Rotherham - II Kings

Chapter 1

1:1  Then Moab revolted against Israel, after the death of Ahab.

1:2  And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber, which was in Samaria, and became sick,—so he sent messengers, and said unto them—Go enquire of Baalzebub, god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.

1:3  But, the messenger of Yahweh, spake unto Elijah the Tishbite, Rise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria,—and say unto them—Is it, because there is no God in Israel, that, ye, are going to enquire of Baalzebub, god of Ekron?

1:4  Wherefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, From the bed whereunto thou hast gone up, shalt thou not come down, for thou shalt, surely die. And Elijah departed.

1:5  And, when the messengers returned unto him, he said unto them—How is it that ye have returned?

1:6  And they said unto him—A man, came up to meet us, and said unto us—Go, return unto the king who sent you, and ye shall say unto him, Thus, saith Yahweh—Is it, because there is no God in Israel, that, thou, art sending to enquire of Baalzebub, god of Ekron? Therefore, from the bed whereunto thou hast gone up, shalt thou not come down, for thou shalt, surely die.

1:7  And he said unto them, What was the manner of the man who came up to meet you,—and spake unto you these words?

1:8  And they said unto him—A hairy man, with a leathern girdle girt about his loins. And he said—Elijah the Tishbite, it was.

1:9  Then sent he unto him a captain of fifty, with his fifty, and he went up unto him, and lo! he abode on the top of the mountain, and he said unto him, O man of God! the king, hath said, Come down!

1:10  And Elijah responded and said unto the captain of fifty, If, then, a man of God, I am, let fire come down out of the heavens, and devour thee and thy fifty. So there came down fire out of the heavens, and devoured him and his fifty.

1:11  Then he again sent unto him another captain of fifty, with his fifty. And he also spake and said unto him, O man of God! thus, saith the king, Haste thee, come down!

1:12  And Elijah responded and said unto them—If, a man of God, I am, let fire come down out of the heavens, and devour thee and thy fifty. And there came down a fire of God, out of the heavens, and devoured him and his fifty.

1:13  Then he again sent a third captain of fifty, with his fifty,—and the third captain of fifty ascended and came near, and bowed down upon his knees before Elijah, and made supplication unto him, and said unto him, O man of God! let my life, I pray thee, and the lives of these thy fifty servants, be precious in thine eyes.

1:14  Lo! there hath come down fire out of the heavens, and devoured the captains of the former fifties, with their fifties,—now, therefore, let my life be precious in thine eyes.

1:15  And the messenger of Yahweh said unto Elijah, Go down with him, do not fear because of him, So he arose, and went down with him, unto the king;

1:16  and said unto him—Thus, saith Yahweh—For that thou didst send messengers to enquire of Baalzebub, god of Ekron, was it because there was no God in Israel, for whose word thou couldst enquire? Therefore, from the bed whereunto thou hast gone up, shalt thou not come down, for thou shalt, surely die.

1:17  And he died, according to the word of Yahweh which, Elijah, had spoken, and Jehoram reigned in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,—because he had no son.

1:18  Now, the rest of the story of Ahaziah, the things that he did, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Chapter 2

2:1  And it came to pass, when Yahweh was about to take up Elijah in a storm into the heavens, that Elijah departed, with Elisha, from Gilgal.

2:2  Then said Elijah unto Elisha—Tarry here, I pray thee, for, Yahweh, hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Elisha said, By the life of Yahweh and by the life of thine own soul, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

2:3  And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came forth unto Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that, to-day, Yahweh is taking away thy lord, from thy head? And he said—I also, know, be silent.

2:4  Then Elijah said to him—Elisha, I pray thee, tarry here, for, Yahweh, hath sent me to Jericho. And he said—By the life of Yahweh and by the life of thine own soul, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

2:5  Then drew near the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho, unto Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that, to-day, Yahweh is taking away thy lord from thy head? And he said—I also, know; be silent.

2:6  And Elijah said to him—Tarry here, I pray thee, for, Yahweh, hath sent me to the Jordan. And he said—By the life of Yahweh and by the life of thine own soul, I will not leave thee. So they two, went on.

2:7  But, fifty men of the sons of the prophets, came, and stood over against them, afar off,—and, they two, stood by the Jordan.

2:8  Then Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided, hither and thither,—so that they two, passed over, on dry ground.

2:9  And it came to pass, as they went over, that, Elijah, said unto Elisha—Ask, what I shall do for thee, ere yet I be taken from thee. And Elisha said, Let there be, I pray thee, a double portion of thy spirit upon me.

2:10  And he said—Thou hast asked a hard thing,—if thou see me when taken from thee, thou shall have it, so, but, if not, thou shalt not have it.

2:11  And it came to pass, as they were going on and on and talking, that lo! there was a chariot of fire, with horses of fire, which parted, those two, asunder,—and Elijah went up in a storm, into the heavens.

2:12  And, as soon as Elisha saw it, he, began crying out—My father! my father! The chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! But, when he could see him no longer, he took hold of his clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

2:13  Then took he up the mantle of Elijah, which had fallen from him,—and returned and stood, on the brink of the Jordan;

2:14  and took the mantle of Elijah which had fallen from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah? And, when, he also, smote the waters, they were divided, hither and thither, and Elisha, passed over.

2:15  And, when the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho, over against him, saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah, resteth, on Elisha. So they came to meet him, and bowed themselves down to him, to the ground.

2:16  Then said they unto him—Lo! we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour—let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Yahweh have borne him away, and cast him on one of the mountains, or into one of the valleys. And he said—Ye shall not send.

2:17  But, when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said—Send. So they sent fifty men, and made search three days, but found him not.

2:18  And, when they came back unto him, he, having tarried at Jericho, he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Do not go?

2:19  And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Lo! we pray thee, the situation of the city, is good, as, my lord, seeth,—but, the waters, are bad, and, the land, apt to miscarry.

2:20  And he said—Bring me a new bowl, and put therein, salt. So they brought it unto him;

2:21  and he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast therein, saith,—and said—Thus, saith Yahweh, I have healed these waters; there shall come from thence, no longer, death or aptness to miscarry.

2:22  So the waters were healed, [as they remain] unto this day,—according to the word of Elisha which he spake.

2:23  And he went up from thence, to Bethel,—and, as he was going up on the way, some lads, came forth, out of the city, and made mockery of him, and said to him, Go up, bald head! Go up, bald head!

2:24  And, when he turned round and saw them, he cursed them, in the name of Yahweh,—and there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare, of them, forty-two youths.

2:25  And he went from thence, unto Mount Carmel,—and, from thence, he returned, to Samaria.

Chapter 3

3:1  Now, Jehoram son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah,—and he reigned twelve years.

3:2  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, only, not like his father, nor like his mother,—but he put away the pillars of Baal which, his father, had made;

3:3  nevertheless, unto the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he caused Israel to commit, he did cleave,—he turned not away therefrom

3:4  Now, Mesha king of Moab, was a sheep-master,—and used to render to the king of Israel, the wool of hundred thousand fat sheep, and of a hundred thousand rams.

3:5  And it came to pass, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab revolted against the king of Israel.

3:6  So King Jehoram went forth, on that day, out of Samaria, and numbered all Israel.

3:7  And he departed, and sent unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying—The king of Moab, hath revolted against me, wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said—I will go up, I am as thou art, my people are as thy people, my horses as thy horses.

3:8  And he said—Which way, then, shall we go up? And he said—The way of the wilderness of Edom.

3:9  Then departed the king of Israel, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and went round, a journey of seven days,—and there was no water for the host, nor for the cattle that went with them.

3:10  Then said the king of Israel—Alas! for Yahweh hath called these three kings, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

3:11  So Jehoshaphat said—Is there not, here, a prophet of Yahweh, that we may enquire of Yahweh, from him? Then answered one of the servants of the king of Israel, and said, Here, is Elisha son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.

3:12  Then said Jehoshaphat, The word of Yahweh, is with him. So the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom, went down unto him.

3:13  And Elisha said unto the king of Israel—What have I and thou in common? get thee unto the prophets of thy father, and unto the prophets of thy mother. But the king of Israel said to him—Nay! for Yahweh hath called together these three kings, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

3:14  Then said Elisha—By the life of Yahweh of hosts, before whom I stand, were it not that, the countenance of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would lift up, I would neither look at thee, nor see thee.

3:15  But, now, bring me one that can touch the strings. For it used to be, when the player touched the strings, then would, the hand of Yahweh, be upon him.

3:16  Then said he, Thus, saith Yahweh, Make, in this torrent-bed, pits, pits!

3:17  For, thus, saith Yahweh—Ye shall not see wind, and ye shall not see rain, yet, that torrent-bed, shall be filled with water,—And ye shall drink, ye, and your cattle, and your beasts;

3:18  And, this being a small thing in the eyes of Yahweh, he will deliver Moab into your hand;

3:19  And ye shall smite every strong city, and every choice city, and, every goodly tree, shall ye fell, and, all fountains water, shall ye close up,—and, every goodly heritage, shall ye mar with stones.

3:20  And it came to pass, in the morning, when the offering ascended, that lo! waters, were coming in from the way of Edom,—and the land was filled with the water.

3:21  Now, all Moab, had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them,—so they came together, from all who could gird on a girdle and upwards, and took their stand at the border.

3:22  And, when they rose early in the morning, the sun, shone forth upon the waters,—and so the Moabites beheld over against them, the waters, red as blood.

3:23  They said therefore—Blood,—this! Destroyed! The kings have destroyed each other! Yea they have smitten every man his neighbour,—Now, then, to the spoil, O Moab!

3:24  And, when they came into the camp of Israel, Israel arose and smote Moab, and they fled from before them,—so they entered thereinto, yea still farther entered Moab;

3:25  And, the cities, they pulled down, and, on every goodly heritage, they cast every man his stone, and filled it, and, all fountains of waters, they closed up, and, every goodly tree, they felled, and, though they left the stones thereof in Kir-haraseth, yet the slingers surrounded and smote it.

3:26  And, when the king of Moab saw that, the battle, prevailed against him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through against the king of Edom, but they could not.

3:27  So he took his firstborn son who was to have reigned in his stead, and offered him up as an ascending-sacrifice upon the wall. And so it came to pass that there was great indignation against Israel. And they brake up from against him, and returned to their own land.

Chapter 4

4:1  Now, a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets, made outcry unto Elisha, saying—Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and, thou, knowest that, thy servant, was one who revered Yahweh,—now, the creditor, hath come to take my two boys to himself as bondmen.

4:2  And Elisha said unto her—What shall I do for thee? tell me what thou, hast, in the house. And she said—Thy maid-servant hath, nothing at all, in the house, save a flask of oil.

4:3  And he said—Go, ask thee vessels, from without, of all thy neighbours,—empty vessels, let them not be few.

4:4  And, when thou hast come in, then shalt thou shut the door behind thee and behind thy sons, and shalt pour out into all these vessels,—and, that which is full, shalt thou set aside.

4:5  So she went out from his presence, and shut the door behind her, and behind her sons,—they bringing near to her, and she pouring out.

4:6  And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son—Bring me a vessel more. And he said unto her—There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

4:7  Then came she in, and told the man of God, and he said—Go, sell the oil, and pay thy creditor,—and, thou and thy sons, shall live of the rest.

4:8  And so it was, on a day, that Elisha passed over unto Shunem, where was a woman of position, and she constrained him to eat bread,—and so it came about, whensoever he passed that way, that he turned aside thither, to eat bread.

4:9  Then said she unto her husband, Lo! I pray thee—I perceive that, a holy man of God, he is,—passing our way continually.

4:10  I pray thee, let us make a little upper chamber on the wall and set for him there—a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a lampstand,—so shall it be, when he cometh to us, that he can turn in thither.

4:11  And it came to pass, on a day, that he came thither,—so he turned aside into the upper chamber, and slept there.

4:12  Then said he unto Gehazi, his young man, Call this Shunammitess. And he called her, and she stood before him.

