Second Kings

11And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber that {was} in Samaria, and he injured {himself}. And he sent messengers, and he said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will live from this injury.” 3But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘{Is it} because there is no God in Israel you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? 4And therefore, thus says Yahweh, “The bed where you have gone up there, you will not come down from it, for dying, you will die.”’” So Elijah went.

5And the messengers returned to him. And he said to them, “What {is} this, you have returned?” 6And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and he said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and you shall say to him, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘{Is it} because there is no God in Israel you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore the bed where you have gone up there, you will not come down from it, for dying, you will die.’”’” 7And he said to them, “What {was} the custom of the man who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” 8And they said to him, “A man, a master of hair, and a belt of skin was tied around his waist.” And he said, “He {was} Elijah the Tishbite.”

9And he sent to him a captain of fifty and his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, {he was} sitting on the head of a hill. And he said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10And Elijah answered and said to the captain of the fifty, “And if I {am} a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens, and let it consume you and your fifty.” And fire came down from the heavens, and it consumed him and his fifty. 11And he returned and sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “Man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly!’” 12And Elijah answered and said to them, “If I {am} a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens, and let it consume you and your fifty.” And fire from God came down from the heavens, and it consumed him and his fifty. 13And he returned and sent a third captain of fifty and his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and knelt on his knees in front of Elijah, and he pleaded with him and said to him, “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these your fifty servants be valuable in your eyes. 14Behold, fire came down from the heavens, and it consumed the first two captains of fifty and their fifties. But now, let my life be valuable in your eyes.” 15And the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of his face.” And he arose and went down with him to the king. 16And he said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron—{was it} because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?— therefore, the bed where you have gone up there, you will not come down from it, for dying, you will die.’”

17And he died, according to the word of Yahweh that Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his place in the year of two to Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, because a son was not to him. 18Now the rest of the matters of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel?

21And it happened, when Yahweh took up Elijah in a whirlwind {to} the heavens, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, because Yahweh has sent me to Bethel.” And Elisha said, “The life of Yahweh, and the life of your soul, if I should leave you.” And they went down {to} Bethel. 3And sons of the prophets who {were in} Bethel came out to Elisha, and they said to him, “Do you know that today Yahweh is taking your master from over your head?” And he said, “I, I also know. Be quiet.” 4And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, because Yahweh has sent me {to} Jericho.” And he said, “The life of Yahweh, and the life of your soul, if I should leave you.” And they came {to} Jericho. 5And sons of the prophets who {were} in Jericho drew near to Elisha, and they said to him, “Do you know that today Yahweh is taking your master from over your head?” And he said, “I, I also know. Be quiet.” 6And Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, because Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “The life of Yahweh, and the life of your soul, if I should leave you.” And the two of them went on. 7And fifty men from the sons of the prophets went, and they stood opposite at a distance. And the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8And Elijah took his cloak and rolled {it} up, and he struck the waters, and they were divided, here and here. And the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9And it happened, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from with you.” And Elisha said, “Then may a double portion of your spirit please be to me.” 10And he said, “In asking, you have made difficult. If you see me being taken from with you, it will be thus for you. But if not, it will not be.” 11And it happened, they were going, going and speaking, and behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and they separated between the two of them. And Elijah went up in a whirlwind {to} the heavens. 12And Elisha was looking, and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariotry of Israel and its horsemen!” Then he no longer saw him. And he seized his clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13And he lifted up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from on him. And he returned, and he stood on the lip of the Jordan. 14And he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from on him, and he struck the waters and said, “Where {is} Yahweh, the God of Elijah, even he?” And he struck the waters, and they were divided, here and here, and Elisha crossed over.

15And sons of the prophets who {lived} in Jericho saw him from opposite, and they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha!” And they came to meet him, and they prostrated themselves to him, to the ground. 16And they said to him, “Behold, please, there are with your servants fifty men, sons of valor. Please, let them go, and let them seek your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has lifted him up and thrown him onto one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.” And he said, “Do not send {them}.” 17But they urged him until he felt shame, so he said, “Send {them}.” And they sent fifty men, and they searched three days, but they did not find him. 18And they returned to him (and he was staying in Jericho), and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

19And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the dwelling place of the city {is} good, just as my lord is seeing. But the waters {are} bad, so the land is miscarrying.” 20And he said, “Bring to me a new bowl, and put salt there.” And they brought {it} to him. 21And he went out to the source of the waters, and he threw salt there. And he said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘I have healed these waters. Death and miscarrying will not still be from there.’” 22And the waters were healed, to this day, according to the word of Elisha that he spoke.

23And he went up from there {to} Bethel, and he was going up on the road, and young men came out from the city, and they mocked him. And they said to him, “Go up, bald {one}! Go up, bald {one}!” 24And he turned behind him, and he saw them, and he cursed them in the name of Yahweh. And two female bears came out from the forest, and they tore apart from them 42 of the boys. 25And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned {to} Samaria.

31Now Jehoram, the son of Ahab, reigned over Israel in Samaria in the year of 18 to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. And he reigned {for} 12 years. 2And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, however, not like his father or like his mother. For he removed the pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3However, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He did not turn away from it.

4Now Mesha, the king of Moab, was a sheep breeder. And he rendered to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams {with} wool. 5And it happened after the death of Ahab that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6And King Jehoram went out from Samaria on that day, and he mustered all of Israel. 7And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to war against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up. Like me, like you. Like my people, like your people. Like my horses, like your horses.” 8And he said, “Where {is} this, the way we shall go up?” And he said, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.” 9And, the king of Israel, went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they went around, a journey of seven days. But water was not for the camp or for the animals that {were} at their feet. 10And, the king of Israel, said, “Alas! For Yahweh has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 11And Jehoshaphat said, “{Is there} not here a prophet of Yahweh, that we might seek Yahweh by him?” And one of the servants of, the king of Israel, answered and said, “Elisha, the son of Shaphat, {is} here, who poured water onto the hands of Elijah.” 12And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of Yahweh is with him.” And, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What to me and to you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother!” And, the king of Israel said to him, “No, for Yahweh has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 14And Elisha said, “The life of Yahweh of armies, to whose face I stand, that unless I were lifting the face of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, if I would look at you and if I would regard you. 15But now, bring to me a harpist.” And it happened when the harpist harped that the hand of Yahweh was upon him. 16And he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Make this valley ditches, ditches.’ 17For thus says Yahweh, ‘You will not see wind, and you will not see rain, but this valley will be filled {with} water. And you will drink, you and your cattle and your animals.’ 18And this is easy in the eyes of Yahweh, for he will give Moab into your hand. 19And you will strike every fortified city and every choice city, and you will fell every good tree, and you will stop up all of the springs of water, and you will ruin every good portion with stones.” 20And it happened in the morning when the grain offering went up that behold, waters were coming from the way of Edom, and the land was filled with the waters.

21And all of Moab heard that the kings had come up to fight with them. And they were summoned, from every one tying a belt and upwards, and they stood at the border. 22And they arose early in the morning, and the sun rose over the waters. And Moab saw the waters from opposite, red like blood. 23And they said, “This {is} blood! Destroying, the kings have destroyed themselves, and they have struck, a man his fellow. And now, to the spoil, Moab!” 24And they came to the camp of Israel, and Israel arose, and they struck Moab, and they fled from their face. And they came into it, and they struck Moab. 25And they tore down the cities, and they threw, a man his stone, {on} every good portion and filled it. And they stopped up every spring of water, and they felled every good tree, until one left its stones {only} in Kir Hareseth. And the slingers went around, and they struck it. 26And the king of Moab saw that the battle was stronger than him. And he took with him 700 men drawing a sword to break through to the king of Edom, but they were not able. 27So he took his firstborn son, who would reign in his place, and he offered him {as} a burnt offering on the wall. And great wrath was against Israel, and they departed from upon him, and they returned to the land.

41Now a woman from the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, has died, and you, you know that your servant was fearing Yahweh. But the creditor has come to take two of my children for himself as slaves.” 2And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Declare to me. What is there to you in the house?” And she said, “There is not to your maidservant anything in the house except a jar of oil.” 3And he said, “Go, ask for yourself vessels from outside, from all of your neighbors, empty vessels. Do not get few. 4Then come and shut the door behind you and behind your sons, and pour into all of those vessels. And the full, set aside.” 5And she went from him, and she shut the door behind her and behind her sons. They were bringing to her, and she was pouring. 6And it happened as she was filling the vessels that she said to her son, “Bring to me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” And the oil stopped. 7And she came and declared to the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and repay your debt. And you may live on the rest, you and your sons.”

8And it was the day, and Elisha went over to Shunem, and a great woman {was} there, and she constrained him to eat bread. And it happened that as often as he passed by, he turned aside to there to eat bread. 9And she said to her husband, “Behold, please, I know that he {is} a holy man of God, the one passing by to us regularly. 10Please, let us make a small upper room of a wall, and let us put for him there a bed and a table and a chair and a lampstand. And it will be, when he comes to us, he may turn aside to there.” 11And it was the day, and he came to there. And he turned aside to the upper chamber, and he lay down there. 12And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call for this Shunammitess.” And he called for her, and she stood to his face. 13And he said to him, “Please say to her, ‘Behold, you have cared all of this care for us. What to do for you? Is there to speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” But she said, “I am living in the midst of my people.” 14And he said, “But what to do for her?” And Gehazi said, “Indeed, there is not a son to her, and her husband {is} old.” 15And he said, “Call to her.” And he called to her, and she stood at the entrance. 16And he said, “In this season, according to the time of reviving, you will embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.”

17And the woman conceived, and she bore a son in that season, according to the time of reviving, as Elisha had spoken to her. 18And the child grew. And it was the day, and he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” And he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20And he picked him up and brought him to his mother. And he sat on her knees until noon, then he died. 21And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God. And she shut on him, and she went out. 22And she called to her husband and said, “Please send to me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, and let me run to the man of God, and let me return.” 23And he said, “Why are you going to him today? {It is} not a new moon and not a Sabbath.” And she said, “Peace.” 24And she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Drive and go! Do not slacken for me to ride unless I say to you.” 25And she went, and she came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. And it happened, when the man of God saw her from opposite, that he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, that Shunammitess.

