2Chronicles:10-29.
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And Rehoboam went to Shechem :
for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king .
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And it came to pass ,
when Jeroboam the son of Nebat ,
who was in Egypt ,
whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king ,
heard it ,
that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt .
*
And they sent and called him .
So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam ,
saying ,
*
Thy father made our yoke grievous :
now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father ,
and his heavy yoke that he put upon us ,
and we will serve thee .
*
And he said unto them ,
Come again unto me after three days .
And the people departed .
*
And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived ,
saying ,
What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people ?
*
And they spake unto him ,
saying ,
If thou be kind to this people ,
and please them ,
and speak good words to them ,
they will be thy servants for ever .
*
But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him ,
and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him ,
that stood before him .
*
And he said unto them ,
What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people ,
which have spoken to me ,
saying ,
Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us ?
*
And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him ,
saying ,
Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee ,
saying ,
Thy father made our yoke heavy ,
but make thou it somewhat lighter for us ;
thus shalt thou say unto them ,
My little finger shall be thicker than my father '
s loins .
*
For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you ,
I will put more to your yoke :
my father chastised you with whips ,
but I will chastise you with scorpions .
*
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day ,
as the king bade ,
saying ,
Come again to me on the third day .
*
And the king answered them roughly ;
and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men ,
*
And answered them after the advice of the young men ,
saying ,
My father made your yoke heavy ,
but I will add thereto :
my father chastised you with whips ,
but I will chastise you with scorpions .
*
So the king hearkened not unto the people :
for the cause was of God ,
that the LORD might perform his word ,
which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat .
*
And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them ,
the people answered the king ,
saying ,
What portion have we in David ?
and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse :
every man to your tents ,
O Israel :
and now ,
David ,
see to thine own house .
So all Israel went to their tents .
*
But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah ,
Rehoboam reigned over them .
*
Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute ;
and the children of Israel stoned him with stones ,
that he died .
But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot ,
to flee to Jerusalem .
*
And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day .
*
And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem ,
he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men ,
which were warriors ,
to fight against Israel ,
that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam .
*
But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God ,
saying ,
*
Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon ,
king of Judah ,
and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin ,
saying ,
*
Thus saith the LORD ,
Ye shall not go up ,
nor fight against your brethren :
return every man to his house :
for this thing is done of me .
And they obeyed the words of the LORD ,
and returned from going against Jeroboam .
*
And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem ,
and built cities for defence in Judah .
*
He built even Bethlehem ,
and Etam ,
and Tekoa ,
*
And Bethzur ,
and Shoco ,
and Adullam ,
*
And Gath ,
and Mareshah ,
and Ziph ,
*
And Adoraim ,
and Lachish ,
and Azekah ,
*
And Zorah ,
and Aijalon ,
and Hebron ,
which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities .
*
And he fortified the strong holds ,
and put captains in them ,
and store of victual ,
and of oil and wine .
*
And in every several city he put shields and spears ,
and made them exceeding strong ,
having Judah and Benjamin on his side .
*
And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts .
*
For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession ,
and came to Judah and Jerusalem :
for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest '
s office unto the LORD :
*
And he ordained him priests for the high places ,
and for the devils ,
and for the calves which he had made .
*
And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem ,
to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers .
*
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah ,
and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong ,
three years :
for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon .
*
And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife ,
and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse ;
*
Which bare him children ;
Jeush ,
and Shamariah ,
and Zaham .
*
And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom ;
which bare him Abijah ,
and Attai ,
and Ziza ,
and Shelomith .
*
And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines : (
for he took eighteen wives ,
and threescore concubines ;
and begat twenty and eight sons ,
and threescore daughters .)
*
And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief ,
to be ruler among his brethren :
for he thought to make him king .
*
And he dealt wisely ,
and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin ,
unto every fenced city :
and he gave them victual in abundance .
And he desired many wives .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Rehoboam had established the kingdom ,
and had strengthened himself ,
he forsook the law of the LORD ,
and all Israel with him .
*
And it came to pass ,
that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem ,
because they had transgressed against the LORD ,
*
With twelve hundred chariots ,
and threescore thousand horsemen :
and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt ;
the Lubims ,
the Sukkiims ,
and the Ethiopians .
*
And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah ,
and came to Jerusalem .
*
Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam ,
and to the princes of Judah ,
that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak ,
and said unto them ,
Thus saith the LORD ,
Ye have forsaken me ,
and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak .
*
Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves ;
and they said ,
The LORD is righteous .
*
And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves ,
the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah ,
saying ,
They have humbled themselves ;
therefore I will not destroy them ,
but I will grant them some deliverance ;
and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak .
*
Nevertheless they shall be his servants ;
that they may know my service ,
and the service of the kingdoms of the countries .
*
So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem ,
and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD ,
and the treasures of the king '
s house ;
he took all :
he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made .
*
Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass ,
and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard ,
that kept the entrance of the king '
s house .
*
And when the king entered into the house of the LORD ,
the guard came and fetched them ,
and brought them again into the guard chamber .
*
And when he humbled himself ,
the wrath of the LORD turned from him ,
that he would not destroy him altogether :
and also in Judah things went well .
*
So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem ,
and reigned :
for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign ,
and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem ,
the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel ,
to put his name there .
And his mother '
s name was Naamah an Ammonitess .
*
And he did evil ,
because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD .
*
Now the acts of Rehoboam ,
first and last ,
are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet ,
and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies ?
And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually .
*
And Rehoboam slept with his fathers ,
and was buried in the city of David :
and Abijah his son reigned in his stead .
*
Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah .
*
He reigned three years in Jerusalem .
His mother '
s name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah .
And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam .
*
And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war ,
even four hundred thousand chosen men :
Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men ,
being mighty men of valour .
*
And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim ,
which is in mount Ephraim ,
and said ,
Hear me ,
thou Jeroboam ,
and all Israel ;
*
Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever ,
even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt ?
*
Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat ,
the servant of Solomon the son of David ,
is risen up ,
and hath rebelled against his lord .
