And Solomon the son of David was strengthened
in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified
him exceedingly.
Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the
captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to
every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers.
So Solomon, and all the congregation with
him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the
tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of
the LORD had made in the wilderness.
But the ark of God had David brought up from
Kirjathjearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he
had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.
Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the
son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle
of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.
And Solomon went up thither to the brasen
altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the
congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.
In that night did God appear unto Solomon,
and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.
And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed
great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his
stead.
Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David
my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people
like the dust of the earth in multitude.
Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may
go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy
people, that is so great?
And God said to Solomon, Because this was in
thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor
the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but
hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge
my people, over whom I have made thee king:
Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee;
and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none
of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall
there any after thee have the like.
Then Solomon came from his journey to the
high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the
tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel.
And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen:
and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve
thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with
the king at Jerusalem.
And the king made silver and gold at
Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the
sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.
And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt,
and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a
price.
And they fetched up, and brought forth out
of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse
for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all
the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their
means.
And Solomon determined to build an house for
the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.
And Solomon told out threescore and ten
thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the
mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.
And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre,
saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him
cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with
me.
Behold, I build an house to the name of the
LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet
incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt
offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new
moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an
ordinance for ever to Israel.
And the house which I build is great: for
great is our God above all gods.
But who is able to build him an house, seeing
the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then,
that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice
before him?
Send me now therefore a man cunning to work
in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple,
and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning
men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my
father did provide.
Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and
algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill
to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with
thy servants,
Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for
the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great.
And, behold, I will give to thy servants,
the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten
wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand
baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.
Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in
writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his
people, he hath made thee king over them.
Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God
of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the
king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might
build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.
And now I have sent a cunning man, endued
with understanding, of Huram my father's,
The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan,
and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in
silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in
blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner
of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him,
with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy
father.
Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the
oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto
his servants:
And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much
as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea
to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.
And Solomon numbered all the strangers that
were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his
father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty
thousand and three thousand and six hundred.
And he set threescore and ten thousand of
them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers
in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to
set the people a work.
Then Solomon began to build the house of the
LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto
David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the
threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
And he began to build in the second day of
the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
Now these are the things wherein Solomon was
instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by
cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the
breadth twenty cubits.
And the porch that was in the front of the
house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house,
twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he
overlaid it within with pure gold.
And the greater house he cieled with fir
tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees
and chains.
And he garnished the house with precious
stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
He overlaid also the house, the beams, the
posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and
graved cherubims on the walls.
And he made the most holy house, the length
whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits,
and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine
gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels
of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
And in the most holy house he made two
cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
And the wings of the cherubims were twenty
cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching
to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five
cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
And one wing of the other cherub was five
cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was
five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.
The wings of these cherubims spread
themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and
their faces were inward.
And he made the vail of blue, and purple,
and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.
Also he made before the house two pillars of
thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top
of each of them was five cubits.
And he made chains, as in the oracle, and
put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred
pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
And he reared up the pillars before the
temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and
called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of
that on the left Boaz.
Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty
cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof,
and ten cubits the height thereof.
Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from
brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof;
and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
And under it was the similitude of oxen,
which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the
sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.
It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking
toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three
looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and
the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were
inward.
And the thickness of it was an handbreadth,
and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers
of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths.
He made also ten lavers, and put five on the
right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as
they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the
sea was for the priests to wash in.
And he made ten candlesticks of gold
according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the
right hand, and five on the left.
He made also ten tables, and placed them in
the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he
made an hundred basons of gold.
Furthermore he made the court of the priests,
and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the
doors of them with brass.
And he set the sea on the right side of the
east end, over against the south.
And Huram made the pots, and the shovels,
and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for
king Solomon for the house of God;
To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels,
and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the
two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on
the top of the pillars;
And four hundred pomegranates on the two
wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two
pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars.
He made also bases, and lavers made he upon
the bases;
One sea, and twelve oxen under it.
The pots also, and the shovels, and the
fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to
king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass.
In the plain of Jordan did the king cast
them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.
Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great
abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.
And Solomon made all the vessels that were
for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon
the shewbread was set;
Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps,
that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure
gold;
And the flowers, and the lamps, and the
tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold;
And the snuffers, and the basons, and the
spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house,
the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of
the house of the temple, were of gold.
Thus all the work that Solomon made for the
house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the
things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the
gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the
house of God.
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel,
and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the
children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the
covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled
themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh
month.
And all the elders of Israel came; and the
Levites took up the ark.
And they brought up the ark, and the
tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were
in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring
up.