4:13  And he said to him—I pray thee, say unto her—Lo! thou hast cared for us with all this anxious care, what can be done for thee? Is it, that we should speak for thee, unto the king, or unto the general of the army? But she said, In the midst of mine own people, do, I, dwell.

4:14  So he said, What then can be done for thee? And Gehazi said, Verily, she hath no, son, and, her husband, is, old.

4:15  And he said—Call her. So he called her, and she stood in the doorway.

4:16  Then said he—At this season, about the time of spring, thou, shalt be embracing a son. And she said—Nay! my lord, thou man of God, do not delude thy maid-servant.

4:17  And the woman conceived, and bare a son, at this season, about the time of spring, when Elisha, had spoken unto her.

4:18  And, when the child was grown, it came to pass, on a certain day, that he went out unto his father, unto the reapers;

4:19  and he said unto his father—My head! my head! So he said unto the young man, Carry him to his mother.

4:20  And, when he had carried him, and brought him in unto his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died.

4:21  And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God,—and shut him in, and then went out.

4:22  And she called unto her husband, and said—Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses,—that I may run unto the man of God, and return!

4:23  And he said—Wherefore art thou going unto him, to-day, neither new moon nor sabbath? And she said—Peace!

4:24  Then saddled she the ass, and said unto her young man—Lead on, and go forward,—do not slacken, for my sake, the riding, except I have bidden thee.

4:25  So she went her way, and came unto the man of God, unto Mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her, opposite, that he said unto Gehazi young man, Lo! this Shunammitess!

4:26  Now, run, I pray thee, to meet her, and say to her—Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she said, Well!

4:27  But, when she came unto the man of God, on the mount, she caught hold of his feet,—and Gehazi drew near to thrust her away, when the man of God said—Let her alone! for, her life, is embittered to her, howbeit, Yahweh, hath hidden it from me, and hath not told me.

4:28  Then said she, Did I ask a son, of my lord? Said I not, Thou must not mislead me?

4:29  And he said to Gehazi—Gird thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way, if thou meet with any man, thou must not bless him, and, if any man bless thee, thou must not respond to him,—then shalt thou lay my staff upon the face of the boy.

4:30  But the mother of the boy said, By the life of Yahweh and by the life of thine own soul, I will not leave thee. So he arose and followed her.

4:31  Now, Gehazi, had passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the boy, but there was neither voice, nor attention,—so he returned to meet him, and told him, saying—The boy hath not awaked.

4:32  And, when Elisha had come into the house, lo! the boy, was dead, laid upon his bed.

4:33  So he went in, and shut the door upon them two,—and prayed unto Yahweh.

4:34  Then gat he up, and lay upon the child, and put his own mouth upon his mouth, and his own eyes upon his eyes, and his own hands upon his hands, and bowed himself upon him,—and the flesh of the child, waxed warm.

4:35  Then retraced he, and walked in the house—once to and fro, and then went up and bowed himself upon him,—and the boy sneezed as many as seven times, and the boy opened his eyes.

4:36  Then called he Gehazi, and said—Call this Shunammitess. So he called her, and, when she was come in unto him, he said—Take up thy son.

4:37  So she came in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground,—and took up her son, and went forth.

4:38  Now, Elisha, returned to Gilgal, and there was, a famine, in the land, and, the sons of the prophets, being seated before him, he said to his young man—Put on the large pot, and boil a mess of food, for the sons of the prophets.

4:39  And one went out into the field, to gather herbs, and found a vine in the field, and gathered thereof wild gourds, his lap full, and came in, and sliced them into the pot; for they knew them not.

4:40  So they poured out for the men to eat,—and it came so pass, as they were eating of the mess, that, they, made outcry and said—Death in the pot, O man of God! And they could not eat.

4:41  And he said—Then fetch meal. And he cast it into the pot,—and then said—Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

4:42  And, a man, came in from Baal-Shalisha, and brought for the man of God firstfruit bread, twenty barley loaves, and garden grain in the husk thereof. And he said—Give to the people, that they may eat.

4:43  But his attendant said—How can I set this before a hundred men? And he said—Give to the people, that they may eat, for, Thus, saith Yahweh, They are about to eat and to leave remaining.

4:44  So he set before them, and they did eat and left remaining, according to the word of Yahweh.

Chapter 5

5:1  Now, Naaman, general of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man in presence of his lord, and held in honour, because, by him, had Yahweh given deliverance to Syria,—and, the man, was a hero of valour—[but], a leper.

5:2  Now, the Syrians, had gone out in companies, and had brought back out of the land of Israel, a little maiden,—who became an attendant on the wife of Naaman.

5:3  And she said unto her mistress, Ah! would that my lord were before the prophet, who is in Samaria! then, would he set him free from his leprosy.

5:4  And he went in and told his lord, saying,—Thus and thus, hath spoken the maiden who is of the land of Israel!

5:5  And the king of Syria said—Go, get in, that I may send a letter unto the king of Israel. So he went, and took in his hand ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

5:6  And he brought in the letter unto the king of Israel, saying, Now, therefore, when this letter cometh in unto thee, lo! I have sent unto thee, Naaman my servant, and thou shalt set him free from his leprosy.

5:7  And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am, I, God, to kill and to make alive, that, this, man is sending unto me, to set one free from his leprosy,—but, of a truth, just mark, I pray you, and see, that he, is seeking an occasion, against me.

5:8  And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent unto the king, saying—Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come, I pray thee, unto me, that he may get to know that there is a prophet in Israel.

5:9  So Naaman came, with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the entrance of the house of Elisha;

5:10  and Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying,—Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, so shall thy flesh come back to thee, and be thou clean.

5:11  But Naaman was wroth, and went away,—and said—Lo! I thought, Unto me, will he, come right out, and take his stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand towards the spot, and so set free the leper.

5:12  Are not, Abanah and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not bathe, in them, and be clean? So he turned, and went away in a rage.

5:13  Then drew near his servants, and spake unto him, and said—My father! if, some great thing, the prophet had commanded thee, wouldst thou not have done it? then, how much rather, when he hath said unto thee, Bathe and be clean?

5:14  Then went he down, and dipped himself in the Jordan, seven times, according to the word of the man of God: and his flesh came back, as the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

5:15  And he returned unto the man of God, he and all his company; and came, and took his stand before him, and said—Lo! I pray thee—I know that there is no God in all the earth, save in Israel,—now, therefore, I pray thee, accept a blessing from thy servant.

5:16  But he said—By the life of Yahweh, before whom I stand, I will not accept one. And, though he urged him to accept it, yet did he refuse.

5:17  Then said Naaman, Shall there not, then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant, two mules’ burden of earth? For thy servant will henceforth offer neither ascending-offering nor sacrifice to other gods, save only to Yahweh.

5:18  In this thing, Yahweh grant forgiveness to thy servant,—When my lord entereth the house of Rimmon, to bow down therein, he leaning upon my hand, and so I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when he boweth down in the house of Rimmon, Yahweh, I pray, grant forgiveness to thy servant, in this thing.

5:19  And he said unto him—Go and prosper! But, when he had gone from him some distance,

5:20  Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said—Lo! my lord, hath restrained, this Naaman the Syrian, by not taking at his hand that which he brought! By the life of Yahweh, verily, I will runs after him, and accept of him, something.

5:21  So Gehazi hastened after Naaman. And, when Naaman saw one running after him, he alighted from his chariot to meet him, and said,—Is all well?

5:22  And he said, All is well. My lord, hath sent me to say, Lo! just now, have come unto me, two young men out of the hill country of Ephraim, of the sons of the prophets,—give for them, I pray thee, a talent, of silver, and two changes of raiment.

5:23  And Naaman said, Be content, accept two talents. So he urged him, and bound up two talents of silver in two bags, and two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his young men, and they bare them before him.

5:24  And, when he came to the hill-tower, he took them from their hand, and put them in charge within,—and let the men go, and they departed.

5:25  Now, when, he, came in and stood before his lord, Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said,—Thy servant hath been neither hither nor thither.

5:26  Then he said unto him—My heart, had not gone with thee, when someone turned again from off his chariot, to meet thee! Is it a time to accept silver, or to accept raiment, or oliveyards, or vineyards, or flocks or herds, or men-servants, or maid-servants?

5:27  The leprosy of Naaman, therefore, shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed, to times age-abiding. And he went forth from before him—a leper—like snow.

Chapter 6

6:1  And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha,—See, we pray thee, the place wherein we sit before thee, is too strait for us.

6:2  Let us go, we pray thee, as far as the Jordan, and fetch from thence every man a single beam, and let us make us a place wherein we may sit. And he said—Go ye.

6:3  Then said one—Be content, we pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he said—I myself, will go.

6:4  So he went with them,—and, when they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood.

6:5  And it came to pass, as one was felling a branch, that, the axe-head, fell into the water, so he made outcry and said—Alas! my lord, for, it, was borrowed!

6:6  And the man of God said—Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a piece of wood and cast it in thither, and the iron did swim.

6:7  And he said—Take it up to thee. So he put forth his hand, and took it.

6:8  Now, the king of Syria, was making war against Israel,—so he took counsel with his servants, saying—In such and such a place, shall be my encampment.

6:9  The man of God, therefore, sent unto the king of Israel, saying—Beware of passing by this place,—for, thither, are the Syrians coming down.

6:10  So the king of Israel sent unto the place whereof the man of God had spoken to him and warned him, and was on his guard there,—not once nor twice

6:11  Then was the heart of the king of Syria disquieted concerning this thing,—and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not tell me, who of our men are for the king of Israel?

6:12  Then said one of his servants, None, my lord O king,—but, Elisha, the prophet, who is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words which thou speakest in thy bed-chamber.

6:13  And he said—Go, and see where he is, that I may send and take him. And it was told him, saying—Lo! in Dothan.

6:14  Therefore sent he thither—horses and chariots, and a strong force,—and they came in by night, and encompassed the city.

6:15  And, when the attendant of the man of God arose early and went forth, lo! a force surrounding the city, with horses and chariots. Then said his young man unto him—Alas! my lord, what shall we do?

6:16  And he said—Do not fear,—for, more, are, they who are with us, than, they who are with them.

6:17  Then prayed Elisha, and said, O Yahweh! open, I beseech thee, his eyes, that he may see. And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and lo! the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, round about Elisha.

6:18  And, when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Yahweh, and said—Smite, I beseech thee, this people, with sudden blindness. And he smote them with sudden blindness, according to the word of Elisha.

6:19  Then Elisha said unto them—This, is not the way, neither is, this, the city, follow me, that I may lead you unto the man, whom ye would secure! So he led them to Samaria.

6:20  And it came to pass, when they had entered Samaria, that Elisha said, O Yahweh! open the eyes of these men, that they may see! And Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw, and lo! they were in the midst of Samaria!

6:21  Then said the king of Israel unto Elisha, when he saw them,—Shall I smite—shall I smite, my father?

6:22  And he said—Thou shalt not smite. Them whom thou hadst taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow, wouldst, thou, have been smiting? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go their way unto their lord.

6:23  And he made for them a great feast, and, when they had eaten and drunk, he let them go, and they went their way unto their lord. So then, troops of Syrians came again, no more, into the land of Israel.

6:24  But it came to pass, after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered together all his host,—and came up and laid siege against Samaria.

6:25  And there came to be, a great famine, in Samaria, and lo! they continued the siege against it,—until an ass’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and one pint of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.

6:26  And so it was that, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman, made outcry unto him, saying—Save, my lord, O king!

6:27  And he said—If Yahweh do not save thee, whence should I save thee? out of the threshing-floor or out of the wine-press?

6:28  And the king said to her—What aileth thee? And she said—This woman, said unto me—Give thy son, that we may eat him, to-day, and, my son, will we eat to-morrow.

6:29  So we cooked my son, and did eat him,—and I said unto her, on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; But she had hid her son.

6:30  And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes, while yet he was passing by upon the wall,—so the people looked, and lo! sackcloth upon his flesh, within.

6:31  And he said—So, let God do to me, and, so, let him add,—if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remain on him, to-day!