*
And there are gathered unto him vain men ,
the children of Belial ,
and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon ,
when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted ,
and could not withstand them .
*
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David ;
and ye be a great multitude ,
and there are with you golden calves ,
which Jeroboam made you for gods .
*
Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD ,
the sons of Aaron ,
and the Levites ,
and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands ?
so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams ,
the same may be a priest of them that are no gods .
*
But as for us ,
the LORD is our God ,
and we have not forsaken him ;
and the priests ,
which minister unto the LORD ,
are the sons of Aaron ,
and the Levites wait upon their business :
*
And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense :
the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table ;
and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof ,
to burn every evening :
for we keep the charge of the LORD our God ;
but ye have forsaken him .
*
And ,
behold ,
God himself is with us for our captain ,
and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you .
O children of Israel ,
fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers ;
for ye shall not prosper .
*
But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them :
so they were before Judah ,
and the ambushment was behind them .
*
And when Judah looked back ,
behold ,
the battle was before and behind :
and they cried unto the LORD ,
and the priests sounded with the trumpets .
*
Then the men of Judah gave a shout :
and as the men of Judah shouted ,
it came to pass ,
that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah .
*
And the children of Israel fled before Judah :
and God delivered them into their hand .
*
And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter :
so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men .
*
Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time ,
and the children of Judah prevailed ,
because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers .
*
And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam ,
and took cities from him ,
Bethel with the towns thereof ,
and Jeshanah with the towns thereof ,
and Ephrain with the towns thereof .
*
Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah :
and the LORD struck him ,
and he died .
*
But Abijah waxed mighty ,
and married fourteen wives ,
and begat twenty and two sons ,
and sixteen daughters .
*
And the rest of the acts of Abijah ,
and his ways ,
and his sayings ,
are written in the story of the prophet Iddo .
*
So Abijah slept with his fathers ,
and they buried him in the city of David :
and Asa his son reigned in his stead .
In his days the land was quiet ten years .
*
And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God :
*
For he took away the altars of the strange gods ,
and the high places ,
and brake down the images ,
and cut down the groves :
*
And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers ,
and to do the law and the commandment .
*
Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images :
and the kingdom was quiet before him .
*
And he built fenced cities in Judah :
for the land had rest ,
and he had no war in those years ;
because the LORD had given him rest .
*
Therefore he said unto Judah ,
Let us build these cities ,
and make about them walls ,
and towers ,
gates ,
and bars ,
while the land is yet before us ;
because we have sought the LORD our God ,
we have sought him ,
and he hath given us rest on every side .
So they built and prospered .
*
And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears ,
out of Judah three hundred thousand ;
and out of Benjamin ,
that bare shields and drew bows ,
two hundred and fourscore thousand :
all these were mighty men of valour .
*
And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand ,
and three hundred chariots ;
and came unto Mareshah .
*
Then Asa went out against him ,
and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah .
*
And Asa cried unto the LORD his God ,
and said ,
LORD ,
it is nothing with thee to help ,
whether with many ,
or with them that have no power :
help us ,
O LORD our God ;
for we rest on thee ,
and in thy name we go against this multitude .
O LORD ,
thou art our God ;
let not man prevail against thee .
*
So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa ,
and before Judah ;
and the Ethiopians fled .
*
And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar :
and the Ethiopians were overthrown ,
that they could not recover themselves ;
for they were destroyed before the LORD ,
and before his host ;
and they carried away very much spoil .
*
And they smote all the cities round about Gerar ;
for the fear of the LORD came upon them :
and they spoiled all the cities ;
for there was exceeding much spoil in them .
*
They smote also the tents of cattle ,
and carried away sheep and camels in abundance ,
and returned to Jerusalem .
*
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded :
*
And he went out to meet Asa ,
and said unto him ,
Hear ye me ,
Asa ,
and all Judah and Benjamin ;
The LORD is with you ,
while ye be with him ;
and if ye seek him ,
he will be found of you ;
but if ye forsake him ,
he will forsake you .
*
Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God ,
and without a teaching priest ,
and without law .
*
But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel ,
and sought him ,
he was found of them .
*
And in those times there was no peace to him that went out ,
nor to him that came in ,
but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries .
*
And nation was destroyed of nation ,
and city of city :
for God did vex them with all adversity .
*
Be ye strong therefore ,
and let not your hands be weak :
for your work shall be rewarded .
*
And when Asa heard these words ,
and the prophecy of Oded the prophet ,
he took courage ,
and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin ,
and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim ,
and renewed the altar of the LORD ,
that was before the porch of the LORD .
*
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin ,
and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh ,
and out of Simeon :
for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance ,
when they saw that the LORD his God was with him .
*
So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month ,
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa .
*
And they offered unto the LORD the same time ,
of the spoil which they had brought ,
seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep .
*
And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul ;
*
That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death ,
whether small or great ,
whether man or woman .
*
And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice ,
and with shouting ,
and with trumpets ,
and with cornets .
*
And all Judah rejoiced at the oath :
for they had sworn with all their heart ,
and sought him with their whole desire ;
and he was found of them :
and the LORD gave them rest round about .
*
And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king ,
he removed her from being queen ,
because she had made an idol in a grove :
and Asa cut down her idol ,
and stamped it ,
and burnt it at the brook Kidron .
*
But the high places were not taken away out of Israel :
nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days .
*
And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated ,
and that he himself had dedicated ,
silver ,
and gold ,
and vessels .
*
And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa .
*
In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah ,
and built Ramah ,
to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah .
*
Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king '
s house ,
and sent to Benhadad king of Syria ,
that dwelt at Damascus ,
saying ,
*
There is a league between me and thee ,
as there was between my father and thy father :
behold ,
I have sent thee silver and gold ;
go ,
break thy league with Baasha king of Israel ,
that he may depart from me .
*
And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa ,
and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel ;
and they smote Ijon ,
and Dan ,
and Abelmaim ,
and all the store cities of Naphtali .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Baasha heard it ,
that he left off building of Ramah ,
and let his work cease .
