2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Book Outhne

Key theme: The great temple and its destruction

Key verse:

I. The Reign of Solomon ()

II. The Kings of Judah ()

Book Overview

The two books of Kings record about four hundred years of the history of Israel and Judah, while the two books of Chronicles cover the history of the united kingdom and then the kingdom of Judah from the priestly point of view. Besides recording history, these books teach theology, especially the faithfulness of God in keeping His covenant, the sovereignty of God in directing the destinies of all nations, and the holiness of God in opposing idolatry. Especially important is the way all four books magnify the Davidic dynasty and thus prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Second Chronicles describes the gradual descent of a nation from the high point of Solomon’s early years and the construction of the great temple to the fulfillment of God’s warnings when Jerusalem and the temple lay in ruins and the nation had been sent into exile.

God kept His promise: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (). Twenty kings followed David on the throne in fulfillment of God’s promise to preserve his royal lineage. Unfortunately, many of David’s descendants rejected the legacy of the man after God’s heart who had established the dynasty. Several, foremost among them Manasseh, learned the hard and painful way that God does keep His promises.

When we turn from the pages of 2 Chronicles to the opening chapter of Matthew in the New Testament, we discover this same list of godly and ungodly kings listed in the lineage of Jesus. He is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant with David to place on the throne a descendant who would rule forever (see ).

“Be Transformed”

First and Second Chronicles were probably written and circulated when the Jews were captives in Babylon, so the Holy Spirit led the writer to emphasize the messages the exiles needed to hear. If God could forgive and restore such a wicked man as Manasseh, could He not also forgive and restore His captive people? King Manasseh is a living witness to the truth of God’s promise in .

Second Chronicles emphasizes “all Israel,” the uniting of the two kingdoms as the people of God. Many godly people from the northern kingdom had relocated to Judah, so they would be under the spiritual leadership of God’s Levitical priests in the temple dedicated to the Lord.

Had the Israelite people obeyed the Lord and kept His covenant, He would have put them at the head of the nations (), but their disobedience led to their defeat and dispersal among the nations of the earth. Unfortunately, the church has followed Israel’s bad example and entangled itself with the world instead of keeping itself separated from the world (; ; ). Believers are in the world but not of the world, and this enables us to go into the world and share Jesus Christ with lost sinners ().

At this critical time in history, God is seeking dedicated, distinctive people—not cookie-cutter, carbon-copy Christians. Friendship with the world is enmity with God () and to love the world and trust it is to lose the love of the Father (). We are to be “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” (, ), distinctive people whose lives and witness point to Christ and shine like lights in the darkness like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden (). Faith means living without scheming. Start to explain away the clear teachings of the Bible about obedience to the Lord and separation from sin, and you will soon find yourself sliding gradually out of the light and into the shadows and then into the darkness, eventually ending in shame and defeat.

Solomon Requests Wisdom

1Now Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and exalted him exceedingly.

2And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ houses.

3Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.

4But David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.

5Now the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there.

6And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

7On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

9“Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.

10“Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

11Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king—

12“wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”

Solomon’s Military and Economic Power

15Also the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.

16And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.

17They also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

2Solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.

As you have dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me.

4Behold, I am building a temple for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to Him, to burn before Him sweet incense, for the continual showbread, for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

5And the temple which I build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.

6But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

7Therefore send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.

8Also send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and indeed my servants will be with your servants,

9to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.

11Then Hiram king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon:

Because the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them.

12Hiram also said:

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal house for himself!

14(the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

15Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants.

16And we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem.

18And he made seventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.

Solomon Builds the Temple

2And he began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

4And the vestibule that was in front of the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was one hundred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

5The larger room he paneled with cypress which he overlaid with fine gold, and he carved palm trees and chainwork on it.

6And he decorated the house with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was gold from Parvaim.

7He also overlaid the house—the beams and doorposts, its walls and doors—with gold; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

8And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length was according to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits. He overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold.

9The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold; and he overlaid the upper area with gold.

11The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits in overall length: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub;

12one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing also was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub.

13The wings of these cherubim spanned twenty cubits overall. They stood on their feet, and they faced inward.

16He made wreaths of chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreaths of chainwork.

17Then he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.

Furnishings of the Temple

2Then he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

3And under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

4It stood on twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward.

5It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained three thousand baths.

8He also made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred bowls of gold.

9Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court and doors for the court; and he overlaid these doors with bronze.

10He set the Sea on the right side, toward the southeast.

11Then Huram made the pots and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of God:

12the two pillars and the bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars;

13four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on the pillars);

14he also made carts and the lavers on the carts;

15one Sea and twelve oxen under it;

16also the pots, the shovels, the forks—and all their articles Huram his master craftsman made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the LORD.

17In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between Succoth and Zeredah.

18And Solomon had all these articles made in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

19Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of God: the altar of gold and the tables on which was the showbread;

20the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in the prescribed manner in front of the inner sanctuary,

21with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold, of purest gold;

22the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the censers of pure gold. As for the entry of the sanctuary, its inner doors to the Most Holy Place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple, were gold.

1So all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the LORD was finished; and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and all the furnishings. And he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

3Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.

4So all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

5Then they brought up the ark, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up.

6Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

8For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.

9The poles extended so that the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.

10Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt.

12and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets—

13indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying:

“For He is good,

For His mercy endures forever,”

that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud,

14so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

“The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud.

2I have surely built You an exalted house,

And a place for You to dwell in forever.”

Solomon’s Speech upon Completion of the Work

3Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

4And he said: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying,

5‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel.

6‘Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

7“Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

8“But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart.

9‘Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’

11“And there I have put the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD which He made with the children of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

14and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.

15“You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.

16“Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk in My law as you have walked before Me.’

17“And now, O LORD God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David.

19“Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You:

20“that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.

21“And may You hear the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.

22“If anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple,

23“then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

24“Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple,

25“then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and their fathers.

26“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them,

27“then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

28“When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is;

29“whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple:

30“then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men),

31“that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

33“then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

34“When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name,

35“then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

37“yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’;

38“and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name:

39“then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

40“Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place.

41“Now therefore,

Arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place,

You and the ark of Your strength.

Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation,

And let Your saints rejoice in goodness.

Remember the mercies of Your servant David.”

Solomon Dedicates the Temple

2And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house.

3When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying:

“For He is good,

For His mercy endures forever.”

5King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

6And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the LORD, which King David had made to praise the LORD, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their ministry. The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood.

9And on the eighth day they held a sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.

10On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.

God’s Second Appearance to Solomon

13“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,

14“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

15“Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

16“For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

18“then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

20“then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

21“And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and this house?’

22“Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

Solomon’s Additional Achievements

2that the cities which Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them; and he settled the children of Israel there.

4He also built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities which he built in Hamath.

5He built Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars,

6also Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities and the cities of the cavalry, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

7All the people who were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel—

8that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel did not destroy—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day.

9But Solomon did not make the children of Israel servants for his work. Some were men of war, captains of his officers, captains of his chariots, and his cavalry.

10And others were chiefs of the officials of King Solomon: two hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people.

11Now Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the LORD has come are holy.”

13according to the daily rate, offering according to the commandment of Moses, for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the three appointed yearly feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

14And, according to the order of David his father, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, the Levites for their duties (to praise and serve before the priests) as the duty of each day required, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate; for so David the man of God had commanded.

15They did not depart from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.

16Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered from the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.

18And Hiram sent him ships by the hand of his servants, and servants who knew the sea. They went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and fifty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon

2So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her.

3And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,

4the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

5Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

6“However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard.

7“Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

8“Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the LORD your God! Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

9And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11And the king made walkways of the algum wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah.

12Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Great Wealth

14besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield.

16He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

17Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.

18The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.

19Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

20All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

21For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

22So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

23And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

24Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.

25Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.

26So he reigned over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.

27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.

28And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Death of Solomon

31Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

The Revolt Against Rehoboam

2So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), that Jeroboam returned from Egypt.

3Then they sent for him and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

4“Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

6Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, saying, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

8But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.

9And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

10Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist!

11‘And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ”

12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.”

13Then the king answered them roughly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders,

14and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!”

“What share have we in David?

We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.

Every man to your tents, O Israel!

Now see to your own house, O David!”

So all Israel departed to their tents.

17But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

18Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of revenue; but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem.

19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

2But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

3“Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

4‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up or fight against your brethren! Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the words of the LORD, and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Fortifies the Cities

6And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

7Beth Zur, Sochoh, Adullam,

8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

10Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, fortified cities.

11And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine.

12Also in every city he put shields and spears, and made them very strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.

Priests and Levites Move to Judah

14For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD.

15Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made.

16And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers.

17So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

The Family of Rehoboam

18Then Rehoboam took for himself as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliah the son of Jesse.

19And she bore him children: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham.

20After her he took Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

21Now Rehoboam loved Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom more than all his wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

23He dealt wisely, and dispersed some of his sons throughout all the territories of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city; and he gave them provisions in abundance. He also sought many wives for them.

Egypt Attacks Judah

2And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD,

3with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians.

4And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem.

5Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ ”

7Now when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

8“Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.”

11And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom.

12When he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah.

The End of Rehoboam’s Reign

13Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.

14And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.

15The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

Abijah Reigns in Judah

2He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

4Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel:

5“Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?

6“Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.

7“Then worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and inexperienced and could not withstand them.

9“Have you not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that are not gods?

10“But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the LORD are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties.

11“And they burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him.

12“Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!”

14And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the LORD, and the priests sounded the trumpets.

15Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

16And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand.

17Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain.

18Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers.

19And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephrain with its villages.

20So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the LORD struck him, and he died.

21But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

Asa Reigns in Judah

2Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God,

3for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images.

4He commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment.

5He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him.

6And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest.

7Therefore he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

8And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor.

10So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”

12So the LORD struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

13And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the LORD and His army. And they carried away very much spoil.

14Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much spoil in them.

15They also attacked the livestock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

The Reforms of Asa

2And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

3“For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law;

4“but when in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.

5“And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands.

6“So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity.

7“But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

9Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

10So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

11And they offered to the LORD at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought.

13and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

14Then they took an oath before the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns.

15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around.

17But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.

18He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.

19And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Asa’s Treaty with Syria

1In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

3“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

4So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

5Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work.

6Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

Hanani’s Message to Asa

8“Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.

10Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

Illness and Death of Asa

13So Asa rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

14They buried him in his own tomb, which he had made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled with spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made a very great burning for him.

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

2And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which Asa his father had taken.

3Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals,

4but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel.

5Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.

6And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.

7Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.

8And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.

9So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the LORD with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

10And the fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

11Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

12So Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah.

13He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem.

14These are their numbers, according to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor;

15and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand;

16and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to the LORD, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.

17Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield;

18and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war.

19These served the king, besides those the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

Micaiah Warns Ahab

2After some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead.

3So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?” And he answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war.”

5Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

6But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?”

7So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”

8Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly!”

9The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, clothed in their robes, sat each on his throne; and they sat at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

10Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ”

11And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

13And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.”

14Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” And he said, “Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!”

15So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

16Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ ”

17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

18Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left.

19“And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner.

20“Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’

21“So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.’

22“Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”

23Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the LORD go from me to speak to you?”

24And Micaiah said, “Indeed you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!”

25Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son;

26“and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I return in peace.” ’ ”

Ahab Dies in Battle

28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.

29And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

30Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

31So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him, and God diverted them from him.

32For so it was, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

33Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”

34The battle increased that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; and about the time of sunset he died.

2And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you.

3“Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.”

The Reforms of Jehoshaphat

5Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,

6and said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.

7“Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.”

8Moreover in Jerusalem, for the judgment of the LORD and for controversies, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief fathers of Israel, when they returned to Jerusalem.

9And he commanded them, saying, “Thus you shall act in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with a loyal heart:

10“Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or commandment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they trespass against the LORD and wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do this, and you will not be guilty.

11“And take notice: Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also the Levites will be officials before you. Behave courageously, and the LORD will be with the good.”

Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated

2Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi).

3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

4So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

5Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,

6and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?

7“Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

8“And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying,

9‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’

10“And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—

11“here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.

12“O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

13Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.

15And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

16‘Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.

17‘You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”

18And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.

19Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high.

20So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”

21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the LORD,

For His mercy endures forever.”

22Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

23For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

24So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

25When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.

26And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day.

27Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.

28So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.

29And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.

30Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

32And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD.

33Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

34Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

35After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly.

36And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber.

37But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

Jehoram Reigns in Judah

2He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.

3Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.

4Now when Jehoram was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.

6And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

7Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

8In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves.

9So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots.

10Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.

11Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotry, and led Judah astray.

Thus says the LORD God of your father David:

Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

13but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself,

14behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions;

15and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day.

16Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians.

17And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

18After all this the LORD struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease.

19Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning for his fathers.

20He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

2Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri.

3He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly.

4Therefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

5He also followed their advice, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

6Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

8And it happened, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

12And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Crowned King of Judah

2And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

3Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD has said of the sons of David.

4“This is what you shall do: One-third of you entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors;

5“one-third shall be at the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.

6“But let no one come into the house of the LORD except the priests and those of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.

7“And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

8So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed the divisions.

9And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God.

10Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king.

Death of Athaliah

12Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD.

13When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and those who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Treason! Treason!”

14And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the LORD.”

15So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance of the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there.

17And all the people went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

19And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.

20Then he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the LORD; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king’s house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom.

21So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

Joash Repairs the Temple

3And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

4Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD.

5Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.” However the Levites did not do it quickly.

6So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD and of the assembly of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?”

7For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD to the Baals.

8Then at the king’s command they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD.

9And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness.

10Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given.

12The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the LORD.

13So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it.

