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1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the sky and burned up the burnt offering and the sacrifices. The Lord's glory filled the Temple.

2 The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord, because the Lord's glory filled it.

3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down from heaven and the Lord's glory on the Temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground. They worshiped and thanked the Lord, saying, "He is good; his love continues forever."

4 Then King Solomon and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord.

5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people gave the Temple to God.

6 The priests stood ready to do their work. The Levites also stood with the instruments of the Lord's music that King David had made for praising the Lord. The priests and Levites were saying, "His love continues forever." The priests, who stood across from the Levites, blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

7 Solomon made holy the middle part of the courtyard, which is in front of the Temple of the Lord. There he offered whole burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. He offered them in the courtyard, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fat.

8 Solomon and all the Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days. There were many people, and they came from as far away as Lebo Hamath and the brook of Egypt.

9 For seven days they celebrated giving the altar for the worship of God. Then they celebrated the festival for seven days. On the eighth day they had a meeting.

10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon sent the people home, full of joy. They were happy because the Lord had been so good to David, Solomon, and his people Israel.

11 Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord and his royal palace. He had success in doing everything he planned in the Temple of the Lord and his own palace.

12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself to be a Temple for sacrifices.

13 "I may stop the sky from sending rain. I may command the locusts to destroy the land. I may send sicknesses to my people.

14 Then if my people, who are called by my name, are sorry for what they have done, if they pray and obey me and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.

15 Now I will see them, and I will listen to the prayers prayed in this place.

16 I have chosen this Temple and made it holy. So I will be worshiped there forever. Yes, I will always watch over it and love it.

17 "But you must serve me as your father David did. You must obey all I have commanded and keep my laws and rules.

18 If you do, I will make your kingdom strong. This is the agreement I made with your father David, saying, 'Someone from your family will always rule in Israel.'

19 "But you must follow me and obey the laws and commands I have given you. You must not serve or worship other gods.

20 If you do, I will take the Israelites out of my land, the land I have given them, and I will leave this Temple that I have made holy. All the nations will make fun of it and speak evil about it.

21 This Temple is honored now, but then, everyone who passes by will be shocked. They will ask, 'Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?'

22 People will answer, 'This happened because they left the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God who brought them out of Egypt. They decided to follow other gods and worshiped and served them, so he brought all this disaster on them.'"

1 By the end of twenty years, Solomon had built the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace.

2 Solomon rebuilt the towns that Hiram had given him, and Solomon sent Israelites to live in them.

3 Then he went to Hamath Zobah and captured it.

4 Solomon also built the town of Tadmor in the desert, and he built all the towns in Hamath as towns for storing grain and supplies.

5 He rebuilt the towns of Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, protecting them with strong walls, gates, and bars in the gates.

6 He also rebuilt the town of Baalath. And he built all the other towns for storage and all the cities for his chariots and horses. He built all he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and everywhere he ruled.

7 There were other people in the land who were not Israelites -- the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

8 They were descendants of the people that the Israelites had not destroyed. Solomon forced them to be slave workers, as is still true today.

9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites. They were his soldiers, chief captains, commanders of his chariots, and his chariot drivers.

10 These were his most important officers. There were two hundred fifty of them to direct the people.

11 Solomon brought the daughter of the king of Egypt from the older part of Jerusalem to the palace he had built for her. Solomon said, "My wife must not live in King David's palace, because the places where the Ark of the Agreement has been are holy."

12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built for the Lord in front of the Temple porch.

13 He offered sacrifices every day as Moses had commanded. They were offered on the Sabbath days, New Moons, and the three yearly feasts -- the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Shelters.

14 Solomon followed his father David's instructions and chose the groups of priests for their service and the Levites to lead the praise and to help the priests do their daily work. And he chose the gatekeepers by their groups to serve at each gate, as David, the man of God, had commanded.

15 They obeyed all of Solomon's commands to the priests and Levites, as well as his commands about the treasuries.

16 All Solomon's work was done as he had said from the day the foundation of the Temple of the Lord was begun, until it was finished. So the Temple was finished.

17 Then Solomon went to the towns of Ezion Geber and Elath near the Red Sea in the land of Edom.

18 Hiram sent ships to Solomon that were commanded by his own men, who were skilled sailors. Hiram's men went with Solomon's men to Ophir and brought back about thirty-four thousand pounds of gold to King Solomon.

1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She had a large group of servants with her and camels carrying spices, jewels, and much gold. When she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all she had in mind,

2 and Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was too hard for him to explain to her.

3 The queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She saw the palace he had built,

4 the food on his table, his many officers, the palace servants and their good clothes, the servants who served Solomon his wine and their good clothes. She saw the whole burnt offerings he made in the Temple of the Lord. All these things amazed her.

5 So she said to King Solomon, "What I heard in my own country about your achievements and wisdom is true.

6 I did not believe it then, but now I have come and seen it with my own eyes. I was not told even half of your great wisdom! You are much greater than I had heard.

7 Your men and officers are very lucky, because in always serving you, they are able to hear your wisdom.

8 Praise the Lord your God who was pleased to make you king. He has put you on his throne to rule for the Lord your God, because your God loves the people of Israel and supports them forever. He has made you king over them to keep justice and to rule fairly."

9 Then she gave the king about nine thousand pounds of gold and many spices and jewels. No one had ever given such spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 Hiram's men and Solomon's men brought gold from Ophir, juniper wood, and jewels.

11 King Solomon used the juniper wood to build steps for the Temple of the Lord and the palace and to make lyres and harps for the musicians. No one in Judah had ever seen such beautiful things as these.

12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for, even more than she had brought to him. Then she and her servants returned to her own country.

13 Every year King Solomon received about fifty thousand pounds of gold.

14 Besides that, he also received gold from traders and merchants. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about seven and one-half pounds of hammered gold.

16 He also made three hundred smaller shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about four pounds of gold. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

17 The king built a large throne of ivory and covered it with pure gold.

18 The throne had six steps on it and a gold footstool. There were armrests on both sides of the chair, and each armrest had a lion beside it.

19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom.

20 All of Solomon's drinking cups, as well as the dishes in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon, were made of pure gold. In Solomon's time people did not think silver was valuable.

21 King Solomon had many ships that he sent out to trade, with Hiram's men as the crews. Every three years the ships returned, bringing back gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons.

22 King Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth.

23 All the kings of the earth wanted to see Solomon and listen to the wisdom God had given him.

24 Year after year everyone who came brought gifts of silver and gold, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and he had twelve thousand horses. He kept some in special cities for the chariots, and others he kept with him in Jerusalem.

26 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.

27 In Jerusalem the king made silver as common as stones and cedar trees as plentiful as the fig trees on the western hills.

28 Solomon imported horses from Egypt and all other countries.

29 Everything else Solomon did, from the beginning to the end, is written in the records of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer, who wrote about Jeroboam, Nebat's son.

30 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.

31 Then Solomon died and was buried in Jerusalem, the city of David, his father. And Solomon's son Rehoboam became king in his place.

1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all the Israelites had gone to make him king.

2 Jeroboam son of Nebat was in Egypt, where he had gone to escape from King Solomon. When Jeroboam heard about Rehoboam being made king, he returned from Egypt.

3 After the people sent for him, he and the people went to Rehoboam and said to him,

4 "Your father forced us to work very hard. Now, make it easier for us, and don't make us work as he did. Then we will serve you."

5 Rehoboam answered, "Come back to me in three days." So the people left.

6 King Rehoboam asked the older leaders who had advised Solomon during his lifetime, "How do you think I should answer these people?"

7 They answered, "Be kind to these people. If you please them and give them a kind answer, they will serve you always."

8 But Rehoboam rejected this advice. Instead, he asked the young men who had grown up with him and who served as his advisers.

9 Rehoboam asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these people who said, 'Don't make us work as hard as your father did'?"

10 The young men who had grown up with him answered, "The people said to you, 'Your father forced us to work very hard. Now make our work easier.' You should tell them, 'My little finger is bigger than my father's legs.

11 He forced you to work hard, but I will make you work even harder. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with whips that have sharp points.'"

12 Rehoboam had told the people, "Come back to me in three days." So after three days Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam.