26Now please run to meet her and say to her, ‘{Is} welfare to you? {Is} welfare to your husband? {Is} welfare to the child?’” And she said, “Peace.” 27And she came to the man of God, to the mountain, and she held onto his feet. And Gehazi approached to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul {is} bitter to her, but Yahweh has hidden from me, and he has not declared to me.” 28And she said, “Did I request a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?” 29And he said to Gehazi, “Gird your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you find a man, you shall not bless him, and if a man blesses you, you shall not answer him. And you shall put my staff on the face of the young man.” 30And the mother of the young man said, “The life of Yahweh and the life of your soul, if I should leave you.” And he arose, and he went after her. 31And Gehazi went on to their faces, and he put the staff on the face of the young man, but there was no voice, and there was no hearing. And he returned to meet him, and he declared to him, saying, “The young man did not awaken.”

32And Elisha entered the house, and behold, the young man was dead, having been laid on his bed. 33And he went in, and he shut the door behind the two of them, and he prayed to Yahweh. 34And he went up, and he lay on the child, and he put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his palms on his palms. And he stretched out upon him, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35And he returned, and he walked in the house, once here and once here. And he went up, and he stretched out upon him. And the young man sneezed until seven times, and the young man opened his eyes. 36And he called to Gehazi, and he said, “Call to that Shunammitess.” And he called her, and she came to him. And he said, “Pick up your son.” 37And she came in, and she fell at his feet, and she prostrated herself to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.

38And Elisha returned to Gilgal (and famine {was} in the land), and the sons of the prophets were sitting to his face. And he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39And one went out to the field to gather herbs, and he found a vine of the field, and he gathered from it gourds of the field, the fullness of his garment. And he came, and he sliced {them} into the pot of stew, for they did not know. 40And they poured out for the men to eat. And it happened, as they ate from the stew, that they, they cried out and said, “Death {is} in the pot, man of God!” And they were not able to eat. 41And he said, “Then bring flour.” And he threw {it} into the pot, and he said, “Pour {it} out for the people, that they may eat.” And a harmful thing was not in the pot.

42And a man came from Baal Shalishah, and he brought to the man of God bread of firstfruits, 20 {loaves of} bread of barley and fresh grain in his sack. And he said, “Give to the people, that they may eat.” 43And the one serving him said, “How shall I set this to the face of a hundred men?” And he said, “Give to the people that they may eat, for thus says Yahweh, ‘Eating and leaving over.’” 44And he set to their faces, and they ate, and they left over, according to the word of Yahweh.

51Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man to the face of his master, and he was lifted of face, because through him Yahweh gave deliverance to Aram. And the man was mighty of valor, a leper. 2And Aram went out {in} raiding bands, and they captured a young girl from the land of Israel. And she was to the face of the wife of Naaman. 3And she said to her mistress, “Oh that my lord {was} to the face of the prophet who {is} in Samaria! Then he would remove him from his leprosy.” 4And one came and declared to his master, saying, “Like this and like this the girl spoke who {is} from the land of Israel.” 5And the king of Aram said, “Go, enter, and let me send a letter to, the king of Israel.” And he went, and he took in his hand 10 kikkars of silver and 6,000 gold and 10 changes of clothes. 6And he brought the letter to, the king of Israel, saying, “And now, when this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent to you Naaman my servant, and you shall remove him from his leprosy.” 7And it happened when the king of Israel read the letter that he tore his clothes, and he said, “{Am} I God, killing and making alive, that this {one} is sending to me to remove a man from his leprosy? For surely, please know and see that he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

8And it happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes that he sent to the king saying, “Why did you tear your clothes? Please let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots. And he stood {at} the entrance of the house of Elisha. 10And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, and you shall wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will return to you, and be clean.” 11And Naaman became angry, and he went, and he said, “Behold, I said to myself, ‘Coming out, he will come out, and he will stand, and he will call on the name of Yahweh his God, and he will wave his hand over the place, and he will remove the leprosy.’ 12{Are} not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel? Shall I not bathe in them and become clean?” And he turned, and he went away in heat. 13But his servants approached, and they spoke to him and said, “My father, {if} the prophet had spoken a great matter to you, would you not have done {it}? Then how much more when he has said to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?” 14So he went down, and he dipped in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God. And his flesh returned like the flesh of a little boy, and he became clean.

15And he returned to the man of God, he and all of his camp, and he came and stood to his face. And he said, “Behold, please, I know that there is no God in all of the earth except in Israel. And now, please take a blessing from your servant.” 16But he said, “The life of Yahweh, to whose face I stand, if I should take.” And he urged him to take, but he refused. 17And Naaman said, “But {if} not, let dirt, the burden of a pair of mules, please be given to your servant, for your servant will no longer make a burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but rather to Yahweh. 18For this matter, may Yahweh forgive your servant. When my master comes {to} the house of Rimmon to prostrate himself there, and he is leaning himself on my hand, and I prostrate myself {in} the house of Rimmon, when I prostrate myself {in} the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh please forgive your servant in this matter.” 19And he said to him, “Go in peace.” And he went from him a length of land.

20And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, “Behold, my master spared Naaman, that Aramean, from taking from his hand what he brought. The life of Yahweh, if I do not run after him and take something from him!” 21So Gehazi pursued after Naaman. And Naaman saw one running after him, and he got down from upon the chariot to meet him. And he said, “Peace?” 22And he said, “Peace. My master sent me, saying, ‘Behold, even now two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give to them a kikkar of silver and two changes of clothes.’” 23And Naaman said, “Be willing, take two kikkars.” And he urged him, and he bound two silver kikkars in two bags and two changes of clothes. And he gave {them} to two of his servants, and they carried {them} to his face. 24And he came to the hill, and he took {them} from their hand, and he deposited {them} in the house. And he sent the men away, and they went. 25And he, he came, and he stood beside his master. And Elisha said to him, “From where, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go here or here.” 26And he said to him, “Did my heart not go when the man turned from upon his chariot to meet you? {Is this} a time to take silver or to take clothing or olives trees or vineyards or sheep or cattle or male servants or female servants? 27Now the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your seed to forever.” And he went out from to his face, afflicted with leprosy like snow.

61And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the place where we are sitting there to your face is too narrow for us. 2Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let us take from there, a man one beam, and let us make for ourselves there a place to sit there.” And he said, “Go.” 3And the one said, “Please be willing and go with your servants.” And he said, “I, I will go.” 4And he went with them. And they came to the Jordan, and they cut down trees. 5And it happened, one was felling a beam, and the iron fell into the water. And he cried out and said, “Alas, my lord, for it was lent!” 6And the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place, and he cut off a stick, and he threw {it} to there, and the iron floated. 7And he said, “Lift {it} up for yourself.” And he stretched out his hand and took it.

8Now the king of Aram was fighting with Israel. And he consulted with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place my camp {shall be}.” 9And the man of God sent to the king of Israel saying, “Guard yourself from passing by that place, for Aram is coming down there.” 10And the king of Israel sent to the place that the man of God had said to him and warned him, and he guarded himself there, not once and not twice. 11And the heart of the king of Aram was enraged about this matter. And he called to his servants, and he said to them, “Will you not declare to me who from us {is} for the king of Israel?” 12And one from his servants said, “No, my lord the king, but Elisha, the prophet who {is} in Israel, declares to the king of Israel the things that you speak in the room of your bed.” 13And he said, “Go and see where he {is}, and I will send, and I will take him.” And it was declared to him, saying, “Behold, in Dothan.”

14And he sent horses and chariotry and a heavy army to there, and they came {at} night, and they surrounded around the city. 15And the servant of the man of God arose early to arise, and he went out, and behold, an army surrounding the city, and horse and chariot. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my lord! What shall we do?” 16And he said, “Do not fear, for those who {are} with us {are} more numerous than those who {are} with them.” 17And Elisha prayed and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” And Yahweh opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw, and behold, the hill was full {of} horses and chariotry of fire around Elisha. 18And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, “Please strike this nation with blindness.” And he struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. 19And Elisha said to them, “This {is} not the way, and this {is} not the city. Go after me, and let me lead you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.

20And it happened when they entered Samaria that Elisha said, “Yahweh, open the eyes of these, that they may see.” And Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw, and behold, {they were} in the midst of Samaria. 21And the king of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, “Shall I strike {them}? Shall I strike {them}, my father?” 22And he said, “Do not strike {them}. Are you striking those whom you capture with your sword and with your bow? Put bread and water to their faces that they may eat and drink, and let them go to their master.” 23And he provided a great provision for them, and they ate and they drank, and he sent them, and they went to their master. And the raiding bands of Aram did not continue any longer to come into the land of Israel.

24And it happened after this that Ben Hadad, the king of Aram, gathered all of his camp, and he went up and besieged against Samaria. 25And a great famine was in Samaria, and behold, {they were} besieging against it, until the head of a donkey was at 80 silver, and a fourth of a kab of dung of doves {was} at 5 silver. 26And it happened, the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, and a woman cried out to him, saying, “Save, my lord the king!” 27And he said, “No, let Yahweh save you. From where will I save you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?” 28And the king said to her, “What to you?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, and we will eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29So we boiled my son, and we ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, and we will eat him.’ But she hid her son.” 30And it happened when the king heard the words of the woman that he tore his clothes. And he was passing by on the wall, and the people saw, and behold, sackcloth {was} on his flesh, from beneath. 31And he said, “Thus may God do to me, and thus may he add, if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, remains on him today.”

32And Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And he sent a man from his face. Before the messenger came to him, then he, he said to the elders, “Do you see that this son of a murderer has sent to remove my head? See, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and you shall press him with the door. {Is} the sound of the feet of his master not behind him?” 33He was still speaking with them, and behold, the messenger was coming down to him. And he said, “Behold, this calamity {is} from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”

71And Elisha said, “Hear the word of Yahweh. Thus says Yahweh: ‘At {this} time tomorrow, a seah of flour {will be} at a shekel, and two seahs of barley {will be} at a shekel in the gate of Samaria.’” 2And the captain who {was} to the king, leaning himself on his hand, answered the man of God and said, “Behold Yahweh, making windows in the heavens, may this thing be?” And he said, “Behold you, seeing with your eyes, but from there you will not eat.”