14When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; they made from it articles for the house of the LORD, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

Apostasy of Joash

16And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.

18Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass.

19Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

20Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.’ ”

21So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD.

Death of Joash

24For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.

25And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

26These are the ones who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

27Now concerning his sons, and the many oracles about him, and the repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the annals of the book of the kings. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart.

3Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established for him, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king.

4However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.”

The War Against Edom

5Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their fathers’ houses, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield.

6He also hired one hundred thousand mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver.

8“But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow.”

10So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home. Therefore their anger was greatly aroused against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.

12Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces.

13But as for the soldiers of the army which Amaziah had discharged, so that they would not go with him to battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon, killed three thousand in them, and took much spoil.

15Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own people from your hand?”

16So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?” Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

Israel Defeats Judah

18And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.

19“Indeed you say that you have defeated the Edomites, and your heart is lifted up to boast. Stay at home now; why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall—you and Judah with you?”

20But Amaziah would not heed, for it came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought the gods of Edom.

21So Joash king of Israel went out; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

22And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent.

23Then Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth Shemesh; and he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits.

24And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

Death of Amaziah

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

26Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, indeed are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

27After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.

Uzziah Reigns in Judah

2He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers.

4And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.

5He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

6Now he went out and made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines.

7God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites.

8Also the Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.

9And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them.

10Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in Carmel, for he loved the soil.

11Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains.

12The total number of chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred.

13And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.

14Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones.

15And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.

The Penalty for Uzziah’s Pride

17So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD—valiant men.

18And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God.”

19Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar.

20And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him.

22Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote.

Jotham Reigns in Judah

3He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he built extensively on the wall of Ophel.

4Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers.

5He also fought with the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. And the people of Ammon gave him in that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The people of Ammon paid this to him in the second and third years also.

7Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

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

9So Jotham rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Ahaz Reigns in Judah

2For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the Baals.

3He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

4And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Syria and Israel Defeat Judah

6For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.

7Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer over the house, and Elkanah who was second to the king.

8And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters; and they also took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Israel Returns the Captives

10“And now you propose to force the children of Judah and Jerusalem to be your male and female slaves; but are you not also guilty before the LORD your God?

11“Now hear me, therefore, and return the captives, whom you have taken captive from your brethren, for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.”

13and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for we already have offended the LORD. You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.”

14So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the leaders and all the assembly.

15Then the men who were designated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them and gave them sandals, gave them food and drink, and anointed them; and they let all the feeble ones ride on donkeys. So they brought them to their brethren at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

Assyria Refuses to Help Judah

16At the same time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria to help him.

17For again the Edomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives.

18The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there.

19For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD.

21For Ahaz took part of the treasures from the house of the LORD, from the house of the king, and from the leaders, and he gave it to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him.

Apostasy and Death of Ahaz

22Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the LORD. This is that King Ahaz.

23For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.

24So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.

25And in every single city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers.

27So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

4Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square,

5and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.

6“For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him.

7“They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

8“Therefore the wrath of the LORD fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to jeering, as you see with your eyes.

9“For indeed, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.

10“Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.

11“My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”

13of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

14of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

16Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the LORD to the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook Kidron.

17Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD. So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

18Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles.

19“Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the LORD.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

21And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

22So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar.

23Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.

24And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering to make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.

26The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

27Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel.

28So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29And when they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped.

30Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

31Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near, and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD.” So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.

32And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.

33The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep.

34But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying themselves than the priests.

35Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings and with the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.

36Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly.

Hezekiah Keeps the Passover

2For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month.

3For they could not keep it at the regular time, because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem.

4And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly.

5So they resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner.

7“And do not be like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, so that He gave them up to desolation, as you see.

8“Now do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you.

9“For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”

11Nevertheless some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

12Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the LORD.

13Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month.

14They arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook Kidron.

15Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.

16They stood in their place according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites.

18For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD provide atonement for everyone

19“who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.”

20And the LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

21So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments.

22And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the LORD; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers.

23Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness.

24For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.

25The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah.

26So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

27Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

The Reforms of Hezekiah

2And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD.

3The king also appointed a portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the Law of the LORD.

4Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the LORD.

6And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God they laid in heaps.

7In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month.

8And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel.

9Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

10And Azariah the chief priest, from the house of Zadok, answered him and said, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance.”

11Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of the LORD, and they prepared them.

12Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; Cononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next.

13Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.

14Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the LORD and the most holy things.

15And under him were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in the cities of the priests, to distribute allotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small.

16Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the LORD his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division,

17and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites from twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions,

18and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company of them—for in their faithfulness they sanctified themselves in holiness.

19Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites.

20Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the LORD his God.

21And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the LORD

2And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem,

3he consulted with his leaders and commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city; and they helped him.

4Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?”

5And he strengthened himself, built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired the Millo in the City of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance.

6Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and gave them encouragement, saying,

7“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him.

8“With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

10“Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: ‘In what do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jerusalem?

11‘Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, “The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”?

12‘Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You shall worship before one altar and burn incense on it”?

13‘Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand?

14‘Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand?

15‘Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this, and do not believe him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’ ”

16Furthermore, his servants spoke against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah.

18Then they called out with a loud voice in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and trouble them, that they might take the city.

19And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth—the work of men’s hands.

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death

21Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.

22Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.

23And many brought gifts to the LORD at Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.

Hezekiah Humbles Himself

24In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the LORD; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign.

25But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem.

Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor

27Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items;

28storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds for flocks.

29Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much property.

30This same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

Death of Hezekiah

32Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

33So Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

2But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

3For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

4He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.”

5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

6Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

7He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;

8“and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.”

9So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

Manasseh Restored After Repentance

13and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

15He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city.

16He also repaired the altar of the LORD, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.

17Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

Death of Manasseh

18Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.

19Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of Hozai.

20So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

Amon’s Reign and Death

22But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them.

23And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

25But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

Josiah Reigns in Judah

2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.

5He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

6And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes.

7When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

9When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem.

10Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the LORD, to repair and restore the house.

11They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

12And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music,

13were over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.

14Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.

15Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

16So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing.

17“And they have gathered the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.”

18Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

19Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes.

20Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying,

21“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

23Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,

24“Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah,

25‘because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’

26“But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard—

27“because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD.

28“Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah Restores True Worship

31Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.

32And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

33Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers.

Josiah Keeps the Passover

2And he set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house of the LORD.

3Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the LORD: “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.

4“Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses, according to your divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the written instruction of Solomon his son.

5“And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites.

6“So slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.”

7Then Josiah gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s possessions.

8And his leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle.

9Also Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.

10So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command.

11And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites skinned the animals.

12Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle.

13Also they roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people.

14Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

15And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.

16So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah.

17And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

18There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

19In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Josiah Dies in Battle

21But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.”

22Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

23And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.”

24His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

27and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz

2Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

4Then the king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim

6Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon.

7Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.

8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin

10At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah, Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

12He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD.

13And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel.

14Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem

15And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.

16But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

18And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon.

19Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions.

The Proclamation of Cyrus

23Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:

All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!

Annotations for 2 Chronicles

In his prayer, the king not only confessed his own smallness but also the nation’s greatness (v. ). The people of Israel were the people of God! This meant that God had a great purpose for them to fulfill on earth and that their king carried a great responsibility in ruling them. God had multiplied the nation and fulfilled His promise to Abraham (; ; ), Isaac (), and Jacob (), and Solomon wanted the blessing to continue.

Catalyst

Wisdom was an important element in Near Eastern life, and every king had his circle of “wise men” who advised him. But Solomon didn’t ask for a committee of wise counselors; he asked for wisdom for himself. In that day, the wise person was one who was skillful in the management of life. This meant the ability to make the most out of what life might bring.

True wisdom involves skill in human relationships as well as the ability to understand and cooperate with the basic laws God has built into creation. Wise people not only have knowledge of human nature and of the created world, but they also know how to use that knowledge in the right way at the right time. Wisdom isn’t a theoretical idea or an abstract commodity; it’s very practical and personal. Many people are smart enough to make a good living but aren’t wise enough to make a good life—a life of fulfillment that honors the Lord.

Go to the

When Solomon ascended the throne, the people of Israel soon learned that he was not another David. He was a scholar, not a soldier, a man more interested in erecting buildings than fighting battles. David enjoyed the simple life of a shepherd, but Solomon chose to live in luxury. Both David and Solomon wrote songs, but Solomon is better known for his proverbs. We have many of David’s songs in the book of Psalms, but except for and , and the Song of Songs, we have none of Solomon’s three thousand songs.

See and .

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, Although these conscriptions involved a very small portion of the male citizens, the Israelite people resented Solomon taking their men to work on his projects. This critical attitude helped to strengthen the people’s revolt against Rehoboam and to precipitate the division of the nation after Solomon’s death (). Indeed, when it came to labor and taxes, Solomon did indeed put a heavy yoke on the people.

Solomon took advantage of his father’s royal friendship by enlisting Hiram to provide the workers and timber needed for the temple. In his message, Solomon indicated that he knew his father had discussed the building of the temple with Hiram, so Hiram wasn’t hearing about it for the first time. David had even told Hiram about God’s covenant and God’s choice of Solomon to build the house of God (). Solomon made it clear that he was not constructing a monument to the glory of his father but a temple to honor the name of the Lord.

Solomon’s letter to Hiram was really a commercial contract, for in it he offered to pay for the wood by providing food annually for Hiram’s household, and also to pay the workers one large payment for their labor.

, One of David’s gifts to Solomon was a people prepared to work with him and complete the project. We’ve seen how David organized the various levels of leaders, both civil and religious, so they could work harmoniously and follow their new king. Just as the Lord provided skillful people to construct the tabernacle (; , ), so He would provide the workers that Solomon needed to build the temple of Jehovah. Furthermore, all the people would listen to their new king’s commands and obey him.

, Solomon enlisted both Israelites and resident aliens to help construct the temple. Thousands of Israelite workers cut timber in Lebanon for a month and then returned home for two months, while thousands of “alien” laborers cut and delivered massive stones from the hills, supervised by Israelite foremen (; ). The fact that Gentiles worked along with the Israelites suggests that the temple was indeed a house for all nations. We must not think that these resident aliens were treated as slaves, because the Law of Moses clearly prohibited such practices (; ; , ).

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The ancient world had a “short cubit” or “common cubit” of almost eighteen inches and a “long cubit” of almost twenty-one inches. The common cubit (“the old standard of measurement”) was used for the temple, which created the dimensions listed. A porch stood at the front of the temple, and a courtyard for the priests surrounded the sanctuary. It was separated from an outer courtyard by a wall composed of stone blocks and wood (). The doors of the temple faced east, as had the gate of the tabernacle.

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At the west end of the Holy Place, sixty feet from the doors, hung the beautiful veil that marked off the Most Holy Place. This created a room that was a cube, measuring thirty feet on every side. In the tabernacle of Moses, the Most Holy Place was also a cube, but it measured only fifteen feet per side. In fact, the dimensions of the temple were twice those of the tabernacle—ninety feet by thirty feet as opposed to forty-five feet by fifteen feet. The walls of the Most Holy Place were paneled with cedar wood and covered with gold (), and the floor was made of gold-plated cypress planks (). Even the nails used in the Most Holy Place were plated with gold (). The ark of the Lord’s Covenant was later placed in the Most Holy Place ().

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The furnishings of the temple were important to the priests, for without the divinely ordained furniture, they couldn’t do their ministry or please the Lord.

As you approached the temple from the east, you came to the entrance to the inner courtyard of the priests. To this entrance the people brought their sacrifices and offerings to be presented to the Lord. On the right, toward the north, stood the altar of brass, thirty feet square and fifteen feet high, where the fire was kept burning and the priests offered the sacrifices (see ; ). The height of the altar suggests steps must have been there to lead up to a ledge on which the priests could stand and minister (see ). Some students believe that the altar itself wasn’t fifteen feet high but stood on a stone base that raised it to that height. The tabernacle altar was only four and a half feet high.

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There must have been a system for removing small amounts of water from the Sea so the priests could wash their hands and feet, but this system isn’t explained in the text. Perhaps spigots were at the base of the basin. If the priests didn’t keep their hands and feet clean as they ministered in the temple, they were in danger of death (). In Scripture, water for drinking is a picture of the Spirit of God (), while water for purification is a picture of the Word of God (; ; ). As the priests labored for the Lord in the temple, they became defiled and needed to be cleansed. Likewise, as we serve the Lord, we too can become defiled and need to be “sanctif[ied] and cleanse[d] . . . with the washing of water by the word.” Jesus pictured this truth in when He washed the disciples’ feet.

, , , The tabernacle that Moses constructed had only one table for the loaves of bread and one golden lampstand with seven lamps on it, but the temple had ten golden tables and ten golden lampstands in the Holy Place, five each along the north wall and five along the south wall. The lamps provided the light needed for the ministry in the Holy Place.

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Solomon’s first act of dedication was to have the ark of the Lord’s covenant brought from the tent David had pitched for it () and placed into the inner sanctuary of the temple. The tabernacle equipment and furnishings were also brought to the temple and stored there (). The ark of the Lord’s covenant was the only piece of the original furniture that was kept in active service, for nothing could replace the throne of God or the Law of God that was kept in the ark. That this dedication service took place during the Feast of Tabernacles (v. ) was significant, for the ark had led Israel all during their wilderness journey.

The ark was but a symbol of the throne and presence of God; more important was the actual presence of the Lord in His house. Once Solomon and the people had honored God and placed his throne in the Most Holy Place, the glory of God came and filled the house of the Lord. The glory cloud had guided Israel through the wilderness (), but now the glory came to dwell within the beautiful temple Solomon had built. As the glory filled the house, the priests praised God with voice and instruments because the Lord is enthroned on the praises of His people ().