13 King Rehoboam spoke cruel words to them, because he had rejected the advice of the older leaders.

14 He followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father forced you to work hard, but I will make you work even harder. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with whips that have sharp points."

15 So the king did not listen to the people. God caused this to happen so that the Lord could keep the promise he had made to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah, a prophet from Shiloh.

16 When all the Israelites saw that the king refused to listen to them, they said to the king, "We have no share in David! People of Israel, let's go to our own homes! Let David's son rule his own people." So all the Israelites went home.

17 But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.

18 Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. When Rehoboam sent him to the people, they threw stones at him until he died. But King Rehoboam ran to his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem.

19 Since then, Israel has been against the family of David.

1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered one hundred eighty thousand of the best soldiers from Judah and Benjamin. He wanted to fight Israel to take back his kingdom.

2 But the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah, a man of God, saying,

3 "Speak to Solomon's son Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and to all the Israelites living in Judah and Benjamin. Say to them,

4 'The Lord says you must not go to war against your brothers. Every one of you should go home, because I made all these things happen.'" So they obeyed the Lord's command and turned back and did not attack Jeroboam.

5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built strong cities in Judah to defend it.

6 He built up the cities of Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

7 Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam,

8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were strong, walled cities in Judah and Benjamin.

11 When Rehoboam made those cities strong, he put commanders and supplies of food, oil, and wine in them.

12 Also, Rehoboam put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. Rehoboam kept the people of Judah and Benjamin under his control.

13 The priests and the Levites from all over Israel joined Rehoboam.

14 The Levites even left their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests to the Lord.

15 Jeroboam chose his own priests for the places of worship and for the goat and calf idols he had made.

16 There were people from all the tribes of Israel who wanted to obey the Lord, the God of Israel. So they went to Jerusalem with the Levites to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

17 These people made the kingdom of Judah strong, and they supported Solomon's son Rehoboam for three years. During this time they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.

18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth and Abihail. Jerimoth was David's son, and Abihail was the daughter of Eliab, Jesse's son.

19 Mahalath gave Rehoboam these sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

20 Then Rehoboam married Absalom's daughter Maacah, and she gave Rehoboam these children: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

21 Rehoboam loved Maacah more than his other wives and slave women. Rehoboam had eighteen wives and sixty slave women and was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

22 Rehoboam chose Abijah son of Maacah to be the leader of his own brothers, because he planned to make Abijah king.

23 Rehoboam acted wisely. He spread his sons through all the areas of Judah and Benjamin, sending them to every strong, walled city. He gave plenty of supplies to his sons, and he also found wives for them.

1 After Rehoboam's kingdom was set up and he became strong, he and the people of Judah stopped obeying the teachings of the Lord.

2 During the fifth year Rehoboam was king, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, because Rehoboam and the people were unfaithful to the Lord.

3 Shishak had twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. He brought troops of Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites from Egypt with him, so many they couldn't be counted.

4 Shishak captured the strong, walled cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem because they were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, "This is what the Lord says: 'You have left me, so now I will leave you to face Shishak alone.'"

6 Then the leaders of Judah and King Rehoboam were sorry for what they had done. They said, "The Lord does what is right."

7 When the Lord saw they were sorry for what they had done, the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah, saying, "The king and the leaders are sorry. So I will not destroy them but will save them soon. I will not use Shishak to punish Jerusalem in my anger.

8 But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak's servants so they may learn that serving me is different than serving the kings of other nations."

9 Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and the king's palace. He took everything, even the gold shields Solomon had made.

10 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place and gave them to the commanders of the guards for the palace gates.

11 Whenever the king went to the Temple of the Lord, the guards went with him, carrying the shields. Later, they would put them back in the guardroom.

12 When Rehoboam was sorry for what he had done, the Lord held his anger back and did not fully destroy Rehoboam. There was some good in Judah.

13 King Rehoboam made himself a strong king in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he was king in Jerusalem for seventeen years. Jerusalem is the city that the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel in which he was to be worshiped. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah from the country of Ammon.

14 Rehoboam did evil because he did not want to obey the Lord.

15 The things Rehoboam did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer, in the family histories. There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the time they ruled.

16 Rehoboam died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Abijah became king in his place.

1 Abijah became the king of Judah during the eighteenth year Jeroboam was king of Israel.

2 Abijah ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Uriel from the town of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

3 Abijah led an army of four hundred thousand capable soldiers into battle, and Jeroboam prepared to fight him with eight hundred thousand capable soldiers.

4 Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the mountains of Ephraim and said, "Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me!

5 You should know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave David and his sons the right to rule Israel forever by an agreement of salt.

6 But Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of the officers of Solomon, David's son, turned against his master.

7 Then worthless, evil men joined Jeroboam against Rehoboam, Solomon's son. He was young and didn't know what to do, so he could not stop them.

8 "Now you people are making plans against the Lord's kingdom, which belongs to David's sons. There are many of you, and you have the gold calves Jeroboam made for you as gods.

9 You have thrown out the Levites and the Lord's priests, Aaron's sons. You have chosen your own priests as people in other countries do. Anyone who comes with a young bull and seven male sheep can become a priest of idols that are not gods.

10 "But as for us, the Lord is our God; we have not left him. The priests who serve the Lord are Aaron's sons, and the Levites help them.

11 They offer burnt offerings and sweet-smelling incense to the Lord every morning and evening. They put the bread on the special table in the Temple. And they light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We obey the command of the Lord our God, but you have left him.

12 God himself is with us as our ruler. His priests blow the trumpet to call us to war against you. Men of Israel, don't fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, because you won't succeed."

13 But Jeroboam had sent some troops to sneak behind Judah's army. So while Jeroboam was in front of Judah's army, Jeroboam's soldiers were behind them.

14 When the soldiers of Judah turned around, they saw Jeroboam's army attacking both in front and back. So they cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets.

15 Then the men of Judah gave a battle cry. When they shouted, God caused Jeroboam and the army of Israel to run away from Abijah and the army of Judah.

16 When the army of Israel ran away from the men of Judah, God handed them over to Judah.

17 Abijah's army struck Israel so that five hundred thousand of Israel's best men were killed.

18 So at that time the people of Israel were defeated. And the people of Judah won, because they depended on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

19 Abijah's army chased Jeroboam's army and captured from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, and the small villages near them.

20 Jeroboam never became strong again while Abijah was alive. The Lord struck Jeroboam, and he died.

21 But Abijah became strong. He married fourteen women and was the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

22 Everything else Abijah did -- what he said and what he did -- is recorded in the writings of the prophet Iddo.

1 Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem. His son Asa became king in his place, and there was peace in the country for ten years during Asa's time.

2 Asa did what the Lord his God said was good and right.

3 He removed the foreign altars and the places where gods were worshiped. He smashed the stone pillars that honored other gods, and he tore down the Asherah idols.

4 Asa commanded the people of Judah to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his teachings and commandments.

5 He also removed the places where gods were worshiped and the incense altars from every town in Judah. So the kingdom had peace while Asa was king.

6 Asa built strong, walled cities in Judah during the time of peace. He had no war in these years, because the Lord gave him peace.

7 Asa said to the people of Judah, "Let's build up these towns and put walls around them. Let's make towers, gates, and bars in the gates. This country is ours, because we have obeyed the Lord our God. We have followed him, and he has given us peace all around." So they built and had success.

8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah and two hundred eighty thousand men from Benjamin. The men from Judah carried large shields and spears. The men from Benjamin carried small shields and bows and arrows. All of them were brave fighting men.

9 Then Zerah from Cush came out to fight them with an enormous army and three hundred chariots. They came as far as the town of Mareshah.

10 So Asa went out to fight Zerah and prepared for battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11 Asa called out to the Lord his God, saying, "Lord, only you can help weak people against the strong. Help us, Lord our God, because we depend on you. We fight against this enormous army in your name. Lord, you are our God. Don't let anyone win against you."

12 So the Lord defeated the Cushites when Asa's army from Judah attacked them, and the Cushites ran away.

13 Asa's army chased them as far as the town of Gerar. So many Cushites were killed that the army could not fight again; they were crushed by the Lord and his army. Asa and his army carried many valuable things away from the enemy.

