Bible in 90 Days

Pekah Reigns over Israel

²⁷ In ^(A)the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, ^(B)Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned twenty years. ²⁸ And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel, ^[a](C)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and ^(D)he took them away into exile to Assyria. ³⁰ And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah and struck him and put him to death and became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. ³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Jotham Reigns over Judah

³² In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of ^[b]Uzziah king of Judah became king. ^33 (E)He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. ^34 (F)And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ Only ^(G)the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ^(H)He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh. ³⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ³⁷ In those days ^(I)Yahweh began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. ³⁸ And Jotham slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son became king in his place.

Ahaz Reigns over Judah

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, ^(J)Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. ^2 (K)Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of Yahweh his God, as David his father had done. ³ But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, ^(L)and even made his son pass through the fire, ^(M)according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel. ⁴ He also ^(N)sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

⁵ Then ^(O)Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war; and they besieged Ahaz, ^(P)but could not ^[c]overcome him. ⁶ At that time Rezin king of Aram restored ^(Q)Elath for Aram and cleared the Judeans out of ^[d]Elath entirely; and the ^[e]Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day.

Ahaz Sends for Help from Assyria

^7 (R)So Ahaz sent messengers to ^(S)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the ^[f]hand of the king of Aram and from the ^[g]hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” ^8 (T)Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a gift to the king of Assyria. ^9 (U)So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and ^(V)seized it and took the people of it away into exile to ^(W)Kir, and put Rezin to death.

Ahaz Has Urijah Build an Altar

¹⁰ Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet ^(X)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria and saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to ^(Y)Urijah the priest the likeness of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. ¹¹ So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made it, ^[h]before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus. ¹² So the king came from Damascus, and the king saw the altar; then ^(Z)the king drew near the altar and ^[i]made offerings on it, ¹³ and offered his burnt offering and his meal offering up in smoke, and poured his drink offering and splashed the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. ^14 (AA)Now as for the bronze altar, which was before Yahweh, ^[j]he drew it away from the front of the house, from between ^(AB)his altar and the house of Yahweh, and he put it on the north side of his altar. ¹⁵ Then King Ahaz ^[k]commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar offer up in smoke ^(AC)the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their grain offering and their drink offerings; and splash on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But ^(AD)the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” ¹⁶ So Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷ Then King Ahaz ^(AE)cut off the borders of the stands and removed the laver from them; he also ^(AF)took down the sea from the bronze oxen which were under it and put it on a pavement of stone. ¹⁸ And the covered way for the sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entry of the king, he removed from the house of Yahweh because of the king of Assyria.

Hezekiah Reigns over Judah

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written ^(AG)in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁰ So ^(AH)Ahaz slept with his fathers and ^(AI)was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

Hoshea Reigns over Israel

17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, ^(AJ)Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned nine years. ² And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him. ^3 (AK)Shalmaneser king of Assyria went up ^(AL)against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. ⁴ But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.

⁵ Then the king of Assyria went up against the whole land and he went up to ^(AM)Samaria and besieged it three years.

Israel Exiled to Assyria

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(AN)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(AO)took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and ^(AP)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of ^(AQ)Gozan, and ^(AR)in the cities of the Medes.

Israel Rejects Yahweh

⁷ Now ^(AS)this happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God—^(AT)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt—^(AU)and they had ^[l]feared other gods ⁸ and ^(AV)walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel, and in the statutes ^(AW)of the kings of Israel which they had made. ⁹ And the sons of Israel ^[m]did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from ^(AX)watchtower to fortified city. ^10 (AY)And they set for themselves sacred pillars and ^[n](AZ)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, ¹¹ and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger. ¹² And they served idols, ^(BA)concerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³ Yet ^(BB)Yahweh warned Israel and Judah ^(BC)by the hand of all His prophets and ^(BD)every seer, saying, “^(BE)Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My slaves the prophets.” ¹⁴ However, they did not listen, but ^(BF)stiffened their neck ^[o]like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God. ^15 (BG)They also rejected His statutes and ^(BH)His covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^(BI)they followed vanity and ^(BJ)became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which ^(BK)Yahweh had commanded them not to do like them. ¹⁶ And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^(BL)two calves, and ^(BM)made an ^[p]Asherah and ^(BN)worshiped all the host of heaven and ^(BO)served Baal. ¹⁷ Then ^(BP)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^(BQ)practiced divination and omens, and ^(BR)sold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. ¹⁸ So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and ^(BS)caused them to depart from His ^[q]presence; ^(BT)none was left except the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Also ^(BU)Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but ^(BV)walked in the statutes ^[r]which Israel had made. ²⁰ So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and ^(BW)gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them ^[s]from His presence.