Also king Solomon, and all the congregation
of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed
sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for
multitude.
And the priests brought in the ark of the
covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house,
into the most holy place, even under the wings of the
cherubims:
For the cherubims spread forth their wings
over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and
the staves thereof above.
And they drew out the staves of the ark, that
the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle;
but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.
There was nothing in the ark save the two
tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a
covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of
Egypt.
And it came to pass, when the priests were
come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present
were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:
Also the Levites which were the singers, all
of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their
brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and
psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with
them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)
It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and
singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and
thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the
trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the
LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that
then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the
LORD;
So that the priests could not stand to
minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had
filled the house of God.
Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he
would dwell in the thick darkness.
But I have built an house of habitation for
thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.
And the king turned his face, and blessed the
whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel
stood.
And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of
Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with
his mouth to my father David, saying,
Since the day that I brought forth my people
out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of
Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither
chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:
But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name
might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people
Israel.
Now it was in the heart of David my father to
build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
But the LORD said to David my father,
Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name,
thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:
Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the
house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he
shall build the house for my name.
The LORD therefore hath performed his word
that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my
father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised,
and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of
Israel.
And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the
covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of
Israel.
And he stood before the altar of the LORD in
the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth
his hands:
For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of
five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and
had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and
kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel,
and spread forth his hands toward heaven.
And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no
God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest
covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before
thee with all their hearts:
Thou which hast kept with thy servant David
my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy
mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this
day.
Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep
with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him,
saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the
throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way
to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.
Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word
be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.
But will God in very deed dwell with men on
the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain
thee; how much less this house which I have built!
Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy
servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto
the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
That thine eyes may be open upon this house
day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou
wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy
servant prayeth toward this place.
Hearken therefore unto the supplications of
thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward
this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven;
and when thou hearest, forgive.
If a man sin against his neighbour, and an
oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before
thine altar in this house;
Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and
judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his
way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving
him according to his righteousness.
And if thy people Israel be put to the worse
before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall
return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before
thee in this house;
Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive
the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land
which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.
When the heaven is shut up, and there is no
rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray
toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin,
when thou dost afflict them;
Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the
sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast
taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain
upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an
inheritance.
If there be dearth in the land, if there be
pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or
caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their
land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:
Then what prayer or what supplication soever
shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every
one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread
forth his hands in this house:
Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling
place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all
his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the
hearts of the children of men:)
That they may fear thee, to walk in thy
ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our
fathers.
Moreover concerning the stranger, which is
not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy
great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm;
if they come and pray in this house;
Then hear thou from the heavens, even from
thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger
calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy
name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that
this house which I have built is called by thy name.
If thy people go out to war against their
enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto
thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I
have built for thy name;
Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer
and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
If they sin against thee, (for there is no
man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver
them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives
unto a land far off or near;
Yet if they bethink themselves in the land
whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in
the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done
amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
If they return to thee with all their heart
and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither
they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which
thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast
chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
Then hear thou from the heavens, even from
thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and
maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned
against thee.
Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes
be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made
in this place.
Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy
resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests,
O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice
in goodness.
O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine
anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
Now when Solomon had made an end of praying,
the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and
the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.
And the priests could not enter into the
house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the
LORD's house.
And when all the children of Israel saw how
the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they
bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement,
and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for
his mercy endureth for ever.
Then the king and all the people offered
sacrifices before the LORD.
And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of
twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand
sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of
God.
And the priests waited on their offices: the
Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David
the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth
for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests
sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.
Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the
court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered
burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the
brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the
burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.
Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast
seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation,
from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.
And in the eighth day they made a solemn
assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and
the feast seven days.
And on the three and twentieth day of the
seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and
merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto
David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.
Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD,
and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to
make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he
prosperously effected.
And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night,
and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this
place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
If I shut up heaven that there be no rain,
or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send
pestilence among my people;
If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from
their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land.
Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears
attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
For now have I chosen and sanctified this
house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine
heart shall be there perpetually.
And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before
me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have
commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my
judgments;
Then will I stablish the throne of thy
kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father,
saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.
But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes
and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and
serve other gods, and worship them;
Then will I pluck them up by the roots out
of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have
sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make
it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
And this house, which is high, shall be an
astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say,
Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this
house?
And it shall be answered, Because they
forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out
of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped
them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon
them.
And it came to pass at the end of twenty
years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own
house,
That the cities which Huram had restored to
Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to
dwell there.
And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and
prevailed against it.
And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and
all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.
