
to
the
fields
to
see
his
father,
who
was
{\ADD{
working}}
with
the
men
who
were
harvesting
{\ADD{
grain}}.
\VS{19}{\ADD{
Suddenly}}
the
boy
exclaimed, “My
head
{\ADD{
hurts}}!
My
head
{\ADD{
hurts
a
lot}}!”
\par }{\PP His
father
said
to
one
of
the
servants, “Carry
him
home
to
his
mother!”
\VS{20}So
the
servant
carried
him
home,
and
his
mother
held
him
on
her
lap.
But
at noontime
the
boy
died.
\VS{21}She
carried
him
up
{\ADD{
the
steps}}
to
the
prophet’s
room
and
laid
him
on
the
bed.
She
left
him
there
and
went
out
and
shut
the
door.
\par }{\PP \VS{22}She
then
called
out
to
her
husband,
saying, “Send
to
me
one
of
the
servants
and
a
donkey,
so
that
I
can
ride
{\ADD{
on
it}}
quickly
to
the
prophet,
and
then
come
back!”
{\ADD{
But
she
did
not
tell
her
husband
that
their
son
had
died}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{23}Her
husband
{\ADD{
called
out
to
her
and}}
said, “Why
{\ADD{
do
you
want
to
go}}
today?
This
is
not
the
day
when
we
celebrate
the
Festival
of
the
New
Moon,
and
it
is
not
a
Sabbath
day!”
\par }{\PP But
she
only
replied, “{\ADD{
Just
do
what
I
requested
and}}
everything
will
be
all
right.”
\par }{\PP \VS{24}So
she
{\ADD{
told
the
servant
to}}
put saddles
on
{\ADD{
two}}
donkeys,
and
as
they
left,
she
said, “Hurry!
Do
not
slow
down
unless t
tell
you
to
do
that!”
\VS{25}As
they
approached
Carmel
Mountain,
where
Elisha
was,
Elisha
saw
her
in
the
distance.
He
said
to
Gehazi, “Look,
the
woman
from
Shunem
is
coming!
\VS{26}Run
to
her,
and
ask
her
if
everything
is
all
right
with
her
and
her
husband
and
with
her
child!”
\par }{\PP {\ADD{
So
Gehazi
ran
to
her
and
asked
her,
but
she
did
not
tell
Gehazi
anything.}}
She
only
said, “Yes,
everything
is
fine.”
\par }{\PP \VS{27}But
when
she
came
to
where
Elisha
was,
she
{\ADD{
prostrated
herself
on
the
ground
in
front
of
Elisha
and}}
took
hold
of
his
feet.
Gehazi
started
to
push
her
away,
but
Elisha
said, “◄Do
not
push
her
away/Leave
her
alone►!
Something
is
troubling
her
very
much,
but
Yahweh
has
not
told
me
what
it
is.”
\par }{\PP \VS{28}Then
she
said
to
Elisha, “O,
sir,
I
did
not
ask
you
to
enable
me
to
give
birth
to
a
son [RHQ].
And
I
told
you
not
to
lie
to
me
about
that!” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{29}Then
Elisha
{\ADD{
realized
that
something
must
have
happened
to
her
son.
So
he}}
said
to
Gehazi, “Get
ready
{\ADD{
to
leave
immediately}}.
Take
my
staff/walking
stick
and
go
{\ADD{
to
her
home}}.
Do
not
{\ADD{
stop
to}}
talk
to
anyone
on
the
way.
Go
quickly
{\ADD{
to
where
her
son
is}}
and
lay
the
staff
on
the
child’s
face.
{\ADD{
If
you
do
that,
perhaps
Yahweh
will
enable
him
to
be
well}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{30}But
the
boy’s
mother
said, “Just
{\ADD{
as
certain}}
as
Yahweh
lives
and
you
live,
I
will
not
go
home
if
you
do
not
go
with
me.”
So
Elisha
returned
with
her
{\ADD{
to
her
home}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{31}Gehazi
hurried
quickly,
and
{\ADD{
when
he
got
to
the
woman’s
home,}}
he
laid
the
staff/walking
stick
on
the
child’s
face,
but
the
child
did
not
move
or
say
anything.
\par }{\PP So
Gehazi
returned
to
meet
Elisha
{\ADD{
along
the
road}},
and
told
him, “The
child
is
still
dead.”
\VS{32}When
Elisha
reached
the
house,
he
saw
that
the
boy
was
lying
dead
on
his
bed.
\VS{33}Elisha
went
into
the
room
by
himself
and
shut
the
door
and
prayed
to
Yahweh.
\VS{34}Then
he
lay
down
on
the
boy’s
body,
and
put
his
mouth
on
the
boy’s
mouth,
and
put
his
eyes
on
the
boy’s
eyes,
and
put
his
hands
on
the
boy’s
hands.
Then
the
boy’s
body
started
to
become
warm!
\VS{35}Elisha
got
up
and
walked
back
and
forth
in
the
room
{\ADD{
several
times}}.
Then
he
stretched
his
body
on
the
boy’s
body
again.
The
boy
sneezed
seven
times
and
opened
his
eyes!
\par }{\PP \VS{36}Then
Elisha
summoned
Gehazi.
He
said, “Call
the
boy’s
mother!”
{\ADD{
So
Gehazi
went
and
called
her,}}
and
when
she
came
in,
Elisha
said, “Here,
take
your
son!”
\VS{37}She
{\ADD{gratefully}}
prostrated
herself
at
Elisha’s
feet.
Then
she
picked
up
her
son
and
carried
him downstairs.
\par }{\SH Elisha
made
some
stew
edible
\par }{\PP \VS{38}Then
Elisha
returned
to
Gilgal.
But
at
that
time
there
was ◄a
famine/very
little
food►
in
that
area.
One
day
as
the
group
of
prophets
was
sitting
in
front
of
Elisha
{\ADD{
listening
to
what
he
was
teaching}},
he
said
to
his
servant, “Put
a
large
pot
on
{\ADD{
the
stove}}
and
make
some
stew
for
these
men.”
\par }{\PP \VS{39}One
of
the
prophets
went
out
to
the
fields
to
gather
some
vegetables.
But
he
gathered
{\ADD{
only}}
some
wild
gourds
and
put
them
in
his
cloak
and
brought
them
back.
He shredded
them
and
put
them
in
the
pot,
but
he
did
not
know
that
the
gourds
were
poisonous.
\VS{40}He
served
the
stew
to
the
prophets,
but
after
the
men
had
eaten
only
a
couple
bites,
they
cried
out, “Elisha,
there
is
something
in
the
pot
that
will
kill
us!”
\par }{\PP So
they
would
not
eat
it.
\VS{41}Elisha
said, “Bring
me
some
flour.”
{\ADD{
They
brought
him
some,
and}}
he
threw
it
in
the
pot
and
he
said, “It
is
all
right
now.
You
can
eat
it.”
And
they
ate
it,
and
it
did
not
harm
them.
\par }{\SH Elisha
multiplied
food
for
the
prophets
\par }{\PP \VS{42}One
day
a
man
from
Baal-Shalishah
{\ADD{
town}}
brought
to
Elisha
a
sack
of
freshly
cut
grain
and 20
loaves
of
barley
bread,
made
from
the
first
grain
that
they
harvested
{\ADD{
that
year}}.
\par }{\PP Elisha
said
{\ADD{
to
his
servant}}, “Give
it
to
the
group
of
prophets,
so
that
they
can
eat
it.”
\VS{43}But
his
servant
exclaimed, “Do
you
think
that
we
can
feed 100
of
us
prophets
with
only
that
much?” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP But
Elisha
replied, “Give
it
to
the
prophets
so
that
they
can
eat
it,
because
Yahweh
says
that
there
will
be
plenty
for
all
of
them,
and
there
will
be
some
left
over!”
\VS{44}After
his
servant
gave
it
to
the
prophets,
they
ate
{\ADD{
all
that
they
wanted}},
and
there
was
food
left
over,
just
as
Yahweh
had
promised.

\par }\Chap{5}{\SH Naaman was healed of leprosy
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}{\ADD{
A
man
named}}
Naaman
was
the
commander
of
the
army
of
Syria.
Yahweh
had
enabled
him
to
win
many
victories/battles.
He
was
a
great
warrior,
and
as
a
result
the
king
of
Syria
greatly
respected
him.
But
he
had ◄leprosy/a
dreaded
skin
disease►.
\par }{\PP \VS{2}{\ADD{
Some
time
previously,}}
groups
of
soldiers/marauders
from
Syria
had
raided/attacked
the
land
of
Israel,
and
they
had
captured
a
young
girl
{\ADD{
and
taken
her
to
Syria}}.
She
became
a
servant
for
Naaman’s
wife.
\VS{3}One
day,
that
girl
said
to
her, “I
wish
that ◄my
master/your
husband►
would
go
to
see
the
prophet
in
Samaria.
That
prophet
would
heal
your
husband
from
his
leprosy.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}{\ADD{
Naaman’s
wife
told
her
husband}}
what
the
girl
from
Israel
had
said,
{\ADD{
and}}
Naaman
told
{\ADD{
that}}
to
the
king.
\VS{5-6}The
king
said
to
him, “Okay,
go
{\ADD{
and
see
the
prophet}}.
I
will
{\ADD{
write}}
a
letter
for
you
to
take
to
the
king
of
Israel,
{\ADD{
saying
that
I
sent
you}}.”
The
king
wrote
in
the
letter, “I
am
sending
this
letter
with
{\ADD{
my
army
commander}}
Naaman,
who
serves
me
{\ADD{
faithfully}}.
I
want
you
to
heal
him
of
his
disease.”
So
Naaman,
{\ADD{assuming/thinking
that
the
king
of
Israel
was
the
prophet,
took
the
letter
and}} 750
pounds
of
silver, 150
pounds
of
gold,
and
ten
sets
of
clothing,
to
give
to
the
king
of
Israel,
{\ADD{
and
he
went
to
Samaria,
taking
along
several
servants}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}{\ADD{
When
he
arrived
in
Samaria,
he
gave
the
letter
to
the
king}}
of
Israel.
The
king
read
the
letter.
Then,
being
very
dismayed,
the
king
tore
his
clothes
and
said, “I
am
not
God [RHQ]!
I
am
not
able
to
enable
people
to
live
or
to
die [RHQ]!
Why
does
{\ADD{
the
king}}
who
wrote
this
letter
request
me
to
cure
this
man
of
his
leprosy?
I
think
that
he
is
just
wanting
to
start
a
fight
with
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}But
the
prophet
Elisha
heard
that
the
king
of
Israel
had
torn
his
robe
{\ADD{
and
said
that}}.
So
he
sent
a
message
to
the
king,
saying, “Why
are
you
upset/frustrated [RHQ]?
Send
Naaman
to
me,
and
he
will
find
out
that
{\ADD{
because}}
I
am
a
true
prophet
{\ADD{
here}}
in
Israel,
{\ADD{
I
can
help/heal
him}}.”
\VS{9}So
Naaman
went
with
his
horses
and
chariots
to
Elisha’s
house
and
waited
outside
the
door.
\VS{10}But
Elisha
{\ADD{
did
not
come
to
the
door.
Instead,
he}}
sent
a
messenger
to
Naaman,
to
tell
him, “Go
to
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
and
wash
yourself
seven
times
in
the
river.
Then
your
skin
will
be
restored/healed,
and
you
will
no
longer
have
leprosy.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}But
Naaman
became
very
angry.
He
said, “I
thought
that
surely
he
would
wave
his
hand
over
the
leprosy,
and
pray
to
Yahweh
his
god,
and
heal
me!
\VS{12}Surely
the
Abana
River
and
the
Pharpar
River
in
Damascus
{\ADD{
in
my
own
country
of
Syria}}
are [RHQ]
better
than
any
of
the
rivers
in
Israel!
Why
can
I
not
wash
in
those
rivers
and
be
healed?” [RHQ]
So
he
turned
and
walked
away
with
great
anger/disgust.
\par }{\PP \VS{13}But
his
servants
came
to
him,
and
{\ADD{
one
of
them}}
said, “Sir,
if
that
prophet
had
told
you
to
do
something
difficult,
you
would
certainly [RHQ]
have
done
it.
So
you
should
certainly
do
what
he
says
and
wash
{\ADD{
in
the
Jordan
River}}
to
be
healed!” [RHQ]
\VS{14}So
Naaman
went
down
to
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
and
washed
himself
seven
times,
as ◄the
prophet/Elisha►
told
him
to
do.
Then
his
skin
was
restored/healed,
and
it
became
healthy/smooth,
like
the
skin
of
a
young
child.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Then
Naaman
and
those
who
were
with
him
went
back
to
talk
to
Elisha.
They
stood
in
front
of
him,
and
Naaman
said, “Now
I
know
that
there
are
no real
gods
anywhere
else
in
the
world,
but
there
is
a
God
here
in
Israel!
So
now
please
accept
these
gifts
that
I
{\ADD{
have
brought
to
you}}!”
\par }{\PP \VS{16}But
Elisha
replied, “Just
as
certainly
as
Yahweh,
the
one
whom
I
serve,
lives,
I
will
not
accept
any
gifts.”
Naaman
kept
urging
him
{\ADD{
to
accept
the
gifts}},
but
Elisha
kept
refusing.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Then
Naaman
said, “Okay,
but
{\ADD{
I
have
one
request.
This
dirt
here
in
Israel
is
holy,
so}}
please
allow
me
to
take
some
dirt
from
this
place
and
put
it
{\ADD{
in
sacks}}
on
two
mules.
Then
I
will
take
it
back
home
with
me
{\ADD{
and
make
an
altar
on
this
dirt}}.
From
now
on,
I
will
offer
sacrifices
to
Yahweh
{\ADD{
on
that
altar}}.
I
will
not
offer
sacrifices
to
any
other
god.
\VS{18}However,
when
my
master,
{\ADD{
the
king,}}
goes
into
the
temple
of
the
god
Rimmon
to
worship
him/it
there,
and
he
is
leaning
on
my
arm,
I
hope/desire
that
Yahweh
will
forgive
me
because
I
will
have
to
bow
down,
too.”
\par }{\PP \VS{19}Elisha
replied, “Go
home,
and
do
not
worry
about
that.”
So
Naaman
{\ADD{
and
his
servants}}
started
to
travel
home.
\par }{\SH Elisha
cursed
Gehazi
for
being
greedy
\par }{\PP \VS{20}But
then
Elisha’s
servant
Gehazi
said
to
himself, “It
is
not
good
that
my
master
allowed
this
Syrian
man
to
leave
like
this.
He
should
have
accepted
his
gifts.
So
just
as
certainly
as
Yahweh
lives,
I
will
go
and
catch
up
with
Naaman
and
get
something
from
him.”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}So
Gehazi
hurried
to
catch
up
with
Naaman.
When
Naaman
saw
Gehazi
running
toward
him,
he
{\ADD{
stopped}}
the
chariot
{\ADD{
in
which
he
was
riding,}} jumped
out,
and
went
to
see
what
Gehazi
wanted.
He
asked
him, “Is
everything
all
right?”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Gehazi
replied, “Yes,
but
two
young
prophets
from
the hilly
area
where
the
descendants
of
Ephraim
live
have
just
arrived.
Elisha
has
sent
me
to
tell
you
that
he
would
like 75
pounds
of
silver
and
two
sets
of
clothing
to
give
to
them.”
\par }{\PP \VS{23}Naaman
replied, “Certainly!
You
can
have 150
pounds
of
silver!”
He
urged
Gehazi
to
take
it.
He
also
gave
him
two
sets
of
clothing.
He
tied
up
the
silver
in
two
bags
and
gave
them
to
two
of
his
servants
to
carry
back
to
Elisha.
\VS{24}But
when
they
arrived
at
the
hill
{\ADD{
where
Elisha
lived}},
Gehazi
took
the
silver
and
the
clothes
from
Naaman’s
servants
and
sent
the
servants
back
to
Naaman.
Then
he
took
those
things
into
his
house
and
hid
them.
\VS{25}When
he
went
to
Elisha,
Elisha
asked
him, “Where
did
you
go,
Gehazi?”
Gehazi
replied, “I
did
not
go
anywhere.”
\par }{\PP \VS{26}Elisha
asked
him,
{\ADD{“o
you
not
realize
that}}
my
spirit
was
there
when
Naaman
got
out
of
his
chariot
to
talk
with
you?
This
is
certainly
not [RHQ]
the
time
to
accept
gifts
of
money
and
clothes
and
olive
groves
and
vineyards
and
sheep
and
oxen
and
servants!
\VS{27}Because
you
have
done
this,
you
and
your
children
and
all
your
descendants,
forever,
will
have
leprosy
just
like
Naaman
had!”
And
when
Gehazi
left
the
room,
he
was
a
leper!
His
skin
was
as
white
as
snow!

\par }\Chap{6}{\SH The axe head floated
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}One
day
a
group
of
prophets
said
to
Elisha, “Look,
this
place
where
we
meet
together
with
you
is
very
small.
\VS{2}Allow
us
to
go
to
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River
and
cut
down
some
trees
to
make}}
logs
to
build
a
new
meeting
place.”
So
Elisha
said, “Okay,
go.”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}One
of
them
said
to
Elisha, “Please
come
with
us.”
So
Elisha
replied, “Okay,
I
will
go
with
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}So
they
went
together.
When
they
reached
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}},
they
cut
down
some
trees.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}But
while
one
of
them
was
cutting
down
a
tree,
suddenly
the
axe
head
{\ADD{
separated
from
the
handle
and}}
fell
into
the
water.
He
cried
out
to
Elisha, “O,
Master,
what
shall
I
do?
{\ADD{
The
axe
is
not
mine}};
I
borrowed
it!”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}Elisha
replied, “Where
did
it
fall
into
the
water?”
After
the
man
showed
him
the
place,
Elisha
cut
off
a
stick,
and
threw
it
into
the
water,
and
caused
the
iron
axe
head
to
float
{\ADD{
on
top
of
the
water}}.
\VS{7}Elisha
said, “Take
it
out
of
the
water.”
So
the
man
reached
his
hand
down
and
picked
up
the
axe
head.
\par }{\SH Elisha
tricked
the
army
of
Syria
\par }{\PP \VS{8}Whenever
the
king
of
Syria
{\ADD{
prepared
to
send
his
army
to}}
fight
against
Israel,
he
first
consulted
his
officers,
and
then
told
them
where
they
should
set
up
their
tents.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}But
each
time,
Elisha
would
send
a
message
to
warn
the
king
of
Israel,
{\ADD{
telling
him
where
the
army
of
Syria
was
planning
to
attack
them,}}
saying, “Be
sure
that
your
army
does
not
go
near
that
place,
because
the
army
of
Syria
has
set
up
their
tents
there.”
\VS{10}So
the
king
of
Israel
would
send
{\ADD{
messengers}}
to
warn
{\ADD{
the
people
who
lived
in}}
that
place,
and
the
people
would
remain
on
guard.
That
happened
several
times.
\par }{\PP \VS{11}The
king
of
Syria
was
very
upset/disturbed/angry
about
that.
So
he
summoned
his
army
officers
and
said
to
them, “{\ADD{Obviously}}
one
of
you
is ◄betraying
us/revealing
our
plans►
to
the
king
of
Israel.
Which
one
of
you
is
doing
it?”
\par }{\PP \VS{12}One
of
his
officers
answered, “Your
Majesty,
it
is
not
one
of
us.
Elisha
the
prophet
{\ADD{
knows
what
we
plan
to
do,
and
he}}
tells
the
king
of
Israel
everything.
He
even
knows
what
you
say
in
your
own
bedroom!”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}The
king
of
Syria
replied, “Go
and
find
out
where
he
is,
and
I
will
send
{\ADD{
some
men
there}}
to
capture
him.”
Someone
told
him, “People
say
that
he
is
in
Dothan
{\ADD{
town
north
of
Samaria}}.”
\VS{14}So
the
king
sent
a
large
group
of
soldiers
{\ADD{
to
Dothan}}
with
horses
and
chariots.
They
arrived
at
night
and
surrounded
the
town.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Early
the
next
morning,
Elisha’s
servant
got
up
and
went
outside
the
house.
He
saw
the
soldiers
of
Syria
with
their
horses
and
chariots
surrounding
the
town.
So
he
went
inside
{\ADD{
the
house
and
reported
it
to
Elisha}}
and
exclaimed, “O,
sir!
What
are
we
going
to
do?”
\par }{\PP \VS{16}Elisha
replied, “Do
not
be
afraid!
Those
who
will
be
helping
us
will
be
more
than
those
who
will
be
helping
them!”
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Then
he
prayed, “Yahweh,
I
request
that
you
open
my
servant’s
eyes
in
order
that
he
can
see
{\ADD{
what
is
out
there}}!”
So
Yahweh
enabled
the
servant
to
look
out
and
see
that
surrounding
the
hill
on
which
the
town
{\ADD{
was
built}}
was
a
huge
number
of
horses,
and
chariots
made
of
fire!
\par }{\PP \VS{18}When
the
army
of
Syria
prepared
to
attack
Elisha,
he
prayed
again,
saying, “Yahweh,
cause
all
these
soldiers
to
become
blind!”
Yahweh
answered
his
prayer
and
caused
them
to
be
unable
to
see
clearly.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}Then
Elisha
went
to
them
and
said, “You
are
not
on
the
right
road;
this
is
not
the
city
that
you
are
searching
for.
I
will
take
you
to
the
man
whom
you
are
searching
for.”
But
he
led
them
to
Samaria,
{\ADD{
the
capital
of
Israel}}!
\par }{\PP \VS{20}As
soon
as
they
entered
Samaria,
Elisha
prayed
again,
saying, “Yahweh,
now
enable
these
soldiers
to
see
correctly
again!”
So
Yahweh
enabled
them
to
see
correctly,
and
they
were
surprised
to
see
that
they
were
inside
Samaria
{\ADD{
city}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}When
the
king
of
Israel
saw
them,
he
said
to
Elisha, “Sir,
shall
I
{\ADD{
tell
my
soldiers
to}}
kill
them?
Shall
we
kill
all
of
them?”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Elisha
replied, “No,
you
must
not
kill
them.
If
your
army
captured
many
of
your
enemies
in
a
battle,
you
would
certainly
not [RHQ]
kill
them.
Give
these
men
something
to
eat
and
drink,
and
then
allow
them
to
return
to
their
king.”
\VS{23}So
the
king
of
Israel
did
that.
He
told
his
servants
to
provide
a
big
feast
for
them.
And
when
they
had
eaten
and
drunk
plenty,
he
sent
them
away.
They
returned
to
the
king
of
Syria
{\ADD{
and
told
him
what
had
happened}}.
So
for
a
while
after
that,
soldiers
from
Syria
stopped raiding/attacking
towns
in
Israel.
\par }{\SH The
army
of
Syria
surrounded
Samaria
\par }{\PP \VS{24}But
some
time
later,
Ben-Hadad,
the
king
of
Syria,
assembled
his
entire
army,
and
they
went
to
Samaria
and
surrounded
the
city
{\ADD{
for
a
long
time}}.
\VS{25}Because
of
that,
after
a
while
there
was
hardly
any
food
left
inside
the
city,
with
the
result
that
eventually
a
donkey’s
head,
{\ADD{
which
was
usually
worthless,}}
cost
eighty
pieces
of
silver,
and ◄one
cup/0.3 liter►
of
dove’s
dung
cost
five
pieces
of
silver.
\par }{\PP \VS{26}One
day
when
the
king
of
Israel
was
walking
on
top
of
the
city
wall,
a
woman
cried
out
to
him, “Your
Majesty,
help
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{27}He
replied, “If
Yahweh
will
not
help
you,
I
certainly
cannot [RHQ]
help
you.
I
certainly [RHQ]
do
not
have
any
wheat
or
wine!
\VS{28}What
is
your
problem?”
She
replied, “Several
days
ago,
that
woman
{\ADD{
over
there}}
said
to
me, ‘{\ADD{
Because
we
have
nothing
left
to
eat,}}
let’s
kill
your
son
today,
in
order
that
we
can
eat
his
flesh.
Then
tomorrow
we
can
{\ADD{
kill}}
my
son
{\ADD{
and}}
eat
his
flesh.’
\par }{\PP \VS{29}So
we
{\ADD{
killed
my
son
and
cut
his
body
up
and}}
boiled
his
flesh
and
ate
it.
The
next
day,
I
said
to
her, ‘Now
give
your
son
to
me,
in
order
that
we
can
{\ADD{
kill
him
and
cook
his
flesh
and}}
eat
it.’
But
she
has
hidden
her
son!”
\par }{\PP \VS{30}When
the
king
heard
what
the
woman
said,
he
tore
his
robe
{\ADD{
to
show
that
he
was
very
distressed}}.
The
people
who
were
standing
close
to
the
wall
were
able
to
see
that
the
king
was
wearing
rough
cloth
underneath
his
robe
{\ADD{
because
he
was
very
distressed}}.
\VS{31}The
king
exclaimed, “I
wish/hope
that
God
will
strike
me
dead
if
I
do
not
cut
off
the
head
of
Elisha
today,
{\ADD{
because
he
is
the
one
who
has
caused
these
terrible
things
to
happen
to
us}}!”
\par }{\PP \VS{32}So
the
king
sent
an
officer
to
get
Elisha.
\par }{\PP Before
the
officer
arrived,
Elisha
was
sitting
in
his
house
with
some Israeli
elders
who
were
talking
with
him.
Elisha
said
to
them, “That
murderer,
{\ADD{
the
king
of
Israel,}}
is
sending
someone
here
to
kill
me.
Listen:
When
he
arrives,
shut
the
door
and
do
not
allow
him
to
come
in.
And
the
king
will
be
coming
right
behind
that
officer!”
\VS{33}And
while
he
was
still
speaking,
the
king
and
the
officer
arrived.
The
king
said, “It
is
Yahweh
who
has
caused
us
to
have
all
this
trouble/suffering. ◄Why
should
I
wait
any
longer [RHQ]
for
him
to
do
something
{\ADD{
to
help
us}}?/It
is
useless
for
me
to
wait
any
longer
for
him
{\ADD{
to
help
us}}!►”