14 They destroyed all the towns near Gerar, because the people living in these towns were afraid of the Lord. Since these towns had many valuable things, Asa's army took them away.

15 Asa's army also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived and took many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

1 The Spirit of God entered Azariah son of Oded.

2 Azariah went to meet Asa and said, "Listen to me, Asa and all you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you obey him, you will find him, but if you leave him, he will leave you.

3 For a long time Israel was without the true God and without a priest to teach them and without the teachings.

4 But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel. They looked for him and found him.

5 In those days no one could travel safely. There was much trouble in all the nations.

6 One nation would destroy another nation, and one city would destroy another city, because God troubled them with all kinds of distress.

7 But you should be strong. Don't give up, because you will get a reward for your good work."

8 Asa felt brave when he heard these words and the message from Azariah son of Oded the prophet. So he removed the hateful idols from all of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord's altar that was in front of the porch of the Temple of the Lord.

9 Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many people came to Asa even from Israel, because they saw that the Lord, Asa's God, was with him.

10 Asa and these people gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's rule.

11 At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats from the valuable things Asa's army had taken from their enemies.

12 Then they made an agreement to obey the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with their whole being.

13 Anyone who refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be killed. It did not matter if that person was important or unimportant, a man or woman.

14 Then Asa and the people made a promise before the Lord, shouting with a loud voice and blowing trumpets and sheep's horns.

15 All the people of Judah were happy about the promise, because they had promised with all their heart. They looked for God and found him. So the Lord gave them peace in all the country.

16 King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother, because she had made a terrible Asherah idol. Asa cut down that idol, smashed it into pieces, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

17 But the places of worship to gods were not removed from Judah. Even so, Asa was faithful all his life.

18 Asa brought into the Temple of God the gifts he and his father had given: silver, gold, and utensils.

19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's rule.

1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's rule, Baasha king of Israel attacked Judah. He made the town of Ramah strong so he could keep people from leaving or entering Judah, Asa's country.

2 Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and out of his own palace. Then he sent it with messengers to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus. Asa said,

3 "Let there be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will leave my land."

4 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies to attack the towns of Israel. They defeated the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all the towns in Naphtali where treasures were stored.

5 When Baasha heard about this, he stopped building up Ramah and left his work.

6 Then King Asa brought all the people of Judah to Ramah, and they carried away the rocks and wood that Baasha had used. And they used them to build up Geba and Mizpah.

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "You depended on the king of Aram to help you and not on the Lord your God. So the king of Aram's army escaped from you.

8 The Cushites and Libyans had a large and powerful army and many chariots and horsemen. But you depended on the Lord to help you, so he handed them over to you.

9 The Lord searches all the earth for people who have given themselves completely to him. He wants to make them strong. Asa, you did a foolish thing, so from now on you will have wars."

10 Asa was angry with Hanani the seer because of what he had said; he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. And Asa was cruel to some of the people at the same time.

11 Everything Asa did as king, from the beginning to the end, is written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, Asa got a disease in his feet. Though his disease was very bad, he did not ask for help from the Lord, but only from the doctors.

13 Then Asa died in the forty-first year of his rule.

14 The people buried Asa in the tomb he had made for himself in Jerusalem. They laid him on a bed filled with spices and different kinds of mixed perfumes, and they made a large fire to honor him.

1 Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, became king of Judah in his place. Jehosha- phat made Judah strong so they could fight against Israel.

2 He put troops in all the strong, walled cities of Judah, in the land of Judah, and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he lived as his ancestor David had lived when he first became king. Jehoshaphat did not ask for help from the Baal idols,

4 but from the God of his father. He obeyed God's commands and did not live as the people of Israel lived.

5 The Lord made Jehoshaphat a strong king over Judah. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so he had much wealth and honor.

6 He wanted very much to obey the Lord. He also removed the places for worshiping gods and the Asherah idols from Judah.

7 During the third year of his rule, Jehoshaphat sent his officers to teach in the towns of Judah. These officers were Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah.

8 Jehoshaphat sent with them these Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. He also sent the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

9 These leaders, Levites, and priests taught the people in Judah. They took the Book of the Teachings of the Lord and went through all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

10 The nations near Judah were afraid of the Lord, so they did not start a war against Jehoshaphat.

11 Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver to Jehoshaphat as he demanded. Some Arabs brought him flocks: seventy-seven hundred sheep and seventy-seven hundred goats.

12 Jehoshaphat grew more and more powerful. He built strong, walled cities and towns for storing supplies in Judah.

13 He kept many supplies in the towns of Judah, and he kept trained soldiers in Jerusalem.

14 These soldiers were listed by families. From the families of Judah, these were the commanders of groups of a thousand men: Adnah was the commander of three hundred thousand soldiers;

15 Jehohanan was the commander of two hundred eighty thousand soldiers;

16 Amasiah was the commander of two hundred thousand soldiers. Amasiah son of Zicri had volunteered to serve the Lord.

17 These were the commanders from the families of Benjamin: Eliada, a brave soldier, had two hundred thousand soldiers who used bows and shields.

18 And Jehozabad had one hundred eighty thousand men armed for war.

19 All these soldiers served King Jehoshaphat. The king also put other men in the strong, walled cities through all of Judah.

1 Jehoshaphat had much wealth and honor, and he made an agree- ment with King Ahab through marriage.

2 A few years later Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab sacrificed many sheep and cattle as a great feast to honor Jehoshaphat and the people with him. He encouraged Jehoshaphat to attack Ramoth in Gilead.

3 Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, "Will you go with me to attack Ramoth in Gilead?" Jehoshaphat answered, "I will go with you, and my soldiers are yours. We will join you in the battle."

4 Jehoshaphat also said to Ahab, "But first we should ask if this is the Lord's will."

5 So King Ahab called four hundred prophets together and asked them, "Should we go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?" They answered, "Go, because God will hand them over to you."

6 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Isn't there a prophet of the Lord here? Let's ask him what we should do."

7 Then King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "There is one other prophet. We could ask the Lord through him, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything good about me, but always something bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." Jehoshaphat said, "King Ahab, you shouldn't say that!"

8 So Ahab king of Israel told one of his officers to bring Micaiah to him at once.

9 Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah had on their royal robes and were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor, near the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were standing before them speaking their messages.

10 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made some iron horns. He said to Ahab, "This is what the Lord says: 'You will use these horns to fight the Arameans until they are destroyed.'"

11 All the other prophets said the same thing, "Attack Ramoth in Gilead and win, because the Lord will hand the Arameans over to you."

12 The messenger who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, "All the other prophets are saying King Ahab will win. You should agree with them and give the king a good answer."

13 But Micaiah answered, "As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says."

14 When Micaiah came to Ahab, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth in Gilead or not?" Micaiah answered, "Attack and win! They will be handed over to you."

15 But Ahab said to Micaiah, "How many times do I have to tell you to speak only the truth to me in the name of the Lord?"

16 So Micaiah answered, "I saw the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, 'They have no leaders. They should go home and not fight.'"

17 Then Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I told you! He never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad."

18 But Micaiah said, "Hear the message from the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with his heavenly army standing on his right and on his left.

19 The Lord said, 'Who will trick King Ahab of Israel into attacking Ramoth in Gilead where he will be killed?' "Some said one thing; some said another.

20 Then one spirit came and stood before the Lord and said, 'I will trick him.' "The Lord asked, 'How will you do it?'

21 "The spirit answered, 'I will go to Ahab's prophets and make them tell lies.' "So the Lord said, 'You will succeed in tricking him. Go and do it.'"

22 Micaiah said, "Ahab, the Lord has made your prophets lie to you, and the Lord has decided that disaster should come to you."

23 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up to Micaiah and slapped him in the face. Zedekiah said, "Has the Lord's Spirit left me to speak through you?"

24 Micaiah answered, "You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inside room."

25 Then Ahab king of Israel ordered, "Take Micaiah and send him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king's son.

26 Tell them I said to put this man in prison and give him only bread and water until I return safely from the battle."

27 Micaiah said, "Ahab, if you come back safely from the battle, the Lord has not spoken through me. Remember my words, all you people!"

28 So Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to Ramoth in Gilead.

29 King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "I will go into battle, but I will wear other clothes so no one will recognize me. But you wear your royal clothes." So Ahab wore other clothes, and they went into battle.