Catalyst

The presence of God’s glory was the distinguishing mark of the nation of Israel (; ). The sins of the people had caused God’s glory to leave the tabernacle (, ), but now the glory had returned. The nation would sin again, however, and be taken to Babylon; there, Ezekiel the prophet would have a vision of the glory of God leaving the temple (; ; , , ; , ). God would also allow Ezekiel to see the glory return to the kingdom temple (). The glory came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ (; ), but sinners crucified “the Lord of glory” (). When Jesus returned to heaven, the cloud of glory accompanied Him (), leaving the temple “desolate” ().

Since the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost (), God’s glory has resided in each of God’s children individually (, ) as well as in the church local () and the church universal (). Until Jesus comes to take us to the eternal glory, our privilege and responsibility is to bring glory to Him as we serve here on earth. Each local assembly, worshiping the Lord in spirit and truth, should manifest the glory of the Lord (, ).

Go to the

See . God not only graciously dwells with His people, but He also gives them His Word and faithfully keeps His promises. That’s the major theme of this section, for in it Solomon glorified Jehovah by reviewing the history of the building of the temple.

Why speak of darkness when they had just beheld God’s radiant glory? Solomon was referring to the words of the Lord to Moses at Mount Sinai: “I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever” (). The mystery surrounding God humbles us because we can’t completely understand Him and His ways; yet this mystery also encourages us to trust God and rest upon His Word. Solomon didn’t want the people to think that God was like a neighbor with whom they could speak any way they pleased. “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him” ().

, God in His goodness and grace made a covenant with David concerning his family and his throne (). In that covenant, God included the promise of a son who would build the temple. What God spoke with His mouth, He accomplished with His hand, and what He promised to David, He performed through Solomon. But God did these things for the honor of His name, not for the glory of either David or Solomon (see ). God’s name is referred to at least fourteen times in Solomon’s address and prayer. The king was careful to give God all the glory.

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Solomon knelt on the special platform near the altar as he prayed, his hands lifted to heaven. Our traditional posture for prayer (“hands folded and eyes closed”) was unknown to the Jews. Their posture was to look up by faith toward God in heaven (or toward the temple) and lift their open hands to show their poverty and their expectancy as they awaited the answer (, ; ; ; ). This practice was carried over into the early church ().

As Solomon prayed, he was overwhelmed by the contrast between the greatness of God and the insignificance of the work he had done in building the temple. How could Almighty God, the God of the heavens, dwell in a building made by human hands? Solomon had expressed this same truth to King Hiram before beginning to build (), and the prophet Isaiah echoed it (). Stephen referred to these words from Solomon and Isaiah when he defended himself before the Jewish council (), and Paul emphasized this truth when preaching to the Gentiles (). Solomon realized that God’s willingness to dwell with His people was wholly an act of grace.

Catalyst

In his dedicatory prayer, Solomon mentioned seven circumstances that he knew would arise that might cause offense to God. He asked God to hear from heaven and respond with mercy to those who approached Him at the temple if they:

Had wronged another person (vv. , );

Had suffered defeat from enemies (vv. , );

Had experienced drought (vv. , );

Had been struck by other natural disasters (vv. , );

Were sincere seekers from other nations (vv. , );

Were preparing for war (vv. , ); or

Had sinned against God in any way that had led to captivity (vv. ).

Solomon recognized, as we should, that more often than not we will approach God with sinful offenses in our lives. But rather than this fact causing us to turn away in shame and guilt, it ought to cause us to turn toward God with hope in His mercy. Solomon anticipated the words of the writer of Hebrews, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” ().

Go to the

, These foreigners were not the “resident aliens” in Israel who settled in the land and had certain privileges and responsibilities under the law (see ; , ). They were people who would come to Israel because they had heard of the greatness of the Lord and His temple. Israel had the responsibility to be a “light” to the pagan Gentile nations and to demonstrate to them the glory of the true and living God. Solomon had this in mind when he asked the Lord to hear and answer the prayers of people outside the covenant, so that “all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel” (). If these people began to pray to the Lord Jehovah, perhaps they would come to trust and worship Him.

Solomon prayed, “When” God let Israel’s enemies “take them captive . . .” but when the Jews read this, they had already been exiled. The consequences for sin had brought the Israelite people defeat and captivity. Assyria conquered the northern kingdom (Israel) in 722, and Babylon conquered the southern kingdom of Judah in 606–586, taking Jewish captives to Babylon. This terrible event was predicted by Isaiah (, ; , ; ) and Micah (), and Jeremiah revealed that the Babylonian captivity would last for seventy years (; ). When the prophet Daniel understood Jeremiah’s prophecies, he began to pray that God would keep His promises () and set the nation free (). No doubt many other believing Jews (“the remnant”) also prayed, and God stirred Cyrus, king of Persia, to allow the Jews to return to their land and rebuild their temple (, ; ).

Solomon closed the prayer with a plea that the Lord not reject him, the anointed king, David’s son and heir. The statement, “Remember the mercies of Your servant David” refers to God’s promises to David in the covenant (; ). “The sure mercies of David” () include the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, to be the Savior of the world ().

Humanly speaking, the nation of Israel would have perished quickly had not God been faithful to His covenant with David, who was “the lamp of Israel” (). No matter to what depths the kings and people descended, the Lord preserved a lamp for David and for Israel (; ; ; ; ). Whether they recognized it or not, the Israelite people were heavily indebted to David for their temple, the instruments and songs used in the temple, the organization of the temple ministry, and the protection from enemy nations. Today we are indebted to the Lord for keeping David’s light shining so that the Savior could come into the world. God chastened His people, but despite the nation’s sins, He did not break His covenant or take away His mercy (; , , ).

The Lord answered Solomon’s request by sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifices on the altar, and once again the glory of God filled the house. God had sent fire from heaven when Aaron the priest had blessed the people (, ) and when Elijah the prophet had called upon God (). Here God sent fire when Solomon the king offered his prayer and his sacrifices to the Lord. The people all responded by bowing to the ground in reverence to God. Imagine the sound of thousands of people shouting, “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever” (). God had accepted the prayer of the king and the worship of the people!

See .

The peace offering symbolizes Jesus Christ who is our peace () and who has given us the gift of His peace (). Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we have “peace with God” (), and by surrendering to Him, we can have His peace in our hearts (). God’s people feed on Jesus Christ as we read the Word and make it a part of our lives and as we obey what it commands. Jesus Christ is the center of our fellowship, just as at the dedication of the temple the peace offerings were the center of the fellowship.

, The week set aside for the Feast of Tabernacles was filled with feasting and rejoicing. The feast celebrated God’s gracious care of His people during their years in the wilderness, and the people of Israel could look back and give thanks. Now they could look around and give thanks for the new temple, the promises of God, and the presence of the glory of the Lord. The dedication lasted a week, the feast lasted another week, and the event closed with a day of solemn assembly. The sacrifices must have been offered day after day, for the meat of the fellowship offering could be eaten only two days, and all leftovers had to be burned the third day ().

As He had done at Gibeon (), God appeared to Solomon and spoke the word that he needed to hear. He assured the king that He had heard his prayer and would answer it. God’s eyes would be on the house Solomon had built and dedicated, and His ears would be alert to hear the prayers of His people. The people and their king had dedicated the temple to the Lord, but now God would sanctify it and make it His own. God’s name was on the temple, God’s eyes were watching, and His ears listening. It was indeed the house of the Lord.

In this well-known text, God mentions some of the specific requests that Solomon had made in his prayer (). The Lord promised to answer every request. He was willing to forgive His people when they sinned if only they would humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their sins. God has never made a covenant with any other nation but Israel, but since Christian believers today are God’s people and called by His name, they can claim this promise.

, The Lord made the matter very personal, and He spoke specifically to Solomon, referring to the covenant God had made with his father, David (). The Lord reaffirmed the terms of the covenant and assured Solomon that David would always have a king on the throne so long as his descendants obeyed the law and walked in the fear of the Lord.

God had given the Israelite people His Word, and He expected them to obey it. The king had to practice the law and set the example for others. Tragically, after Solomon died the nation divided, and both kingdoms gradually declined until they were destroyed. Likewise, many local churches, schools, denominational agencies, and other Christian ministries have abandoned the true faith and ceased to bring glory to the Lord. We could honestly write “Ichabod . . . The glory has departed from Israel” (for the background of this expression see ) on many an edifice in which Christ had once been honored and from which the gospel of Jesus Christ had been sent out to a lost world.

While the temple was under construction, Solomon designed and built a palace for himself that was a combination of personal residence, city hall, armory, and official reception center: “I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards” ().

The palace buildings were twice as large as the temple and probably had two if not three stories. The total structure was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. (The temple was 90 x 30 x 45.) It included two porches or colonnades, Solomon’s own residence, a residence for his Egyptian wife (and perhaps part of his harem), a throne room (“Hall of Judgment”), and a spacious reception hall, all tied together by a large courtyard set off by walls like those at the temple. See .

We don’t usually think of Solomon as being a military man, but this one exploit is recorded in Scripture. Hamath Zobah was a city north of Damascus at the farthest northern border of the kingdom of Israel (; ). People from this area attended the dedication of the temple (). The city was situated on a very important trade route from which Solomon could collect custom and duty and also guard against invaders. Along with Hamath Zobah, Solomon fortified Tadmor, Upper and Lower Beth Horon, and Baalath and made them “storage cities”—places where chariots, horses, arms, and food were stored for the use of the Israelite troops. Solomon knew that if he didn’t protect the outlying areas of the kingdom, he might find himself at war with his neighbors, his treaties notwithstanding.

With the temple finished, the religious life of the nation settled into a pattern. The adult males in Israel were required to appear at Jerusalem annually to celebrate the Feasts of the Passover and Unleavened Bread, Harvest (Pentecost), and Tabernacles (Final Harvest)—(; ). To believers today, these three festivals signify the death of Christ, the Lamb of God, for our sins (; , ); the resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit (; ); and the future regathering of God’s people in the kingdom (). To the Jewish people, Passover looked back to their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, while Tabernacles commemorated God’s care during their years in the wilderness. Harvest (Pentecost) celebrated the goodness of God in providing food and livelihood in the Promised Land.

, Solomon provided the sacrifices that were needed during these festivals as well as on the special Sabbaths and the new moon festivals. He obeyed the Law of Moses in this regard, and he also followed the plan instituted by his father, David, for the ministry of the priests and Levites in the temple (). Asaph was chief over the musicians (, ), and the temple had 4,000 singers, divided into twenty-four groups. Solomon was careful to see to it that David’s songs and instruments were used and that his plan for organizing the priests and Levites was honored. Unfortunately, the conduct of his private life did not match his public demonstrations of faithfulness to God’s instructions.

, Solomon was a great entrepreneur. He made trade agreements with many nations, built a navy, and hired Hiram’s expert seamen to manage the navy for him. Being an inland people for the most part, the Jews were not given to maritime pursuits, so Solomon depended on the Phoenicians, a coastal people, to handle this aspect of his enterprises. Importing products from the east enriched Solomon’s coffers and helped to make the kingdom more international in its outlook. This outreach surely gave opportunities for the Jews to bear witness of their God to the pagan Gentiles, but the Bible has no record of such a ministry.

See . The queen of Sheba couldn’t contain herself (). She announced publicly that Solomon and his servants had to be the happiest people on earth, yet it was Solomon who later wrote the book of Ecclesiastes and declared, “all is vanity” (). We wonder if Solomon’s officers and servants didn’t gradually grow accustomed to all the pomp and circumstance of court life, especially the gaudy display of wealth. One of the dangers of living in that kind of situation is that we begin to take our life and livelihood for granted; then, before long, we don’t value them at all. This can apply to spiritual treasures as well as material wealth.

The commercial network that Solomon established certainly helped the economy of the nation and brought many influential visitors to Jerusalem, but did it help the king and his people draw near to God? Israel wasn’t supposed to be isolated from the community of nations because she was to be a light to the Gentiles, but Israel was supposed to be separated from the sins of those nations that didn’t know the true and living God. Along with the influx of foreign merchandise came the influx of foreign ideas, including ideas about religion and worship; thus, eventually Solomon himself, influenced by his foreign wives, succumbed to idolatry.

See .

Solomon’s annual income was about twenty-five tons or, in ancient language, 666 talents of gold. It came from several sources: (1) taxes, (2) tolls, customs, and duty fees, (3) trade, (4) tributes from vassal rulers, and (5) gifts. His use of conscripted labor was also a form of income. Supporting Solomon’s splendid manner of life took a great deal of money, and after Solomon’s death, the people of Israel protested the yoke they were wearing and asked for the burden to be lightened (, ).

See .

Solomon’s reign, which started out with such promise, ended after forty years with a sigh of dissatisfaction. Ecclesiastes pictures Solomon’s internal conclusions on life after all the great achievements of his early years ultimately turned out to be as meaningful as vapor. The Chronicler gives us little idea at what point Solomon reached the realization, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (, ).

See .

“Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun,” Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity” (, ).

Solomon was succeeded by his son Rehoboam, who occasionally made a shrewd decision, but for the most part was a foolish ruler. At the beginning of Rehoboam’s reign, his selfish decision divided the nation. Then, during his fourth year, Rehoboam decided to turn from the Lord and worship idols, bringing God’s judgment. His reign could hardly be called successful.

Let’s give Rehoboam credit for asking for a delay to give him time to think and seek counsel. Just taking time solves no problems, however; what leaders do with time is what really counts. The Bible presents no evidence that the king sought the Lord in prayer or that he consulted with the high priest or with a prophet. We get the impression that his mind was already made up but was willing to go through the motions in order to please the people.