*
Then Asa the king took all Judah ;
and they carried away the stones of Ramah ,
and the timber thereof ,
wherewith Baasha was building ;
and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah .
*
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah ,
and said unto him ,
Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria ,
and not relied on the LORD thy God ,
therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand .
*
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host ,
with very many chariots and horsemen ?
yet ,
because thou didst rely on the LORD ,
he delivered them into thine hand .
*
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth ,
to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him .
Herein thou hast done foolishly :
therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars .
*
Then Asa was wroth with the seer ,
and put him in a prison house ;
for he was in a rage with him because of this thing .
And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time .
*
And ,
behold ,
the acts of Asa ,
first and last ,
lo ,
they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel .
*
And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet ,
until his disease was exceeding great :
yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD ,
but to the physicians .
*
And Asa slept with his fathers ,
and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign .
*
And they buried him in his own sepulchres ,
which he had made for himself in the city of David ,
and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries '
art :
and they made a very great burning for him .
*
And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead ,
and strengthened himself against Israel .
*
And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah ,
and set garrisons in the land of Judah ,
and in the cities of Ephraim ,
which Asa his father had taken .
*
And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat ,
because he walked in the first ways of his father David ,
and sought not unto Baalim ;
*
But sought to the LORD God of his father ,
and walked in his commandments ,
and not after the doings of Israel .
*
Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand ;
and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents ;
and he had riches and honour in abundance .
*
And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD :
moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah .
*
Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes ,
even to Benhail ,
and to Obadiah ,
and to Zechariah ,
and to Nethaneel ,
and to Michaiah ,
to teach in the cities of Judah .
*
And with them he sent Levites ,
even Shemaiah ,
and Nethaniah ,
and Zebadiah ,
and Asahel ,
and Shemiramoth ,
and Jehonathan ,
and Adonijah ,
and Tobijah ,
and Tobadonijah ,
Levites ;
and with them Elishama and Jehoram ,
priests .
*
And they taught in Judah ,
and had the book of the law of the LORD with them ,
and went about throughout all the cities of Judah ,
and taught the people .
*
And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah ,
so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat .
*
Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents ,
and tribute silver ;
and the Arabians brought him flocks ,
seven thousand and seven hundred rams ,
and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats .
*
And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly ;
and he built in Judah castles ,
and cities of store .
*
And he had much business in the cities of Judah :
and the men of war ,
mighty men of valour ,
were in Jerusalem .
*
And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers :
Of Judah ,
the captains of thousands ;
Adnah the chief ,
and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand .
*
And next to him was Jehohanan the captain ,
and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand .
*
And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri ,
who willingly offered himself unto the LORD ;
and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour .
*
And of Benjamin ;
Eliada a mighty man of valour ,
and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand .
*
And next him was Jehozabad ,
and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war .
*
These waited on the king ,
beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah .
*
Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance ,
and joined affinity with Ahab .
*
And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria .
And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance ,
and for the people that he had with him ,
and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead .
*
And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah ,
Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead ?
And he answered him ,
I am as thou art ,
and my people as thy people ;
and we will be with thee in the war .
*
And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel ,
Enquire ,
I pray thee ,
at the word of the LORD to day .
*
Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men ,
and said unto them ,
Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle ,
or shall I forbear ?
And they said ,
Go up ;
for God will deliver it into the king '
s hand .
*
But Jehoshaphat said ,
Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides ,
that we might enquire of him ?
*
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat ,
There is yet one man ,
by whom we may enquire of the LORD :
but I hate him ;
for he never prophesied good unto me ,
but always evil :
the same is Micaiah the son of Imla .
And Jehoshaphat said ,
Let not the king say so .
*
And the king of Israel called for one of his officers ,
and said ,
Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla .
*
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne ,
clothed in their robes ,
and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria ;
and all the prophets prophesied before them .
*
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron ,
and said ,
Thus saith the LORD ,
With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed .
*
And all the prophets prophesied so ,
saying ,
Go up to Ramothgilead ,
and prosper :
for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king .
*
And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him ,
saying ,
Behold ,
the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent ;
let thy word therefore ,
I pray thee ,
be like one of theirs ,
and speak thou good .
*
And Micaiah said ,
As the LORD liveth ,
even what my God saith ,
that will I speak .
*
And when he was come to the king ,
the king said unto him ,
Micaiah ,
shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle ,
or shall I forbear ?
And he said ,
Go ye up ,
and prosper ,
and they shall be delivered into your hand .
*
And the king said to him ,
How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD ?
*
Then he said ,
I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains ,
as sheep that have no shepherd :
and the LORD said ,
These have no master ;
let them return therefore every man to his house in peace .
*
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat ,
Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me ,
but evil ?
*
Again he said ,
Therefore hear the word of the LORD ;
I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne ,
and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left .
*
And the LORD said ,
Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel ,
that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead ?
And one spake saying after this manner ,
and another saying after that manner .
*
Then there came out a spirit ,
and stood before the LORD ,
and said ,
I will entice him .
And the LORD said unto him ,
Wherewith ?
*
And he said ,
I will go out ,
and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets .
And the LORD said ,
Thou shalt entice him ,
and thou shalt also prevail :
go out ,
and do even so .
*
Now therefore ,
behold ,
the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets ,
and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee .
*
Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near ,
and smote Micaiah upon the cheek ,
and said ,
Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee ?
*
And Micaiah said ,
Behold ,
thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself .
*
Then the king of Israel said ,
Take ye Micaiah ,
and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city ,
and to Joash the king '
s son ;
*
And say ,
Thus saith the king ,
Put this fellow in the prison ,
and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction ,
until I return in peace .
*
And Micaiah said ,
If thou certainly return in peace ,
then hath not the LORD spoken by me .
And he said ,
Hearken ,
all ye people .
*
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead .
*
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat ,
I will disguise myself ,
and will go to the battle ;
but put thou on thy robes .
So the king of Israel disguised himself ;
and they went to the battle .