30 The king of Aram ordered his chariot commanders, "Don't fight with anyone -- important or unimportant -- except the king of Israel."

31 When these commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was the king of Israel, so they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat began shouting, and the Lord helped him. God made the chariot commanders turn away from Jehoshaphat.

32 When they saw he was not King Ahab, they stopped chasing him.

33 By chance, a soldier shot an arrow which hit Ahab king of Israel between the pieces of his armor. King Ahab said to his chariot driver, "Turn around and get me out of the battle, because I am hurt!"

34 The battle continued all day. King Ahab held himself up in his chariot and faced the Arameans until evening. Then he died at sunset.

1 Jehoshaphat king of Judah came back safely to his palace in Jerusalem.

2 Jehu son of Hanani, a seer, went out to meet him and said to the king, "Why did you help evil people? Why do you love those who hate the Lord? That is the reason the Lord is angry with you.

3 But there is some good in you. You took the Asherah idols out of this country, and you have tried to obey God."

4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. He went out again to be with the people, from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and he turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

5 Jehoshaphat appointed judges in all the land, in each of the strong, walled cities of Judah.

6 Jehoshaphat said to them, "Watch what you do, because you are not judging for people but for the Lord. He will be with you when you make a decision.

7 Now let each of you fear the Lord. Watch what you do, because the Lord our God wants people to be fair. He wants all people to be treated the same, and he doesn't want decisions influenced by money."

8 And in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests, and leaders of Israelite families to be judges. They were to decide cases about the law of the Lord and settle problems between the people who lived in Jerusalem.

9 Jehoshaphat commanded them, "You must always serve the Lord completely, and you must fear him.

10 Your people living in the cities will bring you cases about killing, about the teachings, commands, rules, or some other law. In all these cases you must warn the people not to sin against the Lord. If you don't, he will be angry with you and your people. But if you warn them, you won't be guilty.

11 "Amariah, the leading priest, will be over you in all cases about the Lord. Zebadiah son of Ishmael, a leader in the tribe of Judah, will be over you in all cases about the king. Also, the Levites will serve as officers for you. Have courage. May the Lord be with those who do what is right."

1 Later the Moabites, Ammonites, and some Meunites came to start a war with Jehoshaphat.

2 Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A large army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazazon Tamar!" (Hazazon Tamar is also called En Gedi.)

3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided to ask the Lord what to do. He announced that no one in Judah should eat during this special time of prayer to God.

4 The people of Judah came together to ask the Lord for help; they came from every town in Judah.

5 The people of Judah and Jerusalem met in front of the new courtyard in the Temple of the Lord. Then Jehoshaphat stood up,

6 and he said, "Lord, God of our ancestors, you are the God in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You have power and strength, so no one can stand against you.

7 Our God, you forced out the people who lived in this land as your people Israel moved in. And you gave this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham.

8 They lived in this land and built a Temple for you. They said,

9 'If trouble comes upon us, or war, punishment, sickness, or hunger, we will stand before you and before this Temple where you have chosen to be worshiped. We will cry out to you when we are in trouble. Then you will hear and save us.'

10 "But now here are men from Ammon, Moab, and Edom. You wouldn't let the Israelites enter their lands when the Israelites came from Egypt. So the Israelites turned away and did not destroy them.

11 But see how they repay us for not destroying them! They have come to force us out of your land, which you gave us as our own.

12 Our God, punish those people. We have no power against this large army that is attacking us. We don't know what to do, so we look to you for help."

13 All the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their babies, wives, and children.

14 Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Jahaziel. (Jahaziel was Zechariah's son. Zechariah was Benaiah's son. Benaiah was Jeiel's son, and Jeiel was Mattaniah's son.) Jahaziel, a Levite and a descendant of Asaph, stood up in the meeting.

15 He said, "Listen to me, King Jehoshaphat and all you people living in Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord says this to you: 'Don't be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. The battle is not your battle, it is God's.

16 Tomorrow go down there and fight those people. They will come up through the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine that leads to the Desert of Jeruel.

17 You won't need to fight in this battle. Just stand strong in your places, and you will see the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don't be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord is with you. So go out against those people tomorrow.'"

18 Jehoshaphat bowed facedown on the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed down before the Lord and worshiped him.

19 Then some Levites from the Kohathite and Korahite people stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud voices.

20 Jehoshaphat's army went out into the Desert of Tekoa early in the morning. As they were starting out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will stand strong. Have faith in his prophets, and you will succeed."

21 Jehoshaphat listened to the people's advice. Then he chose men to be singers to the Lord, to praise him because he is holy and wonderful. As they marched in front of the army, they said, "Thank the Lord, because his love continues forever."

22 As they began to sing and praise God, the Lord set ambushes for the people of Ammon, Moab, and Edom who had come to attack Judah. And they were defeated.

23 The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the Edomites, destroying them completely. After they had killed the Edomites, they killed each other.

24 When the men from Judah came to a place where they could see the desert, they looked at the enemy's large army. But they only saw dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.

25 When Jehoshaphat and his army came to take their valuables, they found many supplies, much clothing, and other valuable things. There was more than they could carry away; there was so much it took three days to gather it all.

26 On the fourth day Jehoshaphat and his army met in the Valley of Beracah and praised the Lord. That is why that place has been called the Valley of Beracahn to this day.

27 Then Jehoshaphat led all the men from Judah and Jerusalem back to Jerusalem. The Lord had made them happy because their enemies were defeated.

28 They entered Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets and went to the Temple of the Lord.

29 When all the kingdoms of the lands around them heard how the Lord had fought Israel's enemies, they feared God.

30 So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was not at war. His God gave him peace from all the countries around him.

31 Jehoshaphat ruled over the country of Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

32 Jehoshaphat was good like his father Asa, and he did what the Lord said was right.

33 But the places where gods were worshiped were not removed, and the people did not really want to follow the God of their ancestors.

34 The other things Jehoshaphat did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are in the book of the kings of Israel.

35 Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made a treaty with Ahaziah king of Israel, which was a wrong thing to do.

36 Jehoshaphat agreed with Ahaziah to build trading ships, which they built in the town of Ezion Geber.

37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from the town of Mareshah spoke against Jehoshaphat. He said, "Jehoshaphat, because you joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made." The ships were wrecked so they could not sail out to trade.

1 Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of David. Then his son Jehoram became king in his place.

2 Jehoram's brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. They were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.

3 Jehoshaphat gave his sons many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, and he gave them strong, walled cities in Judah. But Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the first son.

4 When Jehoram took control of his father's kingdom, he killed all his brothers with a sword and also killed some of the leaders of Judah.

5 He was thirty-two years old when he began to rule, and he ruled eight years in Jerusalem.

6 He followed in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the family of Ahab had done, because he married Ahab's daughter. Jehoram did what the Lord said was wrong.

7 But the Lord would not destroy David's family because of the agreement he had made with David. He had promised that one of David's descendants would always rule.

8 In Jehoram's time, Edom broke away from Judah's rule and chose their own king.

9 So Jehoram went to Edom with all his commanders and chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but Jehoram got up and attacked the Edomites at night.

10 From then until now the country of Edom has fought against the rule of Judah. At the same time the people of Libnah also broke away from Jehoram because Jehoram left the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

11 Jehoram also built places to worship gods on the hills in Judah. He led the people of Jerusalem to sin, and he led the people of Judah away from the Lord.

12 Then Jehoram received this letter from Elijah the prophet: This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says, "Jehoram, you have not lived as your father Jehoshaphat lived and as Asa king of Judah lived.

13 But you have lived as the kings of Israel lived, leading the people of Judah and Jerusalem to sin against God, as Ahab and his family did. You have killed your brothers, and they were better than you.

14 So now the Lord is about to punish your people, your children, wives, and everything you own.

15 You will have a terrible disease in your intestines that will become worse every day. Finally it will cause your intestines to come out."

16 The Lord caused the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Cushites to be angry with Jehoram.

17 So the Philistines and Arabs attacked Judah and carried away all the wealth of Jehoram's palace, as well as his sons and wives. Only Jehoram's youngest son, Ahaziah, was left.