\par }\Chap{7}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Elisha
replied
to
the
king, “Listen
to
what
Yahweh
says: ‘He
says
that
by
this
time
tomorrow,
at
the marketplace
here
in
Samaria,
you
will
be
able
to
buy ◄ten
pounds/five kg.►
of
fine
wheat
or ◄20
pounds/ten kg.►
of
barley
for
{\ADD{
only}}
one
piece
of
silver.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{2}The
king’s
officer
said
to
Elijah, “That
cannot
happen!
Even
if
Yahweh
himself
would
open
the
windows
of
the
sky
{\ADD{
and
send
grain
down
to
us}},
that
certainly
could
not [RHQ]
happen!”
Elisha
replied, “{\ADD{
Because
you
said
that,}}
you [SYN]
will
see
it
happen,
but
you
will
not
be
able
to
eat
any
of
the
food!”
\par }{\SH The
Syrian
army
became
frightened
and
left
\par }{\PP \VS{3}That
day
there
were
four
men
who
had ◄leprosy/a
dreaded
skin
disease►
who
were
sitting
outside
the
gate
of
Samaria
{\ADD{
city.
They
said
to
each
other, “◄Why
should
we}}
wait
here
until
we
die?/{\ADD{
It
is ridiculous
for
us
to}}
wait
here
until
we
die.► [RHQ]
\VS{4}If
we
go
into
the
city,
we
will
die
there,
because
there
is
no
food
there.
If
we
remain
sitting
here,
we
will
die
here.
So
let’s
go
to
where
the
army
of
Syria
has
set
up
their
tents.
If
they
kill
us,
we
will
die.
But
if
they
allow
us
to
remain
alive,
we
will
not
die.”
\VS{5}So
when
it
was
getting
dark,
those
four
men
went
to
the
camp
where
the
army
of
Syria
had
set
up
their
tents.
But
when
they
reached
the
camp,
they
saw
that
there
was
no
one
there!
\par }{\PP \VS{6}What
had
happened
was
that
Yahweh
had
caused
the
army
of
Syria
to
hear
something
that
sounded
like
a
large
army
marching
with
chariots
and
horses.
So
they
said
to
each
other, “Listen!
The
king
of
Israel
has
hired
the
kings
of
Egypt
and
the
Heth people-group
{\ADD{
and
their
armies}},
and
they
have
come
to
attack
us!”
\VS{7}So
they
all
ran
away
that
evening
and
left
their
tents
and
their
horses
and
donkeys
there,
because
{\ADD{
they
were
afraid
that}}
they
would
be
killed
{\ADD{
if
they
stayed
there}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{8}When
those
four
lepers
came
to
the
edge
of
the
area
where
the
soldiers
of
Syria
had
set
up
their
tents,
they
went
into
one
tent,
{\ADD{
and
saw
all
the
things
that
had
been
left
there}}.
So
they
ate
and
drank
what
was
there,
and
they
took
the
silver
and
the
gold
and
clothes.
Then
they
went
{\ADD{
outside
the
tent}}
and
hid
those
things.
Then
they
entered
another
tent,
and
took
things
from
there,
and
then
went
outside
and
hid
them,
also.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}But
then
they
said
to
each
other, “We
are
not
doing
what
is
right.
We
have
good
news
{\ADD{
to
tell
others}}
today.
If
we
do
not
tell
it
to
anyone
now,
and
if
we
wait
until
morning
to
tell
it,
we
will
certainly
be
punished
{\ADD{
by
Yahweh}}.
So
let’s
go
right
now
to
the
palace
and
tell
it
to
the
king’s
officials!”
\par }{\PP \VS{10}So
they
went
to
the
guards
at
the
city
gates
and
called
out
to
them, “We
went
to
where
the
army
of
Syria
had
set
up
their
tents,
but
we
did
not
see
or
hear
anyone
there.
Their
horses
and
donkeys
were
still
tied
up,
but
their
tents
were
all
deserted/abandoned!”
\VS{11}The
guards
shouted
the
news,
and
some
people
{\ADD{
who
heard
it}}
went
to
the
palace
and
reported
it
there.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}{\ADD{
When}}
the
king
{\ADD{
heard
it,
he}}
got
up
out
of
his
bed
and
said
to
his
officials, “I
will
tell
you
what
the
army
of
Syria
is
planning
to
do.
They
know
that
we
have
no
food
here,
so
they
have
left
their
tents
and
are
hiding
in
the
fields.
They
think
that
we
will
leave
the
city
{\ADD{
to
find
some
food}},
and
then
they
will
capture
us
and
capture
the
city.”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}But
one
of
his
officials
said, “Many
of
our Israeli
people
have
already
died
{\ADD{
from ◄hunger/not
having
anything
to
eat}}►.
If
those
of
us
who
are
still
alive
all
stay
here,
we
also
will
die anyway.
So
let’s
send
some
men
with
five
of
our
horses
that
are
still
alive
to
go
and
see
{\ADD{
what
has
really
happened}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}So
they
chose
some
men
and
told
them
to
go
in
a
chariot
and
find
out
what
had
happened
to
the
army
of
Syria.
\VS{15}They
went
as
far
as
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}.
All
along
the
road
they
saw
clothes
and
equipment
that
the
soldiers
from
Syria
had
thrown
away
while
they
were
running
away
very
quickly.
So
the
men
returned
to
the
king
and
reported
{\ADD{
what
they
had
seen}}.
\VS{16}Then
many
of
the
people
of
Samaria
also
went
{\ADD{
out
of
the
city
and
went}}
to
where
the
army
of
Syria
had
previously
set
up
their
tents.
They
entered
all
the
tents
and
took
everything.
{\ADD{
So
there
was
now
plenty
of
everything!}}
As
a
result
people
could
buy
ten
pounds
of
fine
wheat
or 20
pounds
of
barley
for
only
one
piece
of
silver,
which
was
what
Yahweh
had
said
would
happen!
\par }{\PP \VS{17}The
king
of
Israel
had
appointed
the
officer
who
was
his
assistant
to
supervise
what
was happening
at
the marketplace.
But
as
he
was
standing
near
the
gate,
all
the
people
{\ADD{
who
were
rushing
outside
the
city}}
trampled
on
him,
and
he
died,
which
was
what
Elisha
had
said
would
happen
to
him
when
Elisha
previously
went
to
talk
to
the
king.
\VS{18}Elisha
had
told
him
that
by
the
next
day
there
would
be
plenty
of
food,
with
the
result
that
anyone
could
buy
ten
pounds
of
fine
wheat
or 20
pounds
of
barley
for
only
one
piece
of
silver.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}And
the
officer
had
answered, “That
certainly
cannot [RHQ]
happen!
Even
if
Yahweh
himself
would
open
the
sky
and
send
down
some
grain,
that
could
not
happen.”
And
Elisha
had
replied, “{\ADD{
Because
you
said
that,}}
you [SYN]
will
see
it
happen,
but
you
will
not
be
able
to
eat
any
of
the
food!”
\VS{20}And
that
is
what
happened
to
him.
The
people
{\ADD{
who
were
rushing
out
of}}
the
city
gate
trampled
on
him,
and
he
died.

\par }\Chap{8}{\SH The widow from Shunem recovered her land
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
Elisha
caused
the
son
of
the
woman
from
Shunem
{\ADD{
town}}
to
become
alive
again,
he
told
her
that
she
should
leave
with
her
family
and
live
somewhere
else
for
a
while,
because
Yahweh
was
going
to ◄send
a
famine/cause
food
to
become
very
scarce►
in
the
land.
He
said
that
the
famine
would
last
for
seven
years.
\VS{2}So
the
woman
did
what
Elisha
told
her
to
do.
She
and
her
family
went
to
live
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Philistia
{\ADD{
region}}
for
seven
years.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}After
the
seven
years
were
ended,
they
returned
to
their
home.
The
woman
went
to
the
king
to
request
that
her
house
and
her
land
be
given
back
to
her.
\VS{4}When
she
arrived,
the
king
was
talking
with
Gehazi,
Elisha’s
servant.
The
king
was
saying
to
him, “Tell
me
all
the
great
things
that
Elisha
has
done.”
\VS{5}While
Gehazi
was
telling
the
king
that
Elisha
had
caused
the
son
of
a
woman
{\ADD{
from
Shunem}}
to
become
alive
again,
that
woman
came
in
and
requested
the
king
to
enable
her
to
get
her
house
and
land
back
again.
Gehazi
exclaimed, “Your
Majesty,
this
is
the
woman
whose
son
Elisha
caused
to
become
alive
again!”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}When
the
king
asked
her
about
it,
she
told
him
{\ADD{
that
what
Gehazi
had
said
was
true}}.
The
king
summoned
one
of
his
officials
and
said
to
him, “{\ADD{
I
want}}
everything
that
this
woman
possessed
previously,
including
the
value
of
all
the
crops
that
have
been
harvested
during
these
last
seven
years
while
she
was
away
from
her
land,
{\ADD{
to}}
be
given
back
to
her.”
{\ADD{
So
the
official
did
that}}.
\par }{\SH Elisha
predicted
the
death
of
the
king
of
Syria
\par }{\PP \VS{7}Elisha
went
to
Damascus,
{\ADD{
the
capital
of
Syria}},
when
Ben-Hadad,
the
king
of
Syria,
was
{\ADD{
very}}
sick.
When
someone
told
the
king
that
Elisha
was
in
Damascus,
\VS{8}the
king
told
{\ADD{
one
of
his
officials
named}}
Hazael, “Go
and
talk
to
that
prophet
and
take
a
present/gift
with
you
to
give
to
him.
Request
him
to
ask
Yahweh
if
I
will
recover
from
my
illness.”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}So
Hazael
went
to
talk
with
Elisha.
He
took
with
him
forty
camels
that
were
carrying
many
kinds
of
goods
that
were
produced
in
Damascus.
When
Hazael
met
him,
he
said
to
him, “Your
friend
Ben-Hadad,
the
king
of
Syria,
sent
me
to
ask
you
whether
{\ADD{
you
think}}
he
will
recover
from
his
illness.”
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Elisha
said
to
Hazael, “Go
and
say
to
him, ‘Yes,
you
will
certainly
not
die
from
this
illness,’
but
Yahweh
has
shown
me
that
he
will
certainly
die
{\ADD{
before
he
recovers}}.”
\VS{11}Then
Elisha stared
at
him
and
had
a
terrified
look
on
his
face.
That
caused
Hazael
to
feel uneasy/embarrassed.
Then
{\ADD{
suddenly}}
Elisha
started
to
cry.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Hazael
said, “Sir,
why
are
you
crying?”
\par }{\PP Elisha
replied, “Because
{\ADD{
Yahweh
has
enabled}}
me
{\ADD{
to}}
know
the
terrible
things
that
you
will
do
to
the
people
of
Israel:
You
will
burn
their
cities
with
walls
around
them,
you
will
kill
their
fine
young
men
with
a
sword,
you
will bash
the
heads
of
their
children,
and
you
will
rip
open
the bellies
of
their
pregnant
women
{\ADD{
with
a
sword}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}Hazael
replied, “I
am
{\ADD{
as
insignificant
as}} [MET]
a
dog; ◄how
could
I
do
such
things?/I
would
never
do
such
terrible
things!►” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP Elisha
replied, “Yahweh
has
also
revealed
to
me
that
you
will
become
the
king
of
Syria.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Then
Hazael
left
and
returned
to
his
master/boss
{\ADD{
the
king}},
who
asked
him, “What
did
Elisha
say?”
\par }{\PP He
replied, “He
told
me
that
you
would
certainly
recover.”
\VS{15}But
the
next
day,
{\ADD{
while
the
king
was
sleeping,}}
Hazael
took
a
blanket
and
soaked
it
in
water.
Then
he
spread
it
on
the
king’s
face
{\ADD{
in
order
that
he
could
not
breathe}},
and
he
died.
Then
Hazael
became
the
king
of
Syria
instead
of
Ben-Hadad.
\par }{\SH King
Jehoram
of
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{16}After
King
Joram,
the
son
of
Ahab,
had
been
ruling
in
Israel
for
almost
five
years,
Jehoshaphat’s
son
Jehoram
became
the
king
of
Judah.
\VS{17}He
was
thirty-two
years
old
when
he
became
the
king,
and
he
ruled
in
Jerusalem
for
eight
years.
\VS{18}His
wife
was
the
daughter
of
King
Ahab.
And
like
everyone
in
Ahab’s
family,
he
continually
did
the
evil
things
that
the
previous
kings
of
Israel
had
done.
He
did
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil.
\VS{19}But
Yahweh
did
not
want
to
get
rid
of
the
people
of
Judah,
because
of
what
he
had
promised
David,
who
served
him
{\ADD{
very
well}}.
He
had
promised
David
that
his
descendants [MET]
would
always
rule
Judah.
\par }{\PP \VS{20}During
the
time
that
Jehoram
ruled,
{\ADD{
the
king
of}}
Edom
rebelled
against
Judah,
and
they
appointed
their
own
king.
\VS{21}So
Jehoram
went
with
his
army
and
all
their
chariots
to
Zair
{\ADD{
city
near
the
border
of
Edom}}.
There
the
army
of
Edom
surrounded
them.
But
during
the
night,
Jehoram
and
the
commanders
in
their
chariots
were
able
to
get
through
the
enemy
lines
and
escaped.
And
all
his
soldiers
also
fled
to
their
homes.
\VS{22}So
after
that,
Edom
was
no
longer
controlled
by
Judah,
and
it
is
still
like
that.
During
that
same
time,
the
people
of
Libnah
{\ADD{
city}}
also
freed
themselves
from
being
controlled
by
Judah.
\par }{\PP \VS{23}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
read
about}}
the
other
things
that
Jehoram
did,
they
are
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{24}Jehoram
died [EUP]
and
was
buried
where
the
other
kings
of
Judah
had
been
buried
in
{\ADD{
the
part
of
Jerusalem
called}} ‘The
City
of David’.
Then
Jehoram’s
son
Ahaziah
became
the
king.
\par }{\SH King
Ahaziah
of
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{25}After
Ahab’s
son
Joram
has
been
ruling
in
Israel
for
almost
twelve
years,
Jehoram’s
son
Ahaziah
became
the
king
of
Judah.
\VS{26}Ahaziah
was
twenty-two
years
old
when
he
started
to
rule.
He
ruled
in
Jerusalem
for
{\ADD{
only}}
one
year.
His
mother’s
name
was
Athaliah,
{\ADD{
the
daughter
of
King
Ahab
and}}
the
granddaughter
of
King
Omri
of
Israel.
\VS{27}King
Ahab
conducted
his
life
just
like
the
members
of
Ahab’s
family
had
done.
He
did
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
very
evil.
\par }{\PP \VS{28}Ahaziah’s
army
joined
the
army
of
King
Joram
of
Israel
to
fight
against
the
army
of
King
Hazael
of
Syria.
Their
armies
started
fighting
at
Ramoth
{\ADD{
city}}
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}},
and
the
soldiers
of
Syria
wounded
Joram.
\VS{29}King
Joram
returned
to
Jezreel
{\ADD{
city}}
to
recover
from
his
wounds.
King
Ahaziah
went
to
visit
him
there.