Also he built Bethhoron the upper, and
Bethhoron the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and
bars;
And Baalath, and all the store cities that
Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the
horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and
in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.
As for all the people that were left of the
Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites,
and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel,
But of their children, who were left after
them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them
did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day.
But of the children of Israel did Solomon
make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief
of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.
And these were the chief of king Solomon's
officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the
people.
And Solomon brought up the daughter of
Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built
for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David
king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of
the LORD hath come.
Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto
the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the
porch,
Even after a certain rate every day,
offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths,
and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the
year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of
weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
And he appointed, according to the order of
David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and
the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the
priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by
their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God
commanded.
And they departed not from the commandment
of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or
concerning the treasures.
Now all the work of Solomon was prepared
unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until
it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.
Then went Solomon to Eziongeber, and to
Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.
And Huram sent him by the hands of his
servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and
they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence
four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king
Solomon.
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame
of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at
Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices,
and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come
to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her
heart.
And Solomon told her all her questions: and
there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.
And when the queen of Sheba had seen the
wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
And the meat of his table, and the sitting of
his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their
apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by
which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more
spirit in her.
And she said to the king, It was a true
report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy
wisdom:
Howbeit I believed not their words, until I
came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the
greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the
fame that I heard.
Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy
servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy
wisdom.
Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted
in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God:
because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore
made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
And she gave the king an hundred and twenty
talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious
stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave
king Solomon.
And the servants also of Huram, and the
servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum
trees and precious stones.
And the king made of the algum trees
terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king's palace, and
harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen
before in the land of Judah.
And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba
all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had
brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own
land, she and her servants.
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon
in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of
gold;
Beside that which chapmen and merchants
brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country
brought gold and silver to Solomon.
And king Solomon made two hundred targets of
beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one
target.
And three hundred shields made he of beaten
gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the
king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
Moreover the king made a great throne of
ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
And there were six steps to the throne, with
a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays
on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the
stays:
And twelve lions stood there on the one side
and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in
any kingdom.
And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon
were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of
Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any
thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
For the king's ships went to Tarshish with
the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of
Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and
peacocks.
And king Solomon passed all the kings of the
earth in riches and wisdom.
And all the kings of the earth sought the
presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his
heart.
And they brought every man his present,
vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and
spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
And Solomon had four thousand stalls for
horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed
in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
And he reigned over all the kings from the
river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of
Egypt.
And the king made silver in Jerusalem as
stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in
the low plains in abundance.
And they brought unto Solomon horses out of
Egypt, and out of all lands.
Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first
and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet,
and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of
Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all
Israel forty years.
And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he
was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son
reigned in his stead.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem
were all Israel come to make him king.
And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son
of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he fled from the presence of
Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of
Egypt.
And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam
and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying,
Thy father made our yoke grievous: now
therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father,
and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve
thee.
And he said unto them, Come again unto me
after three days. And the people departed.
And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old
men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived,
saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this
people?
And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be
kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them,
they will be thy servants for ever.
But he forsook the counsel which the old men
gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up
with him, that stood before him.
And he said unto them, What advice give ye
that we may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me,
saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon
us?
And the young men that were brought up with
him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that
spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make
thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My
little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon
you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with
whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
So Jeroboam and all the people came to
Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to
me on the third day.
And the king answered them roughly; and
king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,
And answered them after the advice of the
young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add
thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise
you with scorpions.
So the king hearkened not unto the people:
for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word,
which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the
son of Nebat.
And when all Israel saw that the king would
not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What
portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son
of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to
thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents.
But as for the children of Israel that
dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was
over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with
stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to
his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
And Israel rebelled against the house of
David unto this day.
And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he
gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and
fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight
against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to
Rehoboam.
But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah
the man of God, saying,
Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king
of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor
fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for
this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD,
and returned from going against Jeroboam.
And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built
cities for defence in Judah.
He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and
Tekoa,
And Bethzur, and Shoco, and Adullam,
And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,
And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which
are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities.
And he fortified the strong holds, and put
captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.
And in every several city he put shields
and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and
Benjamin on his side.
And the priests and the Levites that were
in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.
For the Levites left their suburbs and
their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and
his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto
the LORD:
And he ordained him priests for the high
places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had
made.
And after them out of all the tribes of
Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came
to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah,
and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three
years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.
And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter
of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of
Eliab the son of Jesse;
Which bare him children; Jeush, and
Shamariah, and Zaham.
And after her he took Maachah the daughter
of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and
Shelomith.
And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of
Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took
eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and
eight sons, and threescore daughters.)
And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah
the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make
him king.