²¹ When ^(BX)He had torn Israel from the house of David, ^(BY)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^(BZ)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh and made them sin a great sin. ²² And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them ^23 (CA)until Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, ^(CB)as He spoke through all His slaves the prophets. ^(CC)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Exiled Men in the Cities of Samaria

^24 (CD)And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from ^[t](CE)Avva and from ^(CF)Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. ²⁵ Now it happened at the beginning of their settlement there, that they ^(CG)did not fear Yahweh; therefore Yahweh sent lions among them which were killing them. ²⁶ So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken away into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are putting them to death because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.”

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you took away into ^[u]exile and let ^[v]him go and live there; and let him instruct them the custom of the god of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had taken away into exile from Samaria came and settled at Bethel, and instructed them how they should fear Yahweh.

²⁹ But each nation was still making gods of its own and put them ^(CH)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, each nation in their cities in which they lived. ^30 (CI)And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and ^(CJ)the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to ^(CK)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the ^(CL)Sepharvaim. ^32 (CM)They were also fearing Yahweh and ^[w](CN)appointed from among all of themselves priests of the high places, and they were acting for them in the houses of the high places. ³³ They were fearing Yahweh and serving their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken away into exile.

³⁴ To this day they are acting according to the earlier customs: they are not fearing Yahweh; they are not acting according to their statutes or their judgments or the law, or the commandment which Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, ^(CO)whom He named Israel; ³⁵ with whom Yahweh cut a covenant and commanded them, saying, “^(CP)You shall not fear other gods, nor ^(CQ)worship them nor ^(CR)serve them nor sacrifice to them. ³⁶ But Yahweh, ^(CS)who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with ^(CT)an outstretched arm, ^(CU)Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall sacrifice. ³⁷ And the statutes and the judgments and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you, ^(CV)you shall be careful to do forever; and you shall not fear other gods. ³⁸ And the covenant that I have cut with you, ^(CW)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. ³⁹ But Yahweh your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ However, they did not listen, but they were acting according to their earlier custom. ^41 (CX)So while these nations were fearing Yahweh, they also were serving their graven images; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers acted, so they are acting this way to this day.

Hezekiah Reigns over Judah

18 Now it happened ^(CY)in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that ^(CZ)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. ² He was ^(DA)twenty-five years old when he became king; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. ^3 (DB)And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done. ^4 (DC)He took away the high places and shattered the sacred pillars and cut down the ^[x]Asherah. And he broke in pieces ^(DD)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel were burning incense to it; and it was called ^[y]Nehushtan. ^5 (DE)He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; ^(DF)so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. ⁶ So he ^(DG)clung to Yahweh; he did not turn away from following Him, but kept His commandments, which Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Hezekiah Prospers

^7 (DH)And Yahweh was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And ^(DI)he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ^8 (DJ)He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from ^(DK)watchtower to fortified city.

⁹ Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, ^(DL)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. ¹⁰ And at the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was ^(DM)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. ¹¹ Then the king of Assyria took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in ^(DN)Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they ^(DO)did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, but trespassed against His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.

Sennacherib Comes Up Against Judah

^13 (DP)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. ¹⁴ Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “^(DQ)I have done wrong. Turn away from me; whatever penalty you give to me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria set a penalty on Hezekiah king of Judah ^[z]three hundred talents of silver and ^[aa]thirty talents of gold. ^15 (DR)Thus Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house. ¹⁶ At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of Yahweh and from the doorposts, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent ^(DS)Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a heavy military force to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the ^(DT)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the ^[ab]fuller’s field. ¹⁸ Then they called to the king, and ^(DU)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and ^(DV)Shebnah the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.