\par }\Chap{9}{\SH Jehu became the king of Israel
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Meanwhile,
the
prophet
Elisha
summoned
one
of
the
other
prophets.
He
said
to
him, “Get
ready [IDM]
and
go
to
Ramoth
{\ADD{
city}}
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}}.
Take
this
jar
of
{\ADD{
olive}}
oil
with
you.
\VS{2}When
you
arrive
there,
search
for
a
man
named
Jehu,
the
son
of
Jehoshaphat
and
grandson
of
Nimshi.
Go
with
him
into
a
room
away
from
his
companions,
\VS{3}and
pour
{\ADD{
some
of}}
this
oil
on
his
head.
Then
say
to
him, ‘Yahweh
declares
that
he
is appointing
you
to
be
the
king
of
Israel.’
Then
open
the
door
and
run
away
as
quickly
as
you
can.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}So
the
young
prophet
went
to
Ramoth.
\VS{5}When
he
arrived,
he
saw
that
the
commanders
of
the
army
were
having
a conference.
He
{\ADD{
looked
at
Jehu
and}}
said, “Sir,
I
have
a
message
for
{\ADD{
one
of}}
you.”
\par }{\PP Jehu
replied, “Which
one
of
us
is
the
message
for?”
\par }{\PP The
young
prophet
replied, “It
is
for
you,
commander/sir.”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}So
Jehu
got
up
and
went
with
the
young
prophet
into
a
house.
There
the
young
prophet
poured
some
{\ADD{
olive}}
oil
on
Jehu’s
head
and
said
to
him, “Yahweh,
the
God
whom
we Israelis
{\ADD{
worship}},
declares
this: ‘I
am appointing
you
to
be
the
king
of
my Israeli
people.
\VS{7}You
must
kill
your
master
{\ADD{
King
Joram}},
the
son
of
Ahab,
because
I
want
to
punish
{\ADD{
Ahab’s
wife}}
Jezebel
for murdering [MTY]
many
of
my
prophets
and
other
people
who
served
me.
\VS{8}You
must
kill
{\ADD{
not
only
Joram
but}}
all
of
Ahab’s
family.
I
want
to
get
rid
of
every
male
in
the
family,
including
young
ones
and
old
ones.
\VS{9}I
will
get
rid
of
Ahab’s
family,
like
I
got
rid
of
the
families
of
two
other
kings
of
Israel,
Jeroboam
and
Baasha.
\VS{10}And
{\ADD{
when}}
Jezebel
{\ADD{
dies}},
her
corpse
will
not
be
buried.
Dogs
will
eat
her
corpse
there
in
Jezreel
{\ADD{
city}}.’ ”
\par }{\PP After
the
young
prophet
said
this,
he
left
the
room
and
ran.
\VS{11}When
Jehu
came
out
of
the
room
to
where
his
other
commanders
were,
they
said
to
him, “Is
everything
all
right?
Why
did
that
mad
fellow
come
to
you?”
\par }{\PP He
replied, “You
know
what
kinds
of
things
young
prophets
like
him
say.”
\par }{\PP \VS{12}They
said, “You
are
lying!
Tell
us
what
he
said!”
\par }{\PP He
replied, “He
told
me
that
Yahweh
said, ‘I
am appointing [MTY]
you
to
be
the
king
of
Israel.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}Then
they
all
spread
their
cloaks
on
the
steps
of
the
building
{\ADD{
for
Jehu
to
walk
out
on}},
and
they
blew
trumpets
and
shouted, “Jehu
is
now
the
king!”
\par }{\SH King
Joram
of
Israel
was
killed
\par }{\PP \VS{14-15}King
Joram
and
his
army
had
been
defending
Ramoth
against
the
attacks
by
the
army
of
the
king
of
Syria.
King
Joram
had
returned
to
Jezreel
{\ADD{
city}},
to
recover
from
being
wounded
in
the
battle
against
the
army
of
Hazael,
the
king
of
Syria.
And
Jehu
made
plans
to
kill
Joram.
He
said
to
his
other
commanders, “If
helping
me
is
truly
what
you
want,
make
sure
that
no
one
leaves
this
city
to
go
to
warn
the
people
of
Jezreel
{\ADD{
about
what
I
am
planning
to
do}}.”
\VS{16}Then
Jehu
and
his
officers
got
into
their
chariots
and
rode
to
Jezreel,
where
Joram
was
still recovering.
And
King
Ahaziah
of
Judah
was
there,
visiting
Joram.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}A
guard
was
standing
in
the
watchtower
in
Jezreel.
He
saw
Jehu
and
his
men
approaching.
He
called
out, “I
see
a
lot
of
men
{\ADD{
who
are
approaching}}!”
King
Joram
{\ADD{
heard
what
the
watchman
said,
so
he}}
said
to
his
soldiers, “Send
someone
on
a
horse
to
go
and
find
out
if
they
are
coming
to
be
friendly
to
us
or
to
attack
us.”
\par }{\PP \VS{18}So
a
man
rode
out
to
meet
Jehu
and
said
to
him, “The
king
wants
to
know
{\ADD{
if
you
are
coming
to
be}}
friendly
to
us.”
\par }{\PP Jehu
replied, “This
is
not
the
time
for
you [RHQ]
to
be
concerned
about
acting
friendly!
Turn
around
and
come
behind
me!”
\par }{\PP So
the
guard
in
the
watchtower
reported
that
the
messenger
had
reached
the
group
{\ADD{
that
was
approaching}},
but
that
he
was
not
returning
{\ADD{
alone}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}So
King
Joram
sent
another
messenger,
who
asked
Jehu
the
same
question.
Again
Jehu
replied, “This
is
not
the
time [RHQ]
for
you
to
be
concerned
about
acting
friendly!
Turn
around
and
follow
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Then
the
watchman
reported
again, “That
messenger
also
reached
them,
but
he
is
not
coming
back
{\ADD{
alone}}.
And
{\ADD{
the
leader
of
the
group
must
be}}
Jehu,
the
son
of
Nimshi,
because
he
is
driving
{\ADD{
his
chariot}}
furiously,
{\ADD{
like
Jehu
does}}!”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Joram
said
{\ADD{
to
his
soldiers}}, “Get
{\ADD{
my
chariot}}
ready!”
So
they
did
that.
Then
King
Joram
and
King
Ahaziah
both
rode
toward
Jehu,
each
one
in
his
own
chariot.
And
{\ADD{
it
happened
that}}
they
met
Jehu
at
the
field
that
had
previously
belonged
to
Naboth!
\VS{22}When
Joram
met
Jehu,
he
said
to
him, “Are
you
coming
on
a peacefull
visit?”
\par }{\PP Jehu
replied, “◄How
can
there
be
peace
while
you
and
your
people
are
prostrating
themselves
to
worship
idols
and
practicing
very
much ‘witchcraft/sorcery’
like
your
mother
Jezebel
did?/There
certainly
cannot
be
peace
while
you
and
your
people
are
prostrating
themselves
to
worship
idols
and
practicing ‘witchcraft/sorcery’
like
your
mother
Jezebel
has
been
doing!►” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{23}Joram
cried
out, “Ahaziah,
they
have
deceived
us!
{\ADD{
They
want
to
kill
us}}!”
So
Joram
turned
his
chariot
around
and
tried
to
flee.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}But
Jehu
drew
his
bow
mightily
and
shot
{\ADD{
an
arrow
that
pierced}}
Joram
between
his
shoulder blades.
The
arrow
{\ADD{
went
through
his
body
and}}
pierced
his
heart,
and
he slumped
down
dead
in
his
chariot.
\VS{25}Then
Jehu
said
to
his
assistant
Bidkar, “Take
his
corpse
and
throw
it
here
into
the
field
that
belonged
to
Naboth.
{\ADD{
I
am
sure
that}}
you
remember
that
when
you
and
I
were
riding
together
{\ADD{
in
chariots}}
behind
King Joram’s
father
Ahab,
that
Yahweh
said
this
about
Ahab:
\VS{26}‘Yesterday
I
saw
Ahab
murder [MTY]
Naboth
and
his
sons
here.
And
I
solemnly
promise
that
I
will
punish
him
right
here
in
this
same
field!’
So
take Joram’s
corpse
and
throw
it
into
that
field!
That
will
fulfill
what
Yahweh
said
would
happen.”
\par }{\SH King
Ahaziah
of
Judah
was
killed
\par }{\PP \VS{27}When
King
Ahaziah
saw
what
happened,
he
fled
{\ADD{
in
his
chariot}}
toward Beth-Haggan
{\ADD{
town}}.
But
Jehu
pursued
him
and
said
{\ADD{
to
his
other
commanders}}, “Shoot
him,
also!”
So
they
shot
him
{\ADD{
with
arrows}}
while
he
was
riding
in
his
chariot
on
the
road
up
to
Gur,
near
Ibleam
{\ADD{
town}}.
He
continued
going
in
his
chariot
until
he
reached
Megiddo
{\ADD{
city}},
where
he
died.
\VS{28}His
officials
took
his
corpse
back
to
Jerusalem
and
buried
it
in
the
tombs
in
the
{\ADD{
part
of
Jerusalem
called}} ‘The
City
of David’,
where
his
ancestors
had
been
buried.
\VS{29}Ahaziah
had
become
the
king
of
Judah
when
Joram
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost
eleven
years.
\par }{\SH Queen
Jezebel
was
killed
\par }{\PP \VS{30}Then
Jehu
went
to
Jezreel.
When
{\ADD{
Ahab’s
widow}}
Jezebel
heard
what
had
happened,
she
put
paint/makeup
on
her
eyelids,
and
combed
her
hair
to
make
it
beautiful,
and
looked
out
the
window
{\ADD{
of
the
palace
toward
the
street
below}}.
\VS{31}While
Jehu
was
entering
the
city
gate,
she
called
out
to
him, “You
{\ADD{
are
like}}
Zimri!
You
are
a
murderer!
{\ADD{
I
think}}
you
are
certainly
not [RHQ] comingon apeaceful
visit!”
\par }{\PP \VS{32}Jehu
looked
up
toward
the
window,
and
then
he
said, “Who
is ◄on
my
side/wants
to
help
me►?
Anyone?”
Two
or
three
palace
officials
looked
down
at
him
{\ADD{
from
a
window
and pointed
to
themselves}}.
\VS{33}Jehu
said
to
them, “Throw
her
down
here!”
\par }{\PP So
they
threw
her
down,
and
{\ADD{
when
she
hit
the
ground
and
died}},
some
of
her
blood splattered
on
the
city
wall
and
on
the
horses
{\ADD{
that
were pulling
the
chariots}}.
\VS{34}Then
Jehu
went
into
the
palace
and
ate
and
drank.
Then
he
said
{\ADD{
to
some
of
his
men}}, “Take
the
corpse
of
that
women
whom
Yahweh
has
cursed
and
bury
it,
because
she
is
a
king’s
daughter
{\ADD{
and
therefore
should
be
buried
properly}}.”
\VS{35}But
when
they
went
to
get
her
corpse
to
bury
it,
all
that
was
left
was
only
her
skull
and
{\ADD{
the
bones
of}}
her
feet
and
her
hands.
Everything
else
was
gone.
\VS{36}When
they
reported
this
to
Jehu,
he
said, “That
is
what
Yahweh
said
would
happen!
He
told
his
servant/prophet
Elijah, ‘In
{\ADD{
the
city
of}}
Jezreel,
dogs
will
eat
the
flesh
of
Jezebel’s
corpse.
\VS{37}Her
bones
will
be
scattered
there
in
Jezreel
like
dung,
with
the
result
that
no
one
will
be
able
to
{\ADD{
recognize
them
and}}
say, “These
are
Jezebel’s
bones.” ’ ”

\par }\Chap{10}{\SH Ahab’s descendants were murdered
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}There
were
seventy
descendants
of
King
Ahab
who
were
living
there
in
Samaria.
Jehu
wrote
a
letter
{\ADD{
and
made copies
of
it
}}
and
sent
them
to
the
rulers
of
the
city,
to
the
elders,
and
to
those
who
raised
and
tutored
Ahab’s
children.
\VS{2}{\ADD{
This
is
what
he
wrote}}: “You
are
the
ones
who
are
{\ADD{
taking
care
of}}
the
king’s
descendants.
You
have
chariots
and
horses
and
weapons,
and
you
live
in
cities
that
have
walls
around
them.
So
as
soon
as
you
receive
this
letter,
\VS{3}choose
one
of
the
king’s
sons,
the
one
who
is
the
best qualified,
and
appoint
him
to
be
your
king.
Then
{\ADD{
prepare
to}}
fight
to
defend
him.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}But
{\ADD{
when
they
got
those
letters
from
Jehu
and
read
them}},
they
became
very
afraid.
They
said, “King
Joram
and
King
Ahaziah
could
not
resist
him; ◄how
can
we
resist
him?/we
cannot
possibly
resist
him!►” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{5}So
the
officer
who
was
in
charge
of
the
palace
and
the mayor
of
the
city
sent
a
message
to
Jehu
saying, “We
want
to
serve
you,
and
we
are
ready
to
do
whatever
you
tell
us
to
do.
We
will
not
appoint
anyone
to
become
our
king.
You
do
whatever
you
think
is
best.”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}So
Jehu
sent
a
second
letter
to
them,
writing
this: “If
you ◄are
on
my
side/want
to
help
me►,
and
if
you
are
ready
to
obey
me,
{\ADD{
kill}}
King
Ahab’s
descendants
{\ADD{
and
cut
off
their
heads
and}}
bring
their
heads
to
me
here
in
Jezreel
at
this
time
tomorrow.”
\par }{\PP The
seventy
descendants
of
King
Ahab
were
being
brought
up
and
supervised
by
the
leaders
of
{\ADD{
Samaria}}
city.
\VS{7}When
they
received
the
letter
from
Jehu,
they
killed
all
seventy
of
Ahab’s
descendants
and
{\ADD{
cut
off
their
heads}}.
They
put
their
heads
in
baskets
and
sent
them
to
Jehu
at
Jezreel.
\VS{8}A
messenger
came
to
Jehu
and
told
him, “They
have
brought
the
heads
of
Ahab’s
descendants.”
So
Jehu
commanded
that
the
heads
should
be
put
in
two
piles
at
the
city
gate
and
that
the
heads
should
stay
there
until
the
next
morning.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}The
next
morning
he
went
out
{\ADD{
to
the
city
gate}}
and
said
to
all
the
people, “I
am
the
one
who
plotted
against
King
Joram
and
killed
him.
You
are
not
guilty
of
doing
that.
But
{\ADD{
it
was
Yahweh,
not
I}} [RHQ]
who
{\ADD{
commanded
that}}
all
these
{\ADD{
descendants
of
Ahab
should
be}}
killed.
\VS{10}So
you
need
to
know
that
everything
that
Yahweh
said
would
happen
has
happened.
He
has
caused
to
happen
what
he
told
the
prophet
Elijah
would
happen.”
\VS{11}Then
Jehu
executed
all
the
other
relatives
of
Ahab
in
Jezreel,
and
all
Ahab’s
officers,
and
close
friends,
and
his
priests.
He
did
not
allow
any
of
them
to
remain
alive.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Then
Jehu
left
{\ADD{
Jezreel}}
and
went
toward
Samaria.
While
he
was
going
there,
at
a
place
called ‘Shepherds’ Camp’,
\VS{13}he
met
some
relatives
of
King
Ahaziah
of
Judah.
He
asked
them, “Who
are
you?”
\par }{\PP They
replied, “We
are
relatives
of
King
Ahaziah.
We
are
going
to
Jezreel
to
visit
the
children
of
Queen
Jezebel
and
the
other
members
of
King
{\ADD{Joram’s}}
family.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Jehu
said
to
his
men, “Seize
them!”
So
they
seized
them
and
killed
all
of
them
at
the
pit
named
Beth-Eked.
There
were 42
people
whom
they
killed;
they
did
not
allow
any
of
them
to
remain
alive.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Then
Jehu
{\ADD{
continued
to
travel
toward
Samaria}}.
Along
the
road,
he
was
met
by
Jonadab,
a
leader
of
the
Rechab
clan.
Jehu
greeted
him
and
said
to
him, “Are
you
as
devoted
to
me [IDM]
as
I
am
devoted
to
you?”
\par }{\PP Jonadab
replied, “Yes,
I
am.”
\par }{\PP Jehu
said, “If
you
are,
shake
hands
with
me.”
So
Jonadab
shook
hands
with
him,
and
Jehu
helped
him
to
get
into
his
chariot.
\VS{16}Jehu
said
to
him, “Come
with
me,
and
you
will
see
that
I
am
very
devoted
to
Yahweh.”
So
they
rode
together
to
Samaria.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}When
they
arrived
in
Samaria,
Jehu
killed
all
of
Ahab’s
relatives
who
were
still
alive.
He
did
not ◄spare
any
of
them/allow
any
of
them
to
remain
alive►.
That
was
what
Yahweh
told
Elijah
would
happen.
\par }{\SH The
people
who
worshiped
Baal
were
killed
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Then
Jehu
summoned
all
the
people
{\ADD{
of
Samaria}},
and
said
to
them, “King
Ahab
was
devoted
to
{\ADD{
your
god}}
Baal
a
little
bit,
but
I
will
serve
him
much
more.
\VS{19}So
now
summon
all
the
prophets
of
Baal,
all
of
Baal’s
priests,
and
all
the
others
who
worship
Baal.
I
am
going
to
make
a
great
sacrifice
to
Baal.
I
want
all
of
them
to
be
there.
Any
of
them
who
is
not
there
will
be
executed.”
But
Jehu
was
planning
to trick
them;
he
was
planning
to
kill
all
those
who
worshiped
Baal.
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Then
Jehu
commanded, “Announce
that
we
are
going
to
set
aside
a
day
to
honor
Baal.”
So
they
did
that.
\VS{21}Jehu
{\ADD{
decided
what
day
they
would
gather
and}}
sent
messages
throughout
Israel
{\ADD{
telling
everyone
what
day
to
gather
on}},
and
on
that
day,
everyone
who
worshiped
Baal
came.
No
one
stayed
at
home.
They
all
went
into
the
huge
temple
of
Baal
and
filled
it
from
one
end
to
the
other.
\VS{22}Jehu
told
the
priest
who
took
care
of
the
sacred
robes
to
bring
them
out
and
give
them
to
the
people
who
worshiped
Baal.
So
the
priest
did
that.
\par }{\PP \VS{23}Then
Jehu
went
into
the
temple
of
Baal
with
Jonadab,
and
he
said
to
the
people
who
were
there
to
worship
Baal, “Be
sure
that
only
those
who
worship
Baal
are
here.
Be
sure
that
no
one
who
worships
Yahweh
has
come
in.”
\VS{24}Then
he
and
Jonadab
prepared
to
offer
sacrifices
and
other
offerings
to
Baal
that
would
be
completely
burned
{\ADD{
on
the
altar
that
was
there
in
Samaria}}.
But
Jehu
had
stationed
eighty
of
his
men
outside
the
temple,
and
had
said
to
them, “I
want
you
to
kill
all
the
people
{\ADD{
who
are
in
the
temple}}.
Anyone
who
allows
one
of
them
to
escape
will
be
executed!”
\par }{\PP \VS{25}As
soon
as
Jehu
{\ADD{
and
Jonadab}}
had
finished
killing
the
animals
that
would
be
completely
burned
to
be
an
offering
to
Baal,
they
{\ADD{
went
outside
and}}
said
to
the
guards
and
officers, “Go
in
and
kill
all
of
them!
Do
not
allow
any
of
them
to
escape!”
So
the
guards
and
officers
went
in
and
killed
them
all
with
their
swords.
Then
they
dragged
their
corpses
outside
the
temple.
Then
they
went
into
the
inner
room
of
the
temple,
\VS{26}and
they
carried
out
the
sacred
pillar
of
Baal
that
was
there,
and
they
burned
it.
\VS{27}So
they
destroyed
that
pillar
that
honored
Baal,
and
then
they
burned
down
the
temple,
and
made
it
a publc toilet.
And
it
is
still
a toilet!
\par }{\PP \VS{28}That
is
how
Jehu
got
rid
of
the
worship
of
Baal
in
Israel.
\VS{29}But
Jehu
did
not
quit
committing
the
kinds
of
sins
that
Jeroboam
had
committed,
sins
that
led
the
people
of
Israel
to
sin
by
worshiping
the
gold
{\ADD{
statues
of}}
calves
in
Bethel
and
Dan
{\ADD{
cities}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{30}Then
Yahweh
said
to
Jehu, “You
have
done
what
pleased
me
by
getting
rid
of
all
of
Ahab’s
descendants.
So
I
promise
you
that
your
son
and
grandson
and great-grandson
and great-great-grandson
will
all
be
kings
of
Israel.”
\VS{31}But
Jehu
did
not
obey
all
the
laws
of
Yahweh,
the
God
of
the Israeli
people.
He
did
not
stop
committing
the
sins
that
Jeroboam
had
committed,
sins
that
led
the Israeli
people
to
sin.
\par }{\SH Jehu
died
\par }{\PP \VS{32}At
that
time,
Yahweh
began
to
cause
the
territory
controlled
by
Israel
to
become
smaller.
{\ADD{
The
army
of}}
King
Hazael
{\ADD{
of
Syria}}
conquered
much
of
the Israeli
territory.
\VS{33}He
conquered
the
parts
east
of
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}},
as
far
south
as
Aroer
{\ADD{
town}}
on
the
Arnon
{\ADD{
River}}.
That
included
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
and
Bashan
{\ADD{
regions}},
where
the
tribes
of
Gad,
Reuben,
and
half
of
the
tribe
of
Manasseh
lived.
\par }{\PP \VS{34}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
read
more}}
about
all
the
other
things
that
Jehu
did [RHQ],
they
are
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\par }{\PP \VS{35}Jehu
died [EUP],
and
was
buried
in
Samaria.
His
son
Jehoahaz
became
the
king
in
place
of
his
father.
\VS{36}Jehu
had
ruled
in
Samaria
as
the
king
of
Israel
for
twenty-eight
years.

\par }\Chap{11}{\SH Queen Athaliah of Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}When
King
Ahaziah’s
mother
Athaliah
saw
that
her
son
had
been
killed,
she
commanded
that
all
the
members
of
Ahaziah’s
family
{\ADD{
who
might
become
king}}
must
be
executed.
\VS{2}So
Ahaziah’s
sons
were
all
about
to
be
murdered.
But
Jehosheba,
who
was
King
Jehoram’s
daughter
and
Ahaziah’s half-sister,
took
Ahaziah’s
{\ADD{
very
young}}
son
Joash
and
hid
him
and ◄his nursemaid/the
woman
who
took
care
of
him►
in
a
bedroom
{\ADD{
in
the
temple}}.
So
he
was
not
killed.
\VS{3}He
stayed
with
Jehosheba
for
six
years.
All
during
that
time,
he
remained
hidden
in
the
temple,
while
Athaliah
ruled
{\ADD{
Judah}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}But
during
the
next
year,
Jehoiada
the Supreme
Priest
summoned
the
officers
who
supervised
the
royal bodyguards
and
the
palace
guards.
He
told
them
to
come
to
the
temple.
There
he
required
them
to
solemnly
promise
that
they
would
do
what
he
told
them
to
do.
And
he
showed
King
Ahaziah’s
son
Joash
to
them.
\VS{5}He
gave
them
these
instructions: “There
are
three
groups
of
you
guards.
When
one
group
finishes
their
work
on
the
Sabbath
day,
{\ADD{
divide
yourselves
into}}
three
smaller
groups.
One
group
must
guard
the
palace.
\VS{6}Another
group
must
guard
at
the
Sur
Gate.
The
other
group
must
guard
at
the
gate
behind
the
other
groups.
\VS{7}The
two
groups
that
are
not
working
on
the
Sabbath
day
must
guard
the
temple
{\ADD{
to
protect
little
King
Joash}}.
\VS{8}You
must
stand
around
the
king
wherever
he
goes,
with
your
weapons
in
your
hands.
You
must
kill
anyone
who
comes
near
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}The
officers
{\ADD{
who
supervised
the
guards}}
did
what
Jehoiada
told
them
to
do.
Each
one
brought
to
Jehoiada
the
guards
that
he
supervised—the
guards
who
were
just
finishing
their
work
and
those
who
were
about
to
start
their
work
on
the
Sabbath
day.
\VS{10}The
priest
distributed
to
the
commanders
of
the
guards
the
spears
and
shields
that
had
belonged
to
King
David,
that
were
kept/stored
in
the
temple.
\VS{11}Then
he
commanded
all
the
guards
to
stand
in
their
positions,
each
one
with
his
sword
in
his
hand,
all
around
the
young
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Then
he
brought
Joash
out.
He
put
the
crown
on
his
head
and
gave
him
a
scroll
on
which
were
written
the
rules
{\ADD{
that
the
kings
needed
to
obey}}.
Then
he
poured
some
olive
oil
on
Joash’s
head
and
proclaimed
that
he
was
now
the
king.
The
people
all
clapped
their
hands
and
shouted, “We
desire/hope
that
the
king
will
live
for
many
years!”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}When
Athaliah
heard
the
noise
that
was
being
made
by
the
guards
and
the
other
people,
she
ran
to
the
temple,
where
the
people
were
gathered.
\VS{14}She
saw
the
new
king
standing
there
alongside
one
of
the
big
pillars,
which
was
the
place
at
the
temple
where
the
kings
usually
stood.
She
saw
that
he
was
surrounded
by
the
temple
officers
and
men
blowing
trumpets,
and
that
the
people
were
shouting
joyfully,
and
{\ADD{
some
of}}
them
were
also
blowing
trumpets.
She
tore
her
clothes
{\ADD{
to
show
her
distress}}
and
shouted, “You
are traitors!
You
have
tricked/deceived
me!”
\VS{15}Jehoiada
{\ADD{
immediately}}
said, “Kill
her,
but
do
not
kill
her
here
at
the
temple
of
Yahweh!
Take
her
away
between
two
rows
of
guards.
And
kill
anyone
who
tries
to
rescue
her!”
\VS{16}{\ADD{
She
tried
to
flee,
but}}
the
guards
seized
her
and
took
her
to
the
palace,
to
the
place
where
horses
enter
the
courtyard.
They
killed
her
there.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Then
Jehoiada
made
a
solemn
agreement
between
the
king
and
the
people,
that
they
would
always ◄obey/be
faithful
to►
Yahweh.
He
also
made
an
agreement
requiring
the
people
to
be
loyal
to
Joash
their
king.
\VS{18}Then
all
the
people
of
Israel
who
were
there
went
to
the
temple
of
Baal
and
tore
it
down.
They
smashed
the
altars
and
the
statues
of
Baal.
They
also
killed
Mattan,
the
priest
of
Baal,
in
front
of
the
altars.
\par }{\PP Jehoiada
stationed/put
guards
at
the
temple
of
Yahweh.
\VS{19}Then
he
and
the
officers
of
the
temple,
the
officers
who
supervised
the
royal bodyguards,
and
the
king’s bodyguards
brought
the
king
from
the
temple
to
the
palace.
All
the
people
{\ADD{
followed
them}}.
Joash
entered
the
palace
at
the
Guard
Gate
and
sat
down
on
the
throne,
{\ADD{
which
showed
that
he
was
the
new
king}}.
\VS{20}All
the
people
of
Judah
rejoiced.
And
because
Athaliah
had
been
killed,
the
city
was
quiet/calm.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Joash
was
seven
years
old
when
he
became
the
king
{\ADD{
of
Judah}}.