The elders gave Rehoboam the best advice: Be a servant of the people, and the people will serve you. But Rehoboam had already made up his mind, so he immediately rejected that answer and turned to his contemporaries whom he knew would give him the answer that he wanted. He had no intention of weighing the facts, seeking God’s will, and making the wisest choice. When so-called Christian leaders take the Rehoboam approach, they do terrible damage to the work of the Lord, and then often walk away from the mess, leaving behind poison and debris that will take years to remove.

The story reveals that, whatever gifts Rehoboam may have possessed, he didn’t have the gift of relating to people and understanding their needs. David was a king who loved his people and risked his life for their welfare. Solomon was a king who didn’t serve the people but used the people to satisfy his own desires. Rehoboam was a king who ignored the lessons of the past and turned his ears away from the voices of the suffering people. He was unfit to rule.

, What life does to us depends on what life finds in us. Life’s pressures bring out the best or the worst in people. During Rehoboam’s reign of seventeen years, the way he responded to situations revealed what kind of a person he really was.

See . After Rehoboam had assembled an army to subdue the rebellious northern tribes, he discovered that he had wasted his time. The Lord sent the prophet Shemaiah to tell the king to call off the fight and send the men home. Though what happened was the consequence of Rehoboam’s foolishness and Jeroboam’s aggressiveness, God had ruled and overruled to bring about the division (), thus fulfilling Ahijah’s prophecy (). Each man and his counselors had acted freely, yet the Lord’s will was done (see ). Our sovereign God is so great that He lets people make their own decisions and yet accomplishes His purposes.

Rehoboam heard and obeyed God’s message from Shemaiah, and the Lord began to give him wisdom and bless his life and his work. Had he stayed on that course, he would have led Judah into godliness and true greatness, but he turned from the Lord and lost the blessings he and his people could have enjoyed.

For three years, while King Jeroboam ordained his own priests and turned the ten northern tribes into a center for worshiping idols, Rehoboam kept the people of Judah true to the Law of Moses. As a result, the priests and Levites in Israel who were devoted to the Lord came into Judah and spiritually enriched the nation. The addition of these godly priests and Levites and their families to the population of Judah strengthened the kingdom and brought the Lord’s blessing. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance” ().

, The king practiced a wise strategy when he appointed his grown sons to royal offices and distributed them throughout Judah and Benjamin. To begin with, the princes weren’t engaged in their own pursuits and getting involved in palace intrigues, as some of David’s sons had done to the sorrow of their father. Rehoboam had grown up in the lap of luxury, but he was smart enough to put his sons to work. By giving his sons responsibilities, Rehoboam could assess their character and skills and decide which son would succeed him.

Rehoboam walked with the Lord for three years after becoming king (), but in the fourth year of his reign, when his throne was secure, he and all Judah turned away from Jehovah to worship idols. The words “forsaken” and “left” regarding the people’s response to the Lord’s covenant, occur frequently in the record of Judah’s and Israel’s kings (, ; , ; ; ; , , ; ; ; ; ; , ; ; ; ). Whatever the influence, these kings knew that they were breaking the covenant and sinning against the Lord. One doesn’t have to be a king to experience the tragic consequences of knowingly violating God’s commands.

Catalyst

The Jewish people should be recognized and applauded for being the only nation in history that has left an accurate portrait of their leaders and a factual report of their history. The Bible is a Jewish book, yet it doesn’t always show Israel in a good light. Of course, the Scriptures are inspired by God, but it still took a good deal of honesty and humility to write the record and admit its truth.

In the history books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, the message of obedience and blessing comes through loud and clear. We must not conclude, however, that everybody who obeys God will escape suffering and trial; for more than one good king had personal troubles, and some were assassinated. No king was perfect, but God’s covenant with Israel assured them that He would bless the nation if they would obey His will.

As citizens of God’s kingdom today, followers of Jesus can still learn lessons and see warnings in the lives of the people of Israel. We are not to pretend to be righteous or act as though we aren’t still subject to the temptations and other limitations of living in a fallen world. After all, the evidence of God’s grace, forgiveness, and patience in our lives is not illustrated by how good we are but by how much progress we’re making at doing better than we have done in the past.

Go to the

, Whenever God’s people experience discipline because of their sins, they can make a new beginning by hearing the Word of God and humbling themselves before the God of the Word. This was the promise God gave His people when Solomon dedicated the temple (, ). Rehoboam and his officers humbled themselves before the Lord, and He stopped Shishak from destroying Jerusalem. Judah was now subject to Shishak, however, and had to pay him tribute. God’s people discovered that their free decision to sin brought them into painful and costly bondage to Egypt, for the consequences of sin are always costly.

See .

, Rehoboam was too poor to make duplicate shields, so he replaced the stolen gold shields with shields made of bronze, and the royal ceremonies went on as if nothing had happened. How often the precious treasures of former generations are lost because of sin and then replaced by cheap substitutes. Life goes on and nobody seems to know the difference. That’s what happened to the church at Laodicea (). Counterfeit spiritual actions can continue for a long time before someone notices that God is no longer in the picture.

Were it not for the overruling hand of a sovereign God, the Israelite nation could never have accomplished what God had called them to do: bear witness of the one true and living God, write the Scriptures, and bring the Savior into the world. The nation had divided into two, and leaders and common people in both nations had departed from the Lord to serve idols. Although the priests still carried on the temple ministry in Judah, during the 345 years from Rehoboam to Zedekiah, only eight of Judah’s nineteen kings were classified as “good.” As for Israel’s twenty kings, most were self-seeking men, classified as “evil.” Some were better than others, but none was compared with David.

, See , .

This son of Rehoboam was handpicked by his father because of his proven ability (), but he was not a godly man (). He reigned only three years (913 to 910). He was from David’s line through both parents because David’s infamous son, Absalom, was Abijah’s maternal grandfather or great-grandfather (see ; ). Abijah may have had David’s blood flowing in his veins, but he didn’t have David’s heart beating in his breast. Abijah’s father, Rehoboam, had kept up a running war with Jeroboam, and Abijah carried on the tradition.

Abijah knew his history and had faith in what God had said to Moses and David. He had the courage to preach a sermon to Jeroboam and his army of 800,000 men (twice as large as Judah’s army), reminding them of the true foundation for the Jewish faith (v. ). For his platform, he used Mount Zemaraim, a prominent place located on the border between Benjamin and Israel (). Abijah opened his sermon by reminding Jeroboam that David’s line was the true royal dynasty as stated in God’s unchanging covenant with David (; ).

Abijah reminded Jeroboam that only the sons of Aaron could serve in the temple. The only divinely authorized temple of the Lord was in Jerusalem; there the priests, the sons of Aaron, conducted the form of worship commanded by God through Moses. Judah worshiped the one true and living God, while Israel worshiped two golden calves. Israel’s priests were hirelings, not divinely appointed servants of the Lord. In Judah, the people honored the Lord God Jehovah—“God is with us!” If Israel were to attack Judah, therefore, Israel would be fighting against the Lord!

Abijah’s sentries weren’t doing a very good job, for while Abijah was speaking, some of Jeroboam’s soldiers moved behind him and set up an ambush. Judah found their smaller army fighting on two fronts, surely a dangerous situation. Having good theology is important, but having good strategy and alert guards on duty is also important. Rising to the challenge and putting action to his words, Abijah cried to the Lord for deliverance. At the same time, the priests blew their trumpets (), and the army of Judah gave a great shout, just as the people had done at Jericho (). God sent immediate victory.

The Lord acted as He did for the glory of His own name. Abijah isn’t marked out as a godly ruler, but we commend him for his understanding of God’s truth and his faith in God’s power. Abijah was no Joshua, but the God of Joshua was still the God of His people, proving Himself faithful. Abijah became more and more powerful, fathered many children, and helped to continue the dynasty of David. God uses imperfect people to do His will, if only they will trust Him.

See .

, Abijah’s son, Asa, ruled for forty-one years (910 to 869). He began his reign with a heart like that of David ().

Thanks to his father’s victory over Jeroboam (), Asa had peace during the first ten years of his reign. During that time, he led a national reformation, cleansed the land of idolatry, and urged the people to seek the Lord (). He also fortified the land by building defense cities and assembling an army of 580,000 men (vv. ). The emphasis, however, wasn’t on military achievements but on seeking the Lord (v. ). God had given them peace because they had sought His face. They used that time of peace to prepare for any war that might occur, for faith without works is dead.

Asa’s motive wasn’t simply to defeat a dangerous enemy but to bring glory to Jehovah. Like David approaching Goliath, he attacked the enemy army “in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (). In response to Asa’s prayer of faith, the Lord soundly defeated the Ethiopian army and enabled Asa and his men to pursue them south to Gerar.

The Lord sent the prophet Azariah to meet Asa and the victorious army and give them a message of encouragement and warning (see also ; ). More than one general has won a battle but afterwards lost the war because of pride or carelessness, and God didn’t want Asa to fall into that trap. Azariah’s message was the same as that of King Asa: seek the Lord, obey Him, trust Him, and be strong in Him (see also ; ).

This is the second phase of Asa’s reformation, and certainly he dealt more severely with sin in the land than in the first phase. Removing idols and repairing the altar were important, but the greatest need was to rededicate the people. In the fifteenth year of his reign, Asa called for a great assembly to gather at Jerusalem to worship the Lord and renew the covenant.

At significant times throughout Jewish history, we find the leaders and the people renewing their commitment to the Lord, a good example for the church to follow today. Asa didn’t reorganize the priesthood or remodel the temple, nor did he import new worship ideas from the pagan nations around him. He simply led the people in rededication to the covenant that God had already given them.

See .

, After all that God had done for Asa, you would think he would have called the people together to confess sin, seek the Lord, and learn His will about this serious situation. Instead, in his unbelief, he resorted to political maneuvering.

Everyone was happy with the results of the treaty except God. He sent the prophet Hanani to rebuke the king and give him the Word of the Lord. The prophet’s task was to rebuke kings and other leaders, including priests, when they had disobeyed God’s laws. The prophet’s message was clear: If Asa had relied on the Lord, the army of Judah would have defeated both Israel and Aram. Instead, Judah merely gained a few towns, the Lord’s treasury was robbed, and the king was entangled in a sinful alliance with the Arameans.

The fundamental problem was not Judah’s lack of defenses but the king’s lack of faith. Unlike David, whose heart had been sincere before the Lord (see ), Asa’s heart was divided—one day trusting God and the next day trusting in the arm of flesh. A perfect heart isn’t a sinless heart but a heart wholly yielded to the Lord and fully trusting Him. King Asa revealed the wickedness of his heart by becoming angry, rejecting the prophet’s message, and putting him in prison.

God gave Asa time to repent, but he refused to do so. In the thirty-ninth year of Asa’s reign, God afflicted him with a disease in his feet, which must have brought him considerable pain and inconvenience. Once again, Asa turned his back on the Lord and refused to confess his sin, turning instead to his physicians for help. Asa was a man who had made a good beginning and had lived a life of faith, but in his final years he rebelled against the Lord. The people made a very great bonfire in Asa’s honor, but in God’s sight, Asa’s last years went up in smoke (see ).

The inability of the physicians to help Asa must not be interpreted as a divine rejection of the medical profession. Certainly God can heal either with or without medical means (). Even Paul had Luke “the beloved physician” on his missionary staff (). And Jesus said that sick people need a physician (). To use as an argument for faith healing and against going to the doctor is to misinterpret and misapply a very plain statement. Asa’s sickness was a judgment from the Lord, and his going to the physicians was a rebellion against the Lord. Because Asa refused to repent, God refused to let him be healed.

Jehoshaphat was a good king and a godly leader, but he got involved in three costly compromises. The first was the bride compromise when he married his son to a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (; ), causing Ahab’s evil influence to affect even the reign of Jehoshaphat’s grandson (). This led to the battle compromise, as he got entangled in Ahab’s affairs when Aram attacked Israel (). This almost cost Jehoshaphat his life (, ). The third compromise was the boat compromise, when Jehoshaphat foolishly joined forces with Ahab’s son Ahaziah (; , ) and tried to get rich by importing foreign goods. The Lord wrecked his fleet and rebuked him for his sinful alliance.

See .

Jehoshaphat’s son was married to Ahab’s daughter, so Jehoshaphat had to be friendly toward Ahab and help him fight his battles. He was disobeying the Lord when he took this step, but one compromise often leads to another. As the descendant of David, Jehoshaphat should have kept his distance from Ahab and never allowed the Davidic line to mingle with that of Ahab.

All the court prophets, paid to agree with the king, assured Ahab that he would win the battle, but Jehoshaphat was wise enough to ask Ahab for some word from God. A recognized prophet of the Lord lived in Israel, so Ahab sent for his enemy Micaiah. While the two kings were waiting, the prophets put on quite a demonstration. Zedekiah, who seemed to be their leader, made some iron horns to illustrate how Israel would push back and gore the Arameans and win the battle. All the other prophets agreed and shouted their approval. But it takes more than enthusiasm to win a war, especially when God has decreed otherwise.

Catalyst

The Lord gave Micaiah two visions, both of which announced judgment to King Ahab. In the first, he saw Israel wandering hopelessly, like sheep without a shepherd, obviously a description of a nation without a leader (). Jesus used this image to depict the Jewish people without spiritual direction (). Ahab got the message: he would be killed in the battle.