*
Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him ,
saying ,
Fight ye not with small or great ,
save only with the king of Israel .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat ,
that they said ,
It is the king of Israel .
Therefore they compassed about him to fight :
but Jehoshaphat cried out ,
and the LORD helped him ;
and God moved them to depart from him .
*
For it came to pass ,
that ,
when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel ,
they turned back again from pursuing him .
*
And a certain man drew a bow at a venture ,
and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness :
therefore he said to his chariot man ,
Turn thine hand ,
that thou mayest carry me out of the host ;
for I am wounded .
*
And the battle increased that day :
howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even :
and about the time of the sun going down he died .
*
And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem .
*
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him ,
and said to king Jehoshaphat ,
Shouldest thou help the ungodly ,
and love them that hate the LORD ?
therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD .
*
Nevertheless there are good things found in thee ,
in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land ,
and hast prepared thine heart to seek God .
*
And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem :
and he went out again through the people from Beersheba to mount Ephraim ,
and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers .
*
And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah ,
city by city ,
*
And said to the judges ,
Take heed what ye do :
for ye judge not for man ,
but for the LORD ,
who is with you in the judgment .
*
Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you ;
take heed and do it :
for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God ,
nor respect of persons ,
nor taking of gifts .
*
Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites ,
and of the priests ,
and of the chief of the fathers of Israel ,
for the judgment of the LORD ,
and for controversies ,
when they returned to Jerusalem .
*
And he charged them ,
saying ,
Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD ,
faithfully ,
and with a perfect heart .
*
And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities ,
between blood and blood ,
between law and commandment ,
statutes and judgments ,
ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD ,
and so wrath come upon you ,
and upon your brethren :
this do ,
and ye shall not trespass .
*
And ,
behold ,
Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD ;
and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael ,
the ruler of the house of Judah ,
for all the king '
s matters :
also the Levites shall be officers before you .
Deal courageously ,
and the LORD shall be with the good .
*
It came to pass after this also ,
that the children of Moab ,
and the children of Ammon ,
and with them other beside the Ammonites ,
came against Jehoshaphat to battle .
*
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat ,
saying ,
There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria ;
and ,
behold ,
they be in Hazazontamar ,
which is Engedi .
*
And Jehoshaphat feared ,
and set himself to seek the LORD ,
and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah .
*
And Judah gathered themselves together ,
to ask help of the LORD :
even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD .
*
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem ,
in the house of the LORD ,
before the new court ,
*
And said ,
O LORD God of our fathers ,
art not thou God in heaven ?
and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen ?
and in thine hand is there not power and might ,
so that none is able to withstand thee ?
*
Art not thou our God ,
who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel ,
and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever ?
*
And they dwelt therein ,
and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name ,
saying ,
*
If ,
when evil cometh upon us ,
as the sword ,
judgment ,
or pestilence ,
or famine ,
we stand before this house ,
and in thy presence , (
for thy name is in this house ,)
and cry unto thee in our affliction ,
then thou wilt hear and help .
*
And now ,
behold ,
the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir ,
whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade ,
when they came out of the land of Egypt ,
but they turned from them ,
and destroyed them not ;
*
Behold ,
I say ,
how they reward us ,
to come to cast us out of thy possession ,
which thou hast given us to inherit .
*
O our God ,
wilt thou not judge them ?
for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us ;
neither know we what to do :
but our eyes are upon thee .
*
And all Judah stood before the LORD ,
with their little ones ,
their wives ,
and their children .
*
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah ,
the son of Benaiah ,
the son of Jeiel ,
the son of Mattaniah ,
a Levite of the sons of Asaph ,
came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation ;
*
And he said ,
Hearken ye ,
all Judah ,
and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem ,
and thou king Jehoshaphat ,
Thus saith the LORD unto you ,
Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude ;
for the battle is not yours ,
but God '
s .
*
To morrow go ye down against them :
behold ,
they come up by the cliff of Ziz ;
and ye shall find them at the end of the brook ,
before the wilderness of Jeruel .
*
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle :
set yourselves ,
stand ye still ,
and see the salvation of the LORD with you ,
O Judah and Jerusalem :
fear not ,
nor be dismayed ;
to morrow go out against them :
for the LORD will be with you .
*
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground :
and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD ,
worshipping the LORD .
*
And the Levites ,
of the children of the Kohathites ,
and of the children of the Korhites ,
stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high .
*
And they rose early in the morning ,
and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa :
and as they went forth ,
Jehoshaphat stood and said ,
Hear me ,
O Judah ,
and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem ;
Believe in the LORD your God ,
so shall ye be established ;
believe his prophets ,
so shall ye prosper .
*
And when he had consulted with the people ,
he appointed singers unto the LORD ,
and that should praise the beauty of holiness ,
as they went out before the army ,
and to say ,
Praise the LORD ;
for his mercy endureth for ever .
*
And when they began to sing and to praise ,
the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon ,
Moab ,
and mount Seir ,
which were come against Judah ;
and they were smitten .
*
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir ,
utterly to slay and destroy them :
and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir ,
every one helped to destroy another .
*
And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness ,
they looked unto the multitude ,
and ,
behold ,
they were dead bodies fallen to the earth ,
and none escaped .
*
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them ,
they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies ,
and precious jewels ,
which they stripped off for themselves ,
more than they could carry away :
and they were three days in gathering of the spoil ,
it was so much .
*
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah ;
for there they blessed the LORD :
therefore the name of the same place was called ,
The valley of Berachah ,
unto this day .
*
Then they returned ,
every man of Judah and Jerusalem ,
and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them ,
to go again to Jerusalem with joy ;
for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies .
*
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD .
*
And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries ,
when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel .
*
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet :
for his God gave him rest round about .
*
And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah :
he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign ,
and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem .
And his mother '
s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi .
*
And he walked in the way of Asa his father ,
and departed not from it ,
doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD .
*
Howbeit the high places were not taken away :
for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers .
*
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat ,
first and last ,
behold ,
they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani ,
who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel .
*
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel ,
who did very wickedly :
*
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish :
and they made the ships in Eziongeber .
*
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat ,
saying ,
Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah ,
the LORD hath broken thy works .
And the ships were broken ,
that they were not able to go to Tarshish .
*
Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers ,
and was buried with his fathers in the city of David .
And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead .
*
And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat ,
Azariah ,
and Jehiel ,
and Zechariah ,
and Azariah ,
and Michael ,
and Shephatiah :
all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel .
*
And their father gave them great gifts of silver ,
and of gold ,
and of precious things ,
with fenced cities in Judah :
but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram ;
because he was the firstborn .
*
Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father ,
he strengthened himself ,
and slew all his brethren with the sword ,
and divers also of the princes of Israel .
*
Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign ,
and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem .
*
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel ,
like as did the house of Ahab :
for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife :
and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD .
*
Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David ,
because of the covenant that he had made with David ,
and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever .
*
In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah ,
and made themselves a king .
*
Then Jehoram went forth with his princes ,
and all his chariots with him :
and he rose up by night ,
and smote the Edomites which compassed him in ,
and the captains of the chariots .
*
So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day .
The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand ;
because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers .
*
Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah ,
and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication ,
and compelled Judah thereto .
*
And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet ,
saying ,
Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father ,
Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father ,
nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah ,
*
But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel ,
and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring ,
like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab ,
and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father '
s house ,
which were better than thyself :
*
Behold ,
with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people ,
and thy children ,
and thy wives ,
and all thy goods :
*
And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels ,
until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day .
*
Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines ,
and of the Arabians ,
that were near the Ethiopians :
*
And they came up into Judah ,
and brake into it ,
and carried away all the substance that was found in the king '
s house ,
and his sons also ,
and his wives ;
so that there was never a son left him ,
save Jehoahaz ,
the youngest of his sons .
*
And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease .
*
And it came to pass ,
that in process of time ,
after the end of two years ,
his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness :
so he died of sore diseases .
And his people made no burning for him ,
like the burning of his fathers .
*
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign ,
and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years ,
and departed without being desired .
Howbeit they buried him in the city of David ,
but not in the sepulchres of the kings .
*
And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead :
for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest .
So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned .
*
Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign ,
and he reigned one year in Jerusalem .
His mother '
s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri .
*
He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab :
for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly .
*
Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab :
for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction .
*
He walked also after their counsel ,
and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramothgilead :
and the Syrians smote Joram .
*
And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah ,
when he fought with Hazael king of Syria .
And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel ,
because he was sick .
*
And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram :
for when he was come ,
he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi ,
whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab .
*
And it came to pass ,
that ,
when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab ,
and found the princes of Judah ,
and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah ,
that ministered to Ahaziah ,
he slew them .
*
And he sought Ahaziah :
and they caught him , (
for he was hid in Samaria ,)
and brought him to Jehu :
and when they had slain him ,
they buried him :
Because ,
said they ,
he is the son of Jehoshaphat ,
who sought the LORD with all his heart .
So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom .
*
But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead ,
she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah .
*
But Jehoshabeath ,
the daughter of the king ,
took Joash the son of Ahaziah ,
and stole him from among the king '
s sons that were slain ,
and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber .
So Jehoshabeath ,
the daughter of king Jehoram ,
the wife of Jehoiada the priest , (
for she was the sister of Ahaziah ,)
hid him from Athaliah ,
so that she slew him not .
*
And he was with them hid in the house of God six years :
and Athaliah reigned over the land .
*
And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself ,
and took the captains of hundreds ,
Azariah the son of Jeroham ,
and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan ,
and Azariah the son of Obed ,
and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah ,
and Elishaphat the son of Zichri ,
into covenant with him .
*
And they went about in Judah ,
and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah ,
and the chief of the fathers of Israel ,
and they came to Jerusalem .
*
And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God .
And he said unto them ,
Behold ,
the king '
s son shall reign ,
as the LORD hath said of the sons of David .
*
This is the thing that ye shall do ;
A third part of you entering on the sabbath ,
of the priests and of the Levites ,
shall be porters of the doors ;
*
And a third part shall be at the king '
s house ;
and a third part at the gate of the foundation :
and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD .
*
But let none come into the house of the LORD ,
save the priests ,
and they that minister of the Levites ;
they shall go in ,
for they are holy :
but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD .
*
And the Levites shall compass the king round about ,
every man with his weapons in his hand ;
and whosoever else cometh into the house ,
he shall be put to death :
but be ye with the king when he cometh in ,
and when he goeth out .
*
So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded ,
and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath ,
with them that were to go out on the sabbath :
for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses .
*
Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears ,
and bucklers ,
and shields ,
that had been king David '
s ,
which were in the house of God .
*
And he set all the people ,
every man having his weapon in his hand ,
from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple ,
along by the altar and the temple ,
by the king round about .
*
Then they brought out the king '
s son ,
and put upon him the crown ,
and gave him the testimony ,
and made him king .
And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him ,
and said ,
God save the king .
*
Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king ,
she came to the people into the house of the LORD :
*
And she looked ,
and ,
behold ,
the king stood at his pillar at the entering in ,
and the princes and the trumpets by the king :
and all the people of the land rejoiced ,
and sounded with trumpets ,
also the singers with instruments of musick ,
and such as taught to sing praise .
Then Athaliah rent her clothes ,
and said ,
Treason ,
Treason .
*
Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host ,
and said unto them ,
Have her forth of the ranges :
and whoso followeth her ,
let him be slain with the sword .
For the priest said ,
Slay her not in the house of the LORD .
*
So they laid hands on her ;
and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate by the king '
s house ,
they slew her there .
*
And Jehoiada made a covenant between him ,
and between all the people ,
and between the king ,
that they should be the LORD '
S people .
*
Then all the people went to the house of Baal ,
and brake it down ,
and brake his altars and his images in pieces ,
and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars .
*
Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites ,
whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD ,
to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD ,
as it is written in the law of Moses ,
with rejoicing and with singing ,
as it was ordained by David .