\par }\Chap{12}{\SH King Joash of Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}When
Jehu
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost
seven
years,
Joash
became
the
king
of
Judah.
He
ruled
in
Jerusalem
for 40
years.
His
mother
was
Zibiah,
from
Beersheba
{\ADD{
city}}.
\VS{2}All
his
life,
he
did
what
pleased
Yahweh,
because
Jehoiada
the
priest
instructed/taught
him.
\VS{3}But
the
places
where
the
people
worshiped
{\ADD{
Yahweh}}
on
the
tops
of
hills
were
not
destroyed,
and
they
continued
to
offer
sacrifices
and
burn
incense
at
those
places,
{\ADD{
instead
of
at
the
place
that
God
had
chosen
for
them
in
Jerusalem}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}Joash
said
to
the
priests, “You
must
take
all
the
money
which
the
people
contribute,
both
the
money
they
are
required
to
give
and
the
money
that
they
themselves
decide
to
give,
as
sacred
offerings
to
buy
things
for
the
temple.
\VS{5}Each
priest
must
take
the
money
from
people
who
know
him (OR,
from
one
of
the
treasurers),
and
he
must
use
that
money
to
repair
the
temple
whenever
he
sees
that
there
is
something
that
needs
to
be
repaired.”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}But
after
Joash
had
been
ruling
for
almost
twenty-three
years,
the
priests
still
had
not
repaired
anything
in
the
temple.
\VS{7}So
Joash
summoned
Jehoiada
and
the
other
priests
and
said
to
them, “◄Why
are
you
not
repairing
things
in
the
temple?/You
should
have
been
repairing
things
in
the
temple!► [RHQ]
From
now
on,
you
must
not
keep
the
money
that
you
receive
from
people
who
know
you (OR,
the
treasurers).
You
must
give
it
to
the
people
who
will
be
repairing
things
in
the
temple!”
\VS{8}The
priests
agreed
to
do
that,
and
they
also
agreed
that
they
themselves
would
not
do
the
repair
work.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Then
Jehoiada
took
a
chest
and
bored
a
hole
in
the
lid.
He
placed
it
alongside
the
altar
{\ADD{
for
burning
incense/sacrifices}}
that
was
on
the
right
as
anyone
enters
the
temple.
The
priests
who
guarded
the
entrance
to
the
temple
put
in
the
box
the
money
that
was
brought
to
the
temple.
\VS{10}Whenever
they
saw
that
there
was
a
lot
of
money
in
the
chest,
the
king’s
secretary
and
the Supreme
Priest
would
come
and
count
the
money.
Then
they
would
put
it
in
bags
and
tie
the
bags
shut.
\VS{11}Then,
after
they
weighed
it,
they
would
give
the
money
to
the
men
who
supervised
the
work
in
the
temple.
Then
the
supervisors
would
use
that
money
to
pay
the
carpenters
and
builders
who
did
the
repair
work
in
the
temple,
\VS{12}and
the
masons
and
the
stone cutters.
Also
with
some
of
that
money
they
bought
timber
and
stones
that
had
been
cut
to
be
used
in
the
repair
work,
and
to
pay
all
the
other
expenses
for
the
repair
work.
\VS{13}But
they
did
not
use
any
of
that
money
{\ADD{
to
pay
men}}
to
make
silver
cups
or
wick trimmers
or
bowls
or
trumpets
or
any
other
items
made
of
silver
or
gold
to
be
used
in
the
temple.
\par }{\PP \VS{14}All
that
money
was
given
to
the
men
who
were
doing
the
work
of
repairing
the
temple.
\VS{15}The
men
who
supervised
the
work
always
did
things
honestly,
so
the
king’s
secretary
and
the Supreme
Priest
never
required
that
the
supervisors
report
what
they
had
spent
the
money
for.
\VS{16}But
the
money
that
people
gave
to
pay
for
the
wrong
things
that
they
had
done
and
the
money
they
gave
to
purify
themselves
because
of
the
sins
that
they
had
committed
was
not
put
in
the
chest.
That
money
belonged
to
the
priests.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}At
that
time,
Hazael,
the
king
of
Syria,
went
{\ADD{
with
his
army}}
and
attacked
Gath
{\ADD{
city}}
and
conquered
it.
Then
he
decided
that
they
would
attack
Jerusalem.
\VS{18}So
Joash,
the
king
of
Judah,
took
all
the
money
that
the
previous
kings,
Jehoshaphat
and
Jehoram
and
Ahaziah,
had
dedicated
to
Yahweh.
He
added
some
of
his
own
money,
and
all
the
gold
that
was
in
the
rooms
in
the
temple
where
valuable
things
were
kept/stored,
and
the
gold
in
his
palace,
and
sent
it
all
to
King
Hazael,
{\ADD{
to ◄appease
him/persuade
him
to
not
attack
Jerusalem►}}.
So
King
Hazael
{\ADD{
took
his
army}}
away
from
Jerusalem.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
read
more
of
}}
what
Joash
did,
{\ADD{
it
}}
is
all
written [RHQ]
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{20-21}Joash’s
officials
plotted
against
him,
and
two
of
them
killed
Joash
on
the
road
that
goes
down
to
{\ADD{
the}}
Silla
{\ADD{
district}}.
The
two
men
who
did
that
were
Jozabad,
the
son
of
Shimeath,
and
Jehozabad,
the
son
of
Shomer.
Joash
was
buried
in
the
place
where
his
ancestors
were
buried,
{\ADD{
in
the
part
of
Jerusalem
called}} ‘The
City
of David’.
Then
Joash’s
son
Amaziah
became
the
king
of
Judah.

\par }\Chap{13}{\SH King Jehoahaz of Israel
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
Joash
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost 23
years,
Jehu’s
son
Jehoahaz
became
the
king
of
Israel.
He
ruled
in
Samaria
{\ADD{
city}}
for 17
years.
\VS{2}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil
and
committed
the
same
kind
of
sins
that
Jeroboam
had
committed,
sins
which
led
the
people
of
Israel
to
sin.
He
did
not
stop
committing
those
sins.
\VS{3}So
Yahweh
became
very
angry
with
the Israeli
people,
and
he
allowed
the
army
of
King
Hazael
of
Syria
and
his
son
Ben-Hadad
to
defeat
the Israelis
many
times.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}Then
Jehoahaz
prayed
to
Yahweh
{\ADD{
for
help}},
and
Yahweh
heeded
him,
because
he
saw
that
the
army
of
the
king
of
Syria
was
oppressing
the Israelis.
\VS{5}Yahweh
sent
a
leader
to
Israel,
who
enabled
them
to
be
freed
from
being
controlled
by
Syria.
After
that,
the Israeli
people
lived
peacefully
as
they
had
done
previously.
\VS{6}But
they
still
continued
to
commit
the
same
kind
of
sins
that
Jeroboam
and
his
family
had
committed
and
which
led
the Israelis
to
{\ADD{
also}}
sin.
And
the
statue
of
the
goddess
Asherah
remained
in
Samaria.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}Jehoahaz
had
only 50
men
who
rode
on
horses
and
ten
chariots
and 10,000
other
soldiers,
because
the
army
of
Syria
had
killed
all
the
rest,
trampling
them
like
people
walk
on
dirt.
\par }{\PP \VS{8}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
read
about}} [RHQ]
everything
else
that
Jehoahaz
did,
you
can
read
about
it
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\VS{9}Jehoahaz
died [EUP]
and
was
buried
in
Samaria.
Then
his
son
Jehoash
became
the
king.
\par }{\SH King
Jehoash
ruled
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Jehoash,
the
son
of
Jehoahaz,
started
to
rule
in
Israel
after
King
Joash
had
been
ruling
in
Judah
for 23
years.
Jehoash
ruled
in
Samaria
for 17
years.
\VS{11}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil.
He
refused
to
turn
away
from
worshiping
idols,
which
was
the
sin
that
{\ADD{
many
years
earlier
King}}
Jeroboam
had
told
the Israeli
people
to
commit.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}The
other
things
that
happened
while
Jehoash
was
king
and
all
the
things
that
he
did
are
written
in
the
book
called ‘The
Account
of
What
the
Kings
of
Israel Did’.
In
that
account
they
wrote
about
Jehoash’s
{\ADD{army’s}}
victories,
and
their
war
with
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
King
Amaziah
of
Judah.
\VS{13}When
Jehoash
died,
he
was
buried
in
Samaria
where
the
{\ADD{
other}}
kings
of
Israel
were
buried.
Then
his
son
Jeroboam
became
king.
\par }{\SH Elisha
died
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Elisha
became
very
ill.
Just
before
he
died,
King
Jehoash
went
to
Elisha
and
cried
in
front
of
him.
{\ADD{
Saying
the
same
words
that
Elisha
had
said
when
Elijah
was
taken
to
heaven}},
he
said, “My
father/master!
My
father/master!
The
chariots
of
us Israeli
people
and
their drivers
{\ADD{
are
taking
my
master
away}}!”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Elisha
said
to
him, “Bring
to
me
a
bow
and
some
arrows!”
So
the
king
did
that.
\VS{16}Then
Elisha
told
the
king
to
put
his
hands
on
the
bow
{\ADD{
and
prepare
to
shoot
some
arrows}}.
And
then
Elisha
put
his
own
hands
on
the
king’s
hands.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Then
Elisha
told
him, “{\ADD{
Have
someone}}
open
that
window
toward
the
east.”
So
they
opened
it.
Then
Elisha
said, “Shoot!”
So
the
king
did.
Then
Elisha
said, “That
is
the
arrow
that
{\ADD{indicates
that
your
army}}
will
defeat
the
Syrian
army.
Your
army
will
completely
defeat
their
{\ADD{
army}}
at
Aphek
{\ADD{
town}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Then
Elisha
said, “Pick
up
the
other
arrows
and
strike
the
ground
with
them!”
So
the
king
picked
up
the
arrows
and
struck
the
ground
three
times.
\VS{19}But
Elisha
was
angry
with
him.
He
exclaimed, “You
should
have
struck
the
ground
five
or
six
times!
If
you
had
done
that,
your
army
would
have
defeated
the
Syrian
{\ADD{
army}}
until
they
were
completely
wiped
out!
But
now,
{\ADD{
because
you
struck
the
ground
only
three
times,}}
your
army
will
defeat
them
only
three
times!”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Then
Elisha
died
and
was
buried.
\par }{\PP Groups
of
raiders
from
Moab
came
to
Israel
each
year
during ◄spring/the
time
when
the
cold
season
was
ending►.
\VS{21}One
year,
when
some Israeli
people
were
burying
a
man’s
body,
they
saw
a
group
of
those
raiders.
{\ADD{
They
were
afraid,}}
so
quickly
they
threw
that
man’s
body
into
the
tomb
where
Elisha
{\ADD{
had
been
buried,
and
they
ran
away}}.
\par }{\PP But
as
soon
as
the
man’s
body
touched
Elisha’s
bones,
the
dead
man
became
alive
again
and jumped
up!
\par }{\SH War
between
Israel
and
Syria
\par }{\PP \VS{22}King
Hazael
of
Syria
{\ADD{
sent
soldiers
to}}
oppress
the Israeli
people
all
during
the
years
that
Jehoahaz
{\ADD{
ruled
Judah}}.
\VS{23}But
Yahweh
was
very
kind [DOU]
to
the Israeli
people.
He
helped
them
because
of
the
agreement
that
he
had
made
with
{\ADD{
their
ancestors}}
Abraham,
Isaac,
and
Jacob.
He
did
not
get
rid
of
the Israelis,
and
he
still
has
not
rejected
them.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}When
Hazael
the
king
of
Syria
died,
his
son
Ben-Hadad
became
the
king.
\VS{25}{\ADD{
The
army
of}}
King
Jehoash
of
Israel
defeated
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
King
Ben-Hadad
three
times,
and recaptured
the
cities
that Ben-Hadad’s
army
had
captured
during
the
time
that
Jehoash’s
father
Jehoahaz
was
ruling
Israel.

\par }\Chap{14}{\SH King Amaziah of Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
Jehoash
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost
two
years,
Joash’s
son
Amaziah
became
the
king
of
Judah.
\VS{2}He
was 25
years
old
when
he
started
to
rule,
and
he
ruled
in
Jerusalem
for 29
years.
His
mother
was
Jehoaddin;
she
was
from
Jerusalem.
\VS{3}Amaziah
did
many
things
that
pleased
Yahweh,
but
he
did
not
do
as
many
things
that
pleased
Yahweh
as
King
David
had
done.
He
did
some
of
the
good
things
that
his
father
Joash
had
done.
\VS{4}But,
{\ADD{
like
his
father,}}
he
did
not
tear
down
the
places
for
worshipping
Yahweh
at
pagan
shrines.
The
people
continued
to
burn
incense
{\ADD{
to
honor
Yahweh}}
on
those
hills
{\ADD{
instead
of
in
Jerusalem,
the
place
that
Yahweh
had
appointed}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}As
soon
as
he
was
completely
in
control
of
his
kingdom,
he
caused
to
be
executed
the
officials
who
had
murdered
his
father.
\VS{6}But
he
did
not
execute
their
children.
He
obeyed
what
was
written
in
the
laws
that
God
gave
to
Moses: “Parents
must
not
be
executed
for
{\ADD{
the
crimes/sins
committed
by}}
their
children,
and
children
must
not
be
executed
for
{\ADD{
crimes/sins
committed
by}}
their
parents.
People
must
be
executed
only
for
the
sins
that
they
themselves
{\ADD{
have
committed}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{7}Amaziah’s
soldiers
killed 10,000
soldiers
of
the
Edom people-group
in
the
Salt
Valley
{\ADD{
south
of
the
Dead
Sea}},
and
they
captured
Sela
{\ADD{
city}}
and
gave
it
a
new
name,
Joktheel.
That
is
still
its
name.
\par }{\PP \VS{8}Then
Amaziah
sent
messengers
to
King
Jehoash
of
Israel,
saying “Come
here
and
let’s
talk
together.”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}But
King
Jehoash
replied
to
King
Amaziah: “Once
a thornbush
growing
{\ADD{
in
the
mountains}}
in
Lebanon
sent
a
message
to
a
cedar
tree,
saying, ‘Give
your
daughter
to
my
son
in
order
that
he
may
marry
her.’
But
a
wild
animal
in
Lebanon
passed
by
the thornbush
and
trampled
it.
\VS{10}{\ADD{
The
meaning
of
what
I
am
saying
is
that}}
your
army
has
defeated
the
army
of
Edom,
so
now
you
have
become
very
proud.
But
you
should
be
content
with
defeating
the
people
of
Edom,
and
allow
your
soldiers
to
stay
at
home.
If
you
cause
trouble
{\ADD{
by
fighting
against}}
us,
you
will
surely [RHQ]
cause
a
disaster
to
happen
to
you
and
to
your
people.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}But
Amaziah
refused
to
heed
Jehoash’s
message.
So
he
marched
with
his
army
to
fight
against
the Israeli
army
at
Beth-Shemesh
{\ADD{
city}}
in
Judah.
\VS{12}The Israeli
army
defeated
the
army
of
Judah,
and
all
the
soldiers
of
Judah
fled
and
ran
back
home.
\VS{13}Jehoash’s
army
also
captured
King
Amaziah
there,
and
they
also
marched
to
Jerusalem
and
tore
down
the
wall
that
was
around
the
city,
from
the
Ephraim
Gate
to
the
Corner
Gate.
That
was
a
section
that
was
about ◄200
yards/180 meters►
long.
\VS{14}Jehoash’s
soldiers
seized
all
the
gold
and
silver
that
they
found,
and
all
the
utensils
that
were
in
the
temple,
and
all
the
valuable
things
that
were
in
the
palace,
and
took
them
to
Samaria.
They
also
took
to
Samaria
some
prisoners
whom
they
had
captured.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
about}}
all
the
other
things
that
Jehoash
did
when
he
was
king,
including
when
he
{\ADD{
and
his
army}}
fought
against
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
King
Amaziah
of
Judah,
they
are
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\VS{16}Jehoash
died [EUP],
and
he
was
buried
in
Samaria,
where
the
other
kings
of
Israel
had
been
buried.
Then
his
son
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#2}}
became
the
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Amaziah,
the
king
of
Judah,
lived
for 15
more
years
after
Jehoash,
the
king
of
Israel,
died.
\VS{18}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
more
about
}}
everything
else
that
Amaziah
did,
it
is
written [RHQ]
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}Some
people
in
Jerusalem
plotted
against
Amaziah,
so
he
fled
to
Lachish
{\ADD{
city}}.
But
they
followed
him
there
and
killed
him.
\VS{20}They
took
his
corpse
back
to
Jerusalem
and
buried
it
where
his
ancestors
had
been
buried,
in
{\ADD{
the
part
of
Jerusalem
called}} ‘The
City
of David’.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Then
all
the
people
of
Judah
appointed
Amaziah’s
son
Uzziah,
when
he
was 16
years
old,
to
be
their
king
\VS{22}After
his
father
died,
Uzziah’s
workers
captured
Elath
{\ADD{
city}},
and
it
came
under
the
control
of
Judah
again.
\par }{\SH King
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#2}}
of
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{23}When
Amaziah
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost 15
years,
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#2}}
became
the
king
of
Israel.
He
ruled
in
Samaria
{\ADD{
city}}
for 41
years.
\VS{24}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil.
He
did
not
stop
committing
the
same
kind
of
sins
that
Jeroboam,
the
son
of
Nebat,
committed,
sins
which
led
the Israeli
people
to
sin
also.
\VS{25}His
soldiers
conquered
again
some
of
the
territory
that
had
previously
belonged
to
Israel,
from
Hamath
{\ADD{
city}}
in
the
north
to
the
Dead
Sea
in
the
south.
That
is
what
Yahweh,
the
God
whom
the Israelis
worshiped,
promised
the
prophet
Jonah,
the
son
of
Amittai,
from
Gath-Hepher
{\ADD{
town}},
would
happen.
\par }{\PP \VS{26}That
happened
because
Yahweh
saw
that
{\ADD{
the Israelis’
enemies
were
causing}}
the Israelis
{\ADD{
to
}}
suffer
very
much.
And
there
was
absolutely
no
one [IDM]
who
would
help
them.
\VS{27}But
Yahweh
said
that
he
would
not
destroy
Israel
completely,
so
he
enabled
King
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#2}}
to
rescue
them.
\par }{\PP \VS{28}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
more
about}}
everything
else
that
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#2}}
did,
{\ADD{
about}}
his
fighting
courageously
in
battles,
and
{\ADD{
about}}
his
{\ADD{enabling
the Israelis
to}}
capture
again
Damascus
and
Hamath
{\ADD{
cities}},
they
are
written [RHQ]
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\VS{29}Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#2}}
died [EUP],
{\ADD{
and
was
buried
}}
where
the
other
kings
of
Israel
{\ADD{
were
buried}},
and
his
son
Zechariah
became
the
king.