And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all
his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin,
unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And
he desired many wives.
And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had
established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook
the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.
And it came to pass, that in the fifth year
of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem,
because they had transgressed against the LORD,
With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore
thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came
with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the
Ethiopians.
And he took the fenced cities which
pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.
Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam,
and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to
Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the
LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in
the hand of Shishak.
Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king
humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.
And when the LORD saw that they humbled
themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They
have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I
will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured
out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
Nevertheless they shall be his servants;
that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of
the countries.
So Shishak king of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD,
and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he carried away
also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields
of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the
guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house.
And when the king entered into the house of
the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again
into the guard chamber.
And when he humbled himself, the wrath of
the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether:
and also in Judah things went well.
So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in
Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old
when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in
Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes
of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah
an Ammonitess.
And he did evil, because he prepared not
his heart to seek the LORD.
Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last,
are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of
Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between
Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and
was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his
stead.
Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam
began Abijah to reign over Judah.
He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His
mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.
And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
And Abijah set the battle in array with an
army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men:
Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight
hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.
And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim,
which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and
all Israel;
Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of
Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him
and to his sons by a covenant of salt?
Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant
of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against
his lord.
And there are gathered unto him vain men,
the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against
Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and
tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of
the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great
multitude, and there are with your golden calves, which Jeroboam
made you for gods.
Have ye not cast out the priests of the
LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests
after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever
cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams,
the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.
But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we
have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the
LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their
business:
And they burn unto the LORD every morning
and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread
also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of
gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the
charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.
And, behold, God himself is with us for our
captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm
against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD
God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come
about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment
was behind them.
And when Judah looked back, behold, the
battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the
priests sounded with the trumpets.
Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as
the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam
and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
And the children of Israel fled before
Judah: and God delivered them into their hand.
And Abijah and his people slew them with a
great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred
thousand chosen men.
Thus the children of Israel were brought
under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because
they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers.
And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took
cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with
the towns thereof, and Ephraim with the towns thereof.
Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again
in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died.
But Abijah waxed mighty, and married
fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen
daughters.
And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his
ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet
Iddo.
So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they
buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his
stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.
And Asa did that which was good and right in
the eyes of the LORD his God:
For he took away the altars of the strange
gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down
the groves:
And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of
their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
Also he took away out of all the cities of
Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet
before him.
And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the
land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD
had given him rest.
Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build
these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and
bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the
LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on
every side. So they built and prospered.
And Asa had an army of men that bare targets
and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of
Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and
fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.
And there came out against them Zerah the
Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred
chariots; and came unto Mareshah.
Then Asa went out against him, and they set
the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and
said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or
with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest
on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou
art our God; let no man prevail against thee.
So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before
Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
And Asa and the people that were with him
pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that
they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before
the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much
spoil.
And they smote all the cities round about
Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled
all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them.
They smote also the tents of cattle, and
carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to
Jerusalem.
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the
son of Oded:
And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto
him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with
you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of
you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
Now for a long season Israel hath been
without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without
law.
But when they in their trouble did turn unto
the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
And in those times there was no peace to him
that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were
upon all the inhabitants of the countries.
And nation was destroyed of nation, and city
of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.
Be ye strong therefore, and let not your
hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
And when Asa heard these words, and the
prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the
abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out
of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed
the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and
the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of
Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they
saw that the LORD his God was with him.
So they gathered themselves together at
Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Asa.
And they offered unto the LORD the same
time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and
seven thousand sheep.
And they entered into a covenant to seek
the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all
their soul;
That whosoever would not seek the LORD God
of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether
man or woman.
And they sware unto the LORD with a loud
voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for
they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their
whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest
round about.
And also concerning Maachah the mother of
Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made
an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and
burnt it at the brook Kidron.
But the high places were not taken away out
of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his
days.
And he brought into the house of God the
things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had
dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
And there was no more war unto the five and
thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
In the six and thirtieth year of the reign
of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built
Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to
Asa king of Judah.
Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of
the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and
sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus,
saying,
There is a league between me and thee, as
there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent
thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of
Israel, that he may depart from me.
And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and
sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and
they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of
Naphtali.
And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it,
that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease.
Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they
carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith
Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa
king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the
king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the
host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a
huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou
didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of
them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done
foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put
him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of
this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same
time.
And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and
last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and
Israel.
And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his
reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding
great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the
physicians.
And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in
the one and fortieth year of his reign.
And they buried him in his own sepulchres,
which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in
the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of
spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very
great burning for him.
And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his
stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.
And he placed forces in all the fenced
cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the
cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.