*
And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD ,
that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in .
*
And he took the captains of hundreds ,
and the nobles ,
and the governors of the people ,
and all the people of the land ,
and brought down the king from the house of the LORD :
and they came through the high gate into the king '
s house ,
and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom .
*
And all the people of the land rejoiced :
and the city was quiet ,
after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword .
*
Joash was seven years old when he began to reign ,
and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem .
His mother '
s name also was Zibiah of Beersheba .
*
And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest .
*
And Jehoiada took for him two wives ;
and he begat sons and daughters .
*
And it came to pass after this ,
that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD .
*
And he gathered together the priests and the Levites ,
and said to them ,
Go out unto the cities of Judah ,
and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year ,
and see that ye hasten the matter .
Howbeit the Levites hastened it not .
*
And the king called for Jehoiada the chief ,
and said unto him ,
Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection ,
according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD ,
and of the congregation of Israel ,
for the tabernacle of witness ?
*
For the sons of Athaliah ,
that wicked woman ,
had broken up the house of God ;
and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim .
*
And at the king '
s commandment they made a chest ,
and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD .
*
And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem ,
to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness .
*
And all the princes and all the people rejoiced ,
and brought in ,
and cast into the chest ,
until they had made an end .
*
Now it came to pass ,
that at what time the chest was brought unto the king '
s office by the hand of the Levites ,
and when they saw that there was much money ,
the king '
s scribe and the high priest '
s officer came and emptied the chest ,
and took it ,
and carried it to his place again .
Thus they did day by day ,
and gathered money in abundance .
*
And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD ,
and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD ,
and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD .
*
So the workmen wrought ,
and the work was perfected by them ,
and they set the house of God in his state ,
and strengthened it .
*
And when they had finished it ,
they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada ,
whereof were made vessels for the house of the LORD ,
even vessels to minister ,
and to offer withal ,
and spoons ,
and vessels of gold and silver .
And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada .
*
But Jehoiada waxed old ,
and was full of days when he died ;
an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died .
*
And they buried him in the city of David among the kings ,
because he had done good in Israel ,
both toward God ,
and toward his house .
*
Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah ,
and made obeisance to the king .
Then the king hearkened unto them .
*
And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers ,
and served groves and idols :
and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass .
*
Yet he sent prophets to them ,
to bring them again unto the LORD ;
and they testified against them :
but they would not give ear .
*
And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest ,
which stood above the people ,
and said unto them ,
Thus saith God ,
Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD ,
that ye cannot prosper ?
because ye have forsaken the LORD ,
he hath also forsaken you .
*
And they conspired against him ,
and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD .
*
Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him ,
but slew his son .
And when he died ,
he said ,
The LORD look upon it ,
and require it .
*
And it came to pass at the end of the year ,
that the host of Syria came up against him :
and they came to Judah and Jerusalem ,
and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people ,
and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus .
*
For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men ,
and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand ,
because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers .
So they executed judgment against Joash .
*
And when they were departed from him , (
for they left him in great diseases ,)
his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest ,
and slew him on his bed ,
and he died :
and they buried him in the city of David ,
but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings .
*
And these are they that conspired against him ;
Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess ,
and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess .
*
Now concerning his sons ,
and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him ,
and the repairing of the house of God ,
behold ,
they are written in the story of the book of the kings .
And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead .
*
Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign ,
and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem .
And his mother '
s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem .
*
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD ,
but not with a perfect heart .
*
Now it came to pass ,
when the kingdom was established to him ,
that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father .
*
But he slew not their children ,
but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses ,
where the LORD commanded ,
saying ,
The fathers shall not die for the children ,
neither shall the children die for the fathers ,
but every man shall die for his own sin .
*
Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together ,
and made them captains over thousands ,
and captains over hundreds ,
according to the houses of their fathers ,
throughout all Judah and Benjamin :
and he numbered them from twenty years old and above ,
and found them three hundred thousand choice men ,
able to go forth to war ,
that could handle spear and shield .
*
He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver .
*
But there came a man of God to him ,
saying ,
O king ,
let not the army of Israel go with thee ;
for the LORD is not with Israel ,
to wit ,
with all the children of Ephraim .
*
But if thou wilt go ,
do it ,
be strong for the battle :
God shall make thee fall before the enemy :
for God hath power to help ,
and to cast down .
*
And Amaziah said to the man of God ,
But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel ?
And the man of God answered ,
The LORD is able to give thee much more than this .
*
Then Amaziah separated them ,
to wit ,
the army that was come to him out of Ephraim ,
to go home again :
wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah ,
and they returned home in great anger .
*
And Amaziah strengthened himself ,
and led forth his people ,
and went to the valley of salt ,
and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand .
*
And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive ,
and brought them unto the top of the rock ,
and cast them down from the top of the rock ,
that they all were broken in pieces .
*
But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back ,
that they should not go with him to battle ,
fell upon the cities of Judah ,
from Samaria even unto Bethhoron ,
and smote three thousand of them ,
and took much spoil .
*
Now it came to pass ,
after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites ,
that he brought the gods of the children of Seir ,
and set them up to be his gods ,
and bowed down himself before them ,
and burned incense unto them .
*
Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah ,
and he sent unto him a prophet ,
which said unto him ,
Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people ,
which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand ?
*
And it came to pass ,
as he talked with him ,
that the king said unto him ,
Art thou made of the king '
s counsel ?
forbear ;
why shouldest thou be smitten ?
Then the prophet forbare ,
and said ,
I know that God hath determined to destroy thee ,
because thou hast done this ,
and hast not hearkened unto my counsel .
*
Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice ,
and sent to Joash ,
the son of Jehoahaz ,
the son of Jehu ,
king of Israel ,
saying ,
Come ,
let us see one another in the face .
*
And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah ,
saying ,
The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon ,
saying ,
Give thy daughter to my son to wife :
and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon ,
and trode down the thistle .
*
Thou sayest ,
Lo ,
thou hast smitten the Edomites ;
and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast :
abide now at home ;
why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt ,
that thou shouldest fall ,
even thou ,
and Judah with thee ?