18 After these things happened, the Lord gave Jehoram a disease in his intestines that could not be cured.

19 After he was sick for two years, Jehoram's intestines came out because of the disease, and he died in terrible pain. The people did not make a fire to honor Jehoram as they had done for his ancestors.

20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. No one was sad when he died. He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the graves for the kings.

1 The people of Jerusalem chose Ahaziah, Jehoram's youngest son, to be king in his place. The robbers who had come with the Arabs to attack Jehoram's camp had killed all of Jehoram's older sons. So Ahaziah began to rule Judah.

2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

3 Ahaziah followed the ways of Ahab's family, because his mother encouraged him to do wrong.

4 Ahaziah did what the Lord said was wrong, as Ahab's family had done. They gave advice to Ahaziah after his father died, and their bad advice led to his death.

5 Following their advice, Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to Ramoth in Gilead, where they fought against Hazael king of Aram. The Arameans wounded Joram.

6 So Joram returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds he received at Ramoth when he fought Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah son of Jehoram and king of Judah went down to visit Joram son of Ahab at Jezreel because he had been wounded.

7 God caused Ahaziah's death when he went to visit Joram. Ahaziah arrived and went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had appointed to destroy Ahab's family.

8 While Jehu was punishing Ahab's family, he found the leaders of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's relatives who served Ahaziah, and Jehu killed them all.

9 Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah. Jehu's men caught him hiding in Samaria, so they brought him to Jehu. Then they killed and buried him. They said, "Ahaziah is a descendant of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord with all his heart." No one in Ahaziah's family had the power to take control of the kingdom of Judah.

10 When Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, saw that her son was dead, she killed all the royal family in Judah.

11 But Jehosheba, King Jehoram's daughter, took Joash, Ahaziah's son. She stole him from among the other sons of the king who were going to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehosheba, who was King Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's sister and the wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid Joash so Athaliah could not kill him.

12 He hid with them in the Temple of God for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled the land.

1 In the seventh year Jehoiada decided to do something. He made an agreement with the commanders of the groups of a hundred men: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri.

2 They went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns, and they gathered the leaders of the families of Judah. Then they went to Jerusalem.

3 All the people together made an agreement with the king in the Temple of God. Jehoiada said to them, "The king's son will rule, as the Lord promised about David's descendants.

4 Now this is what you must do: You priests and Levites go on duty on the Sabbath. A third of you will guard the doors

5 A third of you will be at the king's palace, and a third of you will be at the Foundation Gate. All the other people will stay in the courtyards of the Temple of the Lord.

6 Don't let anyone come into the Temple of the Lord except the priests and Levites who serve. They may come because they have been made ready to serve the Lord, but all the others must do the job the Lord has given them.

7 The Levites must stay near the king, each man with his weapon in his hand. If anyone tries to enter the Temple, kill him. Stay close to the king when he goes in and when he goes out."

8 The Levites and all the people of Judah obeyed everything Jehoiada the priest had commanded. He did not excuse anyone from the groups of the priests. So each commander took his men who came on duty on the Sabbath with those who went off duty on the Sabbath.

9 Jehoiada gave the commanders of a hundred men the spears and the large and small shields that had belonged to King David and that were kept in the Temple of God.

10 Then Jehoiada told the men where to stand, each man with his weapon in his hand. There were guards from the south side of the Temple to the north side. They stood by the altar and the Temple and around the king.

11 Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king's son and put the crown on him and gave him a copy of the agreement. Then they appointed him king and poured olive oil on him and shouted, "Long live the king!"

12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went to them at the Temple of the Lord.

13 She looked, and there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the trumpeters were standing beside him, and all the people of the land were happy and blowing trumpets. The singers were playing musical instruments and leading praises. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, "Traitors! Traitors!"

14 Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of a hundred men, who led the army. He said, "Surround her with soldiers and take her out of the Temple area. Kill with a sword anyone who follows her." He had said, "Don't put Athaliah to death in the Temple of the Lord.

15 So they caught her when she came to the entrance of the Horse Gate near the palace. There they put her to death.

16 Then Jehoiada made an agreement with the people and the king that they would be the Lord's special people.

17 All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down, smashing the altars and idols. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.

18 Then Jehoiada chose the priests, who were Levites, to be responsible for the Temple of the Lord. David had given them duties in the Temple of the Lord. They were to offer the burnt offerings to the Lord as the Teachings of Moses commanded, and they were to offer them with much joy and singing as David had commanded.

19 Jehoiada put guards at the gates of the Temple of the Lord so that anyone who was unclean in any way could not enter

20 Jehoiada took with him the commanders of a hundred men, the important men, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land to take the king out of the Temple of the Lord. They went through the Upper Gate into the palace, and then they seated the king on the throne.

21 So all the people of the land were very happy, and Jerusalem had peace, because Athaliah had been put to death with the sword

1 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he ruled forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah, and she was from Beersheba.

2 Joash did what the Lord said was right as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive.

3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and Joash had sons and daughters.

4 Later, Joash decided to repair the Temple of the Lord.

5 He called the priests and the Levites together and said to them, "Go to the towns of Judah and gather the money all the Israelites have to pay every year. Use it to repair the Temple of your God. Do this now." But the Levites did not hurry.

6 So King Joash called for Jehoiada the leading priest and said to him, "Why haven't you made the Levites bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax money that Moses, the Lord's servant, and the people of Israel used for the Holy Tent?"

7 In the past the sons of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God and used its holy things for worshiping the Baal idols.

8 King Joash commanded that a box for contributions be made. They put it outside, at the gate of the Temple of the Lord.

9 Then the Levites made an announcement in Judah and Jerusalem, telling people to bring to the Lord the tax money Moses, the servant of God, had made the Israelites give while they were in the desert.

10 All the officers and people were happy to bring their money, and they put it in the box until the box was full.

11 When the Levites would take the box to the king's officers, they would see that it was full of money. Then the king's royal secretary and the leading priest's officer would come and take out the money and return the box to its place. They did this often and gathered much money.

12 King Joash and Jehoiada gave the money to the people who worked on the Temple of the Lord. And they hired stoneworkers and carpenters to repair the Temple of the Lord. They also hired people to work with iron and bronze to repair the Temple.

13 The people worked hard, and the work to repair the Temple went well. They rebuilt the Temple of God to be as it was before, but even stronger.

14 When the workers finished, they brought the money that was left to King Joash and Jehoiada. They used that money to make utensils for the Temple of the Lord, utensils for the service in the Temple and for the burnt offerings, and bowls and other utensils from gold and silver. Burnt offerings were given every day in the Temple of the Lord while Jehoiada was alive.

15 Jehoiada grew old and lived many years. Then he died when he was one hundred thirty years old.

16 Jehoiada was buried in Jerusalem with the kings, because he had done much good in Judah for God and his Temple.

17 After Jehoiada died, the officers of Judah came and bowed down to King Joash, and he listened to them.

18 The king and these leaders stopped worshiping in the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Instead, they began to worship the Asherah idols and other idols. Because they did wrong, God was angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

19 Even though the Lord sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him and even though the prophets warned them, they refused to listen.

20 Then the Spirit of God entered Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah stood before the people and said, "This is what God says: 'Why do you disobey the Lord's commands? You will not be successful. Because you have left the Lord, he has also left you.'"

21 But the king and his officers made plans against Zechariah. At the king's command they threw stones at him in the courtyard of the Temple of the Lord until he died.

22 King Joash did not remember Jehoiada's kindness to him, so Joash killed Zechariah, Jehoiada's son. Before Zechariah died, he said, "May the Lord see what you are doing and punish you."

23 At the end of the year, the Aramean army came against Joash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem, killed all the leaders of the people, and sent all the valuable things to their king in Damascus.

24 The Aramean army came with only a small group of men, but the Lord handed over to them a very large army from Judah, because the people of Judah had left the Lord, the God of their ancestors. So Joash was punished.

25 When the Arameans left, Joash was badly wounded. His own officers made plans against him because he had killed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed Joash in his own bed. He died and was buried in Jerusalem but not in the graves of the kings.

26 The officers who made plans against Joash were Jozabad and Jehozabad. Jozabad was the son of Shimeath, a woman from Ammon. And Jehozabad was the son of Shimrith, a woman from Moab.