\par }\Chap{15}{\SH King Uzziah of Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#2}}
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost
twenty-seven
years,
Uzziah,
the
son
of
King
Amaziah
of
Judah,
began
to
rule.
\VS{2}He
was 16
years
old
when
he
started
to
rule,
and
he
ruled
in
Jerusalem
for 52
years.
His
mother
was
Jecoliah,
from
Jerusalem.
\VS{3}He
did
things
that
Yahweh
was
pleased
with,
like
his
father
Amaziah
had
done.
\VS{4}But,
the
places
at
the
pagan
shrines
where
they
worshiped
Yahweh
were
not
destroyed,
and
the
people
continued
to
burn
incense
{\ADD{
to
honor
Yahweh}}
at
those
places
{\ADD{
instead
of
in
Jerusalem,
the
place
that
Yahweh
had
appointed}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}Yahweh
caused
Uzziah
to
become
a
leper,
and
he
was
a
leper
for
the
rest
of hiis
life.
{\ADD{
He
was
not
allowed
to
live
in
the
palace}}.
He
lived
alone
in
a
house,
and
his
son
Jotham
ruled
the
country.
\par }{\PP \VS{6}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
about}}
everything
else
that
Uzziah
did,
it
is
written [RHQ]
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{7}Uzziah
died [EUP],
and
they
buried
him
in
{\ADD{
the
part
of
Jerusalem
called}} ‘The
City
of David’,
where
his
ancestors
had
been
buried.
Then
his
son
Jotham oficially
became
the
king.
\par }{\SH King
Zechariah
of
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{8}After
Uzziah
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost
thirty-eight
years,
Zechariah,
the
son
of
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#2}},
became
the
king
of
Israel.
He
ruled
in
Samaria
{\ADD{
city}}
for
{\ADD{
only}}
six
months.
\VS{9}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil,
like
his
ancestors
had
done.
He
committed
the
same
kind
of
sins
that
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#1}}
had
committed,
sins
which
led
the Israeli
people
to
sin.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Then
Shallum,
the
son
of
Jabesh,
made
plans
to assassinate
Zechariah.
He
killed
him
at
Ibleam
{\ADD{
town}},
and
then
he
became
the
king.
\VS{11}Everything
else
that
Zechariah
did
is
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\VS{12}When
Zechariah
died,
{\ADD{
that
ended
the
dynasty
of
King
Jehu}}.
That
fulfilled
what
Yahweh
said
to
King
Jehu
would
happen: “Your
son
and
grandson
and great-grandson
and great-great-grandson
will
all
be
kings
of
Israel.”
\par }{\SH King
Shallum
of
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{13}Shallum,
the
son
of
Jabesh,
became
the
king
of
Israel
after
King
Uzziah
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost thirty-nine
years.
But
Shallum
ruled
in
Samaria
for
{\ADD{
only}}
one
month.
\VS{14}Then
Menahem,
the
son
of
Gadi,
went
up
from
Tirzah
{\ADD{
city}}
to
Samaria
and
assassinated
Shallum.
Then
Menahem
became
the
king
of
Israel.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Everything
else
that
Shallum
did,
including
his
killing
King
Zechariah,
is
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\par }{\PP \VS{16}While
Menahem
was
ruling
in
Samaria,
he
completely
destroyed
Tappuah
{\ADD{
village
south
of
Samaria}}
and
killed
all
the
people
who
lived
there
and
in
the
surrounding
territory.
He
did
that
because
the
people
in
that
city
refused
to
surrender
to
him.
{\ADD{
With
his
sword}}
he
even
ripped
open
the bellies
of
pregnant
women.
\par }{\SH King
Menahem
of
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{17}When
King
Azariah
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost thirty-nine
years,
Menahem,
the
son
of
Gadi,
became
the
king
of
Israel.
He
ruled
in
Samaria
for
ten
years.
\VS{18}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil.
He
committed
the
same
kinds
of
sins
that
King
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#1}}
had
committed,
sins
that
led
the
people
of
Israel
to
sin.
He
continued
to
commit
those
sins
for
the
rest
of
his
life.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}Then
King
Tiglath-Pileser
of
Assyria
came
{\ADD{
with
his
army}}
to
attack
Israel.
So
Menahem
gave
him ◄thirty-eight tons/35,000 kg.►
of
silver
in
order
that
Tiglath-Pileser
would
help
Menahem
to
continue
to
be
king
and
rule
his
country
more
strongly.
\VS{20}Menahem
obtained
that
money
from
the
rich
men
in
Israel.
He
compelled
each
of
them
to
contribute 50
pieces
of
silver.
So
Tiglath-Pileser
{\ADD{
took
that
money
and}}
went
back
home.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
more
about}}
everything
that
Menahem
did,
it
is
written [RHQ]
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\VS{22}Menahem
died [EUP]
and
was
buried,
and
his
son
Pekahiah
became
the
king
of
Israel.
\par }{\SH King
Pekahiah
of
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{23}When
King
Uzziah
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost 50
years,
Menahem’s
son
Pekahiah
became
the
king
of
Israel.
He
ruled
in
Samaria
for
{\ADD{
only}}
two
years.
\VS{24}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil.
He
committed
the
same
kind
of
sins
that
King
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#1}}
had
committed,
sins
which
led
the
people
of
Israel
to
sin.
\VS{25}Then
one
of Pekahiah’s
army
commanders
whose
name
was
Pekah,
the
son
of
Remaliah,
planned
with 50
men
from
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}}
to
kill
Pekahiah.
They
assassinated
him
in
a
fortified
place
in
the
king’s
palace
in
Samaria.
Then
Pekah
became
the
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{26}Everything
else
that
Pekahiah
did
is
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\par }{\SH King
Pekah
of
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{27}When
King
Uzziah
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost 52
years,
Pekah,
the
son
of
Remaliah,
became
the
king
of
Israel.
He
ruled
in
Samaria
for 20
years.
\VS{28}He
also
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil.
He
committed
the
same
kind
of
sins
that
King
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#1}}
had
committed,
sins
that
led
the
people
of
Israel
to
sin.
\par }{\PP \VS{29}While
Pekah
was
the
king,
Tiglath-Pileser,
the
king
of
Assyria,
came
{\ADD{
with
his
army
}}
and
captured
{\ADD{
the
cities
of}}
Ijon,
Abel-Beth-Maacah,
Janoah,
Kedesh,
Hazor,
and
the
regions
of
Gilead,
Galilee,
and
Naphtali.
His
army
forced
the Israeli
people
to
leave
their
country
and
go
to
live
in
Assyria.
\par }{\PP \VS{30}Then
Hoshea,
the
son
of
Elah,
plotted
to
kill
Pekah.
He
assassinated
him
when
Uzziah’s
son
Jotham
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost 20
years.
Then
Hoshea
became
the
king
of
Israel.
\par }{\PP \VS{31}Everything
else
that
Pekah
did
is
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Israel’.
\par }{\SH King
Jotham
of
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{32}When
Pekah
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost
two
years,
Uzziah’s
son
Jotham
began
to
rule
Judah.
\VS{33}He
was 25
years
old
when
he
started
to
rule,
and
he
ruled
from
Jerusalem
for 16
years.
His
mother
was
Jerusha,
the
daughter
of
Zadok.
\VS{34}He
did
many
things
that
pleased
Yahweh,
like
his
father
Uzziah
had
done.
\VS{35}But
he
did
not
destroy
the
places
on
the
tops
of
hills
where
the
people
worshiped
{\ADD{
Yahweh}},
and
the
people
continued
to
burn
incense
there
{\ADD{
to
honor
Yahweh}}.
Jotham’s
workers
built
the
Upper
Gate
of
the
temple.
\par }{\PP \VS{36}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
more
about}}
everything
else
that
Jotham
did,
it
is
written [RHQ]
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{37}It
was
during
the
time
that
Jotham
was
the
king
that
Yahweh
sent
King
Rezin
of
Syria
and
King
Pekah
of
Israel
{\ADD{
with
their
armies}}
to
attack
Judah.
\VS{38}Jotham
died [EUP]
and
was
buried
where
his
ancestors
had
been
buried
in
{\ADD{
the
part
of
Jerusalem
called}} ‘The
City
of David’.
Then
his
son
Ahaz
became
the
king
of
Judah.

\par }\Chap{16}{\SH King Ahaz of Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}When
Pekah
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost 17
years,
Ahaz,
the
son
of
Jotham,
became
the
king
of
Judah.
\VS{2}He
was 20
years
old
when
he
became
the
king
{\ADD{
of
Judah}}.
He
ruled
from
Jerusalem
for 16
years.
He
did
not
do
things
that
pleased
Yahweh
his
God,
good
things
like
his ancestor
King
David
had
done.
\VS{3}Instead,
he
was
as
sinful
as
the
kings
of
Israel
had
been.
He
even
sacrificed
his
son
as
an
offering
to
idols.
That
was
worse
than
the
disgusting
things
that
the
people
who
previously
lived
there
had
done,
people
whom
Yahweh
had
expelled
as
the Israelis
were
advancing
through
the
land.
\VS{4}Ahaz
offered
sacrifices
and
burned
incense
{\ADD{
to
honor
Yahweh}}
on
the
tops
of
many
hills
and
under
many [HYP]
big
trees,
{\ADD{
instead
of
in
Jerusalem
as
Yahweh
had
commanded}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}While
he
was
the
king
of
Judah,
King
Rezin
of
Assyria
and
King
Pekah
of
Israel
{\ADD{
came
with
their
armies}}
and
attacked
Jerusalem.
They
surrounded
the
city,
but
they
could
not
conquer
it.
\VS{6}At
that
time
the
{\ADD{
army
of
the}}
king
of
Edom
expelled
the
people
of
Judah
who
were
living
in
Elath
{\ADD{
city}}.
Some
of
the
people
of
Edom
started
to
live
there,
and
they
are
still
living
there.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}King
Ahaz
sent
messengers
to
King
Tiglath-Pileser
of
Assyria,
to
tell
this
message
to
him: “I
promise
that
I
will
completely
do
what
you
tell
me
to
do,
{\ADD{
as
though}}
I
{\ADD{
was}}
your
son.
Please
come
and
rescue
us
from
the
armies
of
Syria
and
Israel
who
are
attacking
my
country.”
\VS{8}Ahaz
took
the
silver
and
gold
that
was
in
the
palace
and
in
the
temple
and
sent
it
to
Assyria
to
be
a
present/gift
for
the
king
of
Assyria.
\VS{9}So
Tiglath-Pileser
did
what
Ahaz
requested.
His
army
marched
to
Damascus
and
captured
it,
and
they
took
the
people
of
Damascus
as
prisoners
to
live
in
the
capital
city
of
Assyria,
and
executed
{\ADD{
King}}
Rezin.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}When
King
Ahaz
went
to
Damascus
to
meet
King
Tiglath-Pileser,
he
saw
the
altar
that
was
there.
So
he
sent
to
Uriah,
the Supreme
Priest
{\ADD{
in
Jerusalem}},
a
drawing
of
the
altar
and
a
model
that
was
exactly
like
the
altar
in
Damascus.
\VS{11}So
Uriah
built
an
altar
{\ADD{
in
Jerusalem}},
following
the
drawing
that
King
Ahaz
had
sent.
Uriah
finished
the
altar
before
Ahaz
returned
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}}
from
Damascus.
\VS{12}When
the
king
returned
from
Damascus,
he
saw
the
altar.
He
went
to
it
\VS{13}and
burned
animal
sacrifices
and
a
grain
offering
on
it.
He
also
poured
a
wine
offering
on
it
and
threw
on
it
the
blood
of
the
offerings
to
maintain
fellowship
with
God.
\VS{14}The
old
bronze
altar
which
had
been
dedicated
long
ago
to
Yahweh
was
between
the
new
altar
and
the
temple,
so
Ahaz
moved
it
to
the
north
side
of
his
new
altar,
{\ADD{
which
was
bigger
than
the
old
altar}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Then
King
Ahaz
ordered
Uriah: “Each
morning
put
on
this
new
altar
the
sacrifices
that
will
be
completely
burned,
and
in
the
evening
put
on
it
the
grain
offering,
along
with
my
offering
and
the
offerings
that
the
people
bring,
ones
that
will
be
completely
burned,
and
my
grain
offering
and
the
people’s
grain
and
wine
offerings.
Pour
against
the
sides
of
the
altar
the
blood
of
all
the
animals
that
are
sacrificed.
But
the
old
bronze
altar
will
be
only
for
me
to
use
to
find
out
what
Yahweh
wants
me
to
do.”
\VS{16}So
Uriah
did
what
the
king
commanded
him
to
do.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}King
Ahaz
told
his
workers
to
take
off
the
frames
of
the
carts
{\ADD{
that
were
outside
the
temple}}
and
to
take
down
the
basins
that
were
on
them.
They
also
took
down
the
bronze tank
from
the
backs
of
the
bronze
{\ADD{
statues
of
the}}
oxen
and
put
it
on
a
stone
foundation.
\VS{18}Then
to
please
the
king
of
Assyria,
Ahaz
had
them
remove
from
the
temple
the
roof
under
which
the
people
walked
into
the
temple
on
the
Sabbath
Day,
and
closed
up
the
private
entrance
into
the
temple
for
the
kings
of
Judah.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
about}}
the
other
things
that
Ahaz
did,
they
are
written [RHQ]
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{20}Ahaz
died [EUP],
and
he
was
buried
in
{\ADD{
the
part
of
Jerusalem
called}} ‘The
City
of David’,
where
his
ancestors
had
been
buried.
Then
his
son
Hezekiah
became
the
king.

\par }\Chap{17}{\SH When Hoshea ruled Israel
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Elah’s
son
Hoshea
began
to
rule
Israel
after
King
Ahaz
had
ruled
Judah
for
twelve
years.
Hoshea
ruled
in
Samaria
for
nine
years.
\VS{2}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil,
but
he
did
not
do
as
many
evil
things
as
the
previous
kings
of
Israel
had
done.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}{\ADD{
The
army
of}}
King
Shalmaneser
of
Assyria
attacked
and
defeated
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
King
Hoshea.
As
a
result,
the Israelis
were
forced
to
pay
a
lot
of
tribute/taxes
to
Assyria
each
year.
\VS{4}But
several
years
later,
Hoshea
secretly
planned
to
rebel
against
the
rulers
of
Assyria.
He
sent
messengers
to
So/Osorkon,
the
king
of
Egypt,
{\ADD{
asking
if
his
army
could
help
the Israelis
fight
against
the
army
of
Assyria}}.
Hoshea
also
stopped
paying
the
tribute/taxes
that
he
had
been
paying
to
Assyria
every
year.
But
the
king
of
Assyria
found
out
about
those
things,
so
he
told
his
officers
to
put
Hoshea
in
prison.
\VS{5}Then
he
{\ADD{
brought
the
army
of}}
Assyria
to
Israel,
and
they
attacked
everywhere
in
that
land.
His
army
surrounded
Samaria
{\ADD{
city}}
for
three
years.
\VS{6}Finally,
after
King
Hoshea
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
nine
years,
the
army
of
Assyria [MTY]
{\ADD{forcefully
entered}}
the
city
{\ADD{
and}}
captured
{\ADD{
the
people}}.
They
took
the Israeli
people
to
Assyria
and
forced
some
of
them
to
live
in
Halah
{\ADD{
town}}.
They
forced
others
to
live
near
the
Habor
River
in
Gozan
district.
They
forced
others
to
live
in
the
towns
where
the
Mede people-group
lived.
\par }{\SH The
reason
that
the Israelis
were
defeated
\par }{\PP \VS{7}Those
things
happened
because
the Israeli
people
had
sinned
against
Yahweh
their
God.
He
had
rescued
their
{\ADD{
ancestors}}
from
the
power [MTY]
of
the
king
of
Egypt
and
brought
them
{\ADD{
safely}}
out
of
Egypt,
but
later
they
began
to
worship
other
gods.
\VS{8}They imitated
the
things
that
the
heathen/pagan people-groups
did.
Those
were
the
groups
that
Yahweh
had
expelled
as
the Israelis
occupied
their
land.
The Israeli
people
also
did
the
evil
things
that
the
kings
of
Israel ◄introduced/showed
to
them►.
\VS{9}The Israeli
people
also
secretly
did
many
things
that
were
not
pleasing
to
Yahweh
their
God.
They
built
shrines
{\ADD{
to
worship
idols}}
in
all
their
cities,
including
small
towns
and
big
cities
with
walls
around
them.
\VS{10}They
set
up
stone
pillars
{\ADD{
to
honor
gods}},
and
poles
{\ADD{
to
worship
the
goddess}}
Asherah
at
the
top
of
every
high
hill
and
under
every
{\ADD{
big}}
tree.
\VS{11}The Israelis
burned
incense
in
every
place
where
they
worshiped
those
gods,
just
like
the people-groups
who
lived
there
previously
had
done—the
groups
that
Yahweh
had
expelled
from
the
land.
The Israelis
did
many
wicked
things
that
caused
Yahweh
to
become
angry.
\VS{12}Yahweh
warned
them
many
times
that
they
should
not
worship
idols,
but
they
did
it anyway.
\VS{13}Yahweh frequently
sent
his
prophets
and ◄seers/those
who
saw
visions
from
Yahweh►
to
warn
the
people
of
Israel
and
the
people
of
Judah.
The
message
that
Yahweh
gave
them
was, “Turn
away
from
all
your
evil
behavior.
Obey
my
commands
and
my
laws,
the
laws
that
I
told
your
ancestors
{\ADD{
to
obey}}
and
which
I
told
the
prophets
who
served
me
to
tell
to
you
{\ADD{
again}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}But
the Israeli
people
would
not
pay
attention.
They
were
stubborn [IDM]
just
like
their
ancestors
were.
Just
like
their
ancestors
did,
they
refused
to
believe
in
Yahweh
their
God.
\VS{15}They
rejected
Yahweh’s
laws
and
the
agreement
that
he
had
made
with
their
ancestors.
They
ignored
Yahweh’s
warnings.
They
worshiped
worthless
idols
and
as
a
result
they
themselves
became
worthless.
Although
Yahweh
had
commanded
them
not
to
imitate
the
evil
behavior
of
the people-groups
that
lived
near
them,
they
disobeyed
that
command.
\par }{\PP \VS{16}The Israeli
people
disobeyed
all
of
Yahweh’s
commands.
They
made
two
metal
calves
{\ADD{
to
worship}}.
They
set
up
two
poles
{\ADD{
to
worship
the
goddess}}
Asherah,
and
they
worshiped
{\ADD{
the
god}}
Baal,
and
the
sun,
the
moon,
and
the
stars.
\VS{17}They
also
burned
their
own
sons
and
daughters
to
be
sacrifices
{\ADD{
to
those
gods}}.
They
went
to
fortune-tellers
and
they
practiced
sorcery.
They
continually
chose [MET]
to
do
{\ADD{
all
kinds
of}}
evil
things
that
caused
Yahweh
to
become
angry.
\par }{\PP \VS{18}So,
because
Yahweh
was
very
angry
with
the Israeli
people,
he
allowed
{\ADD{
their
enemies}}
to
take
them
away
{\ADD{
from
their
country}}.
Only
the
people
of
the
tribe
of
Judah
were
left
{\ADD{
in
the
land}}.
\VS{19}But
even
the
people
of
Judah
did
not
obey
the
commands
of
Yahweh
their
God.
They imitated
the
evil
customs
that
the Israelis
had
introduced.
\VS{20}So
Yahweh
rejected
all
the
people
of
Israel
and
of
Judah.
He
punished
them
by allowing
the
armies
of
other
nations
to
defeat
them
{\ADD{
and
take
them
away}}.
He
got
rid
of
all
of
them.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Earlier,
when
Yahweh
allowed
the
people
of
Israel
to
separate/break
away
from
the
area [MTY]
that
King
David
{\ADD{
had estabished}},
they
chose
Jeroboam,
the
son
of
Nebat,
to
be
their
king.
Then
Jeroboam
enticed
the
people
of
Israel
to
stop
worshiping
Yahweh
{\ADD{
and
to
worship
idols
instead}}.
He
led
them
to
commit
great
sins.
\VS{22}And
the Israeli
people
continued
to
do
the
evil
things
that
Jeroboam
introduced.
They
did
not
turn
away
from
those
sins,
\VS{23}until
finally
Yahweh
got
rid
of
them.
That
was
just
what
his
prophets
had
warned
would
happen.
The Israeli
people
were
taken
away
to
the
land
of
Assyria,
and
they
still
remain
there.
\par }{\SH Other
groups
settled
in
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{24}The
king
of
Assyria
{\ADD{
ordered
his
soldiers
to}}
take
{\ADD{
groups
of}}
people
from
Babylon,
Cuthah,
Avva,
Hamath,
and
Sepharvaim
{\ADD{
cities}}
to
{\ADD{
the}}
Samaria
{\ADD{
region}},
and
to
resettle
them
in
the
towns
there,
to
take
the
place
of
the Israelis
{\ADD{
who
lived
there
previously}}.
Those
people
took
control
over
{\ADD{
the
whole}}
Samaria
{\ADD{
region}}
and
lived
in
the
towns
there.
\VS{25}But
those
people
{\ADD{
who
came
from
other
countries}}
did
not
worship
Yahweh
when
they
first
arrived
in
Samaria.
So
Yahweh
sent
lions
to
kill
some
of
them.
\VS{26}Then
those
people
sent
a
message
to
the
king
of
Assyria.
They
wrote, “We
people
who
have resettled
in
the
towns
in
Samaria
do
not
know
how
to
worship
the
God
{\ADD{
that
the Israelis
worshiped}}
in
this
land.
So
he
has
sent
lions
among
us
to
kill
us,
because
we
have
not
worshiped
him
correctly.”
\par }{\PP \VS{27}{\ADD{
When}}
the
king
of
Assyria
{\ADD{
read
this
letter,
he}}
commanded
{\ADD{
his
officers}}, “You
brought
many
priests
here
from
Samaria.
Send
one
of
them
back
there.
Tell
him
to
teach
the
people
who
are
now
living
there
how
to
worship
correctly
the
God
whom
the Israelis
worshiped
in
that
land.”
\VS{28}So
{\ADD{
the
officers
did
that}}.
They
sent
one
of
the Israeli
priests
back
to
Samaria.
That
priest
went
to
live
in
Bethel
{\ADD{
city}},
and
he
taught
the
people
there
how
to
worship
Yahweh.
\par }{\PP \VS{29}But
the
people
{\ADD{
who
returned
from
Babylon
and
started
to
live
in
Samaria
and}}
continued
to
make
their
own
idols.
They
placed
them
in
the
shrines
that
the Israelis
had
built
there.
The
people
of
each people-group
made
idols
in
the
cities
in
which
they
were
living.
\VS{30}The
people
from
Babylon
made
idols
to
represent
their
god
Succoth-Benoth.
The
people
from
Cuthah
made
idols
to
represent
their
god
Nergal.
The
people
from
Hamath
made
idols
to
represent
their
god
Ashima.
\VS{31}The
people
of
Avva
made
idols
to
represent
their
gods
Nibhaz
and
Tartak.
The
people
from
Sepharvaim
sacrificed
their
own
children.
They
completely
burned
them
{\ADD{
in
pits
where
hot
fires
were
kept
burning,}}
as
offerings
to
their
gods
Adrammelech
and
Anammelech.
\VS{32}But
those
people
also
worshiped
Yahweh,
and
they
appointed
from
among
their
own
groups
many
people
to
be
priests
at
the
shrines
on
the
tops
of
the
hills,
in
order
that
those
priests
could
offer
sacrifices
for
them
there.
\par }{\PP \VS{33}So
they
revered
Yahweh,
but
they
also
worshiped
their
own
gods,
just
as
the
people
living
in
the
countries
from
which
they
had
been
taken
to
Samaria
did.
\VS{34}They
still
keep
their
old
customs.
They
really
do
not
worship
Yahweh,
and
they
do
not
obey
all
the
laws
and
commands
that
Yahweh
gave
to
the
descendants
of
Jacob,
to
whom
he
gave
the
new
name
Israel.
\VS{35}Yahweh
had
previously
made
an
agreement
with
their
ancestors,
commanding
them
not
to
worship
other
gods
or
bow
down
to
honor
them
or
do
other
things
to
please
them
or
offer
sacrifices
to
them.
\VS{36}He
had
said
to
them, “You
must
have
an
awesome
respect
for
me,
Yahweh,
the
one
who
brought
you
out
of
Egypt
with
my
very
great
power [DOU].
I
am
the
one
whom
you
must
bow
down
to
honor,
and
I
am
the
one
to
whom
you
must
offer
sacrifices.
\VS{37}You
must
always
obey
the
laws
and
commands
that
I
{\ADD{
told
Moses
to}}
write
for
you.
You
must
not
worship
other
gods.
\VS{38}And
you
must
not
forget
the
agreement
that
I
made
with
your
ancestors.
You
must
not
revere
other
gods.
\VS{39}Instead,
you
must
revere
me,
Yahweh,
your
God.
If
you
do
that,
I
will
rescue
you
from
the
power [MTY]
of
all
your
enemies.”
\par }{\PP \VS{40}But
the
people
{\ADD{
from
those
foreign
nations}}
would
not
heed
what
Yahweh
said.
Instead,
they
continued
to
adhere
to
their
old
customs.
\VS{41}So,
they
worshiped
Yahweh,
but
they
also
worshiped
their
idols.
And
their
descendants
still
do
the
same
thing.