The second vision explained how this would be accomplished: A lying spirit would give Ahab false confidence, so he would enter the battle. That the God of truth should allow a lying spirit to accomplish His work is a puzzle to some people, but this is no different from God permitting Satan to attack Job () or Judas to betray Jesus (). God deals with people on the basis of their character: “With the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd” (). Ahab was fighting against God, and like any good boxer or wrestler, the Lord anticipated his moves and countered with the right response. Ahab was a consummate liar, and God dealt with him according to his character.

Go to the

Micaiah was under a great deal of pressure to agree with the false prophets and assure Ahab he would defeat Aram. Not only was Micaiah outnumbered four hundred to one (v. ), but the officer who brought him to the two kings warned him to agree with the majority. Often in Scripture, the minority represents God’s will, and Micaiah was determined to be faithful, not popular.

Ahab ordered the true prophet to be taken to prison and given bread and water, as if punishing the prophet would change his message. The test of a true prophet was the actual fulfillment of his words (; ), and Micaiah knew this. That’s why his parting message to Ahab was, “If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me. . . . Take heed, all you people!”

Not only had Jehoshaphat experienced an obvious close call in the battle with the Arameans during which Ahab was killed, he also had a message of chastisement from the Lord waiting for him back home. Jehu confronted the king with a warning and a word of encouragement. The king had made some specific mistakes in siding with the wrong people, but he had also pleased God by his genuine efforts to revive the worship of God in Judah.

The king took God’s rebuke to heart in the way he ruled his people. He continued his efforts at spiritual reform, and he appointed judges throughout the land with strict instructions to warn those who came before them “lest they trespass against the LORD and wrath come upon you and your brethren” (v. ). The king was speaking from experience. And he was teaching a view we also find in the New Testament (see ; )

One of Jehoshaphat’s great achievements was the defeat of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites (Mount Seir), a great force that attacked Judah. The king humbled himself before the Lord, called for a nationwide fast, and encouraged the people to seek the face of the Lord. At a mass meeting in Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat prayed for God’s guidance and help, reminding the Lord of His covenant with Abraham (v. ) and God’s acceptance of Solomon’s prayer when he dedicated the temple (vv. , ; ). God promised that if the people would look toward the temple and pray, He would hear and answer. Seeing the great army approaching, the king asked the Lord to judge them. (The name “Jehoshaphat” means “whom God judges,” that is, “God pleads His cause.”)

Jehoshaphat’s prayer was followed by a declaration of the word from Jahaziel, assuring the king and his people that the Lord would indeed intervene and give Judah victory—“the battle is not yours, but God’s” (v. ). The king and the people believed the Lord’s promise and praised Him even before the battle started. The next day, Jehoshaphat sent the army out with the singers at the very front. God caused the three enemy armies to fight among themselves and destroy themselves, leaving the spoils of war for the army of Judah. The army had praised God before the battle and at the very time of the battle; now they praised Him at the temple after the battle. Faith, prayer, and praise are great weapons.

See .

For five years Jehoram served as coregent with his father Jehoshaphat, so when Jehoshaphat died, Jehoram took the throne. Jehoram was married to Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab, and Jehoshaphat had joined Ahab in fighting against the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead (). Obviously, the wall of separation was gradually crumbling between David’s dynasty in Judah and the descendants of Ahab in Israel. The future of God’s great plan of salvation depended on the continuation of the Davidic dynasty, so Jehoram was playing right into the enemy’s hands. By compromising with the evil rulers of Israel, Jehoram displeased the Lord and weakened the nation.

When he became king, Jehoram followed the example of Jezebel and murdered all his brothers and anybody who might threaten his authority. His father had given each of the sons a fortified city to rule, and Jehoram didn’t want them to unite against him. Instead of calling them together to pray and worship God at the temple and to seek His blessing, he followed the ways of Ahab and Jezebel and ruled by the sword. Jehoram wanted his brothers out of the way so they couldn’t oppose his policy of promoting the worship of Baal. Jezebel had won again.

See .

Not only was Jehoram an idolater, he was also a murderer who killed his own brothers, so the Lord would now cause him to reap what he had sown. The enemy would invade and loot the kingdom of Judah and take Jehoram’s treasures as well as his wives and sons. Then, the king would be afflicted with an incurable bowel disease that would give him great pain and ultimately take his life. Both of these predictions came true (vv. ). Writing this letter to the king of Judah may have been one of Elijah’s last prophetic actions.

Unfortunately, Jehoram was succeeded by his son Ahaziah, who was also part of the Ahab clan—his mother, Athaliah, was Ahab’s daughter. Ahaziah joined with his uncle, King Joram, to take Ramoth Gilead from Hazael, king of Aram, and there Joram was wounded. Joram went to his palace at Jezreel to recover, and King Ahaziah went down to visit and encourage his uncle. Why does the writer give us these seemingly trivial details? To let us know that God was putting together the people who would be killed because of their sins (see v. ). To have the king of Judah and the king of Israel together in one place would make it easy for Jehu to obey the command of the Lord.

Jehu is introduced without explanation here, but the background of his charge to execute judgment against the family of Ahab is explained in .

The reports of Ahaziah’s death in , and here aren’t easy to harmonize, but here’s a possibility. Ahaziah may have fled south from Jezreel when he saw Joram was dead () and made it to Samaria, where he hid—as yet unwounded. But Jehu’s men tracked him down in Samaria () and presented him to Jehu. Perhaps Ahaziah, knowing he was doomed, began to flee northwest toward Megiddo. On the way he was wounded by Jehu’s archers at the Ascent of Gur, but he didn’t die until he reached Megiddo (). Thus he died at the hand of Jehu (). Ahaziah’s servants carried his body from Megiddo to Jerusalem () where he was buried with the kings because he was a descendant of David. Had Ahaziah not compromised with Joram, worshiped Baal, and followed his mother Athaliah’s counsel, he would have been spared this shame and defeat.

In the southern kingdom of Judah, the throne was suddenly empty because Jehu had killed King Ahaziah (, ). The queen mother, Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab, saw her opportunity and seized the throne; then she reigned for six years. As the founder of Baal worship in Judah, she had no desire to see the Davidic dynasty succeed. She tried to kill all the royal princes, but one survived. David’s family was rapidly being destroyed. When Jehoram, Athaliah’s husband, became king of Judah, he killed all his brothers and some of the leaders of Judah to prevent them from dethroning him (), and the Arabian invaders had killed Jehoram’s older sons (). Jehu had killed Ahaziah and some of David’s other descendants (, ), and now Athaliah had ordered the “royal seed” to be wiped out. Satan certainly was doing his utmost to keep the promised Messiah from being born in David’s lineage!

Humanly speaking, were it not for the courageous service of the high priest, Jehoiada, and his wife Jehoshabeath, the Davidic dynasty would have come to an end. The future of God’s promises to David, that involved his great plan of salvation, was wrapped in a little baby boy named Joash.

Studying this time in Judah’s history gives us the feeling that we are reading the morning paper or watching the news on television. We meet two leaders—Jehu (), former army commander and now ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Jehoiada, high priest at the temple in Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. As we watch these two men, we recognize the fact that the same forces for good and for evil were at work in their world that are at work in our world today.

, When wicked Athaliah killed the heirs to David’s throne, the faithful remnant in Judah must have wondered where God was and what He was doing. Why would God make a covenant promise to David and not keep it? How could He allow the queen mother to do such an evil deed and jeopardize the future of the messianic line? But God was still on the throne and had His servants prepared to act. In a world that seems to be controlled by deceit and selfish ambition, people like Jehoiada and Jehoshabeath still have faith in God’s Word and courageously do His will.

Jehoiada and Jehoshabeath and the boy’s nurse had the patience to wait for God’s time, for faith and patience go together (). “Whoever believes will not act hastily” (), in other words, need not be moved into untimely action. In His gracious providence, the Lord watched over the child as well as the three people who knew who he was and where he was, for if Queen Athaliah had known what they were doing, she would have killed them along with the prince.

When everybody was in place, Jehoiada brought out the seven-year-old king and presented him to the people. Jehoiada put the crown on Joash’s head and gave him a copy of the law of God that he was to obey (; ). The high priest anointed him, and the people joyfully welcomed him as their ruler. “Long live the king” is literally “Let the king live!” (See ; ; , .) God had kept His covenant promise and put one of David’s descendants on the throne of Judah! The timing factors here echo God’s own timing in sending his Son, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” ().

Jehoiada had already given the holy covenant to the king (v. ), but it was necessary that both the people and the king affirm their allegiance to one another and to the Lord. Israel was a theocracy, and God was their King. The king ruled as God’s chosen representative, and the people obeyed the king as they would obey God, for the law of Israel was the Law of the Lord. Israel was a covenant nation—at Mount Sinai their ancestors had sworn allegiance to the Lord and His Word (). “He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any nation; and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise the LORD!” (, ).

, Jehoiada immediately took steps to remedy this situation by following David’s orders () and putting the proper priests and Levites into places of ministry. Offering the daily sacrifices to the Lord and singing praises to him was important. Also the doors of the temple had to be guarded so that no unclean person might enter and defile the other worshipers. Revival is simply obeying God’s Word and doing what He commanded our fathers to do. We don’t need the novelties of the present; we need the realities of the past.

See .

Joash was only seven years old when he ascended the throne of Judah, and he had a long reign of forty years. Since a child of seven can’t rule a nation, the high priest Jehoiada became Joash’s tutor and mentor. Joash seemed to be a willing student because during all the years that Jehoiada instructed him, the young king obeyed the Lord.

Catalyst

Joash’s signature project that signaled his rise to power was the refurbishing of the temple. It had been desecrated during Athaliah’s reign, and early efforts under Jehoiada hadn’t produced much progress. When Joash first took ownership of the project, the priests and Levites he ordered to set plans in motion apparently didn’t think the young king’s word carried the same weight as Jehoiada’s. Joash had to assert himself.

Believers today know that God doesn’t live in buildings, even those with “church” in the title (, ; ; ), but this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t dedicate structures to His service and glory. The early churches didn’t have their own buildings; instead, they met in homes and in accessible public places such as the temple in Jerusalem. Not until the fourth century did the law permit them to construct their own buildings and meet in them.

Some saints today oppose church buildings and say they’re a waste of God’s money, while others almost worship their buildings and get their priorities confused.

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The godly people in Judah must have rejoiced that an obedient descendant of David was on the throne. What they didn’t know was that Joash’s faith was shallow, and that he obeyed God only to please Jehoiada. Joash was an excellent follower but not a good leader. When Jehoiada died, Joash went his own way and disobeyed the Lord.

Joash didn’t ignore the priesthood in this project, for the counting and distributing of the money was handled jointly by representatives of the king and the high priest. In his own time, Joash was demonstrating Paul’s principle of involving the people and making sure everything was kept open and aboveboard (). The workers were so honest and faithful that nobody kept records of the income and expenditures, a fact that may have upset the royal auditors.

Jehoiada died at the advanced age of one hundred and thirty. He was so beloved by the people that he was buried with the kings. But when Jehoiada passed off the scene, King Joash showed his true colors and abandoned the faith. His apostasy wasn’t the fault of Jehoiada, for the high priest had faithfully taught Joash the Scriptures. The problem was Joash’s shallow faith and his desire to please the leaders of the land, “the leaders of Judah” who visited Joash and asked him to be more lenient in matters of religion (vv. , ). He relented, and once again idolatry moved into Judah and Jerusalem.

Joash’s actions provide a clear warning: Simply knowing God’s truth isn’t enough; you must obey His truth “from the heart” (). Truth in the mind can lead to obedience, but truth in the heart and obedience from the heart will produce godly character. God’s Word and God’s will must be internalized—received into the heart ()—or we can never develop consistent Christian character. Until duty and discipline become delight, we are only reluctant servants who obey God because we have to, not because we want to. Jehoiada was a religious prop on which the king leaned. When the prop was removed, the king fell.

A good beginning is no guarantee of a good ending. King Joash had every encouragement to become a godly man, but he didn’t take advantage of his opportunities by taking God’s truth into his heart. When the Lord sent prophets to warn him, he refused to listen. He even plotted with his leaders to have Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, stoned to death because he rebuked the king for his sins. Imagine murdering the son of the very people who saved your life!

See .

When the king of Judah became an idolater and a murderer, the Lord began to discipline him. First God brought the prophets to warn Joash, but he wouldn’t listen. Then the Lord brought Judah’s long-time enemy Aram against Judah. Second Kings records that Joash even robbed the temple to bribe King Hazael of Aram not to attack Jerusalem. However, Joash was severely wounded in the battle, never to recover, for two of his officials assassinated him for ordering the death of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada.

See . Amaziah was the ninth king of Judah and the son of Joash, the “boy king,” who in his later years turned away from the Lord, killed God’s prophet, and was himself assassinated (). Amaziah made an excellent beginning, but he later abandoned the Lord and was also assassinated (, ). He saw to it that the men were executed who had killed his father, and he obeyed by judging only the offenders and not their families. Had Amaziah continued to obey God’s Word, his life and reign would have been much different.

, God sent a prophet to rebuke the king and warn him that the Lord was not with the kingdom of Israel, so the hired soldiers would only bring defeat.

Amaziah was not wholehearted in his relationship to the Lord (v. ), and this revealed itself in the way he argued with the prophet about the will of God. The king was unwilling to send the mercenaries home because it would have meant forfeiting the 7,500 pounds of silver he had paid to the king of Israel. Amaziah was counting the cost and adjusting his priorities, hoping he could change God’s mind. The prophet wisely replied that God could give him much more if he would only trust Him and obey His will ().

See .