27 The story of Joash's sons, the great prophecies against him, and how he repaired the Temple of God are written in the book of the kings. Joash's son Amaziah became king in his place.

1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddin, and she was from Jerusalem.

2 Amaziah did what the Lord said was right, but he did not really want to obey him.

3 As soon as Amaziah took strong control of the kingdom, he executed the officers who had murdered his father the king.

4 But Amaziah did not put to death their children. He obeyed what was written in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, "Parents must not be put to death when their children do wrong, and children must not be put to death when their parents do wrong. Each must die for his own sins."

5 Amaziah gathered the people of Judah together. He grouped all the people of Judah and Benjamin by families, and he put commanders over groups of a thousand and over groups of a hundred. He counted the men who were twenty years old and older. In all there were three hundred thousand soldiers ready to fight and skilled with spears and shields.

6 Amaziah also hired one hundred thousand soldiers from Israel for about seventy-five hundred pounds of silver.

7 But a man of God came to Amaziah and said, "My king, don't let the army of Israel go with you. The Lord is not with Israel or the people from the tribe of Ephraim.

8 You can make yourself strong for war, but God will defeat you. He has the power to help you or to defeat you."

9 Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what about the seventy-five hundred pounds of silver I paid to the Israelite army?" The man of God answered, "The Lord can give you much more than that."

10 So Amaziah sent the Israelite army back home to Ephraim. They were very angry with the people of Judah and went home angry.

11 Then Amaziah became very brave and led his army to the Valley of Salt in the country of Edom. There Amaziah's army killed ten thousand Edomites.

12 The army of Judah also captured ten thousand and took them to the top of a cliff and threw them off so that they split open.

13 At the same time the Israelite troops that Amaziah had not let fight in the war were robbing towns in Judah. From Samaria to Beth Horon they killed three thousand people and took many valuable things.

14 When Amaziah came home after defeating the Edomites, he brought back the idols they worshiped and started to worship them himself. He bow-ed down to them and offered sacrifices to them.

15 The Lord was very angry with Amaziah, so he sent a prophet to him who said, "Why have you asked their gods for help? They could not even save their own people from you!"

16 As the prophet spoke, Amaziah said to him, "We never gave you the job of advising the king. Stop, or you will be killed." The prophet stopped speaking except to say, "I know that God has de-cided to destroy you because you have done this. You did not listen to my advice."

17 Amaziah king of Judah talked with those who advised him. Then he sent a message to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, who was the son of Jehu king of Israel. Amaziah said to Jehoash, "Come, let's meet face to face."

18 Then Jehoash king of Israel answered Amaziah king of Judah, "A thornbush in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar tree in Lebanon. It said, 'Let your daughter marry my son.' But then a wild animal from Lebanon came by, walking on and crushing the thornbush.

19 You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, but you have become proud, and you brag. But you stay at home! Don't ask for trouble, or you and Judah will be defeated."

20 But Amaziah would not listen. God caused this to happen so that Jehoash would defeat Judah, because Judah asked for help from the gods of Edom.

21 So Jehoash king of Israel went to attack. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other in battle at Beth Shemesh in Judah.

22 Israel defeated Judah, and every man of Judah ran away to his home.

23 At Beth Shemesh Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah. (Amaziah was the son of Joash, who was the son of Ahaziah.) Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem. Jehoash broke down the wall of Jerusalem, from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, about six hundred feet.

24 He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils from the Temple of God that Obed-Edom had taken care of. He also took the treasures from the palace and some hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.

25 Amaziah son of Joash, the king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel.

26 The other things Amaziah did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

27 When Amaziah stopped obeying the Lord, the people in Jerusalem made plans against him. So he ran away to the town of Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him.

28 They brought his body back on horses, and he was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of David.

1 Then all the people of Judah made Uzziahn king in place of his father Amaziah. Uzziah was sixteen years old.

2 He rebuilt the town of Elath and made it part of Judah again after Amaziah died.

3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he ruled fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah, and she was from Jerusalem.

4 He did what the Lord said was right, just as his father Amaziah had done.

5 Uzziah obeyed God while Zechariah was alive, because he taught Uzziah how to respect and obey God. And as long as Uzziah obeyed the Lord, God gave him success.

6 Uzziah fought a war against the Philistines. He tore down the walls around their towns of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod and built new towns near Ashdod and in other places among the Philistines.

7 God helped Uzziah fight the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur Baal, and the Meunites.

8 Also, the Ammonites made the payments Uzziah demanded. He was very powerful, so his name became famous all the way to the border of Egypt.

9 Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and where the wall turned, and he made them strong.

10 He also built towers in the desert and dug many wells, because he had many cattle on the western hills and in the plains. He had people who worked his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, because he loved the land.

11 Uzziah had an army of trained soldiers. They were counted and put in groups by Jeiel the royal secretary and Maaseiah the officer. Hananiah, one of the king's commanders, was their leader.

12 There were twenty-six hundred leaders over the soldiers.

13 They were in charge of an army of three hundred seven thousand five hundred men who fought with great power to help the king against the enemy.

14 Uzziah gave his army shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and stones for their slings.

15 In Jerusalem Uzziah made devices that were invented by clever men. These devices on the towers and corners of the city walls were used to shoot arrows and large rocks. So Uzziah became famous in faraway places, because he had much help until he became powerful.

16 But when Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his ruin. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God; he went into the Temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar for incense.

17 Azariah and eighty other brave priests who served the Lord followed Uzziah into the Temple.

18 They told him he was wrong and said to him, "You don't have the right to burn incense to the Lord. Only the priests, Aaron's descendants, should burn the incense, because they have been made holy. Leave this holy place. You have been unfaithful, and the Lord God will not honor you for this."

19 Uzziah was standing beside the altar for incense in the Temple of the Lord, and in his hand was a pan for burning incense. He was very angry with the priests. As he was standing in front of the priests, a skin disease broke out on his forehead.

20 Azariah, the leading priest, and all the other priests looked at him and saw the skin disease on his forehead. So they hurried him out of the Temple. Uzziah also rushed out, because the Lord was punishing him.

21 So King Uzziah had the skin disease until the day he died. He had to live in a separate house and could not enter the Temple of the Lord. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace, and he governed the people of the land.

22 The other things Uzziah did as king, from beginning to end, were written down by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

23 Uzziah died and was buried near his ancestors in a graveyard that belonged to the kings. This was because people said, "He had a skin disease." And his son Jotham became king in his place.

1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.

2 Jotham did what the Lord said was right, just as his father Uzziah had done. But Jotham did not enter the Temple of the Lord to burn incense as his father had. But the people continued doing wrong.

3 Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Temple of the Lord, and he added greatly to the wall at Ophel.

4 He also built towns in the hill country of Judah, as well as walled cities and towers in the forests.

5 Jotham also fought the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. So each year for three years they gave Jotham about seventy-five hundred pounds of silver, about sixty-two thousand bushels of wheat, and about sixty-two thousand bushels of barley.

6 Jotham became powerful, because he always obeyed the Lord his God.

7 The other things Jotham did while he was king and all his wars are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

8 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled sixteen years in Jerusalem.

9 Jotham died and was buried in Jerusalem, the city of David. Then Jotham's son Ahaz became king in his place.

1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he ruled sixteen years in Jer-usalem. Unlike his ancestor David, he did not do what the Lord said was right.

2 Ahaz did the same things the kings of Israel had done. He made metal idols to worship Baal.

3 He burned incense in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and made his children pass through the fire. He did the same hateful sins as the nations had done whom the Lord had forced out of the land ahead of the Israelites.

4 Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the places where gods were worshiped, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

5 So the Lord his God handed over Ahaz to the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated Ahaz and took many people of Judah as prisoners to Damascus. He also handed over Ahaz to Pekah king of Israel, and Pekah's army killed many soldiers of Ahaz.

6 The army of Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand brave soldiers from Judah in one day. Pekah defeated them because they had left the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

7 Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed King Ahaz's son Maaseiah. He also killed Azrikam, the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, who was second in command to the king.

8 The Israelite army captured two hundred thousand of their own relatives. They took women, sons and daughters, and many valuable things from Judah and carried them back to Samaria.