3Now four men were lepers {at} the entrance of the gate. And they said, a man to his fellow, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then famine {is} in the city, and we will die there. But if we sit here, then we will die. And now, come, let us fall to the camp of Aram. If they let us live, we will live. And if they kill us, then we will die.” 5So they arose in the twilight to go to the camp of Aram. And they came to the edge of the camp of Aram, and behold, not a man {was} there. 6For the Lord had made the camp of Aram hear the sound of chariotry, the sound of a horse, the sound of a great army. And they said, a man to his brother, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to come against us.” 7And they arose, and they fled in the twilight. And they abandoned their tents and their horses and their donkeys, the camp just as it {was}, and they fled for their life. 8And those lepers came to the edge of the camp, and they went into one tent, and they ate, and they drank. And they carried away from there silver and gold and clothing, and they went, and they hid {it}. Then they returned, and they went into another tent, and they carried away from there, and they went, and they hid {it}.

9And they said, a man to his fellow, “We should not be doing thus this day. It {is} a day of good news, but we are being quiet. If we wait until the light of morning, then punishment will find us. And now, go, and let us come and inform the house of the king.” 10And they came and called to the gatekeeper of the city. And they declared to them, saying, “We came to the camp of Aram, and behold, there was not a man there or the sound of a man, but the horse was tied, and the donkey was tied, and the tents {were} just as they {were}.” 11And the gatekeepers called, and they informed the house of the king within. 12And the king arose {at} night, and he said to his servants, “Please let me declare to you what Aram has done to us. They know that we {are} hungry, and they have gone out from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘For they will come out from the city, and we will capture them alive, and we will enter into the city.’” 13And one from his servants answered and said, “Now please let us take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Behold them, like all of the multitude of Israel who remain in it. Behold them, like all of the multitude of Israel who have finished. So let us send, and let us see.” 14And they took two chariots {with} horses, and the king sent after the camp of Aram, saying, “Go and see.” 15And they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all of the road {was} full with clothes and equipment that Aram had thrown away in their hastening themselves. And the messengers returned, and they declared to the king.

16And the people went out, and they plundered the camp of Aram. And it happened, a seah of fine flour {was} at a shekel, and two seahs of barley {were} at a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh. 17And the king appointed the captain {on} whom he was leaning himself on his hand over the gate, but the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had spoken, what he spoke when the king came down to him. 18And it had happened, when the man of God spoke to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley {will be} at a shekel, and a seah of flour {will be} at a shekel, it will be at {this} time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” 19that the captain had answered the man of God and said, “Behold Yahweh, making windows in the heavens, may this thing be?” And he had said, “Behold you, seeing with your eyes, but from there you will not eat.” 20And thus it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

81Now Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had made live, saying, “Arise and go, you and your house, and sojourn in where you will sojourn, for Yahweh has called for a famine, and also it will come upon the land {for} seven years.” 2And the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. And she went, she and her house, and she sojourned in the land of the Philistines {for} seven years. 3And it happened at the end of seven years that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines. And she went out to cry out to the king for her house and for her land. 4And the king was speaking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please recount to me all of the great {things} that Elisha has done.” 5And it happened, he was recounting to the king that he had made the dead live, and behold, the woman whose son he had made live was crying out to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord the king, this {is} the woman, and this {is} her son, whom Elisha made live.” 6And the king inquired of the woman, and she recounted to him. And the king assigned to her a eunuch, saying, “Return everything that {is} to her and all of the produce of the field from the day she left the land and until now.”

7And Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben Hadad, the king of Aram, was sick. And it was declared to him, saying, “The man of God has come to here.” 8And the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, and go to meet the man of God. And you shall inquire of Yahweh through him, saying, ‘Will I live from this sickness?’” 9And Hazael went to meet him, and in his hand he took a gift and every good {thing} of Damascus, a burden of 40 camels. And he came and stood to his face, and he said, “Your son Ben Hadad, the king of Aram, has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I revive from this sickness?’” 10And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘Reviving, you will revive.’ But Yahweh has made me see that dying, he will die.” 11And he made his face stand, and he set {it} until shaming, and the man of God wept. 12And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” And he said, “Because I know what harm you will do to the sons of Israel. Their fortresses, you will send into fire, and their choice youths, you will kill with the sword, and their infants, you will dash to pieces, and their pregnant women, you will rip open.” 13And Hazael said, “But what {is} your servant, a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha said, “Yahweh has made me see you king over Aram.” 14And he went from with Elisha, and he came to his master. And he said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he said, “He said to me, ‘Reviving, you will revive.’” 15And it happened on the next day that he took a cloth and dipped {it} in water and spread {it} over his face, and he died. And Hazael reigned in his place.

16And in the year of five to Joram, the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, reigned. 17He was a son of 32 years when he reigned, and he reigned 8 years in Jerusalem. 18And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was a wife to him. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 19But Yahweh was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, just as he had said to him, to give to him a lamp for his sons all of the days.

20In his days, Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah, and they made a king rule over them. 21So Joram passed over to Zair, and all of the chariotry with him. And it happened, he, he arose {at} night, and he struck Edom, having surrounded him, and the commanders of the chariotry, but the people fled to its tents. 22And Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah, to this day. Then Libnah rebelled at that time. 23Now the rest of the matters of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 24And Joram lay down with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

25In the year of 12, the year to Joram, the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, reigned. 26Ahaziah {was} a son of 22 years when he reigned, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, the king of Israel. 27And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab, for he {was} a son-in-law of the house of Ahab. 28And he went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to war with Hazael, the king of Aram, at Ramoth Gilead, but the Arameans struck Joram. 29And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel from the wounds {with} which the Arameans had struck him at Ramah when he fought with Hazael, the king of Aram. And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, went down to see Joram, the son of Ahab, in Jezreel because he was infirm.

91And Elisha the prophet called to one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go {to} Ramoth Gilead. 2And you shall come to there, and see Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, there. And you shall come, and you shall make him arise from the midst of his brothers, and you shall bring him {to} a chamber in a chamber. 3And you shall take the flask of oil, and you shall pour {it} on his head, and you shall say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I have anointed you as king over Israel.”’ Then you shall open the door, and you shall flee, and you shall not delay.” 4So the young man, the young man, the prophet, went {to} Ramoth Gilead. 5And he came, and behold, the commanders of the army were sitting, and he said, “A word {is} to me for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “For whom, from all of us?” And he said, “For you, O commander.” 6And he arose and came to the house. And he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I have anointed you as king over the people of Yahweh, over Israel. 7And you shall strike the house of Ahab, your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all of the servants of Yahweh from the hand of Jezebel. 8And all of the house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab one pissing against a wall, both one restrained and one set free in Israel. 9And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. 10And dogs will eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and {there will be} no burying.’” And he opened the door, and he fled.

11And Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Peace? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You, you know the man and his talk.” 12And they said, “A lie! Now declare to us.” And he said, “Like this and like this he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I have anointed you as king over Israel.”’” 13And they hurried and took, a man his garment, and they put {them} under him at the top of the steps. And they blew on a shofar, and they said, “Jehu is king.”

14So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram had been guarding in Ramoth Gilead, he and all of Israel, from the face of Hazael, the king of Aram. 15But King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel from the wounds {with} which the Arameans had struck him when he fought with Hazael, the king of Aram. And Jehu said, “If it is your soul, may an escaper not go out from the city to go to declare in Jezreel.”

16And Jehu rode and went to Jezreel, because Joram was lying down there. Now Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had gone down to see Joram.

17And a watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the multitude of Jehu as he came, and he said, “I am seeing a multitude.” And Jehoram said, “Take a horseman and send {him} to meet them, and he shall say, ‘Peace?’” 18And the rider of the horse went to meet him, and he said, “Thus says the king, ‘Peace?’” And Jehu said, “What to you and to peace? Turn around to after me.” And the watchman declared, saying, “The messenger has come to them, but he has not returned.” 19So he sent out a second rider of a horse, and he came to them, and he said, “Thus says the king: ‘Peace.’” And Jehu said, “What to you and to peace? Turn around to after me.” 20And the watchman declared, saying, “He has come to them, but he has not returned, and the driving {is} like the driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he drives with madness.”

21And Joram said, “Harness.” And one harnessed his chariot. And Jehoram, the king of Israel, went out with Ahaziah, the king of Judah, a man in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu. And they found him on the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22And it happened when Jehoram saw Jehu that he said, “Peace, Jehu?” And he said, “What peace, during the prostitutions of Jezebel your mother and her many sorceries?” 23And Jehoram turned his hands and fled, and he said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!” 24And Jehu filled his hand with the bow, and he struck Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out from his heart. And he sank down in his chariot. 25And he said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick {him} up and throw him onto the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember, me and you riding {in} pairs after Ahab his father, and Yahweh lifted this burden against him, 26‘“If I have not seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday,” the declaration of Yahweh, “and I will repay you on this portion,” the declaration of Yahweh.’ And now, pick {him} up, throw him onto the portion, according to the word of Yahweh.”

27And Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw, and he fled the way of the house of the garden. And Jehu pursued after him, and he said, “Strike him too in the chariot!” At the ascent of Gur, which {is} near Ibleam. And he fled {to} Megiddo, and he died there. 28And his servants caused him to ride to Jerusalem, and they buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David.

29Now in the year of 11, the year to Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had reigned over Judah.