And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because
he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not
unto Baalim;
But sought to the Lord God of his father,
and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of
Israel.
Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in
his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had
riches and honour in abundance.
And his heart was lifted up in the ways of
the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of
Judah.
Also in the third year of his reign he sent
to his princes, even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah,
and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of
Judah.
And with them he sent Levites, even
Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth,
and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah,
Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests.
And they taught in Judah, and had the book
of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the
cities of Judah, and taught the people.
And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the
kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they
made no war against Jehoshaphat.
Also some of the Philistines brought
Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought
him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven
thousand and seven hundred he goats.
And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly;
and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.
And he had much business in the cities of
Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in
Jerusalem.
And these are the numbers of them according
to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands;
Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred
thousand.
And next to him was Jehohanan the captain,
and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand.
And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri,
who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two
hundred thousand mighty men of valour.
And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of
valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred
thousand.
And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an
hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war.
These waited on the king, beside those whom
the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.
Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in
abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.
And after certain years he went down to Ahab
to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance,
and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up
with him to Ramothgilead.
And Ahab king of Israel said unto
Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead?
And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people;
and we will be with thee in the war.
And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of
Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.
Therefore the king of Israel gathered
together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we
go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go
up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand.
But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a
prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?
And the king of Israel said unto
Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the
LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but
always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat
said, Let not the king say so.
And the king of Israel called for one of his
officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king
of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes,
and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of
Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made
him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou
shalt push Syria until they be consumed.
And all the prophets prophesied so, saying,
Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it
into the hand of the king.
And the messenger that went to call Micaiah
spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare
good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray
thee, be like one of their's, and speak thou good.
And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even
what my God saith, that will I speak.
And when he was come to the king, the king
said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or
shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall
be delivered into your hand.
And the king said to him, How many times
shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in
the name of the LORD?
Then he said, I did see all Israel
scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and
the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore
every man to his house in peace.
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,
Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but
evil?
Again he said, Therefore hear the word of
the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host
of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab
king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one
spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that
manner.
Then there came out a spirit, and stood
before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said
unto him, Wherewith?
And he said, I will go out, and be a lying
spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou
shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even
so.
Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a
lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath
spoken evil against thee.
Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came
near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went
the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?
And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on
that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide
thyself.
Then the king of Israel said, Take ye
Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and
to Joash the king's son;
And say, Thus saith the king, Put this
fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and
with water of affliction, until I return in peace.
And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return
in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me. And he said,
Hearken, all ye people.
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the
king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead.
And the king of Israel said unto
Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and I will go to the battle;
but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself;
and they went to the battle.
Now the king of Syria had commanded the
captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not
with small or great, save only with the king of Israel.
And it came to pass, when the captains of
the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of
Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but
Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them
to depart from him.
For it came to pass, that, when the
captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of
Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.
And a certain man drew a bow at a venture,
and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness:
therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou
mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
And the battle increased that day: howbeit
the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the
Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he
died.
And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned
to his house in peace to Jerusalem.
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out
to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the
ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon
thee from before the LORD.
Nevertheless there are good things found in
thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and
hast prepared thine heart to seek God.
And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he
went out again through the people from Beersheba to mount Ephraim,
and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers.
And he set judges in the land throughout all
the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,
And said to the judges, Take heed what ye
do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in
the judgment.
Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be
upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the
LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of
the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of
Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies, when
they returned to Jerusalem.
And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye
do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect
heart.
And what cause soever shall come to you of
your brethren that dwell in your cities, between blood and blood,
between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even
warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath
come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not
trespass.
And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is
over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of
Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king's
matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal
courageously, and the LORD shall be with the good.
It came to pass after this also, that the
children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other
beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat,
saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the
sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which
is Engedi.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to
seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
And Judah gathered themselves together, to
ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came
to seek the LORD.
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of
Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new
court,
And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not
thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of
the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so
that none is able to withstand thee?
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out
the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest
it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
And they dwelt therein, and have built thee
a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword,
judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and
in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee
in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
And now, behold, the children of Ammon and
Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when
they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and
destroyed them not;
Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come
to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to
inherit.
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we
have no might against this great company that cometh against us;
neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
And all Judah stood before the LORD, with
their little ones, their wives, and their children.
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah,
the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a
Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the
midst of the congregation;
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the
LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great
multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
To morrow go ye down against them: behold,
they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end
of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle:
set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD
with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to
morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his
face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
And the Levites, of the children of the
Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise
the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
And they rose early in the morning, and
went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth,
Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of
Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be
established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
And when he had consulted with the people,
he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the
beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say,
Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
And when they began to sing and to praise,
the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and
mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were
smitten.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up
against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy
them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir,
every one helped to destroy another.