9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He met the Israelite army when it returned to Samaria and said to them, "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, handed Judah over to you, because he was angry with those people. But God has seen the cruel way you killed them.

10 Now you plan to make the people of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves, but you also have sinned against the Lord your God.

11 Now listen to me. Send back your brothers and sisters whom you captured, because the Lord is very angry with you."

12 Then some of the leaders in Ephraim -- Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai -- met the Israelite soldiers coming home from war.

13 They warned the soldiers, "Don't bring the prisoners from Judah here. If you do, we will be guilty of sin against the Lord, and that will make our sin and guilt even worse. Our guilt is already so great that he is angry with Israel."

14 So the soldiers left the prisoners and valuable things in front of the officers and people there.

15 The leaders who were named took the prisoners and gave those who were naked the clothes that the Israelite army had taken. They gave the prisoners clothes, sandals, food, drink, and medicine. They put the weak prisoners on donkeys and took them back to their families in Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned home to Samaria.

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17 At that time the Edomites came again and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners. So King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help.

18 The Philistines also robbed the towns in the western hills and in southern Judah. They captured the towns of Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo, and the villages around them. Then the Philistines lived in those towns.

19 The Lord brought trouble on Judah because Ahaz their king led the people of Judah to sin, and he was unfaithful to the Lord.

20 Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz, but he gave Ahaz trouble instead of help.

21 Ahaz took some valuable things from the Temple of the Lord, from the palace, and from the princes, and he gave them to the king of Assyria, but it did not help.

22 During Ahaz's troubles he was even more unfaithful to the Lord.

23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of the people of Damascus, who had defeated him. He thought, "The gods of the kings of Aram helped them. If I offer sacrifices to them, they will help me also." But this brought ruin to Ahaz and all Israel.

24 Ahaz gathered the things from the Temple of God and broke them into pieces. Then he closed the doors of the Temple of the Lord. He made altars and put them on every street corner in Jerusalem.

25 In every town in Judah, Ahaz made places for burning sacrifices to worship other gods. So he made the Lord, the God of his ancestors, very angry.

26 The other things Ahaz did as king, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

27 Ahaz died and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but not in the graves of the kings of Israel. Ahaz's son Hezekiah became king in his place.

1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.

2 Hezekiah did what the Lord said was right, just as his ancestor David had done.

3 Hezekiah opened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them in the first month of the first year he was king.

4 Hezekiah brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the courtyard on the east side of the Temple.

5 Hezekiah said, "Listen to me, Levites. Make yourselves ready for the Lord's service, and make holy the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove from the Temple everything that makes it impure.

6 Our ancestors were unfaithful to God and did what the Lord said was wrong. They left the Lord and stopped worshiping at the Temple where he lives. They rejected him.

7 They shut the doors of the porch of the Temple, and they let the fire go out in the lamps. They stopped burning incense and offering burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

8 So the Lord became very angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and he punished them. Other people are frightened and shocked by what he did to them. So they insult the people of Judah. You know these things are true.

9 That is why our ancestors were killed in battle and our sons, daughters, and wives were taken captive.

10 Now I, Hezekiah, have decided to make an agreement with the Lord, the God of Israel, so he will not be angry with us anymore.

11 My sons, don't waste any more time. The Lord chose you to stand before him, to serve him, to be his servants, and to burn incense to him."

12 These are the Levites who started to work. From the Kohathite family there were Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah. From the Merarite family there were Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel. From the Gershonite family there were Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah.

13 From Elizaphan's family there were Shimri and Jeiel. From Asaph's family there were Zechariah and Mattaniah.

14 From Heman's family there were Jehiel and Shimei. From Jeduthun's family there were Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15 These Levites gathered their brothers together and made themselves holy for service in the Temple. Then they went into the Temple of the Lord to purify it. They obeyed the king's command that had come from the Lord.

16 When the priests went into the Temple of the Lord to purify it, they took out all the unclean things they found in the Temple of the Lord and put them in the Temple courtyard. Then the Levites took these things out to the Kidron Valley.

17 Beginning on the first day of the first month, they made the Temple holy for the Lord's service. On the eighth day of the month, they came to the porch of the Temple, and for eight more days they made the Temple of the Lord holy. So they finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.

18 Then they went to King Hezekiah and said, "We have purified the entire Temple of the Lord, the altar for burnt offerings and its utensils, and the table for the holy bread and all its utensils.

19 When Ahaz was king, he was unfaithful to God and removed some things from the Temple. But we have put them back and made them holy for the Lord. They are now in front of the Lord's altar."

20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the leaders of the city and went up to the Temple of the Lord.

21 They brought seven bulls, seven male sheep, seven lambs, and seven male goats. These animals were an offering to remove the sin of the people and the kingdom of Judah and to make the Temple ready for service to God. King Hezekiah commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these animals on the Lord's altar.

22 So the priests killed the bulls and sprinkled their blood on the altar. They killed the sheep and sprinkled their blood on the altar. Then they killed the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar.

23 Then the priests brought the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the people there. After the king and the people put their hands on the goats,

24 the priests killed them. With the goats' blood they made an offering on the altar to remove the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to God. The king had said that the burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel.

25 King Hezekiah put the Levites in the Temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, as David, Gad, and Nathan had commanded. (Gad was the king's seer, and Nathan was a prophet.) This command came from the Lord through his prophets.

26 So the Levites stood ready with David's instruments of music, and the priests stood ready with their trumpets.

27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the singing to the Lord also began. The trumpets were blown, and the musical instruments of David king of Israel were played.

28 All the people worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters blew their trumpets until the burnt offering was finished.

29 When the sacrifices were completed, King Hezekiah and everyone with him bowed down and worshiped.

30 King Hezekiah and his officers ordered the Levites to praise the Lord, using the words David and Asaph the seer had used. So they praised God with joy and bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, "Now that you people of Judah have given yourselves to the Lord, come near to the Temple of the Lord. Bring sacrifices and offerings, to show thanks to him." So the people brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and anyone who was willing also brought burnt offerings.

32 For burnt offerings they brought a total of seventy bulls, one hundred male sheep, and two hundred lambs; all these animals were sacrificed as burnt offerings to the Lord.

33 The holy offerings totaled six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats.

34 There were not enough priests to skin all the animals for the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and other priests could be made holy. The Levites had been more careful to make themselves holy for the Lord's service than the priests.

35 There were many burnt offerings along with the fat of fellowship offerings and drink offerings. So the service in the Temple of the Lord began again.

36 And Hezekiah and the people were very happy that God had made it happen so quickly for his people.

1 King Hezekiah sent messages to all the people of Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. Hezekiah invited all these people to come to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel.

2 King Hezekiah, his officers, and all the people in Jerusalem agreed to celebrate the Passover in the second month.

3 They could not celebrate it at the normal time, because not enough priests had made themselves ready to serve the Lord, and the people had not yet gathered in Jerusalem.

4 This plan satisfied King Hezekiah and all the people.

5 So they made an announcement everywhere in Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, telling the people to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel. For a long time most of the people had not celebrated the Passover as the law commanded.

6 At the king's command, the messengers took letters from him and his officers all through Israel and Judah. This is what the letters said: People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Then God will return to you who are still alive, who have escaped from the kings of Assyria.

7 Don't be like your ancestors or your relatives. They turned against the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so he caused other people to be disgusted with them. You know this is true.

8 Don't be stubborn as your ancestors were, but obey the Lord willingly. Come to the Temple, which he has made holy forever. Serve the Lord your God so he will not be angry with you.

9 Come back to the Lord. Then the people who captured your relatives and children will be kind to them and will let them return to this land. The Lord your God is kind and merciful. He will not turn away from you if you return to him.

10 The messengers went to every town in Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the way to Zebulun, but the people laughed at them and made fun of them.

11 But some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun were sorry for what they had done and went to Jerusalem.

12 And God united all the people of Judah in obeying King Hezekiah and his officers, because their command had come from the Lord.

13 In the second month a large crowd came together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

14 The people removed the altars and incense altars to gods in Jerusalem and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

15 They killed the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed, so they made themselves holy and brought burnt offerings into the Temple of the Lord.