6:32  Now, Elisha, being seated in his house, and, the elders, seated with him,—when he had sent a man from before him, ere yet the messenger could come in unto him, he himself, said unto the elders—Do ye see how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? See! when the messenger is coming in, close ye the door, and press him back with the door, is not the sound of his lord’s feet behind him?

6:33  While yet he was speaking with them, lo! the messenger, coming down unto him,—and he said,—Lo! this, is a calamity from Yahweh, why should I wait for Yahweh, any longer?

Chapter 7

7:1  Then said Elisha—Hear ye the word of Yahweh,—Thus, saith Yahweh—About this time to-morrow, a measure of fine meal for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

7:2  Then the officer on whose hand the king leaned responded to the man of God, and said, Even if Yahweh were making windows in the heavens, could this thing, come to pass? And he said—Lo! thou, art about to see it with thine own eyes, but, thereof, shalt thou not eat!

7:3  Now there were, four men, lepers, at the entrance of the gate,—and they said one to another—Why are, we, sitting here until we are dead?

7:4  If we say—Let us enter into the city, Then, the famine, is in the city, and we shall die there, and, if we remain here, then shall we die. Now, therefore, let us fall away unto the camp of the Syrians, if they save us alive, we shall live, and, if they put us to death, we shall die.

7:5  So they rose up in the twilight, to enter into the camp of the Syrians,—and, when they entered the outskirts of the camp of the Syrians, lo! there was not there, a man.

7:6  Now, the Lord, had caused the camp of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, noise of horses, a noise of a great host,—and they said one to another—Lo! the king of Israel hath hired against us—the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come against us.

7:7  So they arose, and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses,—the camp, just as it was,—and fled for their lives.

7:8  When, therefore, these lepers came in as far as the outskirts of the camp, they entered into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried from thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went away and hid them,—and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried from thence—and went and hid them.

7:9  Then said they one to another—Not a right thing, are, we, doing. This day, is, a day of good tidings, and, we, are holding our peace, if we tarry until the light of the morning, there will come upon us, some misfortune,—Now, therefore, come and let us go in, and tell the household of the king.

7:10  So they came in and called unto the gate of the city, and told them, saying, We entered into the camp of the Syrians, and lo! there was not there, a man, nor sound of human being,—only horses tied, and asses tied, and their tents, just as they were!

7:11  And the watchers of the gate called and told it to the household of the king, within.

7:12  Then arose the king by night, and said unto his servants, Let me tell you, I pray you, what the Syrians have done to us,—they knew that we were, famished, so they have gone forth out of the camp, to hide in the field, saying, When they come forth out of the city, then shall we take them alive, and, into the city, will we enter.

7:13  Then responded one of his servants, and said—Let there be taken, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which have been left therein, there they are, according to all the multitude of Israel who have been left therein, there they are, according to all the multitude of Israel, who have been consumed,—and let us send and see!

7:14  So they took two chariots and horses,—and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see!

7:15  And they followed them as far as the Jordan, and lo! all the way, was full of garments, and utensils, which the Syrians had cast away in their fright,—and the messengers returned, and told the king.

7:16  Then went the people forth and spoiled the camp of the Syrians,—and so there came to be—a measure of fine meal for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh.

7:17  Now, the king, had set the officer on whose hand he leaned, in charge over the gate, and the people trode upon him in the gate, that he died,—as spake the man of God, who said it when the messenger came down to him.

7:18  Yea it came to pass, as the man of God had spoken unto the messenger, saying,—Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine meal for a shekel, shall there be about this time to-morrow, in the gate of Samaria:

7:19  And when the officer responded to the man of God, and said, Lo! then, if Yahweh were making windows in the heavens, could it be according to this word? And he said,—Lo! thou art about to see it with thine own eyes, but, thereof, shalt thou not eat.

7:20  Yea it fell out to him, thus,—and the people trode upon him in the gate, that he died.

Chapter 8

8:1  Now, Elisha, had spoken unto the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying—Arise, and take thy journey, thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn, for Yahweh hath called for a famine, moreover also, it is coming upon the land seven years.

8:2  So the woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God,—and took her journey, she and her household, and she sojourned in the land of the Philistines, seven years.

8:3  And it came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines,—and she went forth to make outcry unto the king, concerning her house and concerning her field.

8:4  Now, the king, was speaking unto Gehazi, servant of the man of God, saying, Do recount unto me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.

8:5  And so it was, just as he was recounting to the king how he had restored the dead to life, lo! the woman whose son he had restored to life, began making outcry unto the king, for her house and for her field. Then said Gehazi, My lord, O king! this, is the woman, and, this, her son, whom, Elisha, restored to life.

8:6  So the king asked the woman, and she recounted it to him,—the king, therefore, appointed her a certain officer, saying—Restore all that was hers, and all the increase of the field, from the day she left the land, even until now.

8:7  And Elisha came into Damascus, when Ben-hadad king of Syria, was sick,—and it was told him, saying, The man of God hath come as far as this place.

8:8  So the king said unto Hazael—Take in thy hand a present, and go to meet the man of God,—so shalt thou enquire of Yahweh, from him, saying, Shall I recover from this sickness?

8:9  So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present in his hand, even every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden,—and came, and stood before him, and said—Thy son, Ben-hadad king of Syria, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Shall I recover from this sickness?

8:10  And Elisha said unto him, Go, say to him, Thou shalt, recover; And yet Yahweh hath shown me, that he will, die.

8:11  And he settled his countenance, and fixed it until he turned pale,—and the man of God, wept.

8:12  Then said Hazael, Why, is my lord, weeping? And he said—Because I know what thou wilt do to the sons of Israel, by way of harm—Their fortresses, thou wilt set on fire, and, their choice young men, with the sword, thou wilt slay, and, their children, thou wilt dash in pieces, and, their women with child, thou wilt rip up.

8:13  And Hazael said, But what is thy servant—the dog—that he should do this great thing? And Elisha said, Yahweh hath shown thee unto me, as king over Syria.

8:14  So he departed from Elisha, and came in unto his lord, who said to him, What said, Elisha, unto thee? And he said. He told me thou wouldst, recover.

8:15  But it came to pass on the morrow, that he took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face, that he died,—and, Hazael, reigned, in his stead.

8:16  Now, in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, having been king of Judah, Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, began to reign.

8:17  Thirty-two years old, was he when he began to reign, and, eight years, reigned, he in Jerusalem.

8:18  And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as did the house of Ahab, for, a daughter of Ahab, became his wife,—and he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh.

8:19  Yet was not Yahweh willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant,—even as he promised him to give him a lamp for his sons all the days.

8:20  In his days, did Edom revolt from under the hand of Judah,—and they set over them a king.

8:21  So Joram passed over to Zair, and all the chariots with him,—and it came to pass that, he, arising by night, smote the Edomites that were round about unto him, and the captains of the chariots, and the people fled to their homes,

8:22  Yet did Edom revolt from under the hand of Judah, unto this day,—then, revolted Libnah, at the same time.

8:23  Now, the rest of the story of Joram, and all that he did, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

8:24  And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, in the city of David,—and, Ahaziah his son, reigned, in his stead.

8:25  In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, did Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah, begin to reign.

8:26  Two and twenty years old, was Ahaziah when he began to reign,—and, one year, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, his mother’s name, was Athaliah, daughter of Omri, king of Israel;

8:27  And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab,—for, son-in-law of the house of Ahab, was, he.

8:28  And he went with Joram son of Ahab, to make war against Hazael king of Syria, in Ramoth-gilead,—and the Syrians wounded Joram.

8:29  So Joram the king returned to get healed in Jezreel, from the wounds wherewith the Syrians had wounded him in Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria,—and, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah, went down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he, was sick.

Chapter 9

9:1  Now, Elisha the prophet, called one of the sons of the prophets,—and said to him—Gird up thy loins, and take this flask of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead;

9:2  and, when thou art come in thither, then look thee out, there, Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi; and thou shalt enter and get him to rise up out of the midst of his brethren, and take him into an inner chamber;

9:3  then shalt thou take the flask of oil, and pour out upon his head, and say—Thus, saith Yahweh, I have anointed thee to be king unto Israel! Then shalt thou open the door and flee, and not tarry.

9:4  So the young man went his way—the young man the prophet—unto Ramoth-gilead.

9:5  And, when he came up, lo! the captains of the force, sitting, and he said—A word, have I, for thee, O captain! And Jehu said—For which, of us all? And he said,—For thee, O captain!

9:6  Then rose he up and went inside, and poured out the oil upon his head, and said unto him—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, I have anointed thee to be king unto the people of Yahweh, unto Israel;

9:7  and thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy lord,—so will I avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yahweh, at the hand of Jezebel;

9:8  so shall perish all the house of Ahab,—and I will cut off to Ahab the meanest, both him that is shut up and him that is left at large, in Israel.

9:9  Yea I will deliver up the house of Ahab, like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat,—and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah:

9:10  And, as for Jezebel, the dogs shall eat [her], in the town-land of Jezreel, there being none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

9:11  Then, Jehu, came forth unto the servants of his lord, and one said to him—Is all well? why came this madman unto thee? And he said unto them, Ye, know, the man and his message.

9:12  And they said—False! pray tell, us. And he said,—Thus and thus, spake he unto me, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, I have anointed thee to be king unto Israel.

9:13  Then hasted they, and took, every man his garment, and put it under him, upon the very steps,—and blew with a horn, and said, Jehu, is king!

9:14  Thus did Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspire against Joram,—when, Joram, was watching Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.

9:15  But Jehoram the king had returned to get himself healed in Jezreel, of the wounds wherewith the Syrians had wounded him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. Then said Jehu—If such is your mind, let no fugitive get forth out of the city, to go and tell it in Jezreel.

9:16  So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went towards Jezreel, for, Joram, was lying there,—and, Ahaziah king of Judah, had come down to see Joram.

9:17  Now, the watchman, was standing upon the tower, in Jezreel, so he saw the great company of Jehu, when he came, and said—A great company, can I see! Then said Jehoram—Take a horseman and send to meet them, that he may say—Is it peace?

9:18  So the horseman went to meet him, and said—Thus, saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said—What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came up to them, but hath not turned back.

9:19  Then sent he a second horseman, and he came up to them and said, Thus, saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said—What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

9:20  And the watchman told, saying, He came up to them, but hath not turned back,—and, the driving, is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi; for, with mad haste, doth he drive.

9:21  Then said Jehoram, Harness! So one harnessed his chariot,—and Jehoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went forth, each man in his chariot, yea they went forth to meet Jehu, and came upon him in the heritage of Naboth the Jezreelite.

9:22  And it came to pass, when Jehoram saw Jehu, that he said—Is it peace, Jehu? And he said—What can be the peace, while thy mother Jezebel’s harlotries and her incantations do so abound?

9:23  Then Jehoram turned his hands, and fled,—and said unto Ahaziah—Treachery! O Ahaziah!

9:24  And, Jehu, bent his bow, and smote Jehoram, between his arms,—and the arrow came out at his heart,—and he sank down in his chariot.

9:25  Then said he unto Bidkar his officer, Take [him] up, [and] cast him forth, into the field-portion of Naboth the Jezreelite,—for remember, when I and thou were riding as a couple together after Ahab his father, that, Yahweh, laid upon him this doom:

9:26  Surely, the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, have I lately seen, declareth Yahweh, therefore will I requite thee in this portion, declareth Yahweh. Now, therefore, take [him] up, [and] cast him forth into the portion, according to the word of Yahweh.

9:27  And, Ahaziah king of Judah, saw it, and fled by the way of the garden house,—and Jehu pursued him, and said—Him also! smite him in the chariot! It was in the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Mepidgo, and died there.

9:28  And his servants conveyed him in a chariot and brought him into Jerusalem,—and buried him in his sepulchre, with his fathers, in the city of David.

9:29  Now it was, in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, that Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

9:30  Now, when Jehu entered Jezreel and, Jezebel, heard of it, she set her eyes in stibium, and ornamented her head, and looked forth through the lattice.

9:31  So, when, Jehu, had entered in at the gate, she said, Was it peace, when Zimri slew his lord?