And when Judah came toward the watch tower
in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold,
they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to
take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance
both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they
stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and
they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so
much.
And on the fourth day they assembled
themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the
LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley
of Berachah, unto this day.
Then they returned, every man of Judah and
Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to
Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over
their enemies.
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries
and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms
of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought
against the enemies of Israel.
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for
his God gave him rest round about.
And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was
thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
And he walked in the way of Asa his father,
and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight
of the LORD.
Howbeit the high places were not taken
away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the
God of their fathers.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat,
first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the
son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of
Israel.
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of
Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very
wickedly:
And he joined himself with him to make
ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in
Eziongaber.
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah
prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined
thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships
were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and
was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his
son reigned in his stead.
And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat,
Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and
Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of
Israel.
And their father gave them great gifts of
silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in
Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the
firstborn.
Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom
of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren
with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he
began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
And he walked in the way of the kings of
Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of
Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the
LORD.
Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house
of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and
as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for
ever.
In his days the Edomites revolted from under
the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king.
Then Jehoram went forth with his princes,
and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote
the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the
chariots.
So the Edomites revolted from under the
hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt
from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his
fathers.
Moreover he made high places in the
mountains of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to
commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.
And there came a writing to him from Elijah
the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father,
Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father,
nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
But hast walked in the way of the kings of
Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go
a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also
hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better
than thyself:
Behold, with a great plague will the LORD
smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy
goods:
And thou shalt have great sickness by
disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the
sickness day by day.
Moreover the LORD stirred up against
Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that
were near the Ethiopians:
And they came up into Judah, and brake into
it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's
house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a
son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
And after all this the LORD smote him in
his bowels with an incurable disease.
And it came to pass, that in process of
time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of
his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no
burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
Thirty and two years old was he when he
began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and
departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city
of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made
Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men
that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest.
So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.
Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he
began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's
name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
He also walked in the ways of the house of
Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.
Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the
LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after
the death of his father to his destruction.
He walked also after their counsel, and went
with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael
king of Syria at Ramothgilead: and the Syrians smote Joram.
And he returned to be healed in Jezreel
because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought
with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of
Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because
he was sick.
And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by
coming to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram
against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut
off the house of Ahab.
And it came to pass, that, when Jehu was
executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of
Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to
Ahaziah, he slew them.
And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him,
(for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they
had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son
of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the
house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom.
But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw
that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal
of the house of Judah.
But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king,
took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's
sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So
Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada
the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from
Athaliah, so that she slew him not.
And he was with them hid in the house of
God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
And in the seventh year Jehoiada
strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah
the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah
the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the
son of Zichri, into covenant with him.
And they went about in Judah, and gathered
the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the
fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
And all the congregation made a covenant
with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold,
the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of
David.
This is the thing that ye shall do; A third
part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the
Levites, shall be porters of the doors;
And a third part shall be at the king's
house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the
people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.
But let none come into the house of the
LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they
shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the
watch of the LORD.
And the Levites shall compass the king round
about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else
cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the
king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
So the Levites and all Judah did according
to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took
every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them
that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest
dismissed not the courses.
Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to
the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that
had been king David's, which were in the house of God.
And he set all the people, every man having
his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the
left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the
king round about.
Then they brought out the king's son, and
put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him
king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save
the king.
Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the
people running and praising the king, she came to the people into
the house of the LORD:
And she looked, and, behold, the king stood
at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets
by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded
with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and
such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and
said, Treason, Treason.
Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the
captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto
them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let
him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in
the house of the LORD.
So they laid hands on her; and when she was
come to the entering of the horse gate by the king's house, they
slew her there.
And Jehoiada made a covenant between him,
and between all the people, and between the king, that they should
be the LORD's people.
Then all the people went to the house of
Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in
pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the
house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom
David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt
offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with
rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.
And he set the porters at the gates of the
house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should
enter in.
And he took the captains of hundreds, and
the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of
the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and
they came through the high gate into the king's house, and set the
king upon the throne of the kingdom.
And all the people of the land rejoiced:
and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the
sword.
Joash was seven years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name
also was Zibiah of Beersheba.
And Joash did that which was right in the
sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he
begat sons and daughters.
And it came to pass after this, that Joash
was minded to repair the house of the LORD.
And he gathered together the priests and the
Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and
gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from
year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the
Levites hastened it not.
And the king called for Jehoiada the chief,
and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to
bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection,
according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and
of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?
For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman,
had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things
of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim.