16 They took their regular places in the Temple as the Teachings of Moses, the man of God, commanded. The Levites gave the blood of the sacrifices to the priests, who sprinkled it on the altar.

17 Since many people in the crowd had not made themselves holy, the Levites killed the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean. The Levites made each lamb holy for the Lord.

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19 Although many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves for the feast, they ate the Passover even though it was against the law. So Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "Lord, you are good. You are the Lord, the God of our ancestors. Please forgive all those who try to obey you even if they did not make themselves clean as the rules of the Temple command."

20 The Lord listened to Hezekiah's prayer, and he healed the people.

21 The Israelites in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy to the Lord. The Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with loud music.

22 Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who showed they understood well how to do their service for the Lord. The people ate the feast for seven days, offered fellowship offerings, and praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

23 Then all the people agreed to stay seven more days, so they celebrated with joy for seven more days.

24 Hezekiah king of Judah gave one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep to the people. The officers gave one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep to the people. Many priests made themselves holy.

25 All the people of Judah, the priests, the Levites, those who came from Israel, the foreigners from Israel, and the foreigners living in Judah were very happy.

26 There was much joy in Jerusalem, because there had not been a celebration like this since the time of Solomon son of David and king of Israel.

27 The priests and Levites stood up and blessed the people, and God heard them because their prayer reached heaven, his holy home.

1 When the Passover celebration was finished, all the Israelites in Jerusalem went out to the towns of Judah. There they smashed the stone pillars used to worship gods. They cut down the Asherah idols and destroyed the altars and places for worshiping gods in all of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and homes.

2 King Hezekiah appointed groups of priests and Levites for their special duties. They were to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to worship, and to give thanks and praise at the gates of the Lord's house.

3 Hezekiah gave some of his own animals for the burnt offerings, which were given every morning and evening, on Sabbath days, during New Moons, and at other feasts commanded in the Lord's Teachings.

4 Hezekiah commanded the people living in Jerusalem to give the priests and Levites the portion that belonged to them. Then the priests and Levites could give all their time to the Lord's Teachings.

5 As soon as the king's command went out to the Israelites, they gave freely of the first portion of their grain, new wine, oil, honey, and everything they grew in their fields. They brought a large amount, one-tenth of everything.

6 The people of Israel and Judah who lived in Judah also brought one-tenth of their cattle and sheep and one-tenth of the holy things that were given to the Lord their God, and they put all of them in piles.

7 The people began the piles in the third month and finished in the seventh month.

8 When Hezekiah and his officers came and saw the piles, they praised the Lord and his people, the people of Israel.

9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles.

10 Azariah, the leading priest from Zadok's family, answered Hezekiah, "Since the people began to bring their offerings to the Temple of the Lord, we have had plenty to eat and plenty left over, because the Lord has blessed his people. So we have all this left over."

11 Then Hezekiah commanded the priests to prepare the storerooms in the Temple of the Lord. So this was done.

12 Then the priests brought in the offerings and the things given to the Lord and one-tenth of everything the people had given. Conaniah the Levite was in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was second to him.

13 Conaniah and his brother Shimei were over these supervisors: Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah. King Hezekiah and Azariah the officer in charge of the Temple of God had chosen them.

14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite was in charge of the special gifts the people wanted to give to God. He was responsible for giving out the contributions made to the Lord and the holy gifts. Kore was the guard at the East Gate.

15 Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah helped Kore in the towns where the priests lived. They gave from what was collected to the other groups of priests, both young and old.

16 From what was collected, these men also gave to the males three years old and older who had their names in the Levite family histories. They were to enter the Temple of the Lord for their daily service, each group having its own responsibilities.

17 The priests were given their part of the collection, by families, as listed in the family histories. The Levites twenty years old and older were given their part of the collection, based on their responsibilities and their groups.

18 The Levites' babies, wives, sons, and daughters also got part of the collection. This was done for all the Levites who were listed in the family histories, because they always kept themselves ready to serve the Lord.

19 Some of Aaron's descendants, the priests, lived on the farmlands near the towns or in the towns. Men were chosen by name to give part of the collection to these priests. All the males and those named in the family histories of the Levites received part of the collection.

20 This is what King Hezekiah did in Judah. He did what was good and right and obedient before the Lord his God.

21 Hezekiah tried to obey God in his service of the Temple of God, and he tried to obey God's teachings and commands. He gave himself fully to his work for God. So he had success.

1 After Hezekiah did all these things to serve the Lord, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and attacked Judah. He and his army surrounded and attacked the strong, walled cities, hoping to take them for himself.

2 Hezekiah knew that Sennacherib had come to Jerusalem to attack it.

3 So Hezekiah and his officers and army commanders decided to cut off the water from the springs outside the city. So the officers and commanders helped Hezekiah.

4 Many people came and cut off all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. They said, "The king of Assyria will not find much water when he comes here."

5 Then Hezekiah made Jerusalem stronger. He rebuilt all the broken parts of the wall and put towers on it. He also built another wall outside the first one and strengthened the area that was filled in on the east side of the old part of Jerusalem. He also made many weapons and shields.

6 Hezekiah put army commanders over the people and met with them at the open place near the city gate. Hezekiah encouraged them, saying,

7 "Be strong and brave. Don't be afraid or worried because of the king of Assyria or his large army. There is a greater power with us than with him.

8 He only has men, but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." The people were encouraged by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

9 After this King Sennacherib of Assyria and all his army surrounded and attacked Lachish. Then he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah in Jerusalem:

10 Sennacherib king of Assyria says this: "You have nothing to trust in to help you. It is no use for you to stay in Jerusalem under attack.

11 Hezekiah says to you, 'The Lord our God will save us from the king of Assyria,' but he is fooling you. If you stay in Jerusalem, you will die from hun- ger and thirst.

12 Hezekiah himself removed your Lord's places of worship and altars. He told you people of Judah and Jerusalem that you must worship and burn incense on only one altar.

13 "You know what my ancestors and I have done to all the people in other nations. The gods of those nations could not save their people from my power.

14 My ancestors destroyed those nations; none of their gods could save them from me. So your god cannot save you from my power.

15 Do not let Hezekiah fool you or trick you, and do not be-lieve him. No god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from me or my ancestors. Your god is even less able to save you from me."

16 Sennacherib's officers said worse things against the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah.

17 King Sennacherib also wrote letters insulting the Lord, the God of Israel. They spoke against him, saying, "The gods of the other nations could not save their people from me. In the same way Hezekiah's god won't be able to save his people from me."

18 Then the king's officers shouted in Hebrew, calling out to the people of Jerusalem who were on the city wall. The officers wanted to scare the people away so they could capture Jerusalem.

19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as though he were like the gods the people of the world worshiped, which are made by human hands.

20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed to heaven about this.

21 Then the Lord sent an angel who killed all the soldiers, leaders, and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king went back to his own country in disgrace. When he went into the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him with a sword.

22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people in Jerusalem from Sennacherib king of Assyria and from all other people. He took care of them on every side.

23 Many people brought gifts for the Lord to Jerusalem, and they also brought valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah. From then on all the nations respected Hezekiah.

24 At that time Hezekiah became so sick he almost died. When he prayed to the Lord, the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign.

25 But Hezekiah did not thank God for his kindness, because he was so proud. So the Lord was angry with him and the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

26 But later Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem were sorry and stopped being proud, so the Lord did not punish them while Hezekiah was alive.

27 Hezekiah had many riches and much honor. He made treasuries for his silver, gold, gems, spices, shields, and other valuable things.

28 He built storage buildings for grain, new wine, and oil and stalls for all the cattle and pens for the sheep.

29 He also built many towns. He had many flocks and herds, because God had given Hezekiah much wealth.

30 It was Hezekiah who cut off the upper pool of the Gihon spring and made those waters flow straight down to the west side of the older part of Jerusalem. And Hezekiah was successful in everything he did.

31 But one time the leaders of Babylon sent messengers to Hezekiah, asking him about a strange signn that had happened in the land. When they came, God left Hezekiah alone to test him so he could know everything that was in Hezekiah's heart.

32 Hezekiah's love for God and the other things he did as king are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. This is in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

33 Hezekiah died and was buried on a hill, where the graves of David's ancestors are. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem honored Hezekiah when he died, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.

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