\par }\Chap{18}{\SH King Hezekiah started to rule Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
King
Hoshea
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost
three
years,
Hezekiah,
the
son
of
Ahaz,
began
to
rule
Judah.
\VS{2}He
was 25
years
old
when
he
became
the
king
{\ADD{
of
Judah}}
and
he
ruled
from
Jerusalem
for 29
years.
His
mother
was
Abijah,
the
daughter
of
{\ADD{
a
man
whose
name
was}}
Zechariah.
\VS{3}Hezekiah
did
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
right,
like
his ancestor
King
David
had
done.
\VS{4}He
destroyed
the
places
where
people
worshiped
Yahweh
on
the
tops
of
hills,
and
he
broke
into
pieces
the
stone
pillars
{\ADD{
for
worshiping
the
goddess
Asherah}}.
He
also
broke
into
pieces
the
bronze
{\ADD{replica/statue
of
a}}
snake
that
Moses
had
made.
He
did
that
because
the
people
had
named
it
Nehushtan,
and
they
were
burning
incense
in
front
of
it
to
honor
it.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}Hezekiah
trusted
in
Yahweh,
the
God
whom
the Israelis
{\ADD{
worshiped.}}
There
was
no
king
who
ruled
Judah
before
him
or
after
him
who
was
as
{\ADD{
devoted
to
Yahweh
as}}
he
was.
\VS{6}He
remained
loyal
to
Yahweh
and
never
disobeyed
him.
He
carefully
obeyed
all
the
commandments
that
Yahweh
had
given
to
Moses.
\VS{7}Yahweh
always ◄helped/was
with►
him.
He
was
successful
in
everything
that
he
did.
He
rebelled
against
the
king
of
Assyria
and
refused
to ◄pay
taxes
to
him/do
what
the
king
of
Assyria
wanted
him
to
do►.
\VS{8}His
army
defeated
{\ADD{
the
soldiers
of
}}
Philistia
as
far
{\ADD{
south}}
as
Gaza
{\ADD{
city}}
and
the
nearby
villages.
They
conquered
the
entire
area,
from
the
smallest
watchtower
to
the largest
cities
surrounded
by
walls.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}After
King
Hezekiah
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost
four
years,
and
when
King
Hoshea
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost
seven
years,
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
King
Shalmaneser
of
Assyria
invaded
Israel
and
surrounded
Samaria
{\ADD{
city}}.
\VS{10}In
the
third
year
they
captured
the
city.
That
was
when
Hezekiah
has
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost
six
years,
and
when
Hoshea
had
been
ruling
Israel
for
almost
nine
years.
\VS{11}The
king
of
Assyria
commanded
that
the
people
of
Israel
be
taken
to
Assyria.
Some
of
them
were
taken
to
Halah
{\ADD{
town}},
some
were
taken
to
a
place
near
the
Habor
{\ADD{
River}}
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Gozan
{\ADD{
region}},
and
some
were
taken
to
cities
where
the
Mede people-group
live.
\VS{12}That
happened
because
the Israelis
did
not
obey
Yahweh
their
God.
They
disobeyed
the
agreement
that
Yahweh
had
made
with
their
ancestors,
and
all
the
laws
that
Moses,
the
man
who
served
Yahweh
{\ADD{
very
well}},
had
told
them
to
obey.
They
would
not
obey
those
laws;
they
would
not
even
listen
to
them.
\par }{\SH The
army
of
Assyria
invaded
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{13}After
King
Hezekiah
had
been
ruling
Judah
for
almost 14
years,
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
King
Sennacherib
of
Assyria
attacked
all
the
cities
in
Judah
that
had
walls
around
them.
They
{\ADD{
did
not
capture
Jerusalem,
but
they
}}
captured
all
the
other
cities.
\VS{14}King
Hezekiah
sent
a
message
to
Sennacherib,
while
Sennacherib
was
in
Lachish,
saying “What
I
have
done
was
wrong.
Please
{\ADD{
tell
your
soldiers
to}}
stop
attacking
us.
If
you
do
that,
I
will
pay
you
whatever
you
tell
me
to.”
So
the
king
of
Assyria
said
that
Hezekiah
must
pay
to
him ◄ten tons/9,000 kg.►
of
silver
and ◄one ton/900 kg.►
of
gold.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}So
Hezekiah
gave
to
him
all
the
silver
that
was
in
the
temple
and
that
was
stored
in
the
king’s
palace.
\par }{\SH Sennacherib
threatened
to
destroy
Jerusalem
\par }{\PP \VS{16}Hezekiah’s
men
also
stripped
the
gold
from
the
doors
of
the
temple
and
the
gold
that
he
himself
had
put
on
the
doorposts,
and
he
sent
all
that
gold
to
the
king
of
Assyria.
\VS{17}But
the
king
of
Assyria
sent
a
large
army
with
some
of
his
important
officials
from
Lachish
{\ADD{
city}}
to
{\ADD{
persuade}}
King
Hezekiah
{\ADD{
to
surrender}}.
When
they
arrived
at
Jerusalem,
they
stood
alongside
the aqueduct/channel
in
which
water
flows
from
the
upper
pool
into
Jerusalem,
near
the
road
to
the
field
where
the
women
wash
clothes.
\VS{18}They
sent
a
message requesting
King
Hezekiah
to
come
to
them,
but
the
king
sent
three
of
his
officials
{\ADD{
to
talk
to
them}}.
He
sent
Hilkiah’s
son
Eliakim,
who
supervised
the
palace;
Shebna,
the
official
secretary;
and
Asaph’s
son
Joah,
who communicated
the
king’s
messages
to
the
people.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}One
of
Sennacherib’s
important
officials
told
them
to
take
this
message
to
Hezekiah:
\par }{\PP “This
is
what
the
king
of
Assyria,
the
great
king,
says: ‘What
are
you
trusting
in
{\ADD{
to
rescue
you}} [RHQ]?
\VS{20}You
say
that
you
have
weapons
to
fight
us,
and
some
country
promises
{\ADD{
to
help
you}},
{\ADD{
and
that
will
enable
you
to
defeat
us,}}
but
that
is
only
talk [RHQ].
Who
do
you
think
will
help
you
to
rebel
against
my
{\ADD{
soldiers
from
Assyria}}?
\VS{21}Listen
to
me!
You
are relying
on
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
Egypt.
But
that
is
like [MET]
using
a
broken
reed
for
a
walking
stick
on
which
you
could
lean.
But
it
would
pierce
the
hand
of
anyone
who
would
lean
on
it!
That
is
what
the
king
of
Egypt
would
be
like
for
anyone
who
relied
on
him
{\ADD{
for
help}}.
\VS{22}But
perhaps
you
will
say
to
me, “No,
we
are ◄relying
on/trusting
in►
Yahweh
our
God
{\ADD{
to
help
us}}.”
{\ADD{
I
would
reply,}} “Is
he
not
the
one
whom
you
{\ADD{
insulted
by}}
tearing
down
his
shrines
and
altars
and
forcing
everyone
in
Jerusalem
and
{\ADD{
other
places
in}}
Judah
to
worship
only
in
front
of
the
altar
{\ADD{
in
Jerusalem}}?” ’
\par }{\PP \VS{23}So
I suggest
that
you
make
a
deal
between
you
and
my
master/boss,
the
king
of
Assyria.
I
will
give
you 2,000
horses,
but
{\ADD{
I
do
not
think
that}}
you
are
able
to
find 2,000
of
your
men
who
can
ride
on
them!
\VS{24}You
are expecting
the
king
of
Egypt
to
send
chariots
and
men
riding
horses
{\ADD{
to
assist
you}}.
But
they
certainly
would
not [RHQ]
be
able
to
resist/defeat
even
the
most
insignificant/unimportant
official
in
the
army
of
Assyria!
\VS{25}Furthermore, ◄do
you
think
that
we
have
come
to
destroy
Jerusalem
without
Yahweh’s
help?/do
not
think
that
we
have
come
to
Jerusalem
without
Yahweh’s
help.► [RHQ]
It
is
Yahweh
himself
who
told
us
to
come
here
and
destroy
this
land!”
\par }{\PP \VS{26}Then
Eliakim,
Shebna
and
Joah
said
to
the
official
from
Assyria, “Sir,
please
speak
to
us
in
your
Aramaic
language,
because
we
understand
it.
Do
not
speak
to
us
in
our
Hebrew
language,
because
the
people
who
are
standing
on
the
wall
will
understand
it
{\ADD{
and
be
frightened}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{27}But
the
official
replied, “Do
you
think [RHQ]
that
my
master
sent
me
to
say
these
things
only
to
you
and
not
to
the
people
who
are
standing
on
the
wall?
{\ADD{
If
you
reject
this
message,}}
the
{\ADD{
people
in
this
city}}
will
soon
need
to
eat
their
own
dung
and
drink
their
own
urine,
just
like
you
will,
{\ADD{
because
there
will
be
nothing
more
for
you
to
eat
or
drink}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{28}Then
the
official
stood
up
and
shouted
in
the
Hebrew
language
{\ADD{
to
the
people
sitting
on
the
wall}}.
He
said, “Listen
to
this
message
from
the
great
king,
the
king
of
Assyria.
He
says,
\VS{29}‘Do
not
allow
Hezekiah
to
deceive
you.
He
will
not
be
able
to
rescue
you
from
my
power [MTY].
\VS{30}Do
not
allow
him
to
persuade
you
to
rely
on
Yahweh,
saying
that
Yahweh
will
rescue
you,
and
that
the
army
of
Assyria
will
never
capture
this
city!’
\par }{\PP \VS{31}“o
not
pay
attention
to
what
Hezekiah
says!
This
is
what
the
king
of
Assyria
says: ‘Come
out
of
the
city
and
surrender
to
me.
If
you
do
that,
I
will
arrange
for
each
of
you
to
drink
the
juice
from
your
own grapevines,
and
to
eat
figs
from
your
own
trees,
and
to
drink
water
from
your
own
wells.
\VS{32}You
will
be
able
to
do
that
until
we
come
and
take
you
to
a
land
that
is
like
your
land—a
land
where
there
is
grain
to
make
bread
and
vineyards
to
{\ADD{
produce
grapes
for
making}}
wine.
It
will
be
a
land
that
has
plenty
of
olive
trees
and
honey.
If
you
do
what
the
king
of
Assyria
commands,
you
will
not
die.
You
will
continue
to
live.
\par }{\PP ‘o
not
allow
Hezekiah
to
persuade
you
to
trust
in
Yahweh
saying
that
he
will
rescue
you!
\VS{33}The
gods
that
people
of
other
nations
worship
have
never
rescued
them
from
the
power [MTY]
of
the
king
of
Assyria [RHQ]!
\VS{34}Why
were
the
gods
of
Hamath
and
Arpad
{\ADD{
cities}}
unable
to
rescue
their
people
from
the
king
of
Assyria [RHQ]?
What
happened
to
the
gods
of
Sepharvaim,
Hena,
and
Ivvah,
{\ADD{
towns
that
we
completely
destroyed
and
their
gods
disappeared}} [RHQ]?
Did
any
god
rescue
Samaria
from
my
power?
\VS{35}No,
none
of
the
gods
of
the
countries
{\ADD{
that
my
army
attacked}}
rescued
their
people [RHQ]
from
me!
So
why
do
you
think
that
Yahweh
will
rescue
you
people
of
Jerusalem
from
my
power [MTY]?’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{36}But
the
people
{\ADD{
who
were
listening}}
stayed
silent.
No
one
said
anything,
because
King
Hezekiah
had
told
them, “{\ADD{
When
the
official
from
Assyria talks
to
you,}}
do
not
answer
him.”
\par }{\PP \VS{37}Then
Eliakim
the
palace
administrator
and
Shebna
the
court
secretary
and
Joah
the
royal historian
went
back
to
Hezekiah
with
their
clothes
torn
{\ADD{
because
they
were
extremely
distressed}},
and
they
told
him
what
the
official
from
Assyria
had
said.

\par }\Chap{19}{\SH Hezekiah consulted the prophet Isaiah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}When
King
Hezekiah
heard
what
they
reported,
he
tore
his
clothes
and
put
on
clothes
made
of
rough
cloth
{\ADD{
because
he
was
very
distressed}}.
Then
he
went
to
the
temple
{\ADD{
to
ask
God
what
to
do}}.
\VS{2}He
summoned
Eliakim
and
Shebna
and
the ◄older/most
important►
priests,
who
were
also
wearing
clothes
made
of
rough
sackcloth,
and
told
them
to
talk
to
me.
\VS{3}He
said
to
them, “Tell
this
to
Isaiah: ‘ing
Hezekiah
says
that
we
are
having
great
distress/trouble
now.
{\ADD{
Other
nations
are
causing}}
us
to
be
insulted
and
disgraced.
We
are
like [MET]
a
woman
who
is
about
to
give
birth
to
a
child,
but
she
does
not
have
the
strength
that
she
needs
to
do
it.
\VS{4}Perhaps
Yahweh
your
God
has
heard
everything
that
the
official
from
Assyria
said.
Perhaps
he
knows
that
his boss/master,
the
king
of
Assyria,
sent
him
to
insult
the all-powerful
God,
and
that
Yahweh
will
rebuke/punish
him
for
what
he
said.’
And
he
requests
that
you
pray
for
the
few
of
us
who
are
still
alive
{\ADD{
here
in
Jerusalem}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}When
the
messengers
from
Hezekiah
came
to
Isaiah,
\VS{6}Isaiah
said
to
them, “{\ADD{
Go
back
to}}
your boss/master
{\ADD{
and}}
tell
him, ‘This
is
what
Yahweh
says:
Those
messengers
from
the
king
of
Assyria
have
said
evil
things
about
me.
But
you
should
not
be
disturbed
because
of
what
they
said.
\VS{7}Listen
to
this:
I
will
cause
Sennacherib
to
hear
a
rumor
that
will
worry
him,
{\ADD{
that
a
foreign
army
is
about
to
attack
his
country}}.
So
he
will
return
to
his
own
country,
and
there
I
will
cause
him
to
be
assassinated
by
{\ADD{
men
using}}
swords.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}The
official
from
Assyria
found
out
that
the
King
of
Assyria
{\ADD{
and
his
army}}
had
left
Lachish
{\ADD{
city}},
and
that
they
were
attacking
Libnah,
{\ADD{
which
is
a
nearby
city}}.
So
the
official
went
there
{\ADD{
to
report
to
him
what
had
happened
in
Jerusalem}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Soon
after
that,
King
Sennacherib
received
a
report
that
King
Tirhakah
of
Ethiopia
was
leading
his
army,
and
was
coming
to
attack
them.
So
before
King
Sennacherib
left
Libnah
{\ADD{
to
fight
against
the
army
from
Ethiopia}},
he
sent
other
messengers
to
King
Hezekiah
with
a
letter.
\VS{10}{\ADD{
In
the
letter}}
he
wrote
this
to
Hezekiah: “Do
not
allow
your
god
on
whom
you
are relying
to
deceive
you
by
promising
that
{\ADD{
the
city
of}}
Jerusalem
will
not
be
captured
by
my
army [MTY].
\VS{11}You
have
certainly
heard
what
the
armies
of
the
kings
of
Assyria
have
done
to
all
the
other
countries.
Our
armies
have
completely
destroyed
them.
So, ◄do
you
think
that
you
will
escape?/do
not
think
that
your
god
will
save
you!► [RHQ]
\VS{12}Did
the
gods
of
the
nations
that
were
about
to
be
destroyed
by
the
armies
of
the
previous
kings
of
Assyria
rescue
them?
Did
those
gods
rescue
the
people
in
the
Gozan
region
and
in
Haran
and
Rezeph
{\ADD{
cities
in
northern
Syria}}
and
the
people
of
Eden
who
had
been ◄deported/forced
to
go►
to Tel-Assar
{\ADD{
city}}?
None
of
the
gods
of
those
cities
were
able
to
rescue
them.
\VS{13}What
happened
to
the
kings
of
Hamath
and
Arpad
and
Sepharvaim
and
Ivvah
{\ADD{
cities}} [RHQ]?
{\ADD{
Most
of
them
are
dead,
and
the
other
people
were
deported}}!”
\par }{\SH Hezekiah
prayed
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Hezekiah
took
the
letter
that
the
messengers
gave
him,
and
he
read
it.
Then
he
went
up
to
the
temple
and
spread
out
the
letter
in
front
of
Yahweh.
\VS{15}Then
Hezekiah
prayed, “Yahweh,
the
God
whom
to
whom
we Israelis
belong,
you
are
seated
on
your
throne
above
the
{\ADD{
statues
of}}
creatures
with
wings,
{\ADD{
above
the
Sacred
Chest}}.
Only
you
are
truly
God.
You
rule
all
the
kingdoms
on
this
earth.
You
are
the
one
who
created
{\ADD{
everything
on}}
the
earth
and
{\ADD{
in}}
the
sky.
\VS{16}So,
Yahweh,
please
listen
to
what
I
am
saying,
and
look
{\ADD{
at
what
is happening}}.
And
listen
to
what
King
Sennacherib
has
said
to
insult
you,
the all-powerful
God.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}“ahweh,
it
is
true
that
{\ADD{
the
armies
of}}
the
kings
of
Assyria
have
completely
destroyed
many
nations,
and
ruined
their
land.
\VS{18}And
they
have
thrown
the
idols
of
those
nations
into
fires
and
burned
them.
But
{\ADD{
that
was
not
difficult
to
do,
because}}
they
were
not
gods.
They
were
only
statues
made
of
wood
and
stone,
idols
that
were
shaped
by humans,
{\ADD{
and
that
is
why
they
were
destroyed
easily}}.
\VS{19}So
now,
Yahweh
our
God,
please
rescue
us
from
the
power [MTY]
{\ADD{
of
the
king
of
Assyria}},
in
order
that
the
people
in
all
the
kingdoms
of
the
world
will
know
that
you,
Yahweh,
are
the
only
one
who
is
truly
God.”
\par }{\SH Isaiah
predicted
that
the
Assyrians
would
not
conquer
Jerusalem
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Then
Isaiah
sent
this
message
to
Hezekiah: “This
is
what
Yahweh,
the
God
to
whom
we Israelis
belong,
says: 'I
have
heard
what
you
prayed
to
me
about
Sennacherib,
the
king
of
Assyria.
\VS{21}This
is
what
I
say
to
him:
\par }{\Q “The
people
of
Jerusalem [MTY]
despise
you
and
make fun
of
you.
\par }{\QB They
wag/shake
their
heads
to
mock
you
while
you
flee
from
here.
\par }{\Q \VS{22}Who
do
you
think
that
you
are
despising
and ridiculing?
\par }{\QB Who
do
you
think
you
were
shouting
at?
\par }{\Q Who
do
you
think
you
were
looking
at
very
proudly/arrogantly?
\par }{\QB It
was
I,
the
holy
God
whom
the Israelis
worship.
\par }{\Q \VS{23}The
messengers
that
you
sent
made fun
of
me.
\par }{\QB You
said, 'With
my
many
chariots
I
have
gone
to
the
highest
mountains,
\par }{\QB even
to
the
highest
mountains
in
Lebanon.
\par }{\Q We
have
cut
down
its tallest
cedar
trees
\par }{\QB and
its nicest
pine/cyprus
trees.
\par }{\Q We
have
been
to
the
most
distant/remote
peaks
\par }{\QB and
to
its
dense
forests.
\par }{\Q \VS{24}We
have
dug
wells
in
other
countries
and
drank
water
from
them.
\par }{\Q And
by
marching
through [MTY]
the
streams
of
Egypt,
\par }{\QB we
dried
them
all
up [HYP]!” ’
\par }{\BB \par }{\PP \VS{25}{\ADD{‘ut
I
reply}}, “ave
you
never
heard
that
long
ago
I
determined
{\ADD{
that
those
things
would
happen}}?
\par }{\Q I
planned
it
long
ago,
\par }{\QB and
now
I
have
been
causing
it
to
happen.
\par }{\Q I
planned
that
your
army
would
have
{\ADD{
the
power
to}}
capture
many
cities
that
were
surrounded
by
high
walls,
\par }{\QB and
cause
them
to
become
piles
of
rubble.
\par }{\Q \VS{26}The
people
who
lived
in
those
cities
have
no
power,
\par }{\QB and
as
a
result
they
became
dismayed
and
discouraged.
\par }{\Q They
are
as
frail
as
plants
and
grass
in
the
fields,
\par }{\QB as
frail
as
grass
that
grows
on
the
roofs
of
houses
\par }{\QB and
is
scorched
by
the
hot
east
wind.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{27}“ut
I
know
{\ADD{
everything
about
you}}.
\par }{\QB I
know
when
you
are
in
your
house
and
when
you
go
outside;
\par }{\Q I
also
know
that
you
are ◄raging/speaking
very
angrily►
against
me.
\par }{\Q \VS{28}So,
because
you
have
raged
against
me,
\par }{\QB and
because
I
have
heard [MTY]
you
speak
very
proudly/arrogantly,
\par }{\Q {\ADD{
it
will
be
as
though}}
I
will
put
a
hook
in
your
nose
\par }{\QB and
an
iron ◄bit/piece
of
metal►
in
your
mouth
{\ADD{
in
order
that
I
can
lead
you
where
I
want
you
to
go}},
\par }{\Q and
I
will
force
you
to
return
{\ADD{
to
your
own
country}}
\par }{\QB on
the
same
road
on
which
you
came
here,
{\ADD{
without
conquering
Jerusalem}}.” '
\par }{\BB \par }{\PP \VS{29}Then
Isaiah
said
to
Hezekiah, “This
is
what
will
happen
to
prove
{\ADD{
that
I
am
telling
the
truth}}:
\par }{\PP This
year
and
next
year
you
{\ADD{
and
your
people}}
will
be
able
to
harvest
only ◄wild
grain/grain
that
grows
without
having
been
planted►.
\par }{\PP But
the
following
year,
you
{\ADD{Israelis}}
will
be
able
to
plant
grain
and
harvest
it,
and
to
plant
vineyards
and
eat
the
grapes
that
you
harvest.
\par }{\PP \VS{30}The
people [MTY]
in
Judah
who
remain
alive
will
prosper
and
have
many
children;
they
will
be
like
plants
whose
roots
go
deep
down
into
the
ground
and
which
produce
much [MET].
\par }{\PP \VS{31}There
will
be
many
people
in
Jerusalem [DOU]
who
will
survive,
because
Yahweh,
the
commander
of
the
armies
of
angels
in
heaven,
wants [PRS]
it
to
happen.
\par }{\PP \VS{32}So
this
is
what
Yahweh,
says
about
the
king
of
Assyria:
\par }{\Q ‘His
armies
will
not
enter
this
city;
\par }{\QB they
will
not
even
shoot
any
arrows
into
it!
\par }{\Q His
soldiers
will
not
march
outside
the
city
gates
carrying
shields,
\par }{\QB and
they
will
not
even
build
high
mounds
of
dirt
against
{\ADD{
the
city
walls}}
\par }{\QB {\ADD{
to
enable
them
to
attack
the
city}}.
\par }{\Q \VS{33}Their
king
will
return
to
his
own
country
\par }{\QB on
the
same
road
on
which
he
came
here.
\par }{\Q He
will
not
enter
this
city!
\par }{\PP {\ADD{
That
will
happen
because}}
I,
Yahweh
have
said
it!
\par }{\Q \VS{34}I
will
defend
this
city
and
prevent
it
from
being
destroyed.
\par }{\QB I
will
do
this
for
the
sake
of
my
own
reputation
and
because
of
what
I
promised
to
King
David,
who
served
me
well.' ”
\par }{\BB \par }{\PP \VS{35}That
night,
an
angel
from
Yahweh
went
out
to
where
the
army
of
Assyria
had
put
up
their
tents,
and
killed 185,000
of
their
soldiers!
When
the
rest
of
their
soldiers
woke
up
the
next
morning,
they
saw
that
there
were
corpses
everywhere!
\VS{36}Then
King
Sennacherib
left
and
went
home
to
Nineveh,
{\ADD{
the
capital
of
Assyria}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{37}One
day,
when
he
was
worshiping
in
the
temple
of
his
god
Nisroch,
two
of
his
sons,
Adrammelech
and
Sharezer,
killed
him
with
their
swords.
Then
they
escaped
and
went
to
{\ADD{
the}}
Ararat
{\ADD{
region, northwest
of
Nineveh}}.
And
another
of Sennacherib's
sons,
Esarhaddon,
became
the
king
of
Assyria.