¹⁹ Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “^(DW)What is this trust that you have? ²⁰ You say (but they are ^[ac]only empty words), ‘I have counsel and might for the war.’ Now on whom do you trust, ^(DX)that you have rebelled against me? ²¹ Now behold, you ^[ad](DY)trust in the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his ^[ae]hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. ²² But if you say to me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ is it not He whose high places and ^(DZ)whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? ²³ So now, ^[af]come, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to give riders for them. ²⁴ How then can you ^[ag]turn away one ^[ah]official of the least of my master’s servants, and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ²⁵ So now, have I come up ^[ai]without the approval of Yahweh against this place to make it a ruin? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land and make it a ruin.’”’”

²⁶ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we ^[aj]understand it; and do not speak with us in ^[ak](EA)Judean in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” ²⁷ But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

²⁸ Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean, ^[al]saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ Thus says the king, ‘^(EB)Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from ^[am]his hand; ³⁰ and do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, “^[an]Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat ^(EC)each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, ³² until I come and take you away ^(ED)to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey, that you may live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” ^33 (EE)Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ^34 (EF)Where are the gods of Hamath and ^(EG)Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and ^[ao](EH)Ivvah? When have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands ^[ap]have delivered their land from my hand, ^(EI)that Yahweh would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’”

³⁶ But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” ³⁷ Then ^(EJ)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah ^(EK)with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

Isaiah Tells Hezekiah Not to Be Afraid

19 ^(EL)Now it happened that when King Hezekiah heard it, he ^(EM)tore his clothes, ^(EN)covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of Yahweh. ² Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, ^(EO)covered with sackcloth, to ^(EP)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. ³ And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, reproof, and rejection; for children have come to the point of breaking forth, but there is no strength to give birth. ^4 (EQ)Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^(ER)to ^[aq]reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore, lift up a prayer for ^(ES)the remnant that is left.’” ⁵ So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶ And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the ^(ET)young men of the king of Assyria ^(EU)have blasphemed Me. ⁷ Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that ^(EV)he will hear a report and return to his own land. And ^(EW)I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

Sennacherib Deceives Hezekiah

⁸ Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^(EX)Libnah, for he had heard that ^[ar]the king had set out from ^(EY)Lachish. ⁹ Then he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of ^[as]Ethiopia, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying, ¹⁰ “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of ^[at]Judah, ‘Do not ^(EZ)let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “^(FA)Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ¹¹ Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction. So will you be delivered? ^12 (FB)Did the gods of ^[au]those nations which my fathers brought to ruin deliver them, even ^(FC)Gozan and ^(FD)Haran and Rezeph and ^(FE)the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? ^13 (FF)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

¹⁴ Then ^(FG)Hezekiah took the ^[av]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of Yahweh and ^[aw]spread it out before Yahweh. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^(FH)who is ^[ax]enthroned above the cherubim, ^(FI)You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ^16 (FJ)Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; ^(FK)open Your eyes, O Yahweh, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, who sent them ^(FL)to ^[ay]reproach the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands ¹⁸ and have put their gods into the fire, ^(FM)for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. ¹⁹ But now, O Yahweh our God, I pray, save us from his hand ^(FN)that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O ^(FO)Yahweh, are God.”

Isaiah Speaks of Sennacherib’s Fall

²⁰ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, ^(FP)I have heard you.’ ²¹ This is the word that Yahweh has spoken against him:

²⁹ ‘Then this shall be ^(GE)the sign for you: ^[bh]you will eat this year what grows of its own accord, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. ^30 (GF)And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. ³¹ For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and ^(GG)out of Mount Zion ^[bi]survivors. ^(GH)The zeal of ^[bj]Yahweh will do this.

³² ‘Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the king of Assyria, “^(GI)He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. ^33 (GJ)By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares Yahweh. ³⁴ ‘^(GK)Indeed I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and ^(GL)for My servant David’s sake.’”