The Lord Jehovah had given his servant an outstanding victory over a strong enemy in a difficult place, and yet Amaziah took back to Judah the gods of the defeated enemy. Surely the king of Judah didn’t think that by taking these idols he would paralyze the Edomites and prevent future wars! Every Jew was taught that the Lord Jehovah was one God and the only true and living God; therefore, the gods of the nations were nothing (, ; ). Worshiping idols directly violated the Law of Moses (), and worshiping the gods of a defeated enemy was simply unreasonable. After all, what did those gods accomplish for the Edomites? Yet Amaziah began to worship the gods of Edom, offer them sacrifices, and consult them.

See .

Amaziah is a tragic figure in Jewish history. He was presented with great opportunities and experienced great help from the Lord, but he was a double-minded man who didn’t wholeheartedly serve God. He had his own agenda and didn’t take time to seek the mind of the Lord. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” ().

Uzziah’s given name was Azariah, which means “Jehovah has helped.” When he became king of Judah at age six-teen, however, he took the throne name Uzziah, which means “Jehovah is strength.” The people made him king when his father Amaziah was taken to Samaria after his foolish war against Jehoash, king of Israel (, ).

, See .

Unfortunately, Uzziah imitated his father and allowed his accomplishments to swell his head. Amaziah wanted to be known as a great general, but Uzziah wanted to serve as both king and priest. In the Old Testament economy, God separated the kings and priests. A priest could become a prophet (for example, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and John the Baptist), but no prophet or king could become a priest. Only in Jesus Christ do we find the offices of prophet, priest, and king combined, and His priesthood is “in the order of Melchizedek” (; ; ). For Uzziah to covet the priesthood was ignorance, for he knew the Law of Moses. And for him to try to seize it by force was arrogance, for he knew what had happened to others who had attempted to claim what wasn’t rightfully theirs (see ; ; ).

See .

Being a leper, the king couldn’t appear in public or even live in the palace. He was quarantined in an isolated house while his son Jotham ruled the land as coregent. When Uzziah died, he was buried in the royal cemetery but apparently not in the tombs of the kings. Uzziah had a wonderful beginning but a tragic ending. This should challenge us to be on guard and pray that the Lord will help us to end well.

Uzziah the soldier was defeated by his pride; Uzziah the builder destroyed his own ministry and testimony; Uzziah the farmer reaped the painful harvest of what he had sown. He is a warning to all who nurture unholy ambitions to intrude into that which God hasn’t appointed for them (see ).

See .

Jotham was coregent with his father after Uzziah was smitten with leprosy for invading the temple precincts. Jotham would be considered a good king, although his son Ahaz was a bad king. In fact, from Jotham, the eleventh king of Judah, to Zedekiah, the twentieth and last king of Judah, only Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah could be called good kings—three kings out of ten. The Lord kept David’s lamp burning in Jerusalem all those years, but the time came when He had to bring in the nation of Babylon to punish His people for their sins.

Like his father Uzziah, Jotham was both a builder and a warrior. He repaired the walls of Jerusalem and the upper gate of the temple. He also built cities in the Judean mountains and fortresses and towers in the wooded areas. His army confronted the armies of Ammon, and he won a great victory over them and put them under a very heavy annual tribute—nearly four tons of silver and 50,000 bushels each of wheat and barley (v. ). “Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God” (v. ). We wonder how much more good he would have accomplished had he lived longer.

The best way to handle power is to keep it under constraints. That King Jotham was “prepared his ways before the LORD his God” means that he never let the original power of being king lead him to forget he still had to answer to God. As long as he remembered he served someone more powerful, God allowed his power to grow. People who become thirsty for power or who live without restraints are the kind of people that power both corrupts and destroys.

See . Ahaz was the son of Jotham, a good king, and the father of Hezekiah, a very good king. Ahaz, however, was not a godly man or even a good man. Instead of discovering and doing the will of God, Ahaz imitated the wicked kings of Israel and even the pagan practices of Assyria. He even adopted the horrible worship practices of the pagans and sacrificed his sons () to a pagan god, Baal or Molech, a practice that was clearly prohibited in the Law of Moses (; ).

Catalyst

Does God still chasten nations as He did in ancient days? The Israelite people, of course, belonged to a covenant nation, God’s chosen people—even though the nation was divided into two kingdoms—and they were still responsible to keep their covenant with the Lord.

But what about the Gentile nations that had no covenant relationship with God? The prophet Amos makes it clear that God knows the sins of the Gentile nations and holds them accountable (). God never gave His law directly to the Gentiles (, ), but the demands of that law are written in the hearts of all people (); thus, disobedient Gentiles are guilty before the Lord.

As you read the Old Testament, you find God judging Sodom and Gomorrah (), Egypt (), the Gentile nations in and around Canaan (; ), and even Babylon (). Because the Jews knew the true and living God and had the witness of His law, however, they were even more accountable. How tragic that apostate Israel and not enlightened Judah under Ahaz showed more concern about obeying God’s message. Judah had the temple, the law, and the priesthood, but they didn’t have the Lord. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance” (). Clearly, part of the joy is the responsibility that goes with relationship.

Go to the

According to this account, God brought the kings of Israel and Aram against Judah to punish Ahaz for his sins. Pekah king of Israel and his armies did a great deal of damage to Judah, though they weren’t able to conquer Jerusalem. One of the sons of Ahaz was killed, along with two key officers of state. The invading armies killed thousands of soldiers and took thousands of prisoners of war to Samaria. It looked as though Israel would swallow Judah.

The Lord raised up a prophet in Israel who warned the returning army that by taking these people of Judah as prisoners, Israel was breaking God’s Law and inviting His judgment. After all, the people of Judah and the people of Israel were part of one family, the family of Abraham. The prophet Oded pointed out three sins the army of Israel had committed. First, they were in a rage against the people of Judah and had captured and killed them indiscriminately. Second, they planned to make slaves out of their own brothers and sisters, and this was contrary to God’s Law (.). And third, in doing these things, they showed no fear of the Lord and, therefore, were asking for Him to judge them.

After Oded’s message, some of the leaders in Israel stood and affirmed what he had said and urged the army not to sin against the Lord and their brothers and sisters. Remarkably the people accepted God’s message, repented, and changed their treatment of the prisoners. The Israelites not only fed and clothed the prisoners and gave special help to the injured and feeble, but the soldiers even returned the loot they had taken from Judah. This was an instance of being “good Samaritans” on a national level (see ).

The king could never have made all these changes without the cooperation of Uriah, the high priest (, , , ). When King Uzziah tried to rebel against the Word of the Lord and enter the temple, the high priest Azariah with eighty other priests successfully withstood him (). But Uriah and his priests compromised, disobeyed the Law of Moses, and gave in to their king. Once compromise begins, it continues to grow; all evil needs to triumph is for weak people like Uriah to let leaders have their way. Once we allow worldliness to get into the church fellowship, it will quietly grow, pollute the fellowship, and eventually take over. Not until the reign of his son Hezekiah was the temple that Ahaz defiled reopened and sanctified for ministry ().

, See , . When Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal tombs. In this, he joined Jehoram (), Joash (), and Uzziah (), and Manasseh would join them (). The unbelief and unfaithfulness of Ahaz did great damage to the kingdom of Judah, some of which his son Hezekiah would be able to repair.

, See , . The name Hezekiah means “the Lord strengthens,” and King Hezekiah needed God’s strength to accomplish all that he did during his reign of twenty-nine years (715–687). Like Asa (), Jehoshaphat (), and Josiah (), Hezekiah’s model was King David. This means that while Hezekiah wasn’t perfect, he did seek to obey the Lord and please Him.

The book of 2 Kings has only one verse describing Hezekiah’s reforms (), while this book devotes three chapters to this important part of his life. Second Kings, however, mentions how King Hezekiah destroyed the bronze serpent made by Moses (), but this isn’t mentioned in Chronicles. The serpent was a religious relic that had reached the status of an idol. “Nehushtan” is a name of contempt probably meaning “a piece of bronze, a brass thing.” People often honor religious relics that have no power! Hezekiah was a man of faith who trusted the living God and followed His law, and he didn’t want the people worshiping a dead, useless image.

Hezekiah didn’t waste any time getting Judah back to the worship of the true and living God. His father, Ahaz, had defiled the temple and finally had closed the doors and stopped the Levitical ministry (). Hezekiah commanded the priests to sanctify themselves so they would be able to cleanse the temple and restore the worship that the Lord had commanded through Moses. The abandoning of the temple worship by the people of the northern kingdom had led to their captivity, and the defiling and neglecting of the temple by Ahaz had brought discipline to Judah, including invasions by Aram, Edom, and Philistia. The temple worship was at the heart of the Jewish nation, and if that was wrong, everything else would be wrong.

Fourteen leaders are named in these verses, men who set the example and led the way for a new beginning for temple ministry. If the spiritual leaders aren’t right with God, how can He bless His people?

The restoration began with the removal of the refuse. If we are to have revival in the Lord’s work, we must begin with cleansing. Over the years, individuals and churches can gradually accumulate a great deal of religious rubbish while ignoring the essentials of spiritual worship. We don’t experience God’s blessing by doing some unique and new thing but by returning to the old things and doing them well. If we confess our sins (), light the lamps, burn the incense (a picture of prayer, , ), and offer ourselves as living sacrifices (, ), the Lord will see and hear and will send His blessing.

The reconsecration of the temple wasn’t a dedication service planned only for the king and his leaders, for the people in the congregation sanctified themselves and brought their offerings as well (vv. ). They brought a large number of sacrifices, including three thousand sheep, which were probably given as fellowship offerings. Part of the fellowship offering was kept by the worshiper and eaten with his family as a fellowship meal. Hezekiah was following the example of Solomon when he had dedicated the temple more than two hundred years earlier (.). This was a time of great rejoicing for the king and his people. Keep in mind that many devout people from the apostate northern kingdom of Israel (now Samaria) had fled to Judah so they could worship the Lord according to the Law of Moses. So this dedication service involved all the tribes ().

, Apart from the ritual blowing of the trumpets (), nowhere in the Law of Moses is any mention made of music in connection with Israelite worship. Yet this verse includes a musical component in Hezekiah’s restoration of worship. David was a writer of psalms and a gifted musician (; , ); thus the sanctuary musical worship probably came to fruition under his direction, and the Lord approved these innovations. Harps, lyres, trumpets, and cymbals are mentioned here and elsewhere (, ; ; ; , ). Worship involved choirs, too (; ).

Gad was David’s prophet during his exile (), and after David’s coronation Gad didn’t pass from the scene (). In fact, he and Nathan worked together keeping the official records () and organizing the worship, but Nathan seems to have been the prophetic intimate voice of God to David during his reign. Nathan had confronted David about his sin () and also had made sure that Solomon was crowned king ().

Three times each year, the Israelite men were required to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts of the Passover and Unleavened Bread, Harvest (Pentecost), and Tabernacles (Final Harvest)—(; ). To the Christian believer today, Passover speaks of the death of Christ, the Lamb of God who died for us (; , ). Passover commemorated the release of the Israelite people from Egyptian bondage, so it was a national celebration. For this reason, Hezekiah invited Israelites from both Judah and Israel to come to Jerusalem for the festival.

The repeated word “return” reveals the desire of Hezekiah’s heart. If the people all turned in repentance to God, God would return to bless His people. Hezekiah built his appeal around the words of Solomon in . The restoration of the Passover was the ideal way to “return” to God, for alas, the remnant in bondage to Assyria was as captive as they had been in Egypt and just as stiff-necked as their ancestors had been when God dealt with them in the wilderness. Here was an opportunity to make a new beginning and glorify the Lord by seeking His compassion, grace, and mercy.

, Most of the people outside Judah rejected Hezekiah’s invitation. They mocked his words and laughed at his messengers. But in so doing, they rejected the blessing the Lord had for them. Some people, however, had the courage to disagree with their families and friends and went to Jerusalem for the feast. They traveled a long distance with humble hearts, seeking the blessing of the Lord. God gave the gathered worshipers oneness of mind and heart so that God was the center of the event and not some political agenda. The invitation to draw near to God will always be rejected by some. Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast () illustrates this point in the ultimate sense, for “many are called, but few are chosen” ().

Many common people in the large congregation were unclean (), perhaps because they had left their homes quickly or because they had been defiled during the journey to Jerusalem (, ). Hezekiah knew that God was concerned about the hearts of the worshipers, not the details of meeting ceremonial requirements, and he asked God to cleanse and accept them (, ; ; ; ; , ). God answered his prayer because God wants the heart’s devotion and not mere religious ritual. If any legalists were in the congregation, they would have been very upset, but their attitude would only rob them of God’s blessing. (See , , , ; .) Today if God’s people would prepare their hearts for worship with as much care as they prepare their Sunday best, the Lord would send His blessings on His church.

King Hezekiah knew that the blessings of the Passover feast wouldn’t continue unless the people could participate in the regular ministry at the temple. A great feast at Christmas or on some special anniversary can be wonderful, but you can’t live all year on one or two special meals. For that reason, Hezekiah followed David’s instructions () and organized the priests and Levites for ministry at the temple. He set a good example by providing from his own flocks and herds the sacrifices needed day by day and month by month. King Hezekiah sought the Lord and did everything for Him from his heart ().

When the second week of the feast ended (), before the people left for home, the priests pronounced the benediction () God had commanded them to give (). So the worshipers left Jerusalem with the blessing of the Lord upon them. But as they carried the blessing home, they also obeyed the Lord and destroyed the idols in Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Having an exciting time praising God in a two-week special meeting is one thing, but returning home afterward and living like people who have met the Lord is quite something else.