30And Jehu came to Jezreel. And Jezebel heard, and she set her eyes in paint, and she made good her head, and she looked down through the window. 31And Jehu came in the gate, And she said, “Peace, Zimri, murderer of his master?” 32And he lifted his face to the window, and he said, “Who {is} with me? Who?” And two, three eunuchs looked down to him. 33And he said, “Throw her down.” And they threw her down, and some of her blood sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her. 34And he entered, and he ate and drank. Then he said, “Look after this cursed woman, please, and bury her, for she {was} the daughter of a king.” 35So they went to bury her, but they did not find of her except the skull and the feet and the palms of the hands. 36And they returned, and they declared to him. And he said, “It {is} the word of Yahweh that he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the portion of Jezreel, dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel, 37and the corpse of Jezebel will be like dung on the face of a field in the portion of Jezreel, that they will not say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

101Now to Ahab {were} 70 sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and he sent {them} {to} Samaria, to the commanders of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying, 2“And now, when this letter comes to you, and the sons of your master {are} with you, and chariotry and horses and a fortified city and weapon {are} with you, 3then you shall look for the good and right {one} from the sons of your master, and you shall set {him} on the throne of his father, and you shall fight for the house of your master.” 4And they were very, very afraid, and they said, “Behold, two kings did not stand to his face, so we, how will we stand?” 5And he who {was} over the house and he who {was} over the city and the elders and the guardians sent to Jehu, saying, “We {are} your servants, and all that you say to us, we will do. We will not make a man king. Do the good in your eyes.” 6And he wrote a second letter to them, saying, “If you {are} for me and you are listening to my voice, take the heads of the men of the sons of your master and come to me at {this} time tomorrow in Jezreel.” Now the sons of the king {were} 70 men, with the great {ones} of the city raising them. 7And it happened when the letter came to them that they took the sons of the king and slaughtered 70 men. And they put their heads in baskets and sent {them} to him in Jezreel. 8And a messenger came and declared to him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the sons of the king.” And he said, “Put them {in} two piles {at} the entrance of the gate until morning.” 9And it happened in the morning that he went out and stood, and he said to all of the people, “You {are} righteous. Behold, I, I conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck all of these? 10Know then that nothing from the word of Yahweh that Yahweh spoke about the house of Ahab has fallen to the ground. For Yahweh has done what he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah.” 11And Jehu struck everyone remaining to the house of Ahab in Jezreel and all of his great {ones} and his acquaintances and his priests, until he left to him no survivor.

12And he arose and came. And he was going {to} Samaria, he {was in} Beth Eked of the Shepherds on the way, 13and Jehu found the brothers of Ahaziah, the king of Judah. And he said, “Who {are} you?” And they said, “We {are} the brothers of Ahaziah, and we have come down for the welfare of the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” 14And he said, “Seize them alive!” And they seized them alive, and they slaughtered them at the pit of Beth Eked, 42 men, and he did not leave a man from them.

15And he went from there, and he found Jehonadab, the son of Recab, to meet him. And he blessed him, and he said to him, “Is your heart right, just as my heart {is} with your heart?” And Jehonadab said, “It is.” “If it is, give your hand.” And he gave his hand. Then he lifted him to himself into the chariot. 16And he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for Yahweh.” And they caused him to ride in his chariot. 17And he entered Samaria, and he struck everyone remaining to Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him, according to the word of Yahweh that he spoke to Elijah.

18And Jehu gathered all of the people, and he said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little. Jehu will serve him much. 19And now, call to me all of the prophets of Baal, all of his servants, and all of his priests. Let not a man be missing, for a great sacrifice {is} to me for Baal. Everyone who is missing will not live.” But Jehu was acting with cunning in order to destroy the servants of Baal. 20And Jehu said, “Consecrate a solemn assembly for Baal.” And they proclaimed. 21And Jehu sent into all of Israel, and all of the servants of Baal came, and a man was not left who had not come. And they entered the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth. 22And he said to him who {was} over the wardrobe, “Bring out clothing for all of the servants of Baal.” And he brought out to them the vestment. 23And Jehu entered the house of Baal with Jehonadab, the son of Recab, and he said to the servants of Baal, “Search and see that there are not with you here from the servants of Yahweh, but only servants of Baal.” 24And they came in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself 80 men outside, and he had said, “The man who escapes from the men whom I am bringing into your hands, his life in place of his life.”

25And it happened, when he finished making the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the runners and to the captains, “Go, strike them! Let not a man go out!” And they struck them to the mouth of the sword, and the runners and the captains threw {them}, and they went to the city of the house of Baal. 26And they brought out the pillars of the house of Baal, and they burned it. 27And they broke down the pillar of Baal, and they broke down the house of Baal, and they made it a latrine, to this day. 28So Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.

29Only the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, Jehu did not turn away from after them, the calves of gold that {were in} Bethel and that {were} in Dan. 30And Yahweh said to Jehu, “Because you did well by doing right in my eyes, according to all that {was} in my heart you did to the house of Ahab, sons of the fourth will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” 31But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all of his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin.

32In those days, Yahweh began to cut off Israel. And Hazael struck them in every border of Israel 33from the Jordan from the rising of the sun, all of the land of Gilead, the Gadite and the Reubenite and the Manassite, from Aroer, which {is} near the valley of Arnon, and Gilead and Bashan. 34Now the rest of the matters of Jehu and all that he did and all of his might, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel? 35And Jehu lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. 36And the days that Jehu had reigned over Israel {were} 28 years in Samaria.

111Now Athaliah {was} the mother of Ahaziah, and she saw that her son had died. And she arose, and she destroyed all of the seed of the kingdom. 2But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and she stole him away from the midst of the sons of the king being killed, him and his nurse, in the room of the beds. And they hid him from the face of Athaliah, and he was not killed. 3And he was with her {in} the house of Yahweh, being hidden six years, and Athaliah reigned over the land.

4And in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent, and he took the commanders of hundreds to the Carite and to the runners, and he brought them to himself at the house of Yahweh. And he cut a covenant with them, and he made them swear in the house of Yahweh, and he showed them the son of the king. 5And he commanded them, saying, “This {is} the thing that you shall do. A third of you coming in on the Sabbath indeed {shall be} keepers of the keeping of the house of the king, 6and a third {shall be} at the gate of Sur, and a third {shall be} at the gate behind the runners. And you shall keep the keeping of the house, as a barrier. 7And the two of the hands among you, everyone going out on the Sabbath, even they shall keep the keeping of the house of Yahweh for the king. 8And you shall surround around the king all around, a man with his weapons in his hand, and one coming to the ranks shall be killed. And be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”

9And the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And they took, a man his men, the ones coming in on the Sabbath with the ones going out on the Sabbath, and they came to Jehoiada the priest. 10And the priest gave to the captains of the hundreds the spears and the shields that {were} to King David that {were} in the house of Yahweh. 11And the runners stood, a man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, to the altar and to the house, around the king all around. 12And he brought out the son of the king, and he set a crown on him, and the testimony, and they made him king, and they anointed him. And they struck palm, and they said, “May the king live!”

13And Athaliah heard the sound of the runners {and} the people, and she came to the people {at} the house of Yahweh. 14And she looked, and behold, the king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the commanders and the trumpeters {were} near the king, and all of the people of the land were rejoicing and blasting on trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes, and she called out, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!” 15And Jehoiada the priest commanded the commanders of hundreds, the officers of the force, and said to them, “Bring her from the house to the ranks. And the one coming after her, kill with the sword.” For the priest said, “Let her not be killed in the house of Yahweh.” 16And they put two hands to her, and she went the way of the entrance of horses {to} the house of the king, and she was killed there.

17And Jehoiada cut a covenant between Yahweh and between the king and between the people, to become a people for Yahweh, and between the king and between the people. 18And all of the people of the land went {to} the house of Baal, and they tore down his altar, and they shattered his images thoroughly, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, to the face of the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of Yahweh. 19And he took the commanders of the hundreds and the Carite and the runners and all of the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of Yahweh, and they entered the way of the gate of the runners {into} the house of the king. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20And all of the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had killed Athaliah with the sword {at} the house of the king.

21Joash {was} a son of seven years when he reigned.

121In the year of seven to Jehu, Joash reigned. And he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Zibiah, from Beersheba. 2And Joash did right in the eyes of Yahweh all of his days because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3Only they did not remove the high places. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

4And Joash said to the priests, “All of the silver of the sacred things that is brought {into} the house of Yahweh, the silver passing over a man, the silver of the lives of his valuation, all of the silver that goes up onto the heart of a man to bring {into} the house of Yahweh, 5the priests shall take for themselves, a man from his acquaintance, and they shall strengthen the damage of the house in every {place} where damage is found there.” 6And it happened in the year of 23, the year to King Joash, the priests had not strengthened the damage of the house. 7And King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and for the priests, and he said to them, “Why are you not strengthening the damage of the house? And now, you shall not take silver from your acquaintances, but for the damage of the house you shall give it.” 8And the priests agreed not to accept silver from the people and not to strengthen the damage of the house.

9And Jehoiada the priest took a box and bored a hole in its lid, and he put it beside the altar, on the right side. When a man came {to} the house of Yahweh, then the priests keeping the threshold put into there all of the silver brought {to} the house of Yahweh. 10And it happened, when they saw that silver {was} abundant in the box, that the scribe of the king went up with the great priest, and they bound {it}, and they weighed the silver found {at} the house of Yahweh. 11And they gave the silver that was weighed into the hands of the doers of the work, the ones appointed {over} the house of Yahweh. And they brought it out to the craftsmen of wood and to the builders, the ones making the house of Yahweh, 12and to the masons and to the hewers of stone and to buy wood and stones of hewing to strengthen the damage of the house of Yahweh and for everything that came out concerning the house to strengthen {it}. 13However, {in} the house of Yahweh, bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, {or} any {other} articles of gold or articles of silver were not made from the silver brought {to} the house of Yahweh, 14because they gave it to the doers of the work. And they strengthened the house of Yahweh with it. 15And they did not reckon with the men into whose hand they gave the silver to give to the doers of the work, for they were acting in faithfulness. 16The silver of the guilt offering and the silver of the sin offerings was not brought into the house of Yahweh. They were to the priests.

17Then Hazael, the king of Aram, went up and fought against Gath, and he captured it. And Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem. 18And Joash, the king of Judah, took all of the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, the kings of Judah, had consecrated and his holy things and all of the gold found in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the house of the king, and he sent {them} to Hazael, the king of Aram, and he went up from upon Jerusalem.