\par }\Chap{20}{\SH Hezekiah’s sickness and his recovery
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}About
that
time,
Hezekiah
became
very
ill.
{\ADD{
He
thought
that
he}}
was
about
to
die.
Isaiah
the
prophet
came
to
him
and
said, “This
is
what
Yahweh
says: ‘You
should
tell
the
people
in
your
palace
what
you
want
them
to
do
after
you
die,
because
you
are
not
going
to
recover
from
this
illness.
You
are
going
to
die.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{2}Hezekiah
turned
his
face
toward
the
wall
and
prayed,
\VS{3}“Yahweh,
do
not
forget
that
I
have
always
served
you
faithfully,
and
I
have
done
things
that
pleased
you.”
Then
Hezekiah
started
to
cry
loudly.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}Isaiah
left
the
king,
but
before
he
had
crossed
the
middle
courtyard
of
the
palace,
Yahweh
gave
him
a
message
\VS{5}which
said, “Go
back
to
Hezekiah,
the
ruler
of
my
people,
and
say
to
him, ‘I,
Yahweh,
the
God
whom
your ancestor
King
David
{\ADD{
worshiped}},
have
heard
what
you
prayed.
And
I
have
seen
your
tears.
So,
listen:
I
will
heal
you.
Two
days
from
now
you
will
{\ADD{
be
able
to}}
go
up
to
my
temple.
\VS{6}I
will
enable
you
to
live
for 15
more
years.
And
I
will
rescue
you
and
this
city
again
from
the
power [MTY]
of
the
king
of
Assyria.
I
will
defend
this
city
for
the
sake
of
my
own
reputation
and
because
of
what
I
promised
King
David,
who
served
me
{\ADD{
well}}.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{7}So
Isaiah
{\ADD{
returned
to
the
palace
and
told
Hezekiah
what
Yahweh
had
said.
Then
he}}
said{\ADD{
to
Hezekiah’s
servants}}, “Bring
a paste
made
of
boiled
figs.
Put
some
of
it
on
his
boil,
and
he
will
get
well.”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}Then
Hezekiah
replied
to
Isaiah, “What
will
Yahweh
do
to
prove
that
he
will
heal
me
and
that
two
days
from
now
I
will
be
able
to
go
up
to
the
temple?”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Isaiah
replied, “Yahweh
will
do
something
that
will
prove
to
you
that
he
will
do
what
he
promised.
Do
you
want
him
to
cause
the
shadow
on
the
stairway/sundial
to
go
back
ten
steps/degrees,
or
to
go
forward
ten
steps/degrees?”
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Hezekiah
replied, “It
is
easy
to
cause
the
shadow
to
move
forward,
{\ADD{
because
that
is
what
it
always
does}}.
Tell
him
to
cause
it
to
move
backward
ten
steps/degrees.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}So
Isaiah
prayed
earnestly
to
Yahweh,
and
Yahweh
caused
the
shadow
to
go
backward
ten
steps/degrees
on
the
stairway/sundial
that
King
Ahaz
had
made (OR,
that
workers
had
built
for
King
Ahaz).
\par }{\SH The
messengers
from
the
king
of
Babylonia
\par }{\PP \VS{12}At
that
time,
King
Merodach-Baladan,
the
son
of
Baladan
the
{\ADD{
previous}}
King
of
Babylonia,
heard
a
report
that
King
Hezekiah
had
been
very
sick.
So
he
wrote
some
letters
and
gave
them
to
some
messengers
to
take
to
Hezekiah,
along
with
a
gift.
\VS{13}{\ADD{
When
the
messengers
arrived}},
Hezekiah
welcomed
them
gladly.
Then
he
showed
them
everything
that
was
in
his ◄treasure
houses/places
where
very
valuable
things
were
stored►—the
silver
and
gold,
the
spices,
the nice-smelling
olive
oil,
and
all
the
weapons
{\ADD{
for
his
soldiers}}.
He
showed
them
all
the
{\ADD{
valuable}}
things
in
his storerooms
and
everywhere
else
in
his
kingdom [HYP];
he
showed
them
everything.
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Then
the
prophet
Isaiah
went
to
Hezekiah
and
asked
him, “Where
did
those
men
come
from,
and
what
did
they
say
to
you?”
\par }{\PP Hezekiah
replied, “They
came
from
a
country
very
far
from
here.
They
came
from
Babylonia.”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Isaiah
asked, “What
did
they
see
in
your
palace?”
\par }{\PP Hezekiah
replied, “They
saw
everything.
I
showed
them
absolutely
everything
that
I
own—all
my
valuable
things.”
\par }{\PP \VS{16}{\ADD{
Isaiah
knew
that
Hezekiah
had
done
a
very
foolish
thing}}.
So
Isaiah
said
to
him, “Listen
to
what
Yahweh
says
to
you.
\VS{17}There
will
be
a
time
when
everything
that
is
still
in
your
palace,
all
the
valuable
things
that
were
put
there
by
you
and
your
ancestors,
will
be
carried
away
to
Babylon.
There
will
be
nothing
left
here!
{\ADD{
That
is
what}}
Yahweh
says
{\ADD{
to
you}}
\VS{18}Furthermore,
some
of
your
own
descendants
will
be
forced
to
go
there,
and
they
will
be castrated
in
order
that
they
may
become
servants
in
the
palace
of
the
King
of
Babylon.”
\par }{\PP \VS{19}Then
Hezekiah
replied
to
Isaiah, “That
message
from
Yahweh
that
you
have
given
to
me
is
good.”
He
said
that
because
he
was
thinking, “Even
if
that
happens,
there
will
be
peace
and
security
{\ADD{
in
Israel}}
all
the
rest
of
my
life.”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
more
about}} [RHQ]
all
the
other
things
that
Hezekiah
did,
about
his
brave
deeds
in
battle,
about
his
ordering
a
reservoir
to
be
built
in
the
city
and
a
tunnel
{\ADD{
to
be
dug}}
to
bring
water
into
the
reservoir,
they
are
all
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{21}Later
Hezekiah
died [EUP],
and
his
son
Manasseh
became
the
king.

\par }\Chap{21}{\SH King Manasseh of Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Manasseh
was
twelve
years
old
when
he
began
to
rule.
He
ruled
Judah
for 55
years
from
Jerusalem.
His
mother
was
Hephzibah.
\VS{2}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil.
He imitated
the
disgusting
things
that
were
formerly
done
by
the
people
of
the
nations
that
Yahweh
had
expelled
from
the
land
of
Israel
as
his
people
advanced
{\ADD{
through
the
land}}.
\VS{3}He
commanded
his
workers
to
rebuild
the
shrines
{\ADD{
for
worshiping
Yahweh}}
that
his
father
Hezekiah
had
destroyed
{\ADD{
because
they
were
not
in
the
place
that
Yahweh
had
said
they
should
worship
him}}.
He
directed
his
workers
to
build
altars
for
worshiping
Baal.
He
made
{\ADD{
a
statue
of
the
goddess}}
Asherah,
like
Ahab
the
king
of
Israel
had
done
{\ADD{
previously}}.
And
Manasseh
worshiped [DOU]
the
stars.
\VS{4}He
directed
his
workers
to
build
altars
{\ADD{
for
worshiping
foreign
gods}}
in
the
temple
of
Yahweh,
about
which
Yahweh
had
said, “It
is
here
in
Jerusalem
where
I
want
people
to
worship [MTY]
me,
forever.”
\VS{5}He
directed
that
altars
for
worshiping
the
stars
be
built
in
both
of
the
courtyards
outside
the
temple.
\VS{6}He
even
sacrificed
his
own
son
by
burning
{\ADD{
him
in
a
fire}}.
He
performed rituals
to
practice
sorcery
and magic rituals.
He
also
went
to
people
who
consulted
the
spirits
of
dead
people
to
find
out
what
would
happen
in
the
future.
He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
extremely
evil,
things
that
caused
Yahweh
to
become
very
angry.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}He
placed
the
statue
of
the
goddess
Asherah
in
the
temple,
the
place
about
which
Yahweh
had
said
to
David
and
his
son
Solomon, “My
temple
will
be
here
in
Jerusalem.
This
is
the
city
that
I
have
chosen
from
all
the
territory
of
the
twelve
tribes
of
Israel,
where
I
want
people
to
worship
me,
forever.
\VS{8}And
if
the Israeli
people
obey
all
my
commands
and
all
the
laws
that
I
gave
to
Moses,
the
man
who
served
me
{\ADD{
very
well}},
I
will
not
again
force
them
to
leave
this
land
that
I
gave
to
their
ancestors.”
\VS{9}But
the
people
did
not
heed
Yahweh.
And
Manasseh
persuaded
them
to
commit
sins
that
are
more
evil
than
the
sins
that
were
committed
by
the
people
of
the
nations
that
Yahweh
had
expelled
from
the
land
as
the Israeli
people
advanced.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}{\ADD{
These
are
some
of
the
things
that}}
the
prophets
said
many
times,
messages
that
Yahweh
had
given
them:
\VS{11}“Manasseh,
the
king
of
Judah,
has
done
these
abominable
things,
things
that
are
much
worse
than
the
things
that
the Amor people-group
did
in
this
land
long
ago.
He
has
persuaded
the
people
of
Judah
to
sin
by
{\ADD{
worshiping}}
idols.
\VS{12}Therefore,
this
is
what
I,
Yahweh,
the
God
whom
you Israeli
people
worship,
say:
I
will
the
cause
the
people
of
Jerusalem
and
the
rest
of
Judah
to
experience
great
disasters.
It
will
be
terrible,
with
the
result
that
everyone
who
hears
about
it
will
be
stunned [MTY].
\VS{13}I
will
judge
and
punish [MET]
the
people
of
Jerusalem
like
I
punished
the
family
of
King
Ahab
{\ADD{
of
Israel}}.
I
will ◄wipe
Jerusalem
clean/remove
all
the
people
from
Jerusalem►,
like [MET]
people
wipe
a
plate
and
then
turn
it
upside
down
{\ADD{
after
they
have
finished
eating,
to
show
that
they
are
now
satisfied}}.
\VS{14}And
I
will
abandon
the
people
who
remain
alive,
and
I
will
allow
their
enemies
to
conquer
them
and
steal
everything
valuable
from
their
land.
\VS{15}I
will
do
this
because
my
people
have
done
things
that
I
consider
to
be
very
evil,
things
which
have
caused
me
to
become
very
angry.
They
have
caused
me
to
become
angry
continually,
ever
since
their
ancestors
left
Egypt.”
\par }{\PP \VS{16}Manasseh
{\ADD{
commanded
his
officials
to}}
kill
many
innocent
people
in
Jerusalem,
with
the
result
that
their
blood
flowed
in
the
streets.
He
did
this
in
addition
to persuading
the
people
of
Judah
to
sin
against
Yahweh
{\ADD{
by
worshiping
idols}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
more
about}}
all
the
things
that
Manasseh
did,
they
are
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{18}Manasseh
died [EUP]
and
was
buried
in
the
garden
outside
his
palace,
the
garden
that
Uzza
{\ADD{
had
made}}.
Then
Manasseh’s
son
Amon
became
the
king.
\par }{\SH King
Amon
of
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{19}Amon
was
twenty-two
years
old
when
he
became
king.
He
ruled
Judah
from
Jerusalem
for
{\ADD{
only}}
two
years.
His
mother’s
name
was
Meshullemeth.
She
was
from
Jotbah
{\ADD{
town}},
and
was
the
granddaughter
of
Haruz.
\VS{20}Amon
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil,
like
his
father
Manasseh
had
done.
\VS{21}He imitated
the
behavior
of
his
father,
and
he
worshiped
the
same
idols
that
his
father
had
worshiped [DOU].
\VS{22}He
abandoned
Yahweh,
the
God
whom
his
ancestors
{\ADD{
had
worshiped}},
and
did
not
behave
as
Yahweh
wanted
him
to.
\VS{23}Then
one
day
some
of
his
officials
plotted
to
kill
him.
They
assassinated
him
in
the
palace.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}But
then
the
people
of
Judah
killed
all
those
who
had
assassinated
King
Amon,
and
they
appointed
his
son
Josiah
to
be
their
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{25}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
read
about}} [RHQ]
the
other
things
that
Amon
did,
they
are
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{26}Amon
was
also
buried
in
the
tomb
in
the
garden
that
Uzza
{\ADD{
had
made}}.
Then
Amon’s
son
Josiah
became
the
king.

\par }\Chap{22}{\SH King Josiah of Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Josiah
was
eight
years
old
when
he
became
the
king
{\ADD{
of
Judah}}.
He
ruled
from
Jerusalem
for 31
years.
His
mother
was
Jedidah
and
his
grandfather
was
Adaiah
from
Bozkath
{\ADD{
town}}.
\VS{2}Josiah
did
things
that
were
pleasing
to
Yahweh
and
conducted
his
life
as
his ancestor
King
David
had
done.
He
completely
obeyed [IDM]
all
the
laws
of
God.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}After
Josiah
had
been
ruling
for
almost 18
years,
he
sent
his
secretary
Shaphan,
the
son
of
Azaliah
and
grandson
of
Meshullam,
to
the
temple
with
these
instructions:
\VS{4}“Go
to
Hilkiah,
the Supreme
Priest,
and
tell
him
to
give
me
a
report,
telling
me
how
much
money
the
men
who
guard
the
doors
of
the
temple
have
collected
from
the
people
{\ADD{
as
offerings}}.
\VS{5}Then
tell
him
to
give
all
that
money
to
the
men
who
are supervising
the
work
of
repairing
the
temple.
\VS{6}They
must
give
that
money
to
the
carpenters,
the
builders,
and
the
masons,
and
they
should
also
buy
the
timber
and
the
stones
that
they
will
use
to
repair
the
temple.
\VS{7}But
the
men
who
supervise
the
work
will
not
be
required
to
make
a
report
on
the
money
that
is
given
to
them,
saying
what
they
spent
it
for,
because
those
men
are
completely
honest.”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}{\ADD{
After
Shaphan
said
that
to
Hilkiah}}
the
king’s
secretary,
Hilkiah
said
to
Shaphan, “I
have
found
in
the
temple
a
scroll
on
which
is
written
the
laws
{\ADD{
that
God
gave
to
Moses}}!”
Hilkiah
gave
the
scroll
to
Shaphan,
and
he
started
to
read
it.
\VS{9}Then
Shaphan
{\ADD{
took
the
scroll}}
to
the
king
and
said
to
him, “Your
temple
guards
have
taken
the
money
that
was
in
the
temple,
and
they
have
given
it
to
the
men
who
will
supervise
the
work
of
repairing
the
temple.”
\VS{10}Then
Shaphan
said
to
the
king,
{\ADD{“I
have
brought
to
you}}
a
scroll
that
Hilkiah
gave
to
me.”
And
Shaphan
started
to
read
it
to
the
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{11}When
the
king
heard
the
laws
that
were
written
in
the
scroll
that
Shaphan
was
reading
to
him,
he
tore
his
clothes
{\ADD{
because
he
was
very
dismayed}}.
\VS{12}Then
he
gave
these
instructions
to
Hilkiah,
to Shaphan’s
son
Ahikam,
to Micaiah’s
son
Achbor,
and
to
Asaiah,
the
king’s
special advisor:
\VS{13}“Go
and
ask
Yahweh
for
me
and
for
all
the
people
of
Judah,
about
what
is
written
in
this
scroll
that
has
been
found.
Because
{\ADD{
it
is
clear
that}}
Yahweh
is
very
angry
with
us
because
our
ancestors
disobeyed
what
was
written
on
this
scroll,
things
that
we
{\ADD{
should
have
done}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}So
Hilkiah,
Ahikam,
Achbor,
Shaphan,
and
Asaiah
went
to ◄consult/talk
with►
a
woman
whose
name
was
Huldah,
who
was
a
prophetess
who
lived
in
the newer/northern
part
of
Jerusalem.
Her
husband
Shallum,
son
of
Tikvah
and
grandson
of
Harhas,
took
care
of
the
robes
that
were
worn
{\ADD{
in
the
temple}} (OR,
{\ADD{
by
the
king}}).
{\ADD{
Those
five
men
told
her
about
the
scroll}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}She
said
to
them, “This
is
what
Yahweh
the
God
whom
we Israelis
{\ADD{
worship}}
says: ‘Go
back
and
tell
the
king
who
sent
you
\VS{16}that
this
is
what
Yahweh
says: “Listen
to
this
carefully.
I
am
going
to
cause
all
the
people
who
live
here
in
Jerusalem
to
experience
a
disaster,
which
is
what
was
written
in
the
scroll
that
the
king
has
read.
\VS{17}I
will
do
that
because
they
have
abandoned
me,
and
they
burn
incense
to
{\ADD{
honor}}
other
gods.
They
have
caused
me
to
become
very
angry
by
{\ADD{
worshiping
}}all
the
idols
that
they
have
made (OR,
by
all
the
wicked
things
that
they
have
done),
and
my
anger
is
like [MET]
a
fire
that
will
not
be
put
out.”
\VS{18}The
king
of
Judah
sent
you
to
inquire
what
I,
Yahweh,
wanted
you
to
do,
so
this
is
what
you
should
say
to
him: “Because
you
have
heeded
what
was
written
in
the
scroll,
\VS{19}and
you
repented
and
humbled
yourself
when
you
heard
what
I
said
to
warn
you
{\ADD{
about
what
would
happen
to}}
this
city
and
the
people
who
live
here
and
because
you
tore
your
robes
and
wept
in
my
presence,
I
have
heard
you.
I
said
that
I
would
cause
this
city
to
be
abandoned.
It
will
be
a
city
whose
name
people
will
use
when
they
curse
someone.
But
I
have
heard
what
you
prayed,
\VS{20}so
I
will
allow
you
to
die [EUP]
and
be
buried
peacefully.
I
will
cause
the
people
who
live
here
to
experience
a
terrible
disaster,
but
you
will
not
{\ADD{
be
alive
to}}
see
it.” ’ ”
\par }{\PP After
the
men
heard
that,
they
returned
to
King
Josiah
and
gave
him
that
message.