*
But Amaziah would not hear ;
for it came of God ,
that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies ,
because they sought after the gods of Edom .
*
So Joash the king of Israel went up ;
and they saw one another in the face ,
both he and Amaziah king of Judah ,
at Bethshemesh ,
which belongeth to Judah .
*
And Judah was put to the worse before Israel ,
and they fled every man to his tent .
*
And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah ,
the son of Joash ,
the son of Jehoahaz ,
at Bethshemesh ,
and brought him to Jerusalem ,
and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate ,
four hundred cubits .
*
And he took all the gold and the silver ,
and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obededom ,
and the treasures of the king '
s house ,
the hostages also ,
and returned to Samaria .
*
And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years .
*
Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah ,
first and last ,
behold ,
are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel ?
*
Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem ;
and he fled to Lachish :
but they sent to Lachish after him ,
and slew him there .
*
And they brought him upon horses ,
and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah .
*
Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah ,
who was sixteen years old ,
and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah .
*
He built Eloth ,
and restored it to Judah ,
after that the king slept with his fathers .
*
Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign ,
and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem .
His mother '
s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem .
*
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD ,
according to all that his father Amaziah did .
*
And he sought God in the days of Zechariah ,
who had understanding in the visions of God :
and as long as he sought the LORD ,
God made him to prosper .
*
And he went forth and warred against the Philistines ,
and brake down the wall of Gath ,
and the wall of Jabneh ,
and the wall of Ashdod ,
and built cities about Ashdod ,
and among the Philistines .
*
And God helped him against the Philistines ,
and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal ,
and the Mehunims .
*
And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah :
and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt ;
for he strengthened himself exceedingly .
*
Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate ,
and at the valley gate ,
and at the turning of the wall ,
and fortified them .
*
Also he built towers in the desert ,
and digged many wells :
for he had much cattle ,
both in the low country ,
and in the plains :
husbandmen also ,
and vine dressers in the mountains ,
and in Carmel :
for he loved husbandry .
*
Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men ,
that went out to war by bands ,
according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler ,
under the hand of Hananiah ,
one of the king '
s captains .
*
The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred .
*
And under their hand was an army ,
three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred ,
that made war with mighty power ,
to help the king against the enemy .
*
And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields ,
and spears ,
and helmets ,
and habergeons ,
and bows ,
and slings to cast stones .
*
And he made in Jerusalem engines ,
invented by cunning men ,
to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks ,
to shoot arrows and great stones withal .
And his name spread far abroad ;
for he was marvellously helped ,
till he was strong .
*
But when he was strong ,
his heart was lifted up to his destruction :
for he transgressed against the LORD his God ,
and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense .
*
And Azariah the priest went in after him ,
and with him fourscore priests of the LORD ,
that were valiant men :
*
And they withstood Uzziah the king ,
and said unto him ,
It appertaineth not unto thee ,
Uzziah ,
to burn incense unto the LORD ,
but to the priests the sons of Aaron ,
that are consecrated to burn incense :
go out of the sanctuary ;
for thou hast trespassed ;
neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God .
*
Then Uzziah was wroth ,
and had a censer in his hand to burn incense :
and while he was wroth with the priests ,
the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD ,
from beside the incense altar .
*
And Azariah the chief priest ,
and all the priests ,
looked upon him ,
and ,
behold ,
he was leprous in his forehead ,
and they thrust him out from thence ;
yea ,
himself hasted also to go out ,
because the LORD had smitten him .
*
And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death ,
and dwelt in a several house ,
being a leper ;
for he was cut off from the house of the LORD :
and Jotham his son was over the king '
s house ,
judging the people of the land .
*
Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah ,
first and last ,
did Isaiah the prophet ,
the son of Amoz ,
write .
*
So Uzziah slept with his fathers ,
and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings ;
for they said ,
He is a leper :
and Jotham his son reigned in his stead .
*
Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign ,
and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem .
His mother '
s name also was Jerushah ,
the daughter of Zadok .
*
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD ,
according to all that his father Uzziah did :
howbeit he entered not into the temple of the LORD .
And the people did yet corruptly .
*
He built the high gate of the house of the LORD ,
and on the wall of Ophel he built much .
*
Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah ,
and in the forests he built castles and towers .
*
He fought also with the king of the Ammonites ,
and prevailed against them .
And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver ,
and ten thousand measures of wheat ,
and ten thousand of barley .
So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him ,
both the second year ,
and the third .
*
So Jotham became mighty ,
because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God .
*
Now the rest of the acts of Jotham ,
and all his wars ,
and his ways ,
lo ,
they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah .
*
He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign ,
and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem .
*
And Jotham slept with his fathers ,
and they buried him in the city of David :
and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead .
*
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign ,
and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem :
but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD ,
like David his father :
*
For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel ,
and made also molten images for Baalim .
*
Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom ,
and burnt his children in the fire ,
after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel .
*
He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places ,
and on the hills ,
and under every green tree .
*
Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria ;
and they smote him ,
and carried away a great multitude of them captives ,
and brought them to Damascus .
And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel ,
who smote him with a great slaughter .
*
For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day ,
which were all valiant men ;
because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers .
*
And Zichri ,
a mighty man of Ephraim ,
slew Maaseiah the king '
s son ,
and Azrikam the governor of the house ,
and Elkanah that was next to the king .
*
And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand ,
women ,
sons ,
and daughters ,
and took also away much spoil from them ,
and brought the spoil to Samaria .
*
But a prophet of the LORD was there ,
whose name was Oded :
and he went out before the host that came to Samaria ,
and said unto them ,
Behold ,
because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah ,
he hath delivered them into your hand ,
and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven .
*
And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you :
but are there not with you ,
even with you ,
sins against the LORD your God ?
*
Now hear me therefore ,
and deliver the captives again ,
which ye have taken captive of your brethren :
for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you .