19Now the rest of the matters of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 20And his servants arose, and they conspired a conspiracy, and they struck Joash {in} Beth Millo, on the descent {to} Silla. 21And Jozabad, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

131In the year of 23, the year to Joash, the son of Ahaziah, the king of Judah, Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, reigned over Israel in Samaria, 17 years. 2And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. And he walked after the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He did not turn away from it. 3And the nose of Yahweh burned against Israel, and he gave them into the hand of Hazael, the king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben Hadad, the son of Hazael, all of the days. 4Then Jehoahaz entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him because he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Aram oppressed them. 5And Yahweh gave to Israel a savior, and they came out from under the hand of Aram. And the sons of Israel dwelled in their tents as yesterday, the third day. 6Nevertheless, they did not turn aside from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin. He walked in it, and also the Asherah stood in Samaria. 7For he did not leave people to Jehoahaz except 50 horsemen and 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers, for the king of Aram destroyed them and made them like dust to threshing. 8Now the rest of the matters of Jehoahaz and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel? 9And Jehoahaz lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Jehoash his son reigned in his place.

10In the year of 37, the year to Joash, the king of Judah, Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, reigned over Israel in Samaria, 16 years. 11And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn aside from all of the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He walked in it. 12Now the rest of the matters of Jehoash and all that he did and his might {with} which he fought with Amaziah, the king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel? 13And Jehoash lay down with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14Now Elisha had become sick with his sickness with which he would die. And Jehoash, the king of Israel, went down to him, and he wept over his face, and he said, “My father, my father, the chariotry of Israel and its horsemen!” 15And Elisha said to him, “Bring a bow and arrows.” And he brought to him a bow and arrows. 16And he said to, the king of Israel, “Make your hand ride on the bow.” And he made his hand ride. And Elisha put his hands over the hands of the king. 17And he said, “Open the window to the east.” And one opened {it}. And Elisha said, “Shoot.” And he shot. And he said, “The arrow of victory to Yahweh, and the arrow of victory against Aram. And you will strike Aram at Aphek to finishing.” 18And he said, “Take the arrows.” And he took {them}. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike on the ground.” And he struck three times, and he stopped. 19And the man of God became angry with him, and he said, “Striking five or six times, then you would have struck Aram to finishing. But now, you will strike Aram three times.”

20And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now raiding bands of Moab came into the land {at} the coming {of} the year. 21And it happened, they were burying a man, and behold, they saw a raiding band, and they threw the man into the grave of Elisha. And the man went and touched the bones of Elisha, and it happened that he arose onto his feet.

22Now Hazael, the king of Aram, had oppressed Israel all of the days of Jehoahaz. 23But Yahweh was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned to them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And he was not willing to destroy them, and he has not cast them away from his face until now. 24And Hazael, the king of Aram, died, and Ben Hadad his son reigned in his place. 25And Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, returned and took the cities from the hand of Ben Hadad, the son of Hazael, that he had taken from the hand of Jehoahaz his father in battle. Three times Joash struck him, and he made the cities of Israel return.

141In the year of two to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel, Amaziah, the son of Joash, the king of Judah, reigned. 2He was a son of 25 years when he reigned, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Jehoaddan, from Jerusalem. 3And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh, only not like David his father. Like all that Joash his father did, he did. 4Only, the high places were not removed. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense at the high places. 5And it happened, as soon as the kingdom was strong in his hand, that he struck his servants, the ones having struck the king, his father. 6But the sons of the ones striking, he did not kill, as written in the book of the law of Moses, what Yahweh commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be killed for sons, and sons shall not be killed for fathers. Rather, a man shall be killed for his sin.” 7He, he struck Edom in the Valley of Salt, 10,000, and he captured Sela in battle. And he called its name Joktheel, to this day.

8Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us see one another’s faces.” 9And Jehoash, the king of Israel, sent to Amaziah, the king of Judah, saying, “A thornbush that {was} in Lebanon sent to a cedar that {was} in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ But a beast of the field that {was} in Lebanon passed by, and it trampled the thornbush. 10Striking, you have struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be honored, but stay in your house. For why should you contend with calamity, so that you will fall, you and Judah with you?”

11But Amaziah did not listen. So Jehoash, the king of Israel, went up, and they saw one another’s faces, he and Amaziah, the king of Judah, at Beth Shemesh, which {is} to Judah. 12And Judah was struck to the face of Israel. And they fled, a man to his tent. 13And Jehoash, the king of Israel, captured Amaziah, the king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, in Beth Shemesh. And he came to Jerusalem, and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Gate of the Corner, 400 cubits. 14And he took all of the gold and the silver and all of the articles found {in} the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the house of the king, and sons of pledges. And he returned to Samaria.

15Now the rest of the matters of Jehoash, what he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah, the king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel? 16And Jehoash lay down with his fathers, and he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

17And Amaziah, the son of Joash, the king of Judah, lived 15 years after the death of Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel. 18Now the rest of the matters of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 19And they conspired a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there. 20And they carried him on the horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David. 21And all of the people of Judah took Azariah (now he {was} a son of 16 years), and they made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 22He, he built up Elath, and he returned it to Judah after the king lay down with his fathers.

23In the year of 15, the year to Amaziah, the son of Joash, the king of Judah, Jeroboam, the son of Joash, the king of Israel, reigned in Samaria, 41 years. 24And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from all of the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 25He, he restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, that he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who {was} from Gath Hepher. 26For Yahweh saw the very bitter affliction of Israel, and none restrained and none set free and no helper for Israel. 27But Yahweh had not said that he would wipe out the name of Israel from under the heavens, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash.

28Now the rest of the matters of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he brought Damascus and Hamath of Judah back into Israel, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel? 29And Jeroboam lay down with his fathers, with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son reigned in his place.

151In the year of 27, the year to Jeroboam, the king of Israel, Azariah, the son of Amaziah, the king of Judah, reigned. 2He was a son of 16 years when he reigned, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Jekoliah, from Jerusalem. 3And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that Amaziah his father had done. 4Only, the high places were not removed. The people still were sacrificing and burning incense at the high places. 5And Yahweh touched the king, and he was a leper until the day of his death, and he lived in a house of separation. And Jotham, the son of the king, {was} over the house, judging the people of the land. 6Now the rest of the matters of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 7And Azariah lay down with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

8In the year of 38, the year to Azariah, the king of Judah, Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel in Samaria, six months. 9And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, just as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 10And Shallum, the son of Jabesh, conspired against him, and he struck him in front of the people, and he killed him. And he reigned in his place. 11Now the rest of the matters of Zechariah, behold them, written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel. 12It {was} the word of Yahweh that he had spoken to Jehu, saying, “Sons of the fourth will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” And it was thus.

13Shallum, the son of Jabesh, reigned in the year of 39, the year to Azariah, the king of Judah, and he reigned a month of days in Samaria. 14Then Menahem, the son of Gadi, came up from Tirzah, and he came {to} Samaria. And he struck Shallum, the son of Jabesh, in Samaria, and he killed him. And he reigned in his place. 15Now the rest of the matters of Shallum and his conspiracy that he conspired, behold them, written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel. 16Then Menahem struck Tiphsah and all who {were} in it and its borders, from Tirzah, because one did not open. And he struck {them}, all of its pregnant women he ripped open. 17In the year of 39, the year to Azariah, the king of Judah, Menahem, the son of Gadi, reigned over Israel, ten years in Samaria. 18And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, all of his days. 19Pul, the king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave to Pul 1,000 kikkars of silver so that his hands would be with him to strengthen the kingdom in his hand. 20And Menahem brought forth the silver over Israel, over all of the mighty of valor, to give to the king of Assyria, 50 silver shekels to one man. And the king of Assyria returned, and he did not stay there in the land. 21Now the rest of the matters of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel? 22And Menahem lay down with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.

23In the year of 50, the year to Azariah, the king of Judah, Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, reigned over Israel in Samaria, two years. 24And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 25And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, and he struck him in Samaria, in the citadel of the house of the king, Argob and Arieh, and with him 50 men of the sons of the Gileadites. And he killed him, and he reigned in his place. 26Now the rest of the matters of Pekahiah and all that he did, behold them, written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel.

27In the year of 52, the year to Azariah, the king of Judah, Pekah, the son of Remaliah, reigned over Israel in Samaria, 20 years. 28And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

29In the days of Pekah, the king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser, the king of Assyria, came, and he took Ijon and Abel Beth Maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all of the land of Naphtali, and he exiled them to Assyria. 30And Hoshea, the son of Elah, conspired a conspiracy against Pekah, the son of Remaliah, and he struck him, and he killed him. And he reigned in his place, in the year of 20 to Jotham, the son of Uzziah. 31Now the rest of the matters of Pekah and all that he did, behold them, written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Israel.

32In the year of two to Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, Jotham, the son of Azariah, the king of Judah, reigned. 33He was a son of 25 years when he reigned, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. 34And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh. Like all that Azariah his father did, he did. 35Only the high places were not removed. The people still were sacrificing and were burning incense at the high places. He, he built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh. 36Now the rest of the matters of Jotham that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 37In those days, Yahweh began to send Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, against Judah. 38And Jotham lay down with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. And Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

161In the year of 17, the year to Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the king of Judah, reigned. 2Ahaz {was} a son of 20 years when he reigned, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. But he did not do right in the eyes of Yahweh his God like David his father. 3And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. And he even made his son pass through the fire, like the abominations of the nations that Yahweh had driven them out from the face of the sons of Israel. 4And he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places and on hills and under every green tree.

5Then Rezin, the king of Aram, came up with Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, {to} Jerusalem for battle. And they besieged against Ahaz, but they were not able to fight. 6(At that time, Rezin, the king of Aram, restored Elath to Aram, and he drove the Judeans from Elath. And Arameans came to Elath, and they have lived there to this day.)

7And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser, the king of Assyria, saying, “I {am} your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the palm of the king of Aram and from the palm of the king of Israel, the ones having arisen against me.” 8And Ahaz took the silver and the gold found {in} the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the house of the king, and he sent a gift to the king of Assyria. 9And the king of Assyria listened to him, and the king of Assyria came up against Damascus, and he captured it. And he exiled it to Kir, but he killed Rezin.