9:32  And he lifted up his face unto the lattice, and said—Who, is with me? Who? And there looked out unto him, two or three eunuchs.

9:33  And he said—Hurl her down. And they hurled her down,—and there was sprinkled of her blood—upon the wall, and upon the horses, and they trode upon her.

9:34  And, when he had entered and eaten and drunk, he said—Look, I pray you, after this accursed woman, and bury her, for the daughter of a king, she is.

9:35  So they went to bury her,—but found not of her—save the skull, and the feet, and the palms of the hands.

9:36  Then came they back, and told him, and he said—The word of Yahweh, it is, which he spake by the hand of his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, saying—In the town-land of Jezreel, shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel!

9:37  So shall the carcass of Jezebel become like heaps of dung on the face of the field, in the town-land of Jezreel: So that they cannot say, This, is Jezebel!

Chapter 10

10:1  Now, Ahab, had seventy sons in Samaria,—so Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel—the elders, and unto them who had been foster-parents for Ahab, saying:

10:2  Now, therefore, when this letter cometh in unto you, there being, with you, the sons of your lord,—and, with you, the chariots and the homes, and a fortified city, and the armour,

10:3  ye shall look out the goodliest and fittest of the sons of your lord, and set on the throne of his father, and ye shall do battle for the house of your lord.

10:4  Then feared they very greatly, and said, Lo! two kings, stood not before him; how then, should, we, stand?

10:5  So he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, and the elders, and the foster-parents sent unto Jehu, saying—Thy servants, we are! and, all that thou shalt say unto us, will we do,—we will make no man king, whatsoever is good in thine own eyes, do!

10:6  Then wrote he unto them a second letter, saying—If, mine, ye are, and, unto my voice, ye intend to hearken, take ye the heads of the men who are sons of your lord, and come in unto me about this time to-morrow, in Jezreel. Now, the sons of the king, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who had been bringing them up.

10:7  And it came to pass, when the letter reached them, that they took the sons of the king, and slew them, seventy persons,—and put their heads in baskets, and sent unto him to Jezreel.

10:8  And there came in a messenger and told him, saying, They have brought in the heads of the sons of the king. And he said—Lay ye them in two heaps, at the entrance of the gate, until the morning.

10:9  And it came to pass, in the morning, that he went out and took his stand, and said unto all the people, Righteous, are, ye! Lo! I, conspired against my lord, and slew him, but, who, smote, all these?

10:10  Know ye, then, that there shall fall nought of the word of Yahweh, to the ground, which Yahweh spake concerning the house of Ahab,—but, Yahweh, hath done that which he spake through his servant Elijah.

10:11  Then Jehu smote all that were left remaining unto the house of Ahab, in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his acquaintances and his priests,—until there was not left remaining to him, a survivor.

10:12  Then arose he, and came in, and departed for Samaria,—the sheep-shearing house itself being on the road;

10:13  so, Jehu, lighted upon the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are, ye? And they said—Brethren of Ahaziah, are, we; so we came down to salute the sons of the king, and the sons of the queen.

10:14  Then said he,—Take them alive. So they took them alive, and slew them [casting them] into the pit of the shearing house,—forty-two men, neither left he remaining a man of them.

10:15  Then departed he from thence, and lighted on Jehonadab son of Rechab coming to meet him, and he blessed him, and said unto him—Is thy heart, right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab said—It is. Then, if it is, give me thy hand. So he gave him his hand. And he took him up to him, into the chariot;

10:16  and said—Do come with me, and see my jealousy for Yahweh. So he made him ride in his chariot.

10:17  And, when he came into Samaria, he smote all that were left remaining unto Ahab, in Samaria, until he had destroyed him,—according to the word of Yahweh, which he had spoken unto Elijah.

10:18  Then Jehu gathered together all the people, and said unto them,—Ahab, served Baal, a little,—Jehu, will serve him, much.

10:19  Now, therefore, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests, call ye for me; do not let, a man, be missing; for, a great sacrifice, have I, to Baal, no one that is missing, shall live. But, Jehu, acted, craftily, to the end he might destroy the servants of Baal.

10:20  And Jehu said—Hallow ye a solemn festival unto Baal. And they made proclamation.

10:21  And Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the servants of Baal came in, so that there was not left remaining a man, who had not come in,—and they entered the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled, from door to door.

10:22  Then said he to him who was over the wardrobe chamber, Bring forth vestments for all the servants of Baal. And he brought forth for them the vestments.

10:23  Then entered Jehu, with Jehonadab son of Rechab, into the house of Baal,—and he said unto the servants of Baal—Search ye and see, that there be not here, with you, any of the servants of Yahweh, none but the servants of Baal, alone.

10:24  And, when they entered to offer sacrifices and ascending-offerings, Jehu, set him, outside, eighty men, and said—The man who shall escape, of the men whom I am bringing into your power, his own life, shall be for, his life.

10:25  And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the ascending-sacrifice, that Jehu said to the runners and to the officers—Enter, smite them, let not, a man, get out. So they smote them, with the edge of the sword,—and the runners and the officers cast them out, and then went as far as the city of the house of Baal,

10:26  and brought forth the idolatrous pillars that were in the house of Baal, and then burned it;

10:27  and they brake down the pillars of Baal,—and brake down the house of Baal, and appointed it for a sewer-house—until this day.

10:28  Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

10:29  Nevertheless, as for the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit, Jehu turned not away from following them,—the calves of gold, one being in Bethel, and the other in Dan.

10:30  And Yahweh said unto Jehu: Because thou hast done well, by doing that which was right in mine eyes—according to all that was in my heart, hast done to the house of Ahab, sons, of thine, unto the fourth generation, shall sit upon the throne of Israel.

10:31  But, Jehu, took not heed to walk in the law of Yahweh God of Israel, with all his heart,—he turned not away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he caused, Israel, to commit.

10:32  In those days, began Yahweh to make inroads in Israel,—and Hazael smote them in all the boundaries of Israel;

10:33  from the Jordan, towards sunrise, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites,—from Aroer, which is by the torrent of Arnon, both Gilead and Bashan.

10:34  Now, the rest of the story of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

10:35  And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria,—and, Jehoahaz his son, reigned, in his stead.

10:36  Now, the days that Jehu reigned over Israel, were twenty-eight years, in Samaria.

Chapter 11

11:1  Now, when, Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.

11:2  But Jehosheba daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were being slain—him and his nurse, into the bedchamber,—so she hid him from the face of Athaliah, that he was not slain.

11:3  And he was with her, in the house of Yahweh, hiding himself, six years,—while, Athaliah, was reigning over the land.

11:4  But, in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent and took the captains over hundreds, of the Carian body-guard, and of the runners, and brought them unto him, in the house of Yahweh,—and, when he had solemnised a Covenant with them, and put them on oath, in the house of Yahweh, then shewed he them the king’s son;

11:5  and commanded them, saying—This, is the thing which ye must do,—A third part of you, will be coming in on the sabbath, and keeping the watch of the house of the king;

11:6  and, a third, in the side-gate; and, a third, in the gate behind the runners,—so shall ye keep the watch of the house, by turns.

11:7  And, two parts of you, are all that are going out on the sabbath,—so shall ye keep the watch of the house of Yahweh, as touching the king.

11:8  Thus shall ye encompass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand, and, he that cometh within the ranks, let him be slain,—so be ye with the king, when he cometh out and when he goeth in.

11:9  And the captains of hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they took every man his men who were coming in on the sabbath, with them who were going out on the sabbath,—and came unto Jehoiada the priest.

11:10  And the priest gave unto the captains of hundreds the spears and the shields which belonged to King David,—which were in the house of Yahweh.

11:11  And the runners stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right corner of the house, as far as the left corner of the house, by the altar and the house,—near the king, round about.

11:12  Then brought he forth the king’s son, and set upon him the crown, and the testimony, and they made him king, and anointed him,—and clapped their hands, and said—May the king live!

11:13  And, when Athaliah heard the noise of the runners, the people, then came she in unto the people, in the house of Yahweh,

11:14  and looked, and lo! the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was, and the captains and the trumpeters, by the king, and, all the people of the land, rejoicing, and blowing with trumpets,—so Athaliah rent her garments, and cried out—Conspiracy! conspiracy!

11:15  And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds—officers of the force, and said unto them—Take her forth into the inside of the ranks, and, he that cometh in after her, [ye are] to slay with the sword. For the priest said, Let her not be slain, in the house of Yahweh.

11:16  So they made way for her, and she entered the road by which the horses approached the house of the king, and was slain there.

11:17  And Jehoiada solemnised a covenant between Yahweh, and the king, and the people, that they should become a people unto Yahweh,—also between the king and the people.

11:18  And all the people of the land entered the house of Baal, and brake it down, his altars and his images, brake they in pieces, utterly, and, Mattan the priest of Baal, they slew before the altars,—and the priest appointed officers over the house of Yahweh.

11:19  And he took the captains of hundreds and the Carian bodyguard, and the runners, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king out of the house of Yahweh, and they came, by way of the gate of the runners, into the house of the king,—and he took his seat on the throne of the kings;

11:20  and all the people of the land rejoiced, and, the city, had rest,—when they had put, Athaliah, to death with the sword, in the house of the king.

11:21  Seven years old, was Jehoash, when he began to reign.

Chapter 12

12:1  In the seventh year of Jehu, began Jehoash to reign, and, forty years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, the name of his mother, was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.

12:2  And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh all his days,—whereunto, Jehoiada the priest, instructed him:

12:3  save only, that, the high places, took they not away,—still were the people sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.

12:4  And Jehoash said unto the priests,—All the silver of the hallowed things, that is brought into the house of Yahweh—the silver of one who transgresseth, the silver of [their] persons by the estimate of, each one,—all the silver which it cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of Yahweh,

12:5  let the priests take to them, every one from his acquaintance,—and let, them, repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever there may be found a breach.

12:6  But it came to pass, that, in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.

12:7  So King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said unto them—Why are ye not repairing the breaches of the house? Now, therefore, do not take silver from your acquaintances, for, to [repair] the breaches of the house, ought ye to have given it?

12:8  The priests therefore consented, not to take silver from the people, and not to repair the breaches of the house.

12:9  Then took Jehoiada a certain chest, and bored a hole in the door thereof,—and set it beside the altar, on the right as one entereth into the house of Yahweh, and the priests that kept the entrance-hall, used to put therein—all the silver that was brought into the house of Yahweh.

12:10  And it came to pass, when they saw that there was much silver in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and brought together and counted the silver that was found in the house of Yahweh;

12:11  then used they to give the silver that had been weighed out, into the hands of the doers of the work, who had oversight of the house of Yahweh,—and they brought it forth, to the carpenters, and to the builders, who were working upon the house of Yahweh;

12:12  and to the masons, and to the hewers of stone, and to buy timber, and hewn stone, for repairing the breaches of the house of Yahweh,—and to every one that went out upon the house, to repair it.

12:13  Howbeit there were not made for the house of Yahweh, bowls of silver, snuffers, dashing basins, trumpets, any vessel of gold, or any vessel of silver,—out of the silver that was brought into the house of Yahweh;

12:14  for, to the doers of the work, used they to give it; and so they repaired, therewith, the house of Yahweh.

12:15  And they used not to reckon with the men into whose hands they gave the silver, to give it to the doers of the work, because, with faithfulness, were, they, dealing.

12:16  Silver for guilt-offerings and silver for sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Yahweh,—to the priests, they belonged.

12:17  Then, came up Hazael, king of Syria, and fought against Gath, and captured it,—so Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.

12:18  Therefore did Jehoash, king of Judah, take all the hallowed things which Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had hallowed, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the house of the king,—and sent to Hazael king of Syria, so he went up from against Jerusalem.

12:19  Now, the rest of the story of Joash, and all that he did, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

12:20  And his servants arose and made a conspiracy, and smote Joash, in the house of Millo which teeth down to Silla.

12:21  Yea, Jozabar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, that he died, and he was buried with his fathers, in the city of David,—and, Amaziah his son, reigned in his stead.