^35 (GM)Now it happened that night, that the angel of Yahweh went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And the ^[bk]men arose early in the morning, and behold, all of ^[bl]them were dead bodies. ³⁶ So ^(GN)Sennacherib king of Assyria set out and went away and returned home and lived at ^(GO)Nineveh. ³⁷ Now it happened that as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, ^[bm](GP)Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into ^(GQ)the land of Ararat. And ^(GR)Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

Hezekiah’s Illness and Restoration

20 ^(GS)In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘^(GT)Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” ² Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, saying, ³ “^(GU)Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, ^(GV)how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And ^(GW)Hezekiah wept ^[bn]greatly. ⁴ Now it happened that Isaiah had not gone out of the middle court, and the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, ⁵ “Return and say to ^(GX)Hezekiah the ruler of My people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, “^(GY)I have heard your prayer, ^(GZ)I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of Yahweh. ⁶ And I will add fifteen years to your ^[bo]life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and ^(HA)I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”’” ⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laid it on the boil, and he was restored to life.

⁸ Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of Yahweh the third day?” ⁹ And Isaiah said, “^(HB)This shall be the sign to you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or turn back ten steps?” ¹⁰ So ^[bp]Hezekiah ^[bq]answered, “It is easy for the shadow to stretch forward ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.” ¹¹ Isaiah the prophet cried to Yahweh, and ^(HC)He turned the shadow on the ^[br]stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the ^[bs]stairway of Ahaz.

Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures

^12 (HD)At that time ^[bt]Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ And Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them ^(HE)all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the good oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. ¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” ¹⁵ And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah said, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh. ¹⁷ ‘Behold, the days are coming when ^(HF)all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have treasured up to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says Yahweh. ¹⁸ ‘And some ^(HG)of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become ^(HH)officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” ¹⁹ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahweh which you have spoken is ^(HI)good.” For he said, “Will it not be good, if there will be peace and truth in my days?”

^20 (HJ)Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he ^(HK)made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^21 (HL)So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son became king in his place.

Manasseh Reigns over Judah

21 ^(HM)Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. ^2 (HN)And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(HO)according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh dispossessed before the sons of Israel. ³ Indeed, ^(HP)he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and ^(HQ)he erected altars for Baal and made an ^[bu]Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and ^(HR)worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. ^4 (HS)And he built altars in the house of Yahweh, of which Yahweh had said, “^(HT)In Jerusalem I will put My name.” ⁵ Indeed, he built altars for ^(HU)all the host of heaven in ^(HV)the two courts of the house of Yahweh. ^6 (HW)He even made his son pass through the fire, ^(HX)practiced soothsaying and interpreted omens, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much that was evil in the sight of Yahweh provoking Him to anger. ⁷ Then ^(HY)he put the graven image of Asherah, which he had made, in the house of which Yahweh had said to David and to Solomon his son, “^(HZ)In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. ⁸ And I ^(IA)will not make the foot of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” ⁹ But they did not listen, and Manasseh ^(IB)led them astray in order to do more evil than the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Yahweh Brings Calamity on Israel

¹⁰ Then Yahweh spoke by the hand of His slaves the prophets, saying, ¹¹ “^(IC)Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations—^(ID)he has done evil more than all the Amorites did who were before him—and ^(IE)has also made Judah sin ^(IF)with his idols, ¹² therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, ^(IG)both his ears will tingle. ^13 (IH)And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the level of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish—he wipes it and turns it upside down. ¹⁴ And I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies; ¹⁵ because they have done what is evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’”

^16 (II)Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin ^(IJ)with which he made Judah sin, in doing what is evil in the sight of Yahweh. ^17 (IK)Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin which he sinned, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^18 (IL)And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, ^(IM)in the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son became king in his place.

Amon Reigns over Judah

^19 (IN)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰ And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(IO)as Manasseh his father had done. ²¹ And he walked in all the way that his father had walked and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them. ²² So ^(IP)he forsook Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of Yahweh. ^23 (IQ)Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his own house. ²⁴ Then ^(IR)the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. ²⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁶ And he was buried in his grave ^(IS)in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in his place.

Josiah Reigns over Judah

22 ^(IT)Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of ^(IU)Bozkath. ² And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh and walked in all the way of his father David and did not ^(IV)turn aside to the right or to the left.

³ Now it happened ^(IW)in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of Yahweh saying, ⁴ “^(IX)Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may ^[bv]count the money brought into the house of Yahweh which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. ^5 (IY)And let them give it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh, and let them give it to those who do the work, who are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the ^[bw]damages of the house, ⁶ to the craftsmen and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house. ⁷ Only ^(IZ)no accounting shall be made with them for the money given into their hands, for they deal faithfully.”