10And King Ahaz went to meet Tiglath Pileser, the king of Assyria, {in} Damascus, and he saw the altar that {was} in Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a likeness of the altar and its pattern for all of its work. 11And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Thus Uriah the priest did before King Ahaz came from Damascus. 12And the king came from Damascus, and the king saw the altar. And the king drew near to the altar, and he offered on it. 13And he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering and poured out his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of the peace offerings that {were} to him on the altar. 14And the altar of bronze that {was} to the face of Yahweh, he then brought forward from the face of the house, from between the altar and from between the house of Yahweh, and he put it to the side of the altar, to the north. 15And King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, “On the large altar burn the burnt offering of the morning and the grain offering of the evening and the burnt offering of the king and his grain offering and the burnt offering of all of the people of the land and their grain offering and their drink offerings. And you shall sprinkle on it all of the blood of the burnt offering and all of the blood of the sacrifice. But the altar of bronze will be for me to seek.” 16And Uriah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

17And King Ahaz cut off the panels of the stands, and he removed the basin from upon them, and he took down the sea from upon the oxen of bronze that {were} beneath it and put it on a pavement of stones, 18and the canopy of the Sabbath that they had built at the house and the outer entrance of the king, he removed {from} the house of Yahweh, from the face of the king of Assyria. 19Now the rest of the matters of Ahaz that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 20And Ahaz lay down with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

171In the year of 12 to Ahaz, the king of Judah, Hoshea, the son of Elah, reigned in Samaria over Israel, 9 years. 2And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, only not like the kings of Israel who were to his face. 3Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, came up against him, and Hoshea became a servant to him, and he paid tribute to him. 4And the king of Assyria found a conspiracy in Hoshea, that he had sent messengers to So, the king of Egypt, and he had not brought up tribute to the king of Assyria, as year by year. And the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in a house of imprisonment. 5Now the king of Assyria came up against all of the land, and he came up {to} Samaria, and he besieged against it {for} three years. 6In the year of nine to Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he exiled Israel to Assyria. And he settled them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and {in} the cities of Media.

7And it happened because the sons of Israel sinned against Yahweh their God, the one having brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And they feared other gods, 8and they walked in the statutes of the nations that Yahweh drove out from the face of the sons of Israel, and the kings of Israel that they did. 9And the sons of Israel covered things against Yahweh their God that were not thus. For they built for themselves high places in all of their cities, from a tower of watchmen to a city of fortification. 10And they set up for themselves pillars and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree. 11And they burned incense there in all of the high places, like the nations that Yahweh had exiled from their faces. And they did evil things, making Yahweh angry. 12And they served idols, {about} which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13And Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of all of his prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments, my statutes, according to all of the law that I commanded your fathers and that I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.” 14But they did not listen, and they stiffened their neck, like the neck of their fathers who did not trust in Yahweh their God. 15And they rejected his statutes and his covenant that he had cut with their fathers and his testimonies that he testified against them. And they walked after vapor, and they became vapor, and after the nations that {were} around them, {about} whom Yahweh had commanded them not to act like them. 16And they forsook all of the commandments of Yahweh their God, and they made for themselves a molded image, two calves. And they made an Asherah, and they prostrated themselves to the whole army of the heavens, and they served Baal. 17And they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire. And they divined divinations, and they observed signs. And they sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh, making him angry. 18And Yahweh was exceedingly enraged at Israel, and he removed them away from his face. None was left, only the tribe of Judah alone.

19Even Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God. And they walked in the statutes of Israel that they did. 20And Yahweh rejected all of the seed of Israel, and he afflicted them, and he gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he cast them away from his face. 21For he tore Israel away from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, king. And Jeroboam drove Israel away from after Yahweh, and he made them sin a great sin. 22And the sons of Israel walked in all of the sins of Jeroboam that he did. They did not turn away from it, 23until Yahweh removed Israel away from his face, according to what he had spoken by the hand of all of his servants the prophets. And Israel went into exile away from its land to Assyria, to this day.

24And the king of Assyria brought {people} from Babylon and from Kuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and he settled {them} in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria, and they lived in its cities. 25And it happened, at the beginning of their settling there, they did not fear Yahweh. And Yahweh sent lions among them, and they were killing among them. 26And they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you exiled and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land. And he has sent lions against them, and behold them, killing them because they are not knowing the custom of the God of the land.”

27And the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Make go there one from the priests whom you exiled from there. And let them go and settle there, and let him teach them the custom of the God of the land.” 28And one from the priests whom they had exiled from Samaria came, and he settled in Bethel. And he was teaching them how they should fear Yahweh. 29And they were making, a nation, a nation, its gods, and they put {them} in the house of the high places that the Samaritans had made, a nation, a nation, in their cities where they were settling there. 30And the men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, and the men of Kuthah made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. And the Sepharvites were burning their sons in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvim. 32And they were fearing Yahweh, but they made for themselves priests of high places from their extremities, and they were making {sacrifices} to them in the house of the high places. 33They were fearing Yahweh, but they were serving their gods according to the custom of the nations {from} which they had exiled them from there.

34To this day, they are acting according to the first customs. They are not fearing Yahweh, and they are not acting according to their statutes or according to their judgment or according to the law or according to the commandment that Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, whose name he made Israel. 35For Yahweh had cut a covenant with them, and he had commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, and you shall not prostrate yourselves to them, and you shall not serve them, and you shall not sacrifice to them, 36except Yahweh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. You shall fear him, and you shall prostrate yourselves to him, and you shall sacrifice to him. 37And the statutes and the judgments and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall be careful to do all of the days, and you shall not fear other gods. 38And you shall not forget the covenant that I cut with you, and you shall not fear other gods, 39except you shall fear Yahweh your God, and he, he will deliver you from the hand of all of your enemies.” 40But they are not careful, but rather they are acting according to their first custom. 41For these nations are fearing Yahweh, but they are serving their idols. Both their sons and the sons of their sons, just as their fathers acted, they are acting to this day.

181And it happened in the year of three to Hoshea, the son of Elah, the king of Israel, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, the king of Judah, reigned. 2He was a son of 25 years when he reigned, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. 3And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that David his father had done. 4He, he removed the high places, and he shattered the pillars, and he cut down the Asherah. And he broke up the serpent of bronze that Moses had made, because until those days the sons of Israel were offering incense to it (and one called it Nehushtan). 5He trusted in Yahweh the God of Israel, and after him none was like him among all of the kings of Judah or those who were to his face. 6And he clung to Yahweh, he did not turn away from after him, and he kept his commandments, which Yahweh had commanded Moses. 7And Yahweh was with him. In every {place} where he went out, he succeeded. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and he did not serve him. 8He, he struck the Philistines to Gaza and its borders, from a tower of watchmen to a fortified city.

9And it happened in the fourth year of King Hezekiah (it {was} the seventh year of Hoshea, the son of Elah, the king of Israel), Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, came up against Samaria, and he besieged against it. 10And they captured it at the end of three years. In the year of six to Hezekiah, it {was} the year of nine to Hoshea, the king of Israel, Samaria was captured. 11And the king of Assyria exiled Israel to Assyria. And he led them into Halah and into the Habor, the river of Gozan, and {into} the cities of Media, 12because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, but they transgressed his covenant, all that Moses, the servant of Yahweh, had commanded, and they did not listen, and they did not do.

13And in 14, the year to King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came up against all of the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them. 14And Hezekiah, the king of Judah, sent to the king of Assyria, to Lachish, saying, “I have sinned. Turn back from against me. Whatever you put on me, I will bear.” And the king of Assyria set for Hezekiah, the king of Judah, 300 kikkars of silver and 30 kikkars of gold. 15And Hezekiah gave all of the silver found {in} the house of Yahweh and in the storerooms of the house of the king. 16At that time, Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Yahweh and the doorposts that Hezekiah, the king of Judah, had overlaid, and he gave them to the king of Assyria. 17And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan and the Rabsaris and the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a heavy army {to} Jerusalem. And they went up, and they came {to} Jerusalem. And they went up, and they came, and they stopped by the conduit of the Upper Pool that {was} on the highway of the Field of the Fuller. 18And they called to the king, and Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who {was} over the house, and Shebna the scribe and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, went out to them.

19And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Now say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What {is} this trust that you trust? 20You speak only a word of lips, ‘Counsel and might for war.’ Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 21Now behold, you trust for yourself in the staff of this broken reed, in Egypt, on which a man supports himself and it goes into his palm and pierces it. Thus {is} Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all of the ones trusting in him.”’ 22But if you say to me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ {is it} not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘To the face of this altar in Jerusalem you shall prostrate yourselves’? 23‘And now, wager, please, with my master, with the king of Assyria. And I will give to you 2,000 horses if you are able to put riders on them for yourself. 24But how would you turn back the face of a captain of one of the least servants of my master? So you trust for yourself in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen.’ 25‘“Now have I come up against this place to destroy it without Yahweh? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

26And Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we are understanding. But do not speak with us in Judean in the ears of the people who {are} on the wall.” 27But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Did my master send me to speak these words to your master and to you? {Was it} not to the men sitting on the wall, who will eat their dung and drink their urine with you?” 28And the Rabshakeh stood, and he called out in a great voice in Judean. And he spoke and said, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he is not able to deliver you from his hand. 30And do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Delivering, Yahweh will deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’ 31Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make a blessing with me, and come out to me, and eat, a man of his vine and a man of his fig tree, and drink, a man {from} the waters of his well, 32until I come and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive of oil and honey. So live, and do not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” 33Delivering, did the gods of the nations deliver, a man his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34Where {were} the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where {were} the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Indeed, did they deliver Samaria from my hand? 35Who {are they} among all of the gods of the lands that have delivered their land from my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’”

36But the people were silent and did not answer him a word, for it {was} a commandment of the king, saying, “You shall not answer him.” 37Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who {was} over the house, with Shebna the scribe and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah, torn of clothes. And they declared to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