*
Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim ,
Azariah the son of Johanan ,
Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth ,
and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum ,
and Amasa the son of Hadlai ,
stood up against them that came from the war ,
*
And said unto them ,
Ye shall not bring in the captives hither :
for whereas we have offended against the LORD already ,
ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass :
for our trespass is great ,
and there is fierce wrath against Israel .
*
So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation .
*
And the men which were expressed by name rose up ,
and took the captives ,
and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them ,
and arrayed them ,
and shod them ,
and gave them to eat and to drink ,
and anointed them ,
and carried all the feeble of them upon asses ,
and brought them to Jericho ,
the city of palm trees ,
to their brethren :
then they returned to Samaria .
*
At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him .
*
For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah ,
and carried away captives .
*
The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country ,
and of the south of Judah ,
and had taken Bethshemesh ,
and Ajalon ,
and Gederoth ,
and Shocho with the villages thereof ,
and Timnah with the villages thereof ,
Gimzo also and the villages thereof :
and they dwelt there .
*
For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel ;
for he made Judah naked ,
and transgressed sore against the LORD .
*
And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him ,
and distressed him ,
but strengthened him not .
*
For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD ,
and out of the house of the king ,
and of the princes ,
and gave it unto the king of Assyria :
but he helped him not .
*
And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD :
this is that king Ahaz .
*
For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus ,
which smote him :
and he said ,
Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them ,
therefore will I sacrifice to them ,
that they may help me .
But they were the ruin of him ,
and of all Israel .
*
And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God ,
and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God ,
and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD ,
and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem .
*
And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods ,
and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers .
*
Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways ,
first and last ,
behold ,
they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel .
*
And Ahaz slept with his fathers ,
and they buried him in the city ,
even in Jerusalem :
but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel :
and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead .
*
Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old ,
and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem .
And his mother '
s name was Abijah ,
the daughter of Zechariah .
*
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD ,
according to all that David his father had done .
*
He in the first year of his reign ,
in the first month ,
opened the doors of the house of the LORD ,
and repaired them .
*
And he brought in the priests and the Levites ,
and gathered them together into the east street ,
*
And said unto them ,
Hear me ,
ye Levites ,
sanctify now yourselves ,
and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers ,
and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place .
*
For our fathers have trespassed ,
and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God ,
and have forsaken him ,
and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD ,
and turned their backs .
*
Also they have shut up the doors of the porch ,
and put out the lamps ,
and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel .
*
Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem ,
and he hath delivered them to trouble ,
to astonishment ,
and to hissing ,
as ye see with your eyes .
*
For ,
lo ,
our fathers have fallen by the sword ,
and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this .
*
Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel ,
that his fierce wrath may turn away from us .
*
My sons ,
be not now negligent :
for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him ,
to serve him ,
and that ye should minister unto him ,
and burn incense .
*
Then the Levites arose ,
Mahath the son of Amasai ,
and Joel the son of Azariah ,
of the sons of the Kohathites :
and of the sons of Merari ,
Kish the son of Abdi ,
and Azariah the son of Jehalelel :
and of the Gershonites ;
Joah the son of Zimmah ,
and Eden the son of Joah :
*
And of the sons of Elizaphan ;
Shimri ,
and Jeiel :
and of the sons of Asaph ;
Zechariah ,
and Mattaniah :
*
And of the sons of Heman ;
Jehiel ,
and Shimei :
and of the sons of Jeduthun ;
Shemaiah ,
and Uzziel .
*
And they gathered their brethren ,
and sanctified themselves ,
and came ,
according to the commandment of the king ,
by the words of the LORD ,
to cleanse the house of the LORD .
*
And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD ,
to cleanse it ,
and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD .
And the Levites took it ,
to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron .
*
Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify ,
and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD :
so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days ;
and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end .
*
Then they went in to Hezekiah the king ,
and said ,
We have cleansed all the house of the LORD ,
and the altar of burnt offering ,
with all the vessels thereof ,
and the shewbread table ,
with all the vessels thereof .
*
Moreover all the vessels ,
which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression ,
have we prepared and sanctified ,
and ,
behold ,
they are before the altar of the LORD .
*
Then Hezekiah the king rose early ,
and gathered the rulers of the city ,
and went up to the house of the LORD .
*
And they brought seven bullocks ,
and seven rams ,
and seven lambs ,
and seven he goats ,
for a sin offering for the kingdom ,
and for the sanctuary ,
and for Judah .
And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD .
*
So they killed the bullocks ,
and the priests received the blood ,
and sprinkled it on the altar :
likewise ,
when they had killed the rams ,
they sprinkled the blood upon the altar :
they killed also the lambs ,
and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar .
*
And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation ;
and they laid their hands upon them :
*
And the priests killed them ,
and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar ,
to make an atonement for all Israel :
for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel .
*
And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals ,
with psalteries ,
and with harps ,
according to the commandment of David ,
and of Gad the king '
s seer ,
and Nathan the prophet :
for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets .
*
And the Levites stood with the instruments of David ,
and the priests with the trumpets .
*
And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar .
And when the burnt offering began ,
the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets ,
and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel .
*
And all the congregation worshipped ,
and the singers sang ,
and the trumpeters sounded :
and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished .
*
And when they had made an end of offering ,
the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves ,
and worshipped .
*
Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David ,
and of Asaph the seer .
And they sang praises with gladness ,
and they bowed their heads and worshipped .
*
Then Hezekiah answered and said ,
Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD ,
come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD .
And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings ;
and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings .
*
And the number of the burnt offerings ,
which the congregation brought ,
was threescore and ten bullocks ,
an hundred rams ,
and two hundred lambs :
all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD .
*
And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep .
*
But the priests were too few ,
so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings :
wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them ,
till the work was ended ,
and until the other priests had sanctified themselves :
for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests .
*
And also the burnt offerings were in abundance ,
with the fat of the peace offerings ,
and the drink offerings for every burnt offering .
So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order .
*
And Hezekiah rejoiced ,
and all the people ,
that God had prepared the people :
for the thing was done suddenly .
*
And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah ,
and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh ,
that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem ,
to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel .
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