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

⁸ Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “^(JA)I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. ⁹ Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and responded to the king with a word and said, “Your servants have poured out the money that was found in the house and have given it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh.” ¹⁰ Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

¹¹ Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the book of the law, ^(JB)he tore his clothes. ¹² Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, ^(JC)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[bx](JD)Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ¹³ “Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and the people and all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found, for ^(JE)great is the wrath of Yahweh which is set aflame against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

Huldah Says Yahweh Is Bringing Evil

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^[by](JF)Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the ^(JG)Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. ¹⁵ And 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, I ^(JH)am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ^17 (JI)Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath is set aflame against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ ¹⁸ But to ^(JJ)the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, ^19 (JK)because your heart was soft and ^(JL)you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become ^(JM)an object of horror, and a ^(JN)curse, and you have ^(JO)torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh. ²⁰ “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and ^(JP)you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah Reads the Book of the Covenant

23 ^(JQ)Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ² And the king went up to the house of Yahweh and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and ^(JR)he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant ^(JS)which was found in the house of Yahweh. ^3 (JT)Then the king stood by the pillar and cut a covenant before Yahweh, ^(JU)to walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to establish the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people ^[bz]entered into the covenant.

⁴ Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and ^(JV)the priests of the second order and the ^[ca]doorkeepers, ^(JW)to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, for ^[cb]Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and ^(JX)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁵ And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the ^(JY)host of heaven. ⁶ And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ^(JZ)ground it to dust, and ^(KA)threw its dust on the graves of the ^[cc]common people. ⁷ He also tore down the houses of the ^(KB)male cult prostitutes which were in the house of Yahweh, where ^(KC)the women were weaving ^[cd]hangings for the Asherah. ⁸ Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from ^(KD)Geba to Beersheba; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. ⁹ Nevertheless ^(KE)the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. ^10 (KF)He also defiled ^[ce]Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, ^(KG)that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for ^(KH)Molech. ¹¹ And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the ^(KI)sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. ^12 (KJ)Also, the altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and ^(KK)the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, the king tore down; and he ^[cf]crushed them there and ^(KL)threw their dust into the brook Kidron. ¹³ And the high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of ^(KM)the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for ^(KN)Ashtoreth the detestable idol of the Sidonians, and for ^(KO)Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. ^14 (KP)And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and ^(KQ)filled their places with human bones.

¹⁵ Furthermore, ^(KR)the altar that was at Bethel and the ^(KS)high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he ^[cg](KT)demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. ¹⁶ Then Josiah turned, and he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it ^(KU)according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. ¹⁷ Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “^(KV)It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they ^[ch]left his bones undisturbed ^(KW)with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. ¹⁹ And also all the houses of the high places which were ^(KX)in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking ^[ci]Yahweh to anger, Josiah removed; and he did to them ^[cj]just as he had done in Bethel. ²⁰ And all the priests of the high places who were there ^(KY)he ^[ck]slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover

²¹ Then the king commanded all the people saying, “^(KZ)Celebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God ^(LA)as it is written in this book of the covenant.” ^22 (LB)For such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to Yahweh in Jerusalem.

²⁴ Moreover, ^(LC)the mediums and the spiritists and the ^(LD)teraphim and ^(LE)the idols and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah purged in order ^(LF)that he might ^[cl]establish the words of the law which were written ^(LG)in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. ²⁵ And before him there was no king ^(LH)like him who turned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

²⁶ However, Yahweh did not turn from His great burning anger, His anger which burned against Judah, ^(LI)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him to anger. ²⁷ And Yahweh said, “I will remove Judah also from My presence, ^(LJ)as I have removed Israel. And ^(LK)I will reject Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the ^[cm]house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”

Jehoahaz Reigns Over Judah

²⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^29 (LL)In his days ^(LM)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he put him to death at ^(LN)Megiddo. ^30 (LO)And his servants drove ^[cn]his body in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. ^(LP)Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

Jehoahaz’s Reign and Imprisonment

^31 (LQ)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^(LR)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(LS)according to all that his fathers had done. ^33 (LT)And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at ^(LU)Riblah in the land of ^(LV)Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundred ^[co]talents of silver and one talent of gold.

Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh

³⁴ Then Pharaoh Neco made ^(LW)Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father and ^(LX)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and ^[cp](LY)brought him to Egypt, and he died there. ³⁵ So Jehoiakim ^(LZ)gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the ^[cq]command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

^36 (MA)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷ And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(MB)according to all that his fathers had done.

Jehoiakim Rebels Against Nebuchadnezzar

24 ^(MC)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. ² And Yahweh sent against him ^(MD)marauding bands of Chaldeans, ^(ME)marauding bands of Arameans, ^(MF)marauding bands of Moabites, and marauding bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, ^(MG)according to the word of Yahweh which He had spoken by the hand of His slaves the prophets. ^3 (MH)Surely at the ^[cr]command of Yahweh it came upon Judah, to remove them from His presence ^(MI)because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ⁴ and ^(MJ)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and Yahweh was not willing to pardon. ⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Jehoiachin Reigns over Judah

⁶ So ^(MK)Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. ^7 (ML)And the king of Egypt did not go out of his land again, ^(MM)for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from ^(MN)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

^8 (MO)Jehoiachin was ^(MP)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(MQ)according to all that his father had done.

Judah Exiled to Babylon

¹⁰ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. ^12 (MR)Then Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his commanders and his officials. So ^(MS)the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. ^13 (MT)And he brought out from there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king’s house, and ^(MU)cut in pieces all the vessels of gold ^(MV)which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had spoken. ¹⁴ Then ^(MW)he took away into exile all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the mighty men of valor, ^(MX)10,000 captives, and ^(MY)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None was left ^(MZ)except the poorest people of the land.

¹⁵ So ^(NA)he took Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ Now all the valiant men, ^(NB)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all mighty men who could wage war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Reigns over Judah

^17 (NC)Then the king of Babylon made ^[cs]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

^18 (ND)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^(NE)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^(NF)according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For ^(NG)through the anger of Yahweh this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And ^(NH)Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25 ^(NI)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ^(NJ)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his military force, against Jerusalem, and he camped against it and ^(NK)built a siege wall all around ^[ct]it. ² So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(NL)the famine was so strong in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ^4 (NM)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside ^(NN)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ^[cu]they went by way of the Arabah. ⁵ But the military force of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his military force was scattered from him. ⁶ Then ^(NO)they seized the king and ^(NP)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(NQ)Riblah, and they spoke their judgment on him. ^7 (NR)And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; then he ^(NS)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned

^8 (NT)Now on the seventh day of the ^(NU)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ^9 (NV)And he burned the house of Yahweh, ^(NW)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁰ So all the military force of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^(NX)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Then ^(NY)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the defectors who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took away into exile. ¹² But the captain of the guard left some of ^(NZ)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

^13 (OA)Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of Yahweh, and the stands and ^(OB)the bronze sea which were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans shattered and carried the ^[cv]bronze to Babylon. ^14 (OC)They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used to minister. ¹⁵ The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. ¹⁶ The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh—^(OD)the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ^17 (OE)The height of the one pillar was eighteen ^[cw]cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three ^[cx]cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network.

¹⁸ Then the captain of the guard took ^(OF)Seraiah the chief priest and ^(OG)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three ^[cy]doorkeepers of the temple. ¹⁹ And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and ^(OH)five ^[cz]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the ^[da]scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. ²⁰ And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and led them to the king of Babylon at ^(OI)Riblah. ²¹ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(OJ)So Judah went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Appointed Judah’s Governor

²² Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^(OK)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. ^23 (OL)Then all the commanders of the military forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor. So they came to Gedaliah to ^(OM)Mizpah, namely, 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. ²⁴ Then Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”

^25 (ON)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came ^[db]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died, along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ^26 (OO)Then all the people, both small and great, and the commanders of the military forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

^27 (OP)Now it happened in the thirty-seventh year of ^(OQ)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, ^(OR)lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; ²⁸ and he ^(OS)spoke to him good words, and he set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So ^[dc]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and ^[dd](OT)had his meals in ^[de]the king’s presence continually all the days of his life; ³⁰ and for his ^(OU)allowance, a continual allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.