Chapter 13

13:1  In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, began Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, to reign over Israel, in Samaria, [and he reigned] seventeen years.

13:2  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—and went after the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he caused, Israel, to commit, he departed not therefrom.

13:3  Then was kindled the anger of Yahweh against Israel—and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael, continually.

13:4  And Jehoahaz appeased the face of Yahweh,—and Yahweh hearkened unto him, because he had seen the oppression of Israel, for that, the king of Syria, oppressed them.

13:5  So Yahweh gave unto Israel a saviour, and they went forth from under the hand of Syria,—and the sons of Israel dwelt in their own homes, as aforetime.

13:6  Howbeit they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam which he caused, Israel, to commit, therein, they walked,—moreover also, the Sacred Stem, still stood in Samaria.

13:7  For he had not left remaining unto Jehoahaz a people, save only fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen,—for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like dust in threshing.

13:8  Now, the rest of the story of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

13:9  So then Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria,—and, Joash his son, reigned, in his stead.

13:10  In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, began Jehoash son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel, in Samaria, [and he reigned] sixteen years.

13:11  And he did that which was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—he turned not away from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit, therein, he walked.

13:12  Now, the rest of the story of Joash, and all that he did, and his might, wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

13:13  So then Joash slept with his fathers, and, Jeroboam, took his seat on his throne,—and Joash was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel.

13:14  Now, Elisha, had fallen sick of his sickness whereof he was about to die,—so then Joash king of Israel came down unto him, and wept upon his face, and said, My father! my father! The chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!

13:15  And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. So he took unto him bow and arrows.

13:16  Then said he unto the king of Israel, Let thy hand rest upon the bow. So he let his hand rest thereon. Then Elisha put his own hands upon the hands of the king;

13:17  and said—Open the lattice eastward. And he opened it. Then said Elisha—Shoot! And he shot. Then he said,—The arrow of victory by Yahweh, yea the arrow of victory over Syria, therefore shalt thou smite Syria in Aphek, till it be consumed.

13:18  And he said—Take the arrows. So he took them. Then said he unto the king of Israel—Smite unto the ground. So he smote three times, and then stayed.

13:19  Then was the man of God wroth against him, and said—Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, then, hadst thou smitten Syria, until it had been consumed; But, now, three times, shalt thou smite Syria.

13:20  And Elisha died, and they buried him,—now, troops of Moabites, used to enter the land, at the coming in of the year;

13:21  and it came to pass, as, they, were burying a man, that, lo! they saw a troop, so they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha,—and, as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he came to life again, and rose up on his feet.

13:22  And, Hazael king of Syria, had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

13:23  Then was Yahweh gracious unto them, and had compassion upon them, and turned unto them, for the sake of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,—and was not willing to destroy them, nor to cast them off from his presence, as yet.

13:24  So then Hazael king of Syria died; and, Ben-hadad his son, reigned, in his stead.

13:25  And Jehoash son of Jehoahaz again took the cities out of the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father, in war,—three times, did Joash smite him, and recover the cities of Israel.

Chapter 14

14:1  In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, began Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah to reign.

14:2  Twenty-five years old, was he when he began to reign, and twenty-nine years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, his mother’s name, was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

14:3  And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, only, not like David his father: according to all that Joash his father did, so he did;

14:4  only, the high places, took they not away,—still were the people sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.

14:5  And it came to pass that, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, he smote his servants who smote the king his father;

14:6  but, the sons of them that smote him, slew he not,—as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh commanded, saying—Fathers, shall not be put to death, for sons, nor shall, sons, be put to death, for fathers, but every man, for his own sin, shall be put to death.

14:7  He, smote Edom, in the valley of salt, ten thousand, and seized Sela, in the war,—and called the name thereof Joktheel, [as it is] until this day.

14:8  Then, sent Amaziah messengers unto Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying,—Come now, let us look one another in the face.

14:9  And Jehoash king of Israel sent unto Amaziah king of Judah, saying, A thistle that was in Lebanon, sent unto a cedar that was in Lebanon, saying—Give thy daughter to my son to wife,—and there passed by a beast of the field that was in Lebanon, and trampled down the thistle:

14:10  Thou hast, smitten, Edom, and, thy heart, would lift thee up,—Glory, and stay at home! Wherefore, then, shouldest thou contend with misfortune, and fall, thou, and Judah with thee?

14:11  But Amaziah hearkened not. So then Jehoash king of Israel came up, and they looked one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah,—in Beth-shemesh, which belongeth unto Judah.

14:12  Then was Judah defeated before Israel,—and they fled, every man to his own home;

14:13  and, upon Amaziah, king of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, did Jehoash king of Israel, seize, in Beth-shemesh,—and entered Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, at the gate of Ephraim, as far as the corner gate, four hundred cubits;

14:14  and took all the gold and the silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasuries of the house of the king, and hostages,—and returned to Samaria.

14:15  Now, the rest of the story of Jehoash, what he did, and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

14:16  And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel,—and, Jeroboam his son, reigned, in his stead.

14:17  And Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, lived, after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, fifteen years.

14:18  Now, the rest of the story of Amaziah, is, it, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

14:19  And, when they made against him a conspiracy in Jerusalem, he fled to Lachish,—but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him, there.

14:20  And they bare him on horses,—and he was buried in Jerusalem, with his fathers, in the city of David.

14:21  And all the people of Judah took Azariah, he, being sixteen yearn old,—and made, him, king instead of his father Amaziah.

14:22  He, built Elath, and restored it to Judah,—after the king slept with his fathers.

14:23  In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, began Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, to reign in Samaria, [and he reigned] forty-one years.

14:24  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—he turned not away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit.

14:25  He, restored the boundary of Israel, from the entering in of Hamath, unto the sea of the waste plain,—according to the word of Yahweh, God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher.

14:26  For Yahweh saw the humiliation of Israel, that it was bitter, indeed,—and that there was no one shut up, nor any one left at large, no one indeed to help Israel.

14:27  Neither had Yahweh spoken, to wipe out the name of Israel from under the heavens,—so he saved them, by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash.

14:28  Now, the rest of the story of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might when he warred, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

14:29  And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, with the kings of Israel,—and, Zechariah his son, reigned, in his stead.

Chapter 15

15:1  In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.

15:2  Sixteen years old, was he when he began to reign, and, fifty-two years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, the name of his mother, was Jecholiah, of Jerusalem.

15:3  And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh,—according to all that, Amaziah his father, had done.

15:4  Only, the high places, took they not away,—still were the people sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.

15:5  And Yahweh smote the king, so that he became a leper, until the day of his death, and dwelt in a lazar-house,—and, Jotham, son of the king, was over the house, judging the people of the land.

15:6  Now, the rest of the story of Azariah, and all that he did, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

15:7  And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers, in the city of David,—and, Jotham his son, reigned, in his stead.

15:8  In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, began Zechariah son of Jeroboam to reign over Israel, in Samaria, [and he reigned] six months.

15:9  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, as did his fathers,—he turned not away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit.

15:10  Then conspired against him, Shallum son of Jabesh, and smote him before the people, and slew him,—and reigned in his stead.

15:11  Now, the rest of the story of Zechariah, behold it! written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

15:12  That, was the word of Yahweh, which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons, to four generations, shall sit on the throne of Israel. And it was so!

15:13  Shallum the son of Jabesh, began to reign, in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah, king of Judah,—for the space of a month in Samaria.

15:14  Then came up Menahem son of Gadi, from Tirzah, and entered Samaria, and smote Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria,—and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

15:15  Now, the rest of the story of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold them! written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel!

15:16  Then, Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the boundaries thereof, from Tirzah, because they opened not, therefore he smote them,—all the women therein that were with child, he ripped up.

15:17  In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, began Menahem son of Gadi to reign over Israel, ten years [reigned he], in Samaria.

15:18  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—he turned not away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit, all his days.

15:19  Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, so Menahem gave unto Pul, a thousand talents of silver,—that his hands might be with him, to confirm the kingdom, in his hand.

15:20  And Menahem exacted the silver of Israel, of all the mighty men of wealth, to give to the king of Assyria, fifty shekels of silver, of each man,—so the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there, in the land.

15:21  Now, the rest of the story of Menahem, and all that he did, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

15:22  And Menahem slept with his fathers,—and, Pekahiah his son, reigned in his stead.

15:23  In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, began Pekahiah son of Menahem to reign over Israel, in Samaria, [and he reigned] two years.

15:24  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—he turned not away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit.

15:25  And there conspired against him—Pekah son of Remaliah, a hero of his, and smote him in Samaria, in the citadel of the house of a king, with Argob and with Arieh, and, with him, fifty men of the sons of the Gileadites,—and he slew him, and reigned in his stead.

15:26  Now, the rest of the story of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold them! written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel!

15:27  In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, began Pekah son of Remaliah to reign over Israel, in Samaria, [and he reigned] twenty years.

15:28  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—he turned not away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit.

15:29  In the days of Pekah king of Israel, came Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali—and carried them away captive to Assyria.

15:30  And Hoshea son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah, son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead,—in the twentieth year of Jotham, son of Uzziah.

15:31  Now, the rest of the story of Pekah, and all that he did, behold them! written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel!

15:32  In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, began Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign.

15:33  Twenty-five years old, was he, when he began to reign, and, sixteen years, reigned he, in Jerusalem,—and, the name of his mother, was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok.

15:34  And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh,—according to all that Uzziah his father had done.

15:35  Only, the high places, took they not away, still were the people offering sacrifice and burning incense in the high places,—he, built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh.

15:36  Now, the rest of the story of Jotham, what he did, is, it, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

15:37  In those days, began Yahweh to send against Judah, Rezin, king of Syria,—and Pekah son of Remaliah.

15:38  And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, in the city of David his father,—and, Ahaz his son, reigned, in his stead.

Chapter 16

16:1  In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, began Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah to reign.

16:2  Twenty years old, was Ahaz when he began to reign, and, sixteen years, reigned he in Jerusalem. And he did not that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh his God, like David his father;

16:3  but walked in the way of the kings of Israel,—moreover also, me made, his son, pass through the fire, according to the abominable practices of the nations, whom Yahweh dispossessed from before the sons of Israel;

16:4  and he offered sacrifice and burned incense in the high places, and on the hills,—and under every green tree.

16:5  then, came up Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to make war,—and they laid siege against Ahaz, but could not overcome [him] .

16:6  At that time, Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath, to Syria, and wholly cleared out the Jews from Eloth,—and, the Syrians, entered Elath, and have dwelt there, unto this day.

16:7  So Ahaz sent messengers unto Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, Thy servant and thy son, I am,—Come up and save me, out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.

16:8  And Ahaz took the silver and the gold that was found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasuries of the house of the king,—and sent them to the king of Assyria, as a bribe.

16:9  So the king of Assyria hearkened unto him, and the king of Assyria came up unto Damascus, and seized it, and carried away the people thereof captive to Kir,—and put Rezin, to death.

16:10  So then King Ahaz went to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, in Damascus, and saw the altar which was in Damascus,—and King Ahaz, sent unto Urijah the priest, a likeness of the altar, and a model thereof, according to all the workmanship thereof;

16:11  and Urijah the priest built an altar,—according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus, so, did Urijah the priest make it, by the time King Ahaz came from Damascus.

16:12  And, when the king came from Damascus, then the king saw the altar,—so the king drew near unto the altar, and caused offerings to ascend thereupon.

16:13  And he made perfume with his ascending-sacrifice, and with his meal-offering, and poured out his drink-offering,—and dashed the blood of the peace-offerings which he had, upon the altar.

16:14  And, the altar of bronze which was before Yahweh, he brought away from the forefront of the house, from between the altar, and the house of Yahweh,—and put it at the side of the altar northward.

16:15  And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying—Upon the great altar, make thou perfume with the ascending-sacrifice of the morning, and with the meal-offering of the evening, and with the ascending-sacrifice of the king and with his meal-offering, and with the ascending-sacrifice of all the people of the land, and their meal-offering and their drink-offering, and, all the blood of the ascending-offering, and all the blood of the [peace] offering, thereupon, shalt thou dash,—but, the altar of bronze, shall be for me to inquire [into] .