191And it happened when King Hezekiah heard that he tore his clothes, and he covered himself with sackcloth, and he went {into} the house of Yahweh. 2And he sent Eliakim, who {was} over the house, and Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, having covered themselves with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day {is} a day of trouble and chastisement and reproach, for sons have come to the birth canal, but {there is} no strength to give birth. 4Perhaps Yahweh your God will have heard all of the words of the Rabshakeh, him whom the king of Assyria, his master, sent to taunt the living God, and he will chastise the words that Yahweh your God has heard. And may you lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant {that is} found.’” 5And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6and Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Do not be afraid from the face of the words that you have heard, {by} which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7Behold me, putting a spirit in him, and he will hear a report, and he will return to his land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his land.”’” 8And the Rabshakeh returned, and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9Then he heard concerning Tirhakah, the king of Cush, saying, “Behold, he has come out to fight with you.” And he returned and sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10“Thus you shall say to Hezekiah, the king of Judah, saying, ‘Do not let your God, in whom you are trusting, deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11Behold, you, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all of the lands by destroying them. So you, will you be delivered? 12Did the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed deliver them, Gozan or Haran or Rezeph or the sons of Eden who {were} in Tel Assar? 13Where {is} the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad or the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”

14And Hezekiah took the writings from the hand of the messengers, and he read them. And he went up {to} the house of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out to the face of Yahweh. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the face of Yahweh and said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, sitting {above} the cherubim, you {are} he, God, you alone, over all of the kingdoms of the earth. You, you made the heavens and the earth. 16Incline your ear, Yahweh, and hear. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see. And hear the words of Sennacherib {by} which he has sent it to taunt the living God. 17Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their land. 18And they have put their gods in the fire, for they {are} not gods, but rather the work of the hands of man, wood and stone, and they have destroyed them. 19And now, Yahweh our God, please save us from his hand, so that all of the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Yahweh, {are} God, you alone.”

20And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘What you have prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, I have heard.’ 21This {is} the word that Yahweh has spoken about him. ‘The virgin, the daughter of Zion, despises you, she derides you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes a head after you. 22Whom have you mocked and taunted? And against whom have you raised a voice and lifted your eyes upward? Against the Holy {One} of Israel! 23By the hand of your messengers you mocked the Lord and said, “With the multitude of my chariotry, I, I went up {to} the height of the mountains, the recesses of Lebanon. And I cut down the heights of its cedars, the choicest of its cypress trees, that I might enter the lodging place of its end, the forest of its garden. 24I, I dug, and I drank foreign waters. And with the sole of my feet I will dry up all of the streams of Matsor.”

25Have you not heard? From long ago, I did it; from days of antiquity, I formed it. Now I have brought it, that you should be for devastating fortified cities {into} ruined heaps. 26And their dwellers {are} short of hand; they feel dismay and feel shame. They are vegetation of the field or green of herb; grass of roofs, blasting to the face of growing up. 27But I know your dwelling and your going out and your coming in and your raging against me. 28Because of your raging against me, and your arrogance has come up into my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your lips, and I will make you return on the way by which you came.’

29And this {will be} the sign for you. This year, you will eat wild grain, and in the second year, {its} offspring. But in the third year, sow and harvest, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 30And the remaining survival of the house of Judah will again {take} root downward, and it will make fruit upward. 31For a remnant will come out from Jerusalem, and a survival from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahweh will do this. 32Therefore, thus says Yahweh about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not come to this city, and he will not shoot an arrow there, and he will not come before it {with} a shield, and he will not pour out a mound against it. 33He will return by the way on which he came, and he will not come to this city.’ The declaration of Yahweh. 34‘For I will cover over this city to save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’”

35And it happened in that night that the angel of Yahweh went out and struck in the camp of Assyria 185,000. And they arose early in the morning and behold, all of them {were} dead corpses. 36And he departed and went, and Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, returned and stayed in Nineveh. 37And it happened, he was prostrating himself {in} the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword, and they, they escaped {to} the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

201In those days, Hezekiah was sick to dying. And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet, came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Command regarding your house, for you are dying, and you will not live.’” 2And he turned his face to the wall, and he prayed to Yahweh, saying, 3“Oh Yahweh, please remember that I have walked about to your face in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and I have done good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept a great weeping. 4And it happened, Isaiah had not gone out {of} the middle courtyard, and the word of Yahweh was to him, saying, 5“Return, and you shall say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your weeping. Behold me, healing you. On the third day, you will go up {to} the house of Yahweh. 6And I will add 15 years to your days, and I will deliver you and this city from the palm of the king of Assyria. And I will cover over this city for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”’” 7And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs.” And they brought {it}, and they put {it} on the sore, and he lived.

8Now Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What {is} the sign that Yahweh will heal me, that I will go up on the third day to the house of Yahweh?” 9And Isaiah said, “This {is} the sign for you from Yahweh that Yahweh will do the thing that he has spoken. The shadow has gone forward ten steps. If it shall go back ten steps?” 10And Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to stretch out ten steps. No, but let the shadow go backward ten steps.” 11And Isaiah the prophet called to Yahweh, and he made the shadow go back on the steps that it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz, backward ten steps.

12At that time, Berodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent writings and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was sick. 13And Hezekiah listened to them, and he showed them the whole house of his treasure, the silver and the gold and the spices and the fine oil and the house of his armor and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was not a thing that Hezekiah did not show them in his house or in all of his realm. 14And Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came from a distant land, from Babylon.” 15And he said, “What did they see in your house?” And Hezekiah said, “They saw everything that {is} in my house. There was not a thing in my treasuries that I did not show them.”

16And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh. 17‘Behold, days are coming when everything that {is} in your house and that your fathers have stored up to this day will be carried away to Babylon. A thing will not be left,’ says Yahweh. 18‘And they will take some of your sons who will come forth from you, whom you will beget, and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 19And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahweh that you have spoken {is} good.” For he said, “Is it not, if peace and stability will be in my days?” 20Now the rest of the matters of Hezekiah and all of his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 21And Hezekiah lay down with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

211Manasseh {was} a son of 12 years when he reigned, and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Hephzibah. 2And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like the abominations of the nations that Yahweh had driven out from the face of the sons of Israel. 3And he returned and built the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed. And he set up altars for Baal, and he made an Asherah, just as Ahab, the king of Israel, had done. And he prostrated himself to the whole army of the heavens, and he served them. 4And he built altars in the house of Yahweh, {about} which Yahweh had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my name.” 5And he built altars for the whole army of the heavens in the two courts of the house of Yahweh. 6And he made his son pass through the fire, and he practiced divination, and he observed signs, and he made a ritual pit and familiar spirits. He multiplied doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, making {him} angry. 7And he put the image of Asherah that he made in the house {about} which Yahweh had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8And I will not add to make the foot of Israel wander from the ground that I gave to their fathers if only they will take care to act according to all that I have commanded them and to all of the law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9But they were not careful, and Manasseh misled them to do more evil than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed from the face of the sons of Israel.

10And Yahweh spoke by the hand of his servants the prophets, saying, 11“Because Manasseh, the king of Judah, has done these evil abominations more than all that the Amorite did who {was} to his face, and he has also made Judah sin with his idols, 12therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Behold me, bringing disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that everyone hearing it, the two of his ears will tingle. 13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plumb line of the house of Ahab. And I will wipe Jerusalem away, just as one wipes a dish, he wipes {it} and turns {it} on its face. 14And I will abandon the remnant of my inheritance, and I will give them into the hand of their enemies. And they will become spoil and plunder for all of their enemies, 15because they have done evil in my eyes and they have been making me angry from the day that their fathers came out from Egypt and to this day.’”

16And Manasseh also poured out very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem mouth to mouth, besides his sin {by} which he made Judah sin by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 17Now the rest of the matters of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 18And Manasseh lay down with his fathers, and he was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son reigned in his place.

19Amon {was} a son of 22 years when he reigned, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 20And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, just as Manasseh his father had done. 21And he walked in every way that his father had walked. And he served the idols that his father had served, and he prostrated himself to them. 22And he abandoned Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and he did not walk in the way of Yahweh. 23And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and they killed the king in his house. 24But the people of the land struck all having conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son reign in his place. 25Now the rest of the matters of Amon that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 26And one buried him in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. And Josiah his son reigned in his place.

221Josiah {was} a son of 8 years when he reigned, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Yedidah, the daughter of Adaiah, from Bozkath. 2And he did right in the eyes of Yahweh, and he walked in every way of David his father, and he did not turn away, right or left.

3And it happened in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Yahweh, saying, 4“Go up to Hilkiah, the great priest, and he shall complete the silver having been brought {into} the house of Yahweh, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. 5And let them give it into the hand of the doers of the work, the ones appointed over the house of Yahweh. And they shall give it to the doers of the work that {is} in the house of Yahweh, to strengthen the damage of the house, 6to the craftsmen and to the builders and to the masons, and to buy wood and stones of hewing to strengthen the house.” 7However, the silver given to their hand shall not be reckoned with them, because they are acting in faithfulness.

8And Hilkiah the great priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found a scroll of the Law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it. 9And Shaphan the scribe went to the king, and he brought a word back {to} the king and said, “Your servants have poured out the silver found in the house, and they have given it into the hand of the doers of the work, the ones appointed {over} the house of Yahweh.” 10And Shaphan the scribe declared to the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given a scroll to me.” And Shaphan read it to the face of the king. 11And it happened when the king heard the words of the scroll of the Law that he tore his clothes. 12And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Akbor, the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe and Asaiah, the servant of the king, saying, 13“Go, seek Yahweh for me and for the people and for all of Judah concerning the words of this scroll having been found. For great {is} the heat of Yahweh, that which is kindled against us because our fathers did not listen to the words of this scroll, to act according to everything written concerning us.”