And at the king's commandment they made a
chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the
LORD.
And they made a proclamation through Judah
and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses
the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.
And all the princes and all the people
rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had
made an end.
Now it came to pass, that at what time the
chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the
Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's
scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest,
and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day
by day, and gathered money in abundance.
And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such
as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired
masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also
such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD.
So the workmen wrought, and the work was
perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and
strengthened it.
And when they had finished it, they brought
the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were
made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister,
and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver.
And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD
continually all the days of Jehoiada.
But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of
days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he
died.
And they buried him in the city of David
among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward
God, and toward his house.
Now after the death of Jehoiada came the
princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king
hearkened unto them.
And they left the house of the LORD God of
their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon
Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.
Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them
again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they
would not give ear.
And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah
the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and
said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments
of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the
LORD, he hath also forsaken you.
And they conspired against him, and stoned
him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the
house of the LORD.
Thus Joash the king remembered not the
kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his
son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require
it.
And it came to pass at the end of the year,
that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah
and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from
among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of
Damascus.
For the army of the Syrians came with a
small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into
their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their
fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.
And when they were departed from him, (for
they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired
against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and
slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city
of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the
kings.
And these are they that conspired against
him; Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son
of Shimrith a Moabitess.
Now concerning his sons, and the greatness
of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of
God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the
kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
Amaziah was twenty and five years old when
he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in
Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
And he did that which was right in the sight
of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.
Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was
established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the
king his father.
But he slew not their children, but did as
it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD
commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children,
neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall
die for his own sin.
Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together,
and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds,
according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and
Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and
found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to
war, that could handle spear and shield.
He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men
of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.
But there came a man of God to him, saying,
O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is
not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.
But if thou wilt go, do it; be strong for
the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath
power to help, and to cast down.
And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what
shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army
of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give
thee much more than this.
Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the
army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again:
wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they
returned home in great anger.
And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led
forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the
children of Seir ten thousand.
And other ten thousand left alive did the
children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top
of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they
all were broken in pieces.
But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah
sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon
the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Bethhoron, and smote
three thousand of them, and took much spoil.
Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was
come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods
of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed
down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.
Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled
against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto
him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could
not deliver their own people out of thine hand?
And it came to pass, as he talked with him,
that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel?
forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare,
and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because
thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.
Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and
sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of
Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face.
And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah
king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the
cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to
wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and
trode down the thistle.
Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the
Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at
home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest
fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?
But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of
God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies,
because they sought after the gods of Edom.
So Joash the king of Israel went up; and
they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of
Judah, at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah.
And Judah was put to the worse before
Israel, and they fled every man to his tent.
And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah
king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at
Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall
of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four
hundred cubits.
And he took all the gold and the silver,
and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with
Obededom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also,
and returned to Samaria.
And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah
lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel
fifteen years.
Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first
and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of
Judah and Israel?
Now after the time that Amaziah did turn
away from following the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in
Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after
him, and slew him there.
And they brought him upon horses, and
buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.
Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah,
who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his
father Amaziah.
He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah,
after that the king slept with his fathers.
Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began
to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His
mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
And he did that which was right in the sight
of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did.
And he sought God in the days of Zechariah,
who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he
sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.
And he went forth and warred against the
Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of
Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and
among the Philistines.
And God helped him against the Philistines,
and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the
Mehunims.
And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and
his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he
strengthened himself exceedingly.
Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at
the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the
wall, and fortified them.
Also he built towers in the desert, and
digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country,
and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the
mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.
Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting
men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of
their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the
ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.
The whole number of the chief of the
fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six
hundred.
And under their hand was an army, three
hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war
with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all
the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and
bows, and slings to cast stones.
And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented
by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot
arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for
he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
But when he was strong, his heart was
lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD
his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon
the altar of incense.
And Azariah the priest went in after him,
and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant
men:
And they withstood Uzziah the king, and
said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn
incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that
are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou
hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD
God.
Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in
his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests,
the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the
house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.
And Azariah the chief priest, and all the
priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his
forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted
also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.
And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the
day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for
he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was
over the king's house, judging the people of the land.
Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first
and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.
So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they
buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which
belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his
son reigned in his stead.
Jotham was twenty and five years old when he
began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His
mother's name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.
And he did that which was right in the sight
of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit
he entered not into the temple of the LORD. And the people did yet
corruptly.
He built the high gate of the house of the
LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.
Moreover he built cities in the mountains of
Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.
He fought also with the king of the
Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon
gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten
thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did
the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the
third.
So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared
his ways before the LORD his God.
Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all
his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the
kings of Israel and Judah.