16:16  So Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

16:17  And King Ahaz cut off the side walls of the stands, and took away from off them the laver, and, the sea, took he down from off the oxen of bronze, which were under it,—and set it on a pavement of stones.

16:18  Also, the covered walk for the Sabbath, which they had built in the house, and the outer entrance for the king, he changed in the house of Yahweh,—because of the king of Assyria.

16:19  Now, the rest of the story of Ahaz, what he did, is, it, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

16:20  And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, in the city of David,—and, Hezekiah his son, reigned, in his stead.

Chapter 17

17:1  In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, began Hosea son of Elah to reign in Samaria, over Israel, [and he reigned] nine years.

17:2  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—only, not like the kings of Israel who were before him.

17:3  Against him, came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria,—and Hoshea became his servant, and rendered him a present.

17:4  Then found the king of Assyria, in Hosea, a conspiracy, in that he had sent messengers unto So king of Egypt, and had not brought up a present to the king of Assyria, as [he had done] year by year,—therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.

17:5  And the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land,—yea he came up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.

17:6  In the ninth year of Hoshea, did the king of Assyria capture Samaria, and carried Israel away captive to Assyria,—and settled them in Halah, and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and the mountains of Media.

17:7  And thus it came to pass that Israel sinned against Yahweh their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt,—yea they did reverence to other gods;

17:8  and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel,—and [in the statutes] of the kings of Israel, which they had made.

17:9  And the sons of Israel did, secretly, things which were not right, against Yahweh their God,—and built for themselves high places in all their cities, from the watchmen’s tower, to the fortified city.

17:10  And they set up for themselves pillars and Sacred Stems, upon every high hill, and under every green tree;

17:11  and burned incense there, in all the high places, like the nations whom Yahweh drave out from before them,—and did things that were wicked, so as to provoke Yahweh to anger;

17:12  and they served the manufactured gods, as to which Yahweh had said to them, Ye shall not do this thing.

17:13  And Yahweh testified against Israel and against Judah, through all his prophets—every one who had a vision, saying—Turn ye from your wicked ways, and keep my commandments, my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers; and which I sent unto you through my servants the prophets.

17:14  Howbeit they hearkened not,—but stiffened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who trusted not in Yahweh their God;

17:15  but rejected his statutes, and his covenant, which he solemnised with their fathers, and his testimonies wherewith he testified against them,—and followed vanity, and became vain, and followed the nations that were round about them, as to whom Yahweh charged them, so that they should not do like them.

17:16  But they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made for themselves something molten—two calves, and made a Sacred Stem, and bowed themselves down to all the army of the heavens, and served Baal;

17:17  and made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and used divinations and enchantments, and sold themselves to do the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, provoking him to wrath.

17:18  So Yahweh shewed himself exceeding angry with Israel, and removed them from his presence,—there was none left, save the tribe of Judah, alone.

17:19  Even Judah, kept not the commandments of Yahweh their God,—but walked in the statutes of Israel, which they had made.

17:20  So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel, and humiliated them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers,—until he had cast them out from his presence;

17:21  for he rent Israel away from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat, king,—and Jeroboam thrust away Israel from following Yahweh, and caused them to commit a great sin.

17:22  And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he had committed,—they turned not away therefrom;

17:23  until that Yahweh removed Israel from his presence, according as he spake through all his servants the prophets,—and so Israel was driven away from off their own soil, to Assyria, until this day.

17:24  And the king of Assyria brought [men] from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avvah, and from Hamath, and [from] Sepharvaim, and caused them to dwell in the cities of Samaria, instead of the sons of Israel,—so they took possession of Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

17:25  And so it was, that, when they first dwelt there, they revered not Yahweh,—therefore Yahweh sent among them, lions, which were slaying them.

17:26  Therefore spake they unto the king of Assyria, saying, The nations whom thou hast removed and settled in the cities of Samaria, know not the custom of the God of the land,—and he hath sent among them lions, and lo! they are slaying them, because they know not the custom of the God of the land.

17:27  So the king of Assyria commanded, saying—Carry thither, one of the priests, whom ye brought away captive from thence, that they may go, and dwell there,—and teach them the custom of the God of the land.

17:28  Then came one of the priests whom they had carried away captive from Samaria, and dwelt in Bethel,—and he began teaching them how they should do reverence unto Yahweh.

17:29  Howbeit the nations severally were making their own gods,—and did put them in the houses of the high places, which, the Samaritans, had made, each several nation, in their cities wherein, they, were dwelling.

17:30  So then, the men of Babylon, made Succoth-benoth, and, the men of Cuth, made Nergal, and, the men of Hamath, made Ashima:

17:31  and, the Avvites, made Nibhaz and Tartak, and, the Sepharvites, did consume their sons in the fire, to Adrammelech and Anammelech gods of Sepharvaim.

17:32  Thus became they reverers of Yahweh,—and yet made for themselves, from the whole compass of them, priests of high places, who became offerers for them in the house of the high places.

17:33  Yahweh, were they revering,—and yet, their own gods, were they serving, according to the custom of the nations from whence they had brought them away captive.

17:34  Unto this day, are they offering according to the former customs,—they are not revering Yahweh, neither are they offering after their own statutes, or their own custom, nor yet after the law and the commandment which Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, whose name he made to be Israel:

17:35  With, whom, Yahweh solemnised a covenant, and commanded them saying—Ye shall not revere other gods,—nor bow down to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them;

17:36  But, Yahweh—who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, with great might, and with arm outstretched, him, shall ye revere,—and to him, shall ye bow down, and to him, shall ye sacrifice;

17:37  And, the statutes and the regulations, and the law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, shall ye surely observe to do, continually,—So shall ye not revere other gods;

17:38  But, the covenant which I have solemnised with you, shall ye not forget,—So shall ye not revere other gods;

17:39  But, Yahweh your God, shall ye revere,—then will, he, deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.

17:40  Howbeit they hearkened not,—but, according to their own former custom, were they offering.

17:41  Thus were these nations doing reverence unto Yahweh, and yet, unto their own carved images, were they rendering service,—yea, their sons and their son’s sons, as the fathers offered, so are, they, offering until this day.

Chapter 18

18:1  And it came to pass, in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

18:2  Twenty-five years old, was he when he began to reign, and, twenty-nine years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, his mother’s name, was Abi, daughter of Zachariah.

18:3  And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh,—according to all that, David his father, did.

18:4  He, removed the high places, and brake in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Sacred Stem,—and beat in pieces the serpent of bronze that, Moses, had made, because, until those days, had the sons of Israel been burning incense thereunto, so he called it Nehushtan.

18:5  In Yahweh, God of Israel, did he trust,—so that, after him, was none like him, among all the kings of Judah, nor that were before him;

18:6  and he did cleave unto Yahweh, he turned not away from following him,—but kept his commandments, which, Yahweh, commanded, Moses.

18:7  So Yahweh was with him, whithersoever he went forth, he prospered,—and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.

18:8  He, smote the Philistines, as far as Gazah, and her boundaries,—from the watchmen’s tower even to the fortified city.

18:9  And it came to pass, in the fourth year of King Hezekiah—the same, was the seventh year of Hosea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and laid siege against it;

18:10  and he captured it at the end of three years, in the sixth year of Hezekiah,—the same, is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, was Samaria captured.

18:11  So the king of Assyria drave away Israel to Assyria,—and settled them in Halah, and in Habor, by the river of Gozan, and the mountains of Media:

18:12  because they hearkened not unto the voice of Yahweh their God, but transgressed his covenant, all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded,—they neither hearkened nor performed.

18:13  And, in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, came up Sennacherib king of Assyria, against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them.

18:14  Then sent Hezekiah king of Judah unto the king of Assyria, to Lachish, saying—I have sinned, Return from me, What thou shalt lay upon me, I will bear. So the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah, three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold.

18:15  And Hezekiah delivered up all the silver that was found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasuries of the house of the king.

18:16  At that time, Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Yahweh, and the columns, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid,—and gave them unto the king of Assyria.

18:17  And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rab-shakeh, from Lachish unto King Hezekiah, with a heavy force to Jerusalem,—so they came up and drew near to Jerusalem, and took their stand by the upper channel of the pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.

18:18  Then called they for the king, and there went out unto them Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the household,—and Shebnah, the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder.

18:19  And Rab-shakeh said unto them—Pray you, say unto Hezekiah,—Thus, saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What trust is this wherewith thou dost trust?

18:20  Thou hast said—they are only words of the lips!—Counsel and might [have I] for the war. Now, in whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me?

18:21  Now, lo! thou dost trust thyself on the support of this bruised cane, on Egypt, whereon, if a man lean, it will enter his hand and lay it open,—so, is Pharaoh king of Egypt, to all who trust upon him.

18:22  But, if ye should say unto me, In Yahweh our God, do we trust, Then is that not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath removed, and said unto Judah, and unto Jerusalem—Before this altar, shall ye bow down, in Jerusalem?

18:23  Now, therefore, pledge thyself, I pray thee, with my lord, the king of Assyria,—that I supply thee with two thousand horses, if thou, on thy part, be able to set riders upon them.

18:24  How then wilt thou turn back the face of one pasha of the least of my lord’s servants? Or hast thou, on thy part, trusted to Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

18:25  Now, is it, without Yahweh, that I have come up against this place, to destroy it? Yahweh himself, said unto me, Go thou up against this land, and destroy it.

18:26  Then said Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh: Speak, we pray thee, unto thy servants in the, Syrian, language, for, we, can, understand, it,—and do not speak with us in, the Jews’, language, in the ears of the people who are upon the wall.

18:27  But Rab-shakeh said unto them—Is it, concerning thy lord, and concerning thee, that my lord hath sent me to speak these things? Is it not concerning the men who are tarrying upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own water with you?

18:28  So then Rab-shakeh took his stand, and cried out with a loud voice, in, the Jews’, language,—and spake, and said, Hear ye the message of the great king, the king of Assyria:—

18:29  Thus, saith the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not he able to deliver you out of his hand;

18:30  Neither let Hezekiah cause you to trust in Yahweh, saying, Yahweh, will, certainly deliver, us,—this city, therefore, shall not be given over into the hand of the king of Assyria.

18:31  Do not hearken unto Hezekiah,—for, thus, saith the king of Assyria, Deal with me thankfully, and come out unto me, then shall ye eat—every one of his own vine, and every one of his own fig-tree, and drink every one the waters of his own cistern;

18:32  Until I come and take you, into a land like your own land—A land of corn and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and honey, so shall ye live, and not die,—But do not hearken unto Hezekiah, for he would persuade you, saying, Yahweh, will deliver us!

18:33  Have, the gods of the nations, at all delivered, any one of them, his country, out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

18:34  Where are the gods of Hamath, and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Yea, did they deliver Samaria out of my hand?

18:35  Who are they, among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country, out of my hand,—that, Yahweh, should deliver, Jerusalem, out of my hand?

18:36  But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word,—for, the command of the king, it was, saying—Ye must not answer him.

18:37  Then came in Eliakim son of Hilkiah who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, unto Hezekiah, with rent clothes,—and they told him the words of Rab-shakeh.

Chapter 19

19:1  And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard, that he rent his clothes,—and covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of Yahweh;

19:2  and sent Eliakim who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth,—unto Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz;

19:3  and they said unto him—Thus, saith Hezekiah, A day of trouble, and rebuke, and reviling, is this day,—for children are come to the birth, and, strength, is there none to bring forth!

19:4  It may be that Yahweh thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his lord hath sent, to reproach a Living God, and will rebuke the words, which Yahweh thy God hath heard,—Wherefore lift thou up a prayer, for the remnant that remaineth.

19:5  So the servants of King Hezekiah came unto Isaiah.

19:6  And Isaiah said unto them, Thus, shall ye, say, unto your lord,—Thus, saith Yahweh—Be not thou afraid, because of the words which thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled, me:

19:7  Behold me! about to let go against him, a blast, and, when he heareth the report, then will he return to his own country,—and I will cause him to fall by the sword, in his own land.