As with the gifts brought for the building of the tabernacle () and the construction of the temple (), the tithes and offerings brought to the newly consecrated temple were far more than the king expected. A worshiping people will always be a generous people, especially when their leaders set the example, and Judah was no exception. In your church, is the taking of offerings an integral part of worship or an interruption?

See .

Hezekiah’s near-fatal illness (vv. ) occurred in 702 B.C., and so did the visit of the Babylonian ambassadors (v. ). This means that the very next year—701 B.C.—the Assyrians invaded the land. When Hezekiah was sick, the prophet Isaiah told him that God would deliver Judah and defend Jerusalem for the sake of King David, and also give Hezekiah fifteen more years of life. When the Assyrians invaded, Hezekiah had fourteen more years to live, and he certainly didn’t want to do it in captivity (). Hezekiah had a great promise to believe. God’s people live on promises, not explanations.

Sennacherib’s argument was purely pragmatic and very illogical. He said that because none of the other nations’ gods could stop him from conquering them, Jehovah would fail as well (). But Jehovah is not like the dead, powerless idols of the nations. He is the true and living God!

According to , the king had one great burden on his heart: that the God of Israel be glorified before the nations of the earth. Sennacherib had blasphemed the Lord, and Hezekiah asked God to act on behalf of Judah so that His name would be honored. “Hallowed be Your name” is the first request in the Lord’s Prayer (). Being a faithful Jew, the king knew that the gods of the defeated nations weren’t gods at all (; , ; ; ). He asked the Lord to save the people of Judah, not for their sake but for the glory of His great name.

Hezekiah’s response was to turn away from all around him and pray to the Lord. If his statement recorded in and sounds like boasting, keep in mind that Hezekiah was only claiming the promise of , . This promise was part of God’s gracious covenant with David and his descendants (), and Hezekiah was simply reminding the Lord that he had faithfully obeyed His law. In other words, as a faithful son of David, he was qualified to live.

The ambassadors came to Judah claiming to want to know more about the remarkable events in the land. This verse reveals that God was testing Hezekiah’s heart through this visit, and the combined accounts in and show that Hezekiah proudly trifled with danger in showing the ambassadors around the kingdom. They could see just how strong and how rich the kingdom was, and they could use the intelligence for a future attack against Judah. Hezekiah exhibited pride in showing “all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them” () to the ambassadors.

Pride is one of Satan’s chief weapons in his battle against the Lord and His people. Satan himself committed the sin of pride when he rebelled against God and sought the worship and obedience that God alone deserves (). Pride makes us rob God of the glory that belongs to Him alone. Pride gives us a false feeling of security, and this leads us into sin and defeat.

See .

, That godly King Hezekiah should have such a wicked son is another one of those puzzles in biblical history. If Manasseh was born in 709 B.C., then he was seven years old when his father was healed and when the miracle of the shadow occurred. He was eight years old when the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were slain. Apparently these miracles made little impression on his heart. Many scholars think that Manasseh was coregent with his father for perhaps ten years (697–687), from ages twelve to twenty-two, and the son lived in close relationship with a godly father. But the remarkable thing is that Manasseh became the most wicked king in Judah’s history, so much so that he is blamed for the fall of the southern kingdom (; ).

In His mercy, the Lord sent prophets to warn the king and the people, but they refused to listen. Some of these witnesses were no doubt killed by the king (), along with other godly people who opposed the worship of false gods. God reminded His people that their enjoyment of the land depended on their obedience to the law of the Lord.

Apparently Manasseh displeased the king of Assyria in some way, and God allowed the Assyrian officers to come to Judah and capture the king. This was no respectable act of taking somebody into custody, because they put a hook in his nose, bound him with chains, and took him to Babylon—a foreshadowing of what would eventually happen to the whole nation.

, The writer of 2 Kings wrote nothing about the remarkable change in Manasseh’s life, but we find the record here. This experience was greatly humiliating for this wicked king, but God used it to chasten him, break his pride, and bring him to his knees. Manasseh prayed for forgiveness, and the Lord kept His promise and forgave him (). Even more, God moved the Assyrians to free Manasseh and allow him to return to Jerusalem to rule over the people. What a trophy of the grace of God! Manasseh humbled himself, but the Lord first humbled him. True repentance is a work of God in the heart and a willing response of the heart to the Lord.

When he returned home, Manasseh proved the authenticity of his conversion by seeking to undo all the evil he had done. He fortified Jerusalem and other cities in Judah, he removed his idol from the temple (see v. ), and he removed from Jerusalem all the altars he had put up to false gods. Having purged the temple, he then repaired the altar of the Lord that had been neglected. He also offered peace and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord who had rescued him. He commanded the people of Judah to serve God, and he set the example.

See .

After his repentance, Manasseh tried to undo all the damage he had done to Jerusalem and Judah, but in one place he could make no changes—in the heart of his son Amon. The young man had been too influenced by his father’s sins to appreciate his new life of obedience, and certainly some people at court encouraged Amon to maintain the old ways. Whereas Manasseh humbled himself before the Lord, his son Amon refused to do so (v. ); and the longer he sinned, the harder his heart became.

Why Amon’s own officials would assassinate him isn’t made clear, but the reason probably wasn’t spiritual. While the Law of Moses declared that idolaters should be slain (), nobody in the land had the authority to deal with an idolatrous king.

See .

, Josiah was certainly a great king, for even the prophet Jeremiah used him as an example for the other rulers to follow: “He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well” (). In contrast, the kings that followed Josiah exploited the people so they could build their elaborate palaces (). Josiah ruled for thirty-one years (640–609 B.C.) and walked in the ways of the Lord because David was his model.

The fate of a nation rises and falls with its leadership, and young King Josiah provided aggressive spiritual leadership for the people. He had been seeking the Lord for four years, and now he was prepared to cleanse the land. Unfortunately, the four kings who followed Josiah undid all the good he had done and sold the nation into the hands of the Babylonians.

Josiah’s eighteenth year as king was indeed a stellar one. He repaired the temple where the Book of the Law was discovered; he made a covenant with the Lord (vv. , ); he carried on further reforms in the land (v. ); he hosted a great celebration of Passover (). He was twenty-six at the time.

Catalyst

Shaphan gave the king a report on the building program and then, almost as an afterthought, told him about the newly discovered book. How remarkable that the Book of the Law should be lost in the temple! That would be like losing the Bible in a church building and not missing it for years. To Josiah’s credit he desired to hear what the book said. This scroll was probably all five books of Moses, but Shaphan may have read the king selected passages—perhaps from Deuteronomy.

And when Josiah heard it read, he was smitten with fear and grief. How people respond to God’s Word is a good indication of their spiritual appetite and the strength of their desire to please the Lord. Josiah’s actions prompt us to ask ourselves two crucial questions: (1) How badly do we want to hear God’s Word and read it for ourselves? and (2) What is our response to God’s Word?

Go to the

Huldah’s message was in two parts. The first part (vv. ; ) was addressed to “the man who sent you,” meaning Josiah as a common man before the Law of God, just like all the other people in Judah and Israel. The second part (; ) was addressed to “the king of Judah,” that is, Josiah as an individual with spiritual needs and concerns. As far as the nation was concerned, God would indeed send His wrath because of their repeated disobedience. As far as Josiah was concerned, however, God would spare him this impending judgment because of his godly life and humility before the Lord (see , ).

See .

The king stood by a pillar of the temple and read aloud the words of the law to the assembly. He covenanted with them to walk before the Lord in obedience and devotion. If the leaders don’t walk with God, how can God give His people His best blessings? This meeting wasn’t a demonstration of civil religion where everybody obeyed because the king commanded it. Josiah pled for the people to yield their hearts and souls to the Lord in sincerity and truth.

See . In many respects, King Josiah followed the example of King Hezekiah in cleansing the nation of idolatry, repairing the temple and restoring the worship, and celebrating a great nationwide Passover in Jerusalem. While all the appointed feasts in were meaningful and important, the feast of Passover was especially significant. For one thing, Passover reminded the Israelite people of their national origin at the exodus when the Lord delivered them from Egyptian bondage. This was a manifestation of God’s grace and power. He took them to Himself as His own people and entered into a covenant relationship with them at Mount Sinai. They were God’s chosen people, God’s covenant people, a people to bring glory to His name.

See .

Josiah had no mandate from God to interfere in the dispute between Egypt and Babylon; actually, “God commanded” Pharaoh Necho to ally with Assyria against Babylon. Egypt and Assyria did not hold back Babylon for long, but Josiah’s involvement brought about his death and gave Egypt control of Judah for a few years (, ).

Josiah was greatly mourned in Judah, and Jeremiah even wrote laments to honor him (see ). These laments have been lost and must not be confused with the Book of Lamentations.

From the death of Josiah in 608 B.C. to the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586—a period of twenty-two years—four different kings sat on David’s throne, three of them sons of Josiah but not imitators of his faith. Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin each reigned for only three months. This was a sad time for the people of God, but a believing remnant still followed the Lord and helped seekers in each new generation to know Him.

See .

Pharaoh Necho imprisoned Jehoahaz at the Egyptian military headquarters at Riblah and from there took him to Egypt where Jehoahaz died (, ). The prophet Jeremiah had predicted this event. He told the people not to mourn Josiah but rather to mourn the exile of his son and successor Jehoahaz, for he would never see Judah again (). Unlike his godly father, Josiah, Jehoahaz was an ungodly man and an evil king () who deserved to be exiled.

Jehoiakim was a wicked man. When Uriah the prophet denounced him and then fled to Egypt, Jehoiakim sent his men to find him and kill him (). Jeremiah announced that Jehoiakim would not be mourned when he died and would have the burial of a donkey, not the burial of a king (, ). It was Jehoiakim who had the scroll of Jeremiah’s prophecy cut to pieces and burned to ashes (). Unlike his father Josiah, Jehoiakim had no respect for the Lord or His Word ().

, In 597 B.C., Jehoiachin surrendered to the Babylonians. They deported over ten thousand key people to Babylon, including members of the royal family, government officials, and valuable craftsmen. This is when the prophet Ezekiel was taken to Babylon (). All of this was but a foretaste of the terrible events that would occur when Nebuchadnezzar would return in 588 and lay siege to Jerusalem for two years. (See ; ; .)

The siege of Jerusalem began on January 15, 588 B.C., and continued until July 18, 586, when the famine was so severe the people were cooking and eating their own children (, ). The invaders broke through the walls and took the city, looting and destroying the houses and finally burning the city and the temple on August 14, 586.

The prophet Jeremiah had counseled Zedekiah and his officers to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and thus save the city and the temple (; , ), but they refused to obey God’s Word and had Jeremiah arrested as a traitor! The officers put him under court guard and even dropped him into an abandoned cistern where he would have died had he not been rescued (). The hypocritical and weak Zedekiah told Jeremiah to ask God what he should do () but then refused to accept the prophet’s answer. Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to pray for him (), but the king was a proud man who refused to humble himself and pray for himself (; , ).

As we come to the close of this record of the tragic decline and destruction of a great nation, we need to take some lessons to heart. No nation rises any higher than their faithfulness in the proper worship of God. Israel was torn into two kingdoms because of the sins of Solomon, who turned to idols in order to please his pagan wives. Because the people worshiped idols and forsook the true God, the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive by Assyria. Shortly after, the southern kingdom of Judah succumbed and was conquered by Babylon. We become like the god we worship (); and if we refuse to worship the true and living God, we become as helpless as the idols that enthrall us.

, From the first deportation following Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Judah in 606 B.C. to Cyrus’s decree in 538 is approximately seventy years, the time period of exile announced by Jeremiah (, ; ). The Promised Land had been so polluted and abused by idolatry and disobedience that it needed decades of “Sabbaths” to prepare for the remnant to return and begin again (, , ).

, See . The biblical record doesn’t end on the bleak note of destruction and humiliation. Instead, it includes this proclamation of Cyrus that the Jewish remnant could return to its own land and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. The Book of Ezra opens with this proclamation and tells the story of the remnant’s return to the land.

2 Chronicles 1

1:1

1:1

1:1

1:2

1:3

1:3 ;

1:4

1:5 , ; ,

1:5

1:5 Some authorities read it was there.

1:6

1:7 ;

1:8

1:8

1:9

1:9

1:10

1:10

1:11

1:12

1:14

1:15

1:16 ;

1:17 Literally by their hands

2 Chronicles 2

2:1

2:2

2:3

2:3 Hebrew Huram (compare )

2:4

2:4

2:4

2:4

2:4 ,

2:5

2:6

2:7

2:8

2:10

2:11

2:12

2:12

2:12 Hebrew Huram (compare )

2:13 Spelled Hiram in

2:13 Literally father (compare , )

2:14 ,

2:15

2:16 ,

2:17 ; ,

2:17

2:18

2 Chronicles 3

3:1

3:1

3:1 ;

3:1 Literally He, following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Septuagint reads the LORD; Targum reads the Angel of the LORD.

3:1 Spelled Araunah in

3:3

3:4

3:4 The main room of the temple; elsewhere called the holy place (compare )

3:4 Following Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Vulgate; Arabic, some manuscripts of the Septuagint, and Syriac omit one hundred and.