He was five and twenty years old when he
began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they
buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his
stead.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not
that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his
father:
For he walked in the ways of the kings of
Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of
the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the
abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the
children of Israel.
He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the
high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him
into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried
away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to
Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of
Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.
For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah
an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant
men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew
Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and
Elkanah that was next to the king.
And the children of Israel carried away
captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and
daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the
spoil to Samaria.
But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose
name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to
Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your
fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your
hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto
heaven.
And now ye purpose to keep under the
children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you:
but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD
your God?
Now hear me therefore, and deliver the
captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for
the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.
Then certain of the heads of the children
of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of
Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son
of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,
And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in
the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD
already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for
our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against
Israel.
So the armed men left the captives and the
spoil before the princes and all the congregation.
And the men which were expressed by name
rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that
were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave
them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the
feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of
palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.
At that time did king Ahaz send unto the
kings of Assyria to help him.
For again the Edomites had come and smitten
Judah, and carried away captives.
The Philistines also had invaded the cities
of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken
Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages
thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the
villages thereof: and they dwelt there.
For the LORD brought Judah low because of
Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore
against the LORD.
And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came
unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.
For Ahaz took away a portion out of the
house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and of the
princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him
not.
And in the time of his distress did he
trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz.
For he sacrificed unto the gods of
Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the
kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that
they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all
Israel.
And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of
the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of
God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made
him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
And in every several city of Judah he made
high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger
the LORD God of his fathers.
Now the rest of his acts and of all his
ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the
kings of Judah and Israel.
And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they
buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought him not
into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son
reigned in his stead.
Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and
twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in
Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of
Zechariah.
And he did that which was right in the sight
of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
He in the first year of his reign, in the
first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and
repaired them.
And he brought in the priests and the
Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,
And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites,
sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of
your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy
place.
For our fathers have trespassed, and done
that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have
forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation
of the LORD, and turned their backs.
Also they have shut up the doors of the
porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor
offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of
Israel.
Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon
Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to
astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the
sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in
captivity for this.
Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant
with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away
from us.
My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD
hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye
should minister unto him, and burn incense.
Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of
Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites:
and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the
son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah,
and Eden the son of Joah:
And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and
Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:
And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and
Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.
And they gathered their brethren, and
sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of
the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the
LORD.
And the priests went into the inner part of
the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the
uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the
court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry
it out abroad into the brook Kidron.
Now they began on the first day of the
first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came
they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the
LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month
they made an end.
Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and
said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of
burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread
table, with all the vessels thereof.
Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz
in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared
and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the
LORD.
Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and
gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the
LORD.
And they brought seven bullocks, and seven
rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for
the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded
the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the
LORD.
So they killed the bullocks, and the
priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar:
likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood
upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the
blood upon the altar.
And they brought forth the he goats for the
sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid
their hands upon them:
And the priests killed them, and they made
reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an
atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt
offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
And he set the Levites in the house of the
LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to
the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan
the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his
prophets.
And the Levites stood with the instruments
of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt
offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the
song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the
instruments ordained by David king of Israel.
And all the congregation worshipped, and
the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this
continued until the burnt offering was finished.
And when they had made an end of offering,
the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and
worshipped.
Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes
commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words
of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with
gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye
have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring
sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the
congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many
as were of a free heart burnt offerings.
And the number of the burnt offerings,
which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an
hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt
offering to the LORD.
And the consecrated things were six hundred
oxen and three thousand sheep.
But the priests were too few, so that they
could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren
the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the
other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more
upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
And also the burnt offerings were in
abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink
offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of
the LORD was set in order.
And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people,
that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done
suddenly.
And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah,
and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should
come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover
unto the LORD God of Israel.
For the king had taken counsel, and his
princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the
passover in the second month.
For they could not keep it at that time,
because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently,
neither had the people gathered themselves together to
Jerusalem.
And the thing pleased the king and all the
congregation.
So they established a decree to make
proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan,
that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of
Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in
such sort as it was written.
So the posts went with the letters from the
king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according
to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn
again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will
return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of
the kings of Assyria.
And be not ye like your fathers, and like
your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their
fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see.
Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers
were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his
sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD
your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from
you.
For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your
brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that
lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land:
for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn
away his face from you, if ye return unto him.
So the posts passed from city to city
through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but
they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.
Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh
and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.
Also in Judah the hand of God was to give
them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the
princes, by the word of the LORD.
And there assembled at Jerusalem much
people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a
very great congregation.
And they arose and took away the altars
that were in Jerusalem, and all th