19:8  So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah,—for he had heard that he had broken up from Lachish.

19:9  And when he heard say of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, saying, Lo! he hath come forth to fight with thee,—then he again sent messengers unto Hezekiah, saying—

19:10  Thus, shall ye, speak, unto Hezekiah king of Judah, saying—Let not thy God in whom thou art trusting beguile thee, saying,—Jerusalem shall not be given over, into the hand of the king of Assyria.

19:11  Lo! thou thyself, hast heard, what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, in devoting them to destruction,—and shalt, thou, be delivered?

19:12  Did the gods of the nations, deliver them, whom my fathers destroyed, Gozan, and Haran,—and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who were in Telassar?

19:13  Where are the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim,—of Hena, and Ivvah?

19:14  And, when Hezekiah had received the letter at the hand of the messengers, and had read it, then went he up to the house of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out before Yahweh.

19:15  And Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, O Yahweh, God of Israel, inhabiting the cherubim, thou thyself, art GOD, alone, for all the kingdoms of the earth,—thou, didst make the heavens and the earth.

19:16  Bow down, O Yahweh, thine ear, and hear, Open, O Yahweh, thine eyes, and see,—yea hear thou the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent—To reproach a Living God!

19:17  Of a truth, O Yahweh,—the kings of Assyria have devoted to destruction the nations and their lands;

19:18  and have put their gods in the fire,—for, no-gods, were, they, but the work of the hands of men—wood and stone, and so they destroyed them.

19:19  Now, therefore, O Yahweh our God, save us we pray thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that, thou, Yahweh, art God, alone!

19:20  Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying,—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, What thou hast prayed unto me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.

19:21  This, is the word that Yahweh hath spoken concerning him,—The virgin daughter of Zion, laugheth thee to scorn, mocketh thee, The daughter of Jerusalem, after thee, doth wag her head.

19:22  Whom, hast thou reproached, and insulted? and, against whom, hast thou lifted high thy voice? yea thou hast proudly raised thine eyes, against the Holy One of Israel.

19:23  Through thy messengers, thou hast reproached My Lord, and hast said—With my multitude of chariots, have I ascended the height of the mountains, the recesses of Lebanon,—and have cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest firs, and have entered the shelter of its summit, its thick garden forests.

19:24  I, have digged, and have drunk foreign waters,—and have dried up, with the soles of my feet, all the streams of besieged places.

19:25  Hast thou not heard—that, long ago, that, is what I appointed, and, from days of old, devised it? Now, have I brought it to pass, that thou mightest serve to lay waste, in desolate ruins, fortified cities;

19:26  And, their inhabitants, being powerless, were overthrown and put to shame,—they became grass of the field, and young herbage, grass on housetops, and seed withered before it came up.

19:27  Howbeit, thine abode, and thy coming out and thy going in, I know,—and thy raging against me.

19:28  Because, thy raging against me, and thy contempt, have come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my ring in thy nose, and my bit in thy lips, and will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

19:29  And, this unto thee, is the sign—Eating, this year, the growth of scattered seeds, and, in the second year, that which groweth after,—then, in the third year, sow ye and reap, plant ye vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof;

19:30  Then shall the escaped of the house of Judah that remain, again—take root downward, and bear fruit upward;

19:31  For, out of Jerusalem, shall go forth a remnant, and that which hath escaped—out of Mount Zion,—the jealousy of Yahweh of hosts, will perform this.

19:32  Therefore—Thus, saith Yahweh, concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not enter this city, nor shoot there, an arrow,—nor attack it with shield, nor cast up against it, a mound;

19:33  By the way that he cometh in, by the same, shall he return,—and, into this city, shall he not enter, declareth Yahweh!

19:34  Thus will I throw a covering over this city, to save it,—for mine own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.

19:35  And it came to pass, during that night, that the messenger of Yahweh went forth, and smote, in the camp of the Assyrians, a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And, when men arose early in the morning, lo! they were all, dead bodies!

19:36  So Sennacherib king of Assyria brake up, and went his way, and returned,—and remained in Nineveh.

19:37  And it came to pass, as he was bowing down in the house of Nisroch his god, that, Adrammelech and Sharezer [his sons], smote him with the sword, howbeit, they, escaped into the land of Ararat,—and Esarhaddon his son, reigned, in his stead.

Chapter 20

20:1  In those days, was Hezekiah sick, unto death,—and Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, came unto him, and said unto him—Thus, saith Yahweh Set in order thy house, for, about to die, thou, art, and shalt not recover.

20:2  Then he turned his face unto the wall,—and prayed unto Yahweh, saying:

20:3  I beseech thee, O Yahweh, remember, I pray thee, how I have walked before thee, in truth, and with a whole heart, and, that which is good in thine eyes, have I done! And Hezekiah wept aloud.

20:4  And it came to pass that Isaiah, had not gone out into the middle court, when the word of Yahweh came unto him, saying:

20:5  Return, and thou shalt say unto Hezekiah the leader of my people—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears,—Behold me! about to heal thee, On the third day, shalt thou go up unto the house of Yahweh;

20:6  And I will add unto thy days, fifteen years, and, out of the hand of the king of Assyria, will I deliver thee, and this city,—and will throw a covering over this city, for my own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.

20:7  And Isaiah said—Take ye a cake of figs. So they took and laid it upon the boil, and he recovered,

20:8  Now Hezekiah had said unto Isaiah, What sign is there, that Yahweh will heal me,—and that I shall go up on the third day, to the house of Yahweh?

20:9  And Isaiah said,—This unto thee, is the sign from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing which he hath spoken, The shadow hath gone forward ten steps, shall it return ten steps?

20:10  And Hezekiah said—It is, a light thing, for the shadow, to decline ten steps,—Nay, but let the shadow go back ten steps.

20:11  And Isaiah the prophet cried unto Yahweh, and he caused the shadow on the steps by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz to go back, ten steps.

20:12  At that time, Berodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present, unto Hezekiah,—for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

20:13  And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all his house of precious things—the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and his armoury, and all that was found among his treasures,—there was, nothing, that Hezekiah shewed them not, in his house or in all his dominion.

20:14  Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah,—and said unto him—What said these men, and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, From a land far off, came they—from Babylon.

20:15  And he said—What have they seen in thy house? Then said Hezekiah—All that is in my house, have they seen, there was, nothing, that I shewed them not, among my treasures.

20:16  Then said Isaiah unto Hezekiah,—Hear thou the word of Yahweh:

20:17  Lo! days are coming, when all that is in thine house, and that thy fathers have treasured up, unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon,—nothing shall be left, saith Yahweh;

20:18  and, of thy sons who shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away,—and they shall become eunuchs, in the palace of the king of Babylon.

20:19  And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah—Good, is the word of Yahweh, which thou hast spoken. And he said—Is it not, that, peace and stability, there shall be in my days?

20:20  Now, the rest of the story of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool and an aqueduct, and brought water into the city, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

20:21  So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and, Manasseh his son, reigned, in his stead.

Chapter 21

21:1  Twelve years old, was Manasseh when he began to reign, and, fifty-five years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and the name of his mother was Hephzibah.

21:2  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—after the abominable practices of the nations, whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel.

21:3  He again built the high places, which Hezekiah his father had destroyed,—and reared altars to Baal, and made a Sacred Stem, as did Ahab, king of Israel, and bowed down to all the army of the heavens, and served them.

21:4  And he used to build altars in the house of Yahweh,—concerning which Yahweh had said,—In Jerusalem, will I put my Name.

21:5  And he built altars to all the army of the heavens,—in the two courts of the house of Yahweh;

21:6  and caused his son to pass through the fire, and practised hidden arts and used divination, and dealt with a familiar spirit and wizards,—he exceeded in doing the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, provoking [him] to anger;

21:7  and he set the image of the Sacred Stem which he had made,—in the house, of which Yahweh had said unto David, and unto Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my Name, unto times age-abiding;

21:8  and I will not again let the foot of Israel wander away from the soil which I gave unto their fathers. Only if they take heed to do according to all that I have commanded them, even to the extent of all the law which, my servant Moses, commanded them.

21:9  But they hearkened not,—and Manasseh led them astray to do the thing that was wicked, more than the nations which Yahweh destroyed from before the sons of Israel.

21:10  Yahweh therefore spake through his servants the prophets saying—

21:11  Because Manasseh king of Judah hath made these abominations—hath done that which is wicked, more than all which the Amorites did who were before him, and hath caused, even Judah, to sin with his manufactured gods,

21:12  therefore—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, Behold me! bringing in calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah,—that, whosoever heareth thereof, both his ears, will tingle;

21:13  And I will stretch over Jerusalem, the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab,—and will wipe out Jerusalem, as one wipeth out a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down;

21:14  And will abandon the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies,—and they shall become a prey and a plunder, to all their enemies:

21:15  Because they have done the thing that is wicked in mine eyes, and have become such as to provoke me to anger,—from the day when their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even until this day.

21:16  Moreover also, innocent blood, did Manasseh shed in great abundance, till he had filled Jerusalem, from one end to the other, besides his committing the sins which he caused, Judah, to commit, in doing the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh.

21:17  Now, the rest of the story of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he committed, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

21:18  And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza,—and, Amon his son, reigned, in his stead.

21:19  Twenty-two years old, was Amon when he began to reign, and, two years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, his mother’s name, was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz, of Jotbah.

21:20  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—as did Manasseh his father;

21:21  yea he walked in all the way wherein, his father, had walked,—and served the manufactured gods that, his father, had served, and bowed down to them;

21:22  and forsook Yahweh the God of his fathers,—and walked not in the way of Yahweh.

21:23  And the servants of Amon, conspired against him,—and slew the king in his own house.

21:24  Then the people of the land smote all who had conspired against King Amon,—and the people of the land made, Josiah his son, king, in his stead.

21:25  Now, the rest of the story of Amon, what he did, is, it, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

21:26  And he was buried in his grave, in the garden of Uzza,—and, Josiah his son, reigned, in his stead.

Chapter 22

22:1  Eight years old, was Josiah when he began to reign, and, thirty-one years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, this mother’s name, was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah, of Bozkath.

22:2  And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh,—and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside, to the right hand or to the left.

22:3  And it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan son of Azaliah son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Yahweh, saying—

22:4  Go up unto Hilkiah, the high priest, that he pour out the silver that hath been brought into the house of Yahweh,—which the keepers of the entrance-hall have gathered from the people,

22:5  that they may give it into the hand of the doers of the work, who have oversight of the house of Yahweh, that they may give it to the doers of the work, who are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the breaches of the house;

22:6  to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons,—and to buy timber, and hewn stones, for repairing the house.

22:7  Howbeit there used to be no reckoning made with them, as to the silver that was given into their hand,—because, with faithfulness, were they dealing.

22:8  Then said Hilkiah the high priest, unto Shaphan the scribe—The book of the law, have I found, in the house of Yahweh. So Hilkiah delivered the book unto Shaphan, and he read it.

22:9  Then came Shaphan the scribe unto the king, and brought the king word again,—and said—Thy servants have poured out the silver that was found in the house, and have delivered it unto the hand of the doers of the work, who have oversight of the house of Yahweh.

22:10  Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying—A book, hath Hilkiah the priest delivered unto me. And Shaphan read it before the king.

22:11  And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.

22:12  And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Achbor son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying:

22:13  Go ye—enquire of Yahweh, for me and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book which hath been found,—for, great, is the wrath of Yahweh, in that it hath fired up against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according to all which is written concerning us.

22:14  So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas keeper of the vestments, she having her dwelling in Jerusalem, in the new city,—and they spake unto her.