14And Hilkiah the priest went with Ahikam and Akbor and Shaphan and Asaiah to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the clothes (now she was living in Jerusalem, in the Second Quarter), and they spoke to her. 15And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to me, 16“Thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold me, bringing disaster to this place and upon its inhabitants, all of the words of the scroll that the king of Judah has read, 17because they abandoned me and burned incense to other gods, so that they made me angry by all of the works of their hands. So my heat is kindled against this place, and it will not extinguish.’”’ 18But to the king of Judah, the one having sent you to seek Yahweh, thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, {about} the words that you heard, 19“Because your heart is tender and you humbled yourself from the face of Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its dwellers, that they would become a horror and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept to my face, now I, I have also heard.” The declaration of Yahweh. 20“Therefore, behold me, gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your graves in peace, and your eyes will not see all of the disaster that I am bringing upon this place.”’” And they brought a word back {to} the king.

231And the king sent, and they gathered to him all of the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2And the king went up {to} the house of Yahweh, and every man of Judah and all of the dwellers of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets, and all of the people from small and to great. And he read in their ears all of the words of the scroll of the covenant having been found in the house of Yahweh. 3And the king stood by the pillar, and he cut a covenant to the face of Yahweh to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all of the heart and with all of the soul, to raise up the words of this covenant written on that scroll. And all of the people stood in the covenant.

4And the king commanded Hilkiah the great priest and the priests of the second rank and the keepers of the threshold to bring out from the temple of Yahweh all of the vessels having been made for Baal and for Asherah and for the whole army of the heavens. And he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and he brought their ashes {to} Bethel. 5And he made cease the idol-priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed that one should burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and the environs of Jerusalem and the ones burning incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to the whole army of the heavens. 6And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh to outside of Jerusalem, to the Valley of Kidron, and he burned it in the Valley of Kidron. And he crushed {it} to dust, and he threw its dust over the grave of the sons of the people. 7And he tore down the houses of the cultic prostitutes that {were} by the house of Yahweh, where women were weaving houses there for Asherah. 8And he brought all of the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense there, from Geba to Beersheba. And he tore down the high places of the gates that {were at} the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the commander of the city, which {was} on the left of a man at the gate of the city. 9(However, the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem. Rather, they ate unleavened bread in the midst of their brothers.) 10And he defiled Topheth, which {was} in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so that a man could not make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. 11And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun from the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which {was} in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12And the king tore down the altars that {were} on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, that the kings of Judah had made and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh. And he ran from there and threw their dust into the Valley of Kidron. 13And the king defiled the high places that {were} on the face of Jerusalem, which {were} on the right of the Mount of Destruction, which Solomon, the king of Israel, had built for Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom, the abomination of the sons of Ammon. 14And he shattered the pillars, and he cut down the Asherahs, and he filled their place with bones of man.

15And also the altar that {was} in Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, made, who caused Israel to sin, both that altar and the high place, he tore down, and he burned the high place. He crushed {them} to dust, and he burned the Asherah. 16And Josiah turned and saw the graves that {were} there on the mountain, and he sent and took bones from the graves and burned {them} on the altar. So he defiled it, according to the word of Yahweh that the man of God proclaimed who had proclaimed these things. 17And he said, “What {is} this monument that I am seeing?” And the men of the city said to him, “The grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel.” 18And he said, “Let him stay. Let not a man disturb his bones.” And they rescued his bones, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19And Josiah also removed all of the houses of the high places that {were} in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made, provoking anger. And he did to them like all of the works that he had done in Bethel. 20And he sacrificed on the altars all of the priests of the high places who {were} there, and he burned bones of man on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

21And the king commanded all of the people, saying, “Do Passover for Yahweh your God, as written in this scroll of the covenant.” 22Now like this Passover was not done from the days of the judges who judged Israel or all of the days of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah, 23except in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was done for Yahweh in Jerusalem.

24And Josiah also removed the ritual pits and the familiar spirits and the teraphim and the idols and all of the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, in order to raise up the words of the Law written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. 25And to his face a king was not like him, who returned to Yahweh with all of his heart and with all of his soul and with all of his strength, according to all of the Law of Moses. And after him, one has not arisen like him.

26However, Yahweh did not turn from the great burning of his nose {with} which his nose burned against Judah because of all of the provocations {by} which Manasseh had provoked him. 27And Yahweh had said, “I will also remove Judah away from my face, just as I removed Israel. And I will reject this city that I chose, Jerusalem, and the house {about} which I said, ‘My name will be there.’”

28Now the rest of the matters of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 29In his days, Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, went up to the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. And King Josiah went to meet him, but he killed him at Megiddo when he saw him. 30And his servants caused him to ride dead from Megiddo and brought him {to} Jerusalem. And they buried him in his grave. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and they anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

31Jehoahaz {was} a son of 23 years when he reigned, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 32And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that his fathers had done. 33And Pharaoh Neco bound him in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, from reigning in Jerusalem. And he imposed tribute on the land, 100 kikkars of silver and a kikkar of gold. 34And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim, the son of Josiah, reign in place of Josiah his father, and he changed his name {to} Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz, and he came {to} Egypt, and he died there. 35And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he assessed the land to give the silver according to the mouth of Pharoah. {From} a man according to his assessment, he exacted the silver and the gold {from} the people of the land to give to Pharoah Neco.

36Jehoiakim {was} a son of 25 years when he reigned, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah. 37And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that his fathers had done.

241In his days, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came up, and Jehoiakim was a servant to him {for} three years. Then he returned and rebelled against him. 2And Yahweh sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans and raiding bands of Aram and raiding bands of Moab and raiding bands of the sons of Ammon. And he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Yahweh that he had spoken by the hand of his servants the prophets. 3Surely at the mouth of Yahweh it was against Judah, to remove {them} away from his face for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did, 4and also {for} the innocent blood that he poured out, for he had filled Jerusalem {with} innocent blood, and Yahweh was not willing to forgive. 5Now the rest of the matters of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? 6And Jehoiakim lay down with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7And the king of Egypt did not resume again to go out from his land, because the king of Babylon took all that had been to the king of Egypt from the wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

8Jehoiachin {was} a son of 18 years when he reigned, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And the name of his mother {was} Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. 9And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that his father had done.

10At that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came up {to} Jerusalem, and the city entered into siege. 11And Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came to the city while his servants were besieging against it. 12And Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his commanders and his eunuchs. And the king of Babylon took him in the year of eight to his reigning. 13And he brought out from there all of the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the treasuries of the house of the king, and he cut off all of the furnishings of gold that Solomon, the king of Israel, had made for the temple of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had spoken. 14And he exiled all of Jerusalem and all of the commanders and all of the mighty of valor, exiling 10,000 and every craftsman and smith. One was not left except the poor of the people of the land. 15And he exiled Jehoiachin to Babylon. And the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the leaders of the land he led {into} exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 16and all of the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsman and the smith, 1,000, the whole, the mighty, the makers of war. And the king of Babylon brought them {into} exile to Babylon. 17And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, his uncle, king in his place, and he changed his name {to} Zedekiah.

18Zedekiah {was} a son of 21 years when he reigned, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother {was} Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 19And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that Jehoiakim had done. 20For because of the nose of Yahweh it was against Jerusalem and against Judah, until he cast them away from his face. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

251And it happened in the ninth year of his reigning, in the tenth month, on ten of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came, he and all of his army, against Jerusalem. And he encamped against it, and they built a siege mound against it all around. 2And the city entered into siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3On nine of the month, then famine seized the city, and {there} was no bread for the people of the land. 4And the city was breached, and all of the men of war at night the way of the gate between the two walls that {were} near the garden of the king (now the Chaldeans {were} against the city all around), and he went the way of the Arabah. 5But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. And all of his army were scattered away from him. 6And they captured the king, and they brought him up to the king of Babylon, to Riblah. And they pronounced judgment on him. 7And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah to his eyes. And he blinded the eyes of Zedikiah, and he bound him with two bronze chains, and he brought him {to} Babylon.

8And in the fifth month, on seven of the month, it {was} the year of 19, the year to King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, the servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9And he burned the house of Yahweh and the house of the king. And all of the houses of Jerusalem and every house of the great, he burned with fire. 10And all of the army of the Chaldeans who {were with} the chief of the guards tore down the walls of Jerusalem all around. 11But the rest of the people left in the city and the ones having fallen, who had fallen to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, exiled. 12But the chief of the guards let some of the poor of the land remain as vinedressers and as farmers.

13And the Chaldeans broke up the pillars of bronze that {were in} the house of Yahweh and the stands and the sea of bronze that {were} in the house of Yahweh, and they carried their bronze to Babylon. 14And they took the pots and the shovels and the trimmers and the palms and all of the articles of bronze with which they served. 15And the chief of the guards took the firepans and the bowls that {were} gold gold and that {were} silver silver. 16The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh, a weight was not for the bronze of all of these vessels. 17The height of one pillar {was} 18 cubits, and the capital on it {was} bronze. And the height of the capital {was} three cubits, and a network and pomegranates {were} on the capital all around. The whole {was} bronze. And like these {were} to the second pillar, with a network.

18And the chief of the guards took Seraiah, the high priest, and Zephaniah, the priest of the second rank, and the three guards of the threshold. 19And from the city he took a eunuch because he {was} the overseer over the men of war and five men from the seers of the face of the king who were found in the city and the scribe, the commander of the army, the one mustering the people of the land and 60 men from the people of the land found in the city. 20And Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, took them and made them go to the king of Babylon, to Riblah. 21And the king of Babylon struck them and killed them in Riblah in the land of Hamath. And Judah went into exile away from its land.

22Now {as for} the people having been left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, left, he appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over them. 23And all of the captains of the armies, they and the men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, and they came to Gedaliah {at} Mizpah, and Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah, the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.” 25But it happened in the seventh month, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, from the seed of the kingdom, came, and ten men with him, and he struck Gedaliah, and he died, and the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26Then all of the people from small and to great and the captains of the armies arose and went {to} Egypt, for they were afraid from the face of the Chaldeans.

27And it happened in year 37 of the exile of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, in month 12, on 27 of the month, Evil Merodach, the king of Babylon, in the year of his reigning, lifted the head of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, from the house of imprisonment. 28And he spoke good {things} to him, and he put his seat above the seat of the kings who {were} with him in Babylon. 29And he changed the clothes of his imprisonment, and he ate bread regularly to his face all of the days of his life. 30And his allowance, a continual allowance, was given to him from the king, a matter of a day in its day, all of the days of his life.