3:5

3:5

3:5 Literally house

3:8

3:9

3:10

3:14

3:15

3:15 Literally house

3:15 Or eighteen (compare ; ; and )

3:16

3:17

2 Chronicles 4

4:1 ,

4:2

4:3

4:4

4:5 Or two thousand (compare )

4:6 ,

4:6

4:7

4:7

4:8

4:8

4:9

4:9

4:10

4:11

4:12

4:13

4:14 ,

4:16

4:16 Literally father

4:17 Spelled Zaretan in

4:18

4:19

4:19

4:20 ,

4:21

2 Chronicles 5

5:1

5:2

5:2

5:3

5:3

5:4 ,

5:7

5:7 Literally house

5:9

5:10 ,

5:11

5:12

5:12 ; ,

5:13 , ; ; ;

5:13 Compare

5:14

2 Chronicles 6

6:1

6:1 []

6:2

6:3

6:4

6:6

6:6

6:7

6:7 Literally house, and so in verses

6:9

6:10 ;

6:11

6:12

6:12 Literally he (compare )

6:14 []

6:14 []

6:15 ,

6:16

6:16

6:18 []

6:18 Literally house

6:20

6:20

6:21 []

6:22

6:23 []

6:24 ,

6:26

6:28

6:28 []

6:30 []

6:30 []

6:32

6:36 [, ; ]

6:36

6:38

6:40

6:41 ,

6:41

6:41

6:42 ; ,

6:42 Compare

2 Chronicles 7

7:1

7:1

7:1 ,

7:1 Literally house

7:2

7:3 ;

7:3

7:3 Compare

7:4 ,

7:6

7:6

7:6 Compare

7:7 ;

7:8

7:8 ,

7:8

7:8 That is, the Shihor (compare )

7:9

7:10

7:11

7:12 ;

7:12 ,

7:12

7:13

7:14 []

7:14 []

7:14 ,

7:15 ,

7:16

7:17

7:18

7:19 ,

7:20

7:20

7:21

7:21

7:21 [, ]

2 Chronicles 8

8:1

8:1

8:2 Hebrew Huram (compare )

8:4 ,

8:4 ,

8:5

8:6

8:7

8:10

8:11 ; ; ;

8:13 , , , ;

8:13 ; ,

8:13

8:14

8:14

8:14 ;

8:15

8:16 Following Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads as far as.

8:17

8:17 Hebrew Eloth (compare )

8:18 ,

8:18

2 Chronicles 9

9:1 []

9:4

9:8

9:10

9:10 Or almug (compare , )

9:11 Or almug (compare , )

9:13

9:16

9:16 Or three minas (compare )

9:21 ,

9:21 Hebrew Huram (compare )

9:21 Literally ships of Tarshish (deep-sea vessels)

9:21 Or peacocks

9:24

9:25 ;

9:26

9:26

9:26 That is, the Euphrates

9:27

9:27

9:28

9:29

9:29

9:29 ;

9:30 ; ,

2 Chronicles 10

10:1

10:2

10:8

10:11 Literally scorpions

10:12

10:14 Following many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate (compare verse and ); Masoretic Text reads I.

10:14 Literally scorpions

10:15

10:15

10:19

2 Chronicles 11

11:1

11:2

11:14

11:14

11:15 ; ;

11:15 []

11:15

11:16

11:16 , ; ,

11:16 Literally after them

11:17 ,

11:18

11:20

11:20

11:20

11:20 Literally daughter, but in the broader sense of granddaughter (compare )

11:21

11:22

11:22

11:23

2 Chronicles 12

12:1

12:1

12:2 ;

12:3

12:5

12:6 []

12:6

12:7 ,

12:8

12:8 [, ]

12:9 ,

12:9 ,

12:10

12:13

12:13

12:13 ,

12:15 ;

12:15

12:16

12:16 Spelled Abijam in

2 Chronicles 13

13:1

13:1

13:2 Spelled Maachah in , and

13:4

13:5

13:5

13:6 ;

13:7

13:7

13:8 ;

13:9

13:9

13:9 ;

13:10

13:11

13:11

13:11 ,

13:12 []

13:12 []

13:14 , ;

13:15

13:18

13:19

13:19 Or Ephron

13:20 ;

13:20

13:22

2 Chronicles 14

14:1

14:3

14:3 []

14:3

14:4 []

14:6

14:8

14:8

14:9 , ;

14:9

14:11

14:11 []

14:11

14:12

14:13 ;

14:14

2 Chronicles 15

15:1 ;

15:2 []

15:2 []

15:2

15:3

15:3

15:3

15:4 []

15:6

15:8

15:8 Following Masoretic Text and Septuagint; Syriac and Vulgate read Azariah the son of Oded (compare verse ).

15:9

15:11

15:12

15:13

15:13

15:15

15:15

15:16 , ,

15:16 A Canaanite deity

15:17

2 Chronicles 16

16:1

16:1

16:7

16:7 []

16:8

16:8

16:8 ,

16:9

16:9

16:9

16:10

16:11 ,

16:12 []

16:13

16:14 ,

16:14

2 Chronicles 17

17:1

17:2

17:2

17:4

17:4 Septuagint reads LORD God.

17:5

17:5

17:6

17:7 ;

17:9 ,

17:10

17:11 ;

17:16 ,

17:19

2 Chronicles 18

18:1

18:1

18:1

18:2

18:4

18:6

18:6 Or him

18:10

18:13 , ; ,

18:16 [; ]

18:16

18:18

18:20

18:22

18:23

18:26

18:27

18:29

18:31 ,

2 Chronicles 19

19:2

19:2

19:2

19:3 ,

19:3

19:4

19:5 []

19:6 []

19:6

19:7 []

19:7 [, ]

19:8

19:8 Septuagint and Vulgate read for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

19:9 []

19:10

19:10

19:10 []

19:11

19:11

19:11 [; ]

2 Chronicles 20

20:1

20:1

20:1

20:1 Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Septuagint reads Meunites (compare ).

20:2

20:2

20:2 Following Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Vulgate; some Hebrew manuscripts and Old Latin read Edom.

20:3

20:3

20:4

20:6

20:6 , ,

20:6

20:7

20:7

20:7

20:9

20:9

20:10 , ,

20:10

20:11

20:12

20:12 ; , ; , ;

20:14 ;

20:15 [, ; , ]

20:15

20:17 ,

20:17

20:18

20:20

20:21

20:21 ;

20:21

20:21 Compare

20:22

20:23

20:25 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Old Latin, and Vulgate read garments; Septuagint reads armor.

20:26 Literally Blessing

20:27

20:29 ;

20:30

20:31 []

20:32

20:33 ;

20:33 ;

20:34 ,

20:35

20:35

20:35 []

20:36 ;

20:37

20:37

2 Chronicles 21

21:1

21:5

21:6

21:7

21:7

21:8 ; ,

21:11 []

21:13

21:13

21:13

21:13

21:15 ,

21:16

21:16 ,

21:16

21:17

21:17 Elsewhere called Ahaziah (compare )

21:18 ;

21:19

2 Chronicles 22

22:1 ;

22:1

22:1

22:2

22:2 Or twenty-two (compare )

22:5 Also spelled Joram (compare verses and ; ; and elsewhere)

22:6

22:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and read Ahaziah.

22:7

22:7

22:7 ,

22:8

22:8

22:9 []

22:9

22:9 ; ,

22:10

22:11

22:11 Spelled Jehosheba in

2 Chronicles 23

23:1

23:1

23:1 ,

23:2

23:3

23:4

23:6

23:8

23:9

23:11

23:11 That is, the Law (compare , ; )

23:12

23:13

23:13

23:15

23:16 ,

23:17

23:17 Literally house

23:18 , , ;

23:18

23:19

23:20

2 Chronicles 24

24:1 ;

24:2 ,

24:5

24:6

24:6

24:6

24:7

24:7

24:8

24:9

24:11

24:12

24:14

24:18

24:18 []

24:19 ,

24:20

24:20

24:20 []

24:21 []

24:22 []

24:23

24:24 ;

24:24

24:24

24:25 ,

24:25 Septuagint and Vulgate read son (compare verses ).

24:26 Or Jozachar (compare )

24:26 Or Shomer (compare )

24:27

24:27

2 Chronicles 25

25:1

25:2

25:3

25:4

25:4

25:5

25:7

25:8 ;

25:9 []

25:11

25:14

25:14 [, ]

25:15 []

25:15

25:16 []

25:17

25:17 Spelled Jehoash in

25:19 ;

25:20

25:20

25:21

25:23 ; ,

25:24

25:25

2 Chronicles 26

26:1 Called Azariah in

26:2 Hebrew Eloth

26:4

26:5

26:5 ;

26:5 [; ; ]

26:5 Several Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Arabic read fear.

26:6

26:7

26:8

26:9 , ,

26:12 Literally chief fathers

26:15 ,

26:16 []

26:16

26:16 ,

26:17

26:18 [; , ; ]

26:18 ,

26:19

26:20

26:21

26:21 []

26:22

26:23

2 Chronicles 27

27:1

27:1 Spelled Jerusha in

27:2

27:3

27:5

27:6

27:9

27:9

2 Chronicles 28

28:1

28:2

28:2

28:3

28:3

28:3 []

28:3 []

28:5 []

28:5 ,

28:6

28:6 []

28:8 ,

28:9

28:9 [; ]

28:9

28:10 [, , , ]

28:11

28:15

28:15 [, ]

28:15

28:16

28:16 Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read king (compare verse ).

28:17

28:18 ,

28:19

28:19

28:20

28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser

28:23

28:23 ,

28:24 ,

28:26 ,

28:27 ;

2 Chronicles 29

29:1

29:1 Spelled Abi in

29:3 ;

29:5 , ;

29:6

29:7

29:8

29:8

29:8

29:8

29:9 ,

29:10 ;

29:11 ; ; ,

29:12

29:12 ,

29:15

29:15

29:16 ;

29:19

29:21

29:22 , , ,

29:23 , ;

29:24

29:25 ;

29:25

29:25

29:25

29:26

29:26

29:27

29:29

29:31

29:31 ,

29:34

29:34

29:34

29:34

29:35 ,

29:35

2 Chronicles 30

30:2 ,

30:3 ,

30:3 ,

30:3 That is, the first month (compare ); literally at that time

30:6

30:6 []

30:6 ,

30:6

30:7

30:7

30:7

30:8

30:8

30:9

30:9 []

30:9 []

30:10

30:11 ; ,

30:12 []

30:12

30:13

30:14

30:14

30:15

30:16 ,

30:17

30:18 , ,

30:18 []

30:19

30:21 ;

30:22 ;

30:22

30:23

30:24 ,

30:24

30:25 ,

30:26

30:27

30:27

2 Chronicles 31

31:1

31:2 ;

31:2 ,

31:2 That is, the temple

31:3

31:3

31:4

31:4

31:5

31:5 []

31:6

31:10 ,

31:10 []

31:10

31:11

31:12

31:13

31:14

31:15

31:15 ,

31:15

31:17 ,

31:19

31:19

31:20 ;

31:21

2 Chronicles 32

32:1

32:3 Literally mighty men

32:4

32:4 Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Arabic, Septuagint, and Syriac read king.

32:5 ,

32:5

32:5

32:5 Literally The Landfill

32:6

32:7 []

32:7

32:7

32:8 []

32:8 []

32:9

32:10

32:11

32:12

32:12 ,

32:13

32:14 []

32:15

32:17

32:17

32:18

32:18 Literally Judean

32:19 [; ]

32:20

32:20

32:21

32:21

32:22 Septuagint reads gave them rest; Vulgate reads gave them treasures.

32:23

32:23

32:24

32:25

32:25 []

32:25

32:26 ,

32:26

32:28 Following Septuagint and Vulgate; Arabic and Syriac omit folds for flocks; Masoretic Text reads flocks for sheepfolds.

32:29

32:30

32:30

32:30 Literally brought it straight (compare )

32:31

32:31 [, ]

32:32

32:32

32:33

32:33

2 Chronicles 33

33:1

33:2

33:3

33:3

33:3

33:3 The gods of the Assyrians

33:4 ;

33:5

33:6 []

33:6

33:6

33:7

33:7

33:8

33:11

33:11

33:11 That is, nose hooks (compare )

33:12 ;

33:13

33:13

33:14

33:14

33:15 , ,

33:16

33:17

33:18

33:18 Literally words

33:19 Septuagint reads the seers.

33:20

33:21

33:23 ,

33:24

33:24

2 Chronicles 34

34:1 ,

34:3

34:3

34:3

34:3 ,

34:4

34:4

34:5

34:5

34:6 Literally swords

34:7

34:8

34:8

34:8

34:8 Literally house

34:9

34:9

34:13

34:13 ,

34:14

34:15 ,

34:20

34:20 Achbor the son of Michaiah in

34:21

34:22 Spelled Tikvah in

34:22 Spelled Harhas in

34:24

34:24

34:27 ; ; ,

34:29

34:30

34:31

34:31 ;

34:31 ;

34:33

34:33

2 Chronicles 35

35:1 ,

35:1

35:2

35:2

35:3

35:3

35:3

35:3

35:4

35:4

35:4

35:5

35:6 ,

35:7

35:7

35:8

35:9

35:10

35:10 ; ; , ; ;

35:11

35:11

35:12

35:13 ,

35:13

35:15

35:15 ,

35:17 ;

35:18 ,

35:20

35:20

35:22

35:24

35:24

35:25

35:25 ,

35:25

35:25

2 Chronicles 36

36:1

36:2 Masoretic Text reads Joahaz.

36:4 Literally his

36:4 Masoretic Text reads Joahaz.

36:5 ,

36:5 []

36:6

36:6

36:7 ,

36:9

36:9 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, and read eighteen.

36:10

36:10 ,

36:10

36:10 Literally his (compare )

36:11

36:12 ;

36:13

36:13

36:15 ; ,

36:16 ,

36:16 []

36:16

36:16

36:17

36:17

36:18

36:19

36:20

36:20 ;

36:21 ; ;

36:21

36:21 ,

36:22

36:22

36:22 ;

36:23 ,

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