22:15  And she said unto them, Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, Say ye unto the man who hath sent you unto me:

22:16  Thus, saith Yahweh, Behold me! about to bring calamity upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof,—all the words of the book, which, the king of Judah, hath read:

22:17  Because they have forsaken me, and burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger, with all the workmanship of their hands; and so my wrath shall fire up against this place, and shall not be quenched:

22:18  But, unto the king of Judah, who hath sent you to enquire of Yahweh, thus, shall ye say unto him,—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard:

22:19  Because, tender, was thy heart, and thou didst humble thyself before Yahweh when thou heardest what I had spoken against this place and against the inhabitants thereof—that they should become a desolation and a curse, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me, therefore also, I, have hearkened—declareth Yahweh.

22:20  For this cause, behold me! about to gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered unto thy graves, in peace, and so thine eyes shall not look upon all the misfortune which I am about to bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.

Chapter 23

23:1  Then the king sent,—and there were gathered unto him, all the elders of Judah, and Jerusalem;

23:2  and the king went up to the house of Yahweh, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great,—and he read in their ears, all the words of the book of the covenant, which had been found in the house of Yahweh.

23:3  And the king took his stand by the pillar, and solemnised a covenant before Yahweh—to follow Yahweh, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all [their] heart and with all [their] soul, to confirm the words of this covenant, written in this book. And all the people took their stand in the covenant.

23:4  Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the entrance-hall, to bring forth, out of the temple of Yahweh, all the vessels that had been made for Baal and for the Sacred Stem, and for all the army of the heavens,—and he burned them up outside Jerusalem, in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel;

23:5  and he put down the idol-priests, whom the kings of Judah had appointed, so that incense might be burned in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and round about Jerusalem,—them also that burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the army of the heavens;

23:6  and he brought forth the Sacred Stem out of the house of Yahweh, outside Jerusalem, into the Kidron ravine, and burned it in the Kidron ravine, and crushed it to powder,—and cast the powder upon the graves of the sons of the people;

23:7  and he brake down the houses of the male devotees, which were in the house of Yahweh,—where the women did weave houses to the Sacred Stem;

23:8  and be brought in all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where, the priests, had burned incense, from Geba unto Beer-sheba,—and brake down the high places of the gates, that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on one’s left hand, in the gate of the city;

23:9  howbeit, the priests of the high places came not up unto the altar of Yahweh, in Jerusalem, save only that they did eat unleavened bread in the midst of their brethren;

23:10  and he defiled Topheth, which was in the valley of the son of Hinnom,—so that no man might cause his son or his daughter to pass through the fire unto Molech;

23:11  and he did away with the horses, which the kings of Judah had devoted to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, near the chamber of Nathan-melech the courtier, which was in the suburbs, also, the chariots of the sun, burned he with fire;

23:12  and, the altars which were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, also the altars which Manasseh had made, in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, did the king break down,—and hurried away from thence, and cast out the powder of them into the Kidron ravine;

23:13  and, the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of destruction, which Solomon king of Israel had built unto Ashtoreth—the abomination of the Zidonians, and unto Chemosh—the abomination of the Moabites, and unto Milcom—the disgusting thing of the sons of Ammon, did the king defile;

23:14  and he brake in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Sacred Stems,—and filled their place with human bones:

23:15  moreover also, the altar that was in Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam son of Nebat made, wherewith he caused, Israel, to sin,—even that altar, and the high place, brake he down,—and burned the high place, crushing it to powder, and burned a Sacred Stem.

23:16  And, when Josiah turned, and saw the graves which were there, in the mount, he sent and took the bones out of the graves, and burned upon the altar, and defiled it,—according to the word of Yahweh, which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

23:17  Then said he—What is yonder erection, which I do see? And the men of the city said unto him—The grave of the man of God, who came in out of Judah, and proclaimed these things, which thou hast done, concerning the altar of Bethel.

23:18  And he said—Let him rest, let, no man, disturb his bones. So they let his bones rest, with the bones of the prophet who came in out of Samaria.

23:19  Moreover also, all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made, so as to provoke Yahweh to anger, did Josiah remove,—and he did to them according to all the doings which he had done in Bethel;

23:20  and he sacrificed all the priests of the high places, who were there, by the altars, and burned human bones thereupon,—and returned to Jerusalem.

23:21  Then did the king command all the people, saying, Keep ye a passover unto Yahweh, your God,—such as is written in this book of the covenant.

23:22  Surely there had not been held such a passover as this, from the days of the Judges who judged Israel,—nor all the days of the kings of Israel, and the kings of Judah;

23:23  save only, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, when this passover was held unto Yahweh, in Jerusalem.

23:24  Moreover also, them who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the household gods, and the manufactured gods, and the abominations which were to be seen in the land of Judah, and in Jerusalem, did Josiah consume,—that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of Yahweh.

23:25  And, like him, was no king, before him, who turned unto Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses,—neither, after him, arose one, like him.

23:26  Howbeit, Yahweh turned not away from the glow of his great anger, wherewith his anger glowed against Judah—because of all the provocations wherewith, Manasseh, had provoked him.

23:27  So Yahweh said: Even Judah, will I remove from my presence, as I have removed Israel,—and will reject this city, which I had chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house as to which I had said, My Name, shall be, there.

23:28  Now, the rest of the story of Josiah, and all that he did, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

23:29  In his days, came up Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt, against the king of Assyria, unto the river Euphrates,—and, when King Josiah went against him, he slew him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him.

23:30  And his servants conveyed him in a chariot, dead, from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre,—and the people of the land took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made, him, king, in his father’s stead.

23:31  Twenty-three years old, was Jehoahaz when he began to reign, and, three months, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, his mother’s name, was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah, of Libnah.

23:32  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his, fathers, had done.

23:33  And Pharaoh-necoh put him in bonds at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem,—and he laid a fine upon the land, a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

23:34  And Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim son of Josiah king, instead of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim,—and, Jehoahaz, took he away, so he entered Egypt, and died there.

23:35  And, the silver and the gold, did Jehoiakim give unto Pharaoh, howbeit he assessed the land, that he might give the silver at the bidding of Pharaoh,—every man, according to his assessment, exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, that he might give it to Pharaoh-necoh.

23:36  Twenty-five years old, was Jehoiakim when he began to reign, and, eleven years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, his mother’s name, was Zebudah daughter of Pedaiah, of Rumah.

23:37  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—according to all that, his fathers, had done.

Chapter 24

24:1  In his days, came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,—and Jehoiakim became his servant three years, then turned he and rebelled against him.

24:2  And Yahweh sent against him troops of Chaldeans, and troops of Syrians, and troops of Moabites, and troops of the sons of Ammon, yea he sent them against Judah, to destroy him,—according to the word of Yahweh, which he spake through his servants the prophets.

24:3  Surely, it was, because of the anger of Yahweh, that this came upon Judah, to remove them from his presence,—for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done:

24:4  moreover also, for the innocent blood that he had shed, so that he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,—which Yahweh was not willing to pardon.

24:5  Now, the rest of the story of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

24:6  So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers,—and, Jehoiachin his son, reigned, in his stead.

24:7  And the king of Egypt came no more again out of his land,—for the king of Babylon had taken—from the ravine of Egypt, unto the river Euphrates, all that had belonged to the king of Egypt.

24:8  Eighteen years old, was Jehoiachin when he began to reign, and, three months, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, his mother’s name, was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan, of Jerusalem.

24:9  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—according to all that, his father, had done.

24:10  At that time, came up the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem,—and the city came into the siege.

24:11  And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants were about to besiege it.

24:12  Then came out Jehoiachin king of Judah, unto the king of Babylon, he and his mother, and his servants, and his generals, and his courtiers,—and the king of Babylon took him, in the eighth year of his reign.

24:13  And he carried forth from thence, all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the house of the king,—and he cut off all the fittings of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, according to all that, Yahweh, had spoken.

24:14  And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the generals, and all the mighty men of valour, ten thousand becoming captives, and all the artificers and the smiths,—none remained save the poorest of the people of the land.

24:15  And he carried away captive Jehoiachin, to Babylon,—and, the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his courtiers, and the nobles of the land, took he away captive, from Jerusalem to Babylon.

24:16  And, all the men of might—seven thousand, and artificers and smiths—a thousand, all who were valiant and ready to make war, the king of Babylon brought them captive to Babylon.

24:17  And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, his relative, king in his stead,—and changed his name to Zedekiah.

24:18  Twenty-one years old, was Zedekiah when he began to reign, and, eleven years, reigned he in Jerusalem,—and, his mother’s name, was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

24:19  And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,—according to all that, Jehoiakim, had done.

24:20  For, it was because the anger of Yahweh had come against Jerusalem, and against Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled, against the king of Babylon.

Chapter 25

25:1  And it came to pass, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came—he and all his force, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it,—and they built against it a siege wall, round about.

25:2  And the city came into the siege,—until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

25:3  On the ninth of the month, when the famine had become severe in the city,—and there had come to be no bread for the people of the land,

25:4  then was the city broken up, and all the men of war [fled] by night by way of the gate between the two walls, which is by the garden of the king, the Chaldeans being near the city round about,—and he went the way of the Waste Plain;

25:5  and the force of the Chaldeans, pursued, the king, and overtook him in the Waste Plains of Jericho,—and, all his force, was scattered from him.

25:6  So they seized the king, and brought him up unto the king of Babylon, at Riblah,—and they pronounced upon him sentence of judgment.

25:7  And, the sons of Zedekiah, they slew before his eyes,—and, the eyes of Zedekiah, put they out, and then bound him with fetters of bronze, and brought him into Babylon.

25:8  And, in the fifth month, on the seventh of the month, the same, was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, chief of the royal executioners, servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem;

25:9  and burned the house of Yahweh, and the house of the king,—yea, all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great man’s house, burned he with fire.

25:10  And, the walls of Jerusalem round about, did all the force of the Chaldeans who were with the chief of the royal executioners, break down.

25:11  And, the residue of the people who were left in the city, and the disheartened who fell away unto the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan, chief of the royal executioners, carry away captive.

25:12  But, of the poorest of the land, did the chief of the royal executioners, leave, for vine-dressers and for husbandmen.

25:13  And, the pillars of bronze that were in the house of Yahweh, and the stands, and the sea of bronze which was in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans brake in pieces, and they carried away the bronze of them to Babylon;

25:14  and, the caldrons, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, even all the utensils of bronze wherewith ministration used to be made, did they take away;

25:15  and, the sprinkling pans and the dashing bowls which were of gold, in gold, and which were of silver, in silver, did, the chief of the royal executions, take away.

25:16  As for the two pillars the one sea and the stands which Solomon made for the house of Yahweh, without weight, was the bronze of all these things.

25:17  Eighteen cubits, was the height of each pillar, and, the capital thereupon was of bronze, and, the height of the capital, was three cubits, and, the lattice-work and pomegranates upon the capital round about, the whole, was of bronze; and, like these, had the second pillar, upon the lattice-work.

25:18  And the chief of the royal executioners took Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest,—and the three keepers of the entrance hall;

25:19  and, out of the city, took he one courtier who himself was set over the men of war, and five men of them who were wont to see the face of the king, who were found in the city, and the scribe—general of the army, who used to muster the people of the land,—and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city;

25:20  and Nebuzaradan, chief of the royal executioners, took them,—and brought them unto the king of Babylon, at Riblah;

25:21  and the king of Babylon smote them and slew them in Riblah, in the land of Hamath,—and thus Judah disappeared from off their own soil.

25:22  But, as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left remaining, he set over them Gedaliah, son of Ahikam son of Shaphan.

25:23  And, when all the generals of the forces, they and the men, heard that the king of Babylon had given oversight unto Gedaliah, then came they in unto Gedaliah, at Mizpah,—even Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of a Maacathite, they and their men.

25:24  And Gedaliah sware unto them, and to their men, and said to them, Do not fear because of the servants of the Chaldeans,—dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

25:25  And it came to pass, in the seventh month, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah a son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died,—and the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

25:26  Then arose all the people, both small and great, and the generals of the forces, and came into Egypt,—for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

25:27  And it came to pass, in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month,—that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, out of prison;

25:28  and he spake with him kind words,—and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon;

25:29  and changed his prison garments,—and he did eat bread continually before him, all the days of his life.

25:30  And, as his allowance, a continual portion, was given him, from the king, the provision of a day upon its own day,—all the days of his life.