\par }\Chap{23}{\SH Josiah got rid of pagan worship
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Then
the
king
summoned
all
the
elders
of
Jerusalem
and
{\ADD{
of
the
other
places
in}}
Judah.
\VS{2}They
went
together
to
the
temple,
along
with
the
priests
and
the
prophets,
and
many
other [HYP]
people,
from
the
most
important
people
to
the
least
important
people.
And
while
they
listened,
the
king
read
to
them
all
of
the
laws
that
Moses
had
written.
He
read
from
the
scroll
that
had
been
found
in
the
temple.
\VS{3}Then
the
king
stood
next
to
the
pillar
{\ADD{
where
the
kings
stood
when
they
made
important announcements}},
and
while
Yahweh
was
listening,
he
repeated
his
promise
to
sincerely
obey [DOU]
all
of
Yahweh’s
commands
and
regulations [DOU].
He
also
promised
to ◄fulfill
the
conditions
of/do
what
was
written
in►
the
agreement
he
made
with
Yahweh.
And
all
the
people
also
promised
to
obey
the
agreement.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}Then
the
king
commanded
Hilkiah
the Supreme
Priest
and
all
the
other
priests
who
assisted
him
and
the
men
who
guarded
the
entrance
to
the
temple
to
bring
out
from
the
temple
all
the
items
that
people
had
been
using
to
worship
Baal,
the
goddess
Asherah,
and
the
stars.
{\ADD{
After
they
carried
them
out,}}
they
burned
all
those
things
outside
the
city
near
the
Kidron
Valley.
Then
they
took
all
the
ashes
to
Bethel,
{\ADD{
because
that
city
was
already
considered
to
be
desecrated/unholy}}.
\VS{5}There
were
many
pagan
priests
that
the
previous
kings
of
Judah
had
appointed
to
burn
incense
on
the
altars
on
the
tops
of
hills
in
Judah.
They
had
been
offering
sacrifices
to
Baal,
to
the
sun,
the
moon,
the
planets,
and
the
stars.
The
king
stopped
them
from
doing
those
things.
\VS{6}He
{\ADD{
commanded
that}}
the
statue
of
the
goddess
Asherah
{\ADD{
be}}
taken
out
of
the
temple.
Then
they
took
it
outside
Jerusalem,
down
to
the
Kidron
Brook,
and
burned
it.
Then
they
pounded
the
ashes
to
powder
and
scattered
that
over
the
graves
in
the
public cemetery.
\VS{7}He
also
destroyed
the
rooms
in
the
temple
where
the
temple
male
prostitutes
lived.
That
was
where
women
wove
robes
that
were
used
to
worship
the
goddess
Asherah.
\par }{\PP \VS{8-9}Josiah
also
brought
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}}
all
the
priests
who
were
offering
sacrifices
in
the
other
cities
in
Judah.
He
also
desecrated
the
places
on
the
tops
of
hills
where
the
priests
had
burned
incense
{\ADD{
to
honor
idols}},
from
Geba
{\ADD{
in
the
north}}
to
Beersheba
{\ADD{
in
the
south}}.
Those
priests
were
not
allowed
to
offer
sacrifices
in
the
temple,
but
they
{\ADD{
were
allowed
to}}
eat
the
unleavened
bread
that
the
priests
{\ADD{
who
worked
in
the
temple}}
ate.
He
also
{\ADD{
commanded
that}}
the
altars
that
were
dedicated
to
the
goat
demons
near
the
gate
built
by
Joshua,
the mayor
of
Jerusalem,
{\ADD{
be}}
destroyed.
Those
altars
were
at
the
left
of
the
main
gate
into
the
city.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Josiah
also
desecrated
the
place
named
Topheth,
in
the
Hinnom
Valley,
in
order
that
no
one
could
offer
his
son
or
daughter
there
to
be
completely
burned
for
a
sacrifice
to
{\ADD{
the
god}}
Molech.
\VS{11}He
also
removed
the
horses
that
the
{\ADD{
previous}}
kings
of
Judah
had
dedicated
to
worshiping
the
sun,
and
he
burned
the
chariots
that
were
used
in
that
worship.
Those
horses
and
chariots
were
kept
in
the
courtyard
outside
the
temple,
near
the
entrance
to
the
temple,
and
near
the
room
where
{\ADD{
one
of
Josiah’s}}
officials,
whose
name
was
Nathan-Melech,
lived.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Josiah
also
commanded
his
servants
to
tear
down
the
altars
that
the
previous
kings
of
Judah
had
built
on
the
roof
of
the
palace,
above
the
room
where
King
Ahaz
had
stayed.
They
also
tore
down
the
altars
that
had
been
built
by
King
Manasseh
in
the
two
courtyards
outside
the
temple.
He
commanded
that
they
be
smashed
to
pieces
and
thrown
down
into
the
Kidron
Valley.
\VS{13}He
also
commanded
that
the
altars
that
King
Solomon
had
built
east
of
Jerusalem,
south
of
Olive
Tree
Hill,
be
desecrated.
Solomon
had
built
them
for
the
worship
of
the
disgusting
idols—the
{\ADD{
statue
of
the
goddess}}
Astarte
{\ADD{
worshiped
by
the
people
in}}
Sidon
{\ADD{
city}},
Chemosh
the
god
of
the
Moab people-group,
and
Molech
the
god
of
the
Ammon people-group.
\VS{14}They
also
broke
into
pieces
the
stone
pillars
that
the Israeli
people
worshiped,
and
cut
down
the
{\ADD{
pillars
that
honored
the
goddess}}
Asherah,
and
they
scattered
the
ground
there
with
human
bones
{\ADD{
to
desecrate
it}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Furthermore,
he
commanded
them
to
tear
down
the
place
of
worship
at
Bethel
which
had
been
built
by
King
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#1}},
the
king
who
persuaded
the
people
of
Israel
to
sin.
They
tore
down
the
altar.
Then
they
broke
its
stones
into
pieces
and
pounded
them
to
become
powder.
They
also
burned
the
statue
{\ADD{
of
the
goddess}}
Asherah.
\VS{16}Then
Josiah
looked
around
and
saw
some
tombs
there
on
the
hill.
He
commanded
his
men
to
take
the
bones
out
of
those
tombs
and
burn
them
on
the
altar.
By
doing
that,
he
desecrated
the
altar.
That
was
what
a
prophet
had
predicted
many
years
before
when
Jeroboam
{\ADD{\#1}}
was
standing
close
to
that
altar
at
a
festival.
\par }{\PP Then
Josiah
looked
up
and
saw
the
tomb
of
the
prophet
who
had
predicted
that.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Josiah
asked, “Whose
tomb
is
that?”
The
people
of
Bethel
replied, “It
is
the
tomb
of
the
prophet
who
came
from
Judah
and
predicted
that
these
things
that
you
have
just
now
done
to
this
altar
would
happen.”
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Josiah
replied, “Allow
his
tomb
to
remain
as
it
is.
Do
not
remove
the
prophet’s
bones
from
the
tomb.”
\par }{\PP So
the
people
did
not
remove
those
bones,
or
the
bones
of
the
other
prophet,
the
one
who
had
come
from
Samaria.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}In
every
city
in
Israel,
at
Josiah’s
command,
they
tore
down
the
shrines
that
had
been
built
by
the
previous
kings
of
Israel,
which
had
caused
Yahweh
to
become
very
angry.
He
did
to
all
those
shrines/altars
the
same
thing
that
he
had
done
to
the
altars
at
Bethel.
\VS{20}He
ordered
that
all
the
priests
who
offered
sacrifices
on
the
altars
on
the
tops
of
hills
must
be
killed
on
those
altars.
Then
he
burned
human
bones
on
every
one
of
those
altars
{\ADD{
to
desecrate
them}}.
Then
he
returned
to
Jerusalem.
\par }{\SH Josiah
had
them
celebrate
the
Passover
Festival
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Then
the
king
commanded
all
the
people
to
celebrate
the
Passover
Festival
to
honor
Yahweh
their
God,
which
was
written
in
the
law
of
Moses
that
they
should
do
{\ADD{
every
year}}.
\VS{22}During
all
the
years
that
leaders
ruled
Israel
and
during
all
the
years
that
kings
had
ruled
Israel
and
Judah,
they
had
not
celebrated
that
festival.
\VS{23}But
now,
after
Josiah
had
been
ruling
for
almost 18
years,
to
{\ADD{
honor}}
Yahweh
they
celebrated
the
Passover
Festival
in
Jerusalem.
\par }{\SH Other
things
that
Josiah
changed
\par }{\PP \VS{24}Furthermore,
Josiah
got
rid
of
all
the
people
in
Jerusalem
and
other
places
in
Judah
who
practiced
sorcery
and
those
who
requested
the
spirits
of
dead
people
{\ADD{
to
tell
them
what
they
should
do}}.
He
also
removed
from
Jerusalem
and
from
the
other
places
in
Judah
all
the
household
idols
and
all
the
other
idols
and
abominable
things.
He
did
those
things
in
order
to
obey
what
had
been
written
in
the
scroll
that
Hilkiah
had
found
in
the
temple.
\VS{25}Josiah
was
totally
devoted
to
Yahweh.
There
had
never
been
{\ADD{
in
Judah
or
Israel}}
a
king
like
him.
He
obeyed
all
the
laws
of
Moses.
And
there
has
never
since
then
been
a
king
like
Josiah.
\par }{\PP \VS{26}But
Yahweh
had
become
extremely
angry
with
the
people
of
Judah
because
of
all
the
things
that
{\ADD{
King}}
Manasseh
had
done
to infuriate
him,
and
he
continued
to
be
very
angry.
\VS{27}He
said, “I
will
do
to
Judah
what
I
have
done
to
Israel.
I
will
banish
the
people
of
Judah,
with
the
result
that
they
will
never
enter
my
presence
again.
And
I
will
reject
Jerusalem,
the
city
that
I
chose
{\ADD{
to
belong
to
me}},
and
I
will
abandon
the
temple,
the
place
where
I
said
that
I [MTY]
should
be
worshiped.”
\par }{\SH The
end
of
Josiah’s
rule
of
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{28}{\ADD{
If
you
want
to
know
more
about}} [RHQ]
all
the
other
things
that
Josiah
did,
they
are
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\par }{\PP \VS{29}While
Josiah
was
the
king
of
Judah,
King
Neco
of
Egypt
led
his
army
north
to
the
Euphrates
River
to
help
the
king
of
Assyria.
King
Josiah
tried
to
stop
the
army
of
Egypt
at
Megiddo
{\ADD{
city}},
but
Josiah
was
killed
in
a
battle
there.
\VS{30}His
officials
placed
his
corpse
in
a
chariot
and
took
it
back
to
Jerusalem,
where
it
was
buried
in
his
own
tomb,
a
tomb
where
the
other
previous
kings
had
not
been
buried.
\par }{\PP Then
the
people
of
Judah
poured
{\ADD{
olive}}
oil
on
{\ADD{
the
head
of}}
Josiah’s
son
Joahaz,
to
appoint
him
to
be
the
new
king.
\par }{\SH King
Joahaz
of
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{31}Joahaz
was 23
years
old
when
he
became
the
king
{\ADD{
of
Judah}},
but
he
ruled
from
Jerusalem
for
{\ADD{
only}}
three
months.
His
mother
was
Hamutal,
the
daughter
of
Jeremiah
from
Libnah
{\ADD{
city}}.
\VS{32}Joahaz
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
said
were
evil,
just
like
many
of
his
ancestors
had
done.
\VS{33}King Neco’s
{\ADD{
army
came
from
Egypt
and
captured
him
and}}
tied
him
up
with
chains
and
took
him
as
a
prisoner
to
Riblah
{\ADD{
town}}
in
Hamath
{\ADD{
district}},
to
prevent
him
from
continuing
to
rule
in
Jerusalem.
Neco
forced
the
people
of
Judah
to
pay
to
him ◄7,500
pounds/3,400 kg.►
of
silver
and ◄75
pounds/34 kg.►
of
gold.
\VS{34}King
Neco
appointed
another
son
of
Josiah,
Eliakim,
to
be
the
new
king,
and
he
changed Eliakim’s
name
to
Jehoiakim.
Then
he
took
Joahaz
to
Egypt,
and
later
Joahaz
died
there
in
Egypt.
\par }{\SH King
Jehoiakim
of
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{35}King
Jehoiakim
collected
a
tax
from
the
people
{\ADD{
of
Judah}}.
He
collected
more
from
the
rich
people
and
less
from
the
poor
people.
He
collected
silver
and
gold
from
them,
in
order
to
pay
to
the
king
of
Egypt
what
he
commanded
them
to
give.
\par }{\PP \VS{36}Jehoiakim
was
twenty-five
years
old
when
he
became
the
king
{\ADD{
of
Judah}},
and
he
ruled
from
Jerusalem
for
eleven
years.
His
mother
was
Zebidah,
the
daughter
of
Pedaiah
from
Rumah
{\ADD{
town}}.
\VS{37}He
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
says
are
evil,
like
his
ancestors
had
done.

\par }\Chap{24}{\PP \VerseOne{1}While
Jehoiakim
was
ruling
{\ADD{
Judah,
the
army
of}}
King
Nebuchadnezzar
of
Babylon
invaded
Judah.
{\ADD{
They
defeated
the
Judean
army,
and
as
a
result,}}
Jehoiakim
was
required
to
pay
a
lot
of
tribute/taxes
to
King
Nebuchadnezzar.
But
after
three
years,
Jehoiakim
rebelled.
\VS{2}Then
Yahweh
sent
raiders
from
Babylonia
and
Syria,
and
from
the
Moab
and
Ammon people-groups,
to
attack
the
people
of
Judah
and
get
rid
of
them,
just
as
Yahweh
had
told
his
prophets
to
warn
the
people
would
happen.
\VS{3}These
things
happened
to
the
people
of
Judah
according
to
what
Yahweh
commanded.
{\ADD{
He
had
decided}}
to
get
rid
of
the
people
of
Judah
because
of
the
many
sins
that
King
Manasseh
{\ADD{
had
committed}}.
\VS{4}Manasseh
had
even
caused
many
innocent
people
in
Jerusalem
to
be
killed,
and
Yahweh
would
not
forgive
that.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}The
other
things
that
happened
while
Jehoiakim
was
king,
and
all
the
things
that
he
did,
are
written
in
the
scroll
called ‘The
History
of
the
Kings
of Judah’.
\VS{6}When
Jehoiakim
died,
his
son
Jehoiachin
became
the
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}{\ADD{
The
army
of}}
the
king
of
Babylon
{\ADD{
defeated
the
army
of
Egypt,
and}}
took
control
of
all
the
area
that
the
Egyptians
formerly
controlled,
from
the
brook
{\ADD{
at
the
border}}
of
Egypt
{\ADD{
in
the
south}}
to
the
Euphrates
River
{\ADD{
in
the
north}}.
So
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
the
king
of
Egypt
did
not
return
{\ADD{
to
attack
Judah}}
again.
\par }{\SH Jehoiachin
ruled
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{8}Jehoiachin
was 18
years
old
when
he
became
the
king
of
Judah.
His
mother’s
name
was
Nehushta;
she
was
the
daughter
of
a
man
from
Jerusalem
named
Elnathan.
Jehoiachin
ruled
in
Jerusalem
for
{\ADD{
only}}
three
months.
\VS{9}Jehoiachin
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil,
just
as
his
father
had
done.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}{\ADD{
While
Jehoiachin
was
king,}}
some
officers
of
King
Nebuchadnezzar
of
Babylon
came
{\ADD{
along
with
the
whole
Babylonian
army}}
to
Jerusalem,
and
they
surrounded
the
city.
\VS{11}While
they
were
doing
that,
Nebuchadnezzar
himself
came
to
the
city.
\VS{12}Then
King
Jehoiachin
and
his
mother
and
his advisors
and
important
officers
and
palace
officials
all
surrendered
to
the
Babylonian
army.
\par }{\PP These thngs
happened
when
Nebuchadnezzar
had
been
king
for
eight
years.
He
arrested
Jehoiachin
and
took
him
to
Babylon.
\VS{13}Just
as
Yahweh
had
said
would
happen, Nebuchadnezzar’s
{\ADD{
soldiers}}
took
{\ADD{
to
Babylon}}
all
the
valuable
things
from
Yahweh’s
temple
and
from
the
king’s
palace.
They
cut
apart
all
the
gold
items
that
King
Solomon
had
put
in
the
temple.
\VS{14}They
took
from
Jerusalem
{\ADD{
to
Babylon}} 10,000
people,
including
the
important
officials
and
the
best
soldiers
and
the
people
who
made
and
repaired
things
that
were
made
of
metal.
Only
the
very
poor
people
were
left
in
Judah.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Nebuchadnezzar’s
soldiers
also
took
to
Babylon
Jehoiachin’s
wives
and
officials,
his
mother,
and
{\ADD{
all}}
the
important
people.
\VS{16}They
also
took
to
Babylon 7,000
of
the
best
soldiers
and 1,000
men
who
knew
how
to
make
and
repair
things
that
are
made
from
metal.
All
of
these
people
whom
they
took
were
strong
and
able
to
fight
in
wars.
\VS{17}Then
the
king
of
Babylon
appointed
Jehoiachin’s
uncle,
Mattaniah,
to
be
the
king
{\ADD{
of
Judah}},
and
he
changed Mattaniah’s
name
to
Zedekiah.
\par }{\SH Zedekiah
ruled
in
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{18}When
Zedekiah
was
twenty-one
years
old,
he
became
king,
and
he
ruled
in
Jerusalem
for
eleven
years.
His
mother’s
name
was
Hamutal;
she
was
the
daughter
of
a
man
named
Jeremiah
from
Libnah
{\ADD{
town}}.
\VS{19}But
Zedekiah
did
many
things
that
Yahweh
considered
to
be
evil,
just
as
Jehoiakim
had
done.
\VS{20}Yahweh
was
very
angry.
So ◄and
finally/after
he
had
been
patient
a
long
time►
he
expelled
the
people
of
Jerusalem
and
{\ADD{
the
other
places
in}}
Judah
and
sent
them
to
Babylon.
\par }{\SH Jerusalem
was
destroyed
\par }{\PP {\ADD{
That
is
what
happened
when}}
Zedekiah
rebelled
against
the
king
of
Babylon.

\par }\Chap{25}{\PP \VerseOne{1}On January 15
of
the
ninth
year
that
Zedekiah
had
been
ruling,
King
Nebuchadnezzar
arrived
with
his
whole
army,
and
they
surrounded
Jerusalem.
They
built
ramps
{\ADD{
made
of
dirt
against
the
walls
of
the
city}},
so
that
they
could
climb
up
the
ramps
and
attack
the
city.
\VS{2}They
did
that
for
two
years.
\VS{3}After
Zedekiah
had
been
ruling
for
eleven
years,
the ◄famine/shortage
of
food►
had
become
very
bad.
All
their
food
was
gone.
\VS{4}On July 18
of
that
year,
the
Babylonian
soldiers
broke
through
part
of
the
city
wall,
{\ADD{
and
that
enabled
them
to
enter
the
city}}.
All
the
soldiers
of
Judah
{\ADD{
wanted
to
escape}}.
But
the
Babylonian
soldiers
surrounded
the
city,
so
the
{\ADD{
king
and}}
the
soldiers
of
Judah
waited
until
it
was nighttime.
Then
they
fled
through
the
gate
that
was
between
the
two
walls
near
the
king’s park.
They
ran
across
the
fields
and
started
to
go
down
to
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
Valley.
\VS{5}But
the
Babylonian
soldiers
chased/ran
after
them.
They
caught
the
king
when
he
was
by
himself
in
the
valley
near
the
Jordan
River.
He
was
by
himself
because
all
his
soldiers
had
abandoned
him.
\VS{6}The
Babylonian
soldiers
took
King
Zedekiah
to
Riblah
{\ADD{
city}}
in
Babylon.
There
the
king
of
Babylon
decided
what
they
would
do
to
punish
him.
\VS{7}There
the
king
of
Babylon
forced
Zedekiah
to
watch
as
the
Babylonian
soldiers
killed
all
of
Zedekiah’s
sons.
Then
they
gouged
out
Zedekiah’s
eyes.
They
put
bronze
chains
on
{\ADD{
his
hands
and
feet}}
and
then
they
took
him
to
Babylon.
\par }{\PP \VS{8}On August 14
of
that
year,
after
Nebuchadnezzar
had
been
ruling
for 19
years,
Nebuzaradan
arrived
in
Jerusalem.
He
was
one
of
king Nebuchadnezzar’s
officials
and
captain
of
the
men
that
guarded
the
king.
\VS{9}He
{\ADD{
commanded
his
soldiers
to}}
burn
down
the
temple
of
Yahweh,
the
king’s
palace,
and
all
the
houses
in
Jerusalem.
So
they
burned
down
all
the
important
buildings
in
the
city.
\VS{10}Then
Nebuzaradan
supervised
all
the
soldiers
of
the
Babylonian
army
as
they
tore
down
the
walls
of
Jerusalem.
\VS{11}Then
he
and
his
soldiers
took
to
Babylon
the
people
who
were
still
living
in
the
city,
the
other
people
{\ADD{
who
lived
in
that
area}},
and
the
soldiers
who
had
previously
surrendered
to
the
Babylonian
army.
\VS{12}But
Nebuzaradan
allowed
some
of
the
very
poor
people
to
stay
in
Judah
to
take
care
of
the
vineyards
and
{\ADD{
to
plant
crops
in}}
the
fields.
\par }{\PP \VS{13}The
Babylonian
soldiers
broke
into
pieces
the
bronze
pillars,
the
bronze
carts
with
wheels,
and
the
huge
bronze
basin,
all
of
which
were
in
the
temple
courtyard,
and
they
took
all
the
bronze
to
Babylon.
\VS{14}They
also
took
the
pots,
the
shovels,
the
instruments
for ◄snuffing
out/extinguishing►
{\ADD{
the wicks
of}}
the
lamps,
the
dishes,
and
all
the
other
bronze
items
that
the Israeli
priests
had
used
for
offering
sacrifices
at
the
temple.
\VS{15}The
soldiers
also
took
away
the ◄firepans/trays
for
carrying
burning
coals►,
the
basins,
and
{\ADD{
all
the
other}}
items
made
of
pure
gold
or
pure
silver.
\par }{\PP \VS{16}The
bronze
from
the
two
pillars,
the
carts
with
wheels,
and
the
huge
basin
were
very
heavy;
they
could
not
be
weighed. ◄Those
things
had
been
made/A
man
named
Hiram
had
made
these
things►
for
the
temple
when
Solomon
{\ADD{
was
the
king
of
Israel}}.
\VS{17}Each
of
the
pillars
was ◄27
feet/8 meters►
tall.
The
bronze
capital/top
of
each
pillar
was ◄7-1/2
feet/2.3 meters►
high.
They
were
each
decorated
all
around
with
something
that
looked
like
a
net
made
of
bronze
chains connecting
bronze
pomegranates.
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Nebuzaradan
took
with
him
to
Babylon
Seraiah
the Supreme
Priest,
Zephaniah
his
assistant,
and
the
three
men
who
guarded
the
entrance
{\ADD{
to
the
temple}}.
\VS{19}And fhey
found
people
who
were
still
hiding
in
Jerusalem.
From
those peeople
he
took
one
officer
from
the
Judean
army,
five
of
the
king’s advisors,
the
chief
secretary
of
the
army
commander
who
was
in
charge
of recruiting
men
to
join
the
army,
and 60
other
important
Judean
men.
\VS{20}Nebuzaradan
took
them
all
to
the
king
of
Babylon
at
Riblah
{\ADD{
city}}.
\VS{21}There
at
Riblah,
in
Hamath
province,
the
king
of
Babylon
commanded
that
they
all
be
executed.
\par }{\PP That
is
what
happened
when
the
people
of
Judah
were ◄taken forcefully/exiled►
from
their
land
{\ADD{
to
Babylon}}.
\par }{\SH Gedaliah
was
appointed
governor
in
Judah
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Then
King
Nebuchadnezzar
appointed
Gedaliah,
who
was
the
son
of
Ahikam
and
grandson
of
Shaphan,
to
be
the
governor
of
the
people
who
were
still
living
in
Judah.
\VS{23}When
all
the
army
captains
of
Judah
and
their
soldiers
who
had
not
surrendered
to
Nebuchadnezzar
found
out
that
the
king
of
Babylon
had
appointed
Gedaliah
to
be
the
governor,
they
met
with
him
at
Mizpah
{\ADD{
town}}.
These
army
captains
were
Ishmael
the
son
of
Nethaniah,
Johanan
the
son
of
Kareah,
Seraiah
the
son
of
Tanhumeth
from
Netophah
{\ADD{
town}},
and
Jaazaniah
from
the
Maacah
region.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}Gedaliah
solemnly
promised
them
{\ADD{
that
the
officials
from
Babylon
were
not
planning
to
harm
them}}.
He
said, “You
may
live
in
this
land
{\ADD{
without
being
afraid}}
and
serve
the
king
of
Babylon,
and
{\ADD{
if
you
do}},
everything
will
go
well
for
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{25}But
in October
of
that
year,
Ishmael,
whose
grandfather
Elishama
was
one
of
the
relatives
of
the
descendants
of
King
David,
went
to
Mizpah
along
with
ten
other
men
and
assassinated/killed
Gedaliah
and
all
the
men
who
were
with
him.
There
were
also
men
from
Judah
and
men
from
Babylon
whom
they
assassinated.
\VS{26}Then
many [HYP]
of
the
people
from
Judah,
important
people
and unimportant
ones,
and
the
army
captains,
were
very
afraid
of
{\ADD{
what}}
the
Babylonians
{\ADD{
would
do
to
them}},
so
they
fled
to
Egypt.
\par }{\SH Jehoiachin
was
released
\par }{\PP \VS{27}Thirty-seven
years
after
King
Jehoiachin
of
Judah
was
taken
to
Babylon,
{\ADD{Nebuchadnezzar’s
son}}
Evil-Merodach
became
the
king
of
Babylon.
He
was
kind
to
Jehoiachin,
and
on April 2
of
that
year,
he
released/freed
Jehoiachin
from
prison.
\VS{28}He
always
spoke
kindly
to
Jehoiachin
and
honored
him
more
than
the
other
kings
who
had
been
taken/exiled
to
Babylon.
\VS{29}He
gave
Jehoiachin
new
clothes
to
replace
the
clothes
that
he
had
been
wearing
in
prison,
and
he
allowed
Jehoiachin
to
eat
at
the
king’s
table
every
day
for
the
rest
of
his
life.
\VS{30}The
king
of
Babylon
also
gave
him
money
every
day,
so
that
he
could
buy
the
things
that
he
needed.
The
king
continued
to
do
that
until
Jehoiachin
died.
\par }