[17] And Amasias king of Juda took counsel, and sent to Joas, son of Joachaz, son of Jeu, king of Israel, saying, Come, and let us look one another in the face. [18] And Joas king of Israel sent to Amasias king of Juda, saying, The thistle that was in Libanus sent to the cedar that was in Libanus, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife; but, behold, thy wild beasts of the field that are in Libanus shall come: and the wild beasts did come, and trod down the thistle. [19] Thou hast said, Behold, I have smitten Idumea, and thy stout heart exalts thee: now stay at home; for why dost thou implicate thyself in mischief, that thou shouldest fall, and Juda with thee.
[20] Nevertheless Amasias hearkened not, for it was of the Lord to deliver him into the enemy’s hands, because he sought after the gods of the Idumeans. [21] So Joas king of Israel went up; and they saw one another, he and Amasias king of Juda, in Baethsamys, which is of Juda. [22] And Juda was put to flight before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent. [23] And Joas king of Israel took prisoner Amasias king of Juda, son of Joas, son of Joachaz, in Baethsamys, and brought him to Jerusalem; and he pulled down part of the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. [24] And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and with Abdedom, and the treasures of the king’s house, and the hostages, and he returned to Samaria.
[25] And Amasias the son of Joas king of Juda lived after the death of Joas the son of Joachaz king of Israel fifteen years. [26] And the rest of the acts of Amasias, the first and the last, Lo! are they not written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel? [27] And at the time when Amasias departed from the Lord, then they formed a conspiracy against him; and he fled from Jerusalem to Lachis: and they sent after him to Lachis, and slew him there. [28] And they took him up on horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of David.
Chapter 26
[1] Then all the people of the land took Ozias, and he was sixteen years old, and they made him king in the room of his father Amasias. [2] He built Ælath, he recovered it to Juda, after the king slept with his fathers.
[3] Ozias began to reign at the age of sixteen years, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jechelia of Jerusalem. [4] And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Amasias his father did. [5] And he sought the Lord in the days of Zacharias, who understood the fear of the Lord; and in his days he sought the Lord, and the Lord prospered him.
[6] And he went out and fought against the Philistines, and pulled down the walls of Geth, and the walls of Jabner, and the walls of Azotus, and he built cities near Azotus, and among the Philistines. [7] And the Lord strengthened him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt on the rock, and against the Minaeans. [8] And the Minaeans gave gifts to Ozias; and his fame spread as far as the entering in of Egypt, for he strengthened himself exceedingly.
[9] And Ozias built towers in Jerusalem, both at the gate of the corners, and at the valley gate, and at the corners and he fortified them. [10] And he built towers in the wilderness, and dug many wells, for he had many cattle in the low country and in the plain; and vinedressers in the mountain country and in Carmel: for he was a husbandman. [11] And Ozias had a host of warriors, and that went out orderly to war, and returned orderly in number; and their number was made by the hand of Jeiel the scribe, and Maasias the judge, by the hand of Ananias the king’s deputy. [12] The whole number of the chiefs of families of the mighty men of war was two thousand six hundred; [13] and with them was a warrior force, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred: these waged war mightily to help the king against his enemies. [14] And Ozias prepared for them, even for all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and breastplates, and bows, and slings for stones. [15] And he made in Jerusalem machines invented by a wise contriver, to be upon the towers and upon the corners, to cast darts and great stones: and the fame of their preparation was heard at a distance; for he was wonderfully helped, till he was strong.
[16] And when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction; and he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to turn incense on the altar of incense. [17] And there went in after him Azarias the priest, and with him eighty priests of the Lord, mighty men. [18] And they withstood Ozias the king, and said to him, It is not for thee, Ozias, to burn incense to the Lord, but only for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to sacrifice: go forth of the sanctuary, for thou hast departed from the Lord; and this shall not be for glory to thee from the Lord god.
[19] And Ozias was angry, and in his hand was the censer to burn incense in the temple: and when he was angry with the priests, then the leprosy rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, over the altar of incense. [20] And Azarias the chief priest, and the other priests, turned to look at him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead; and they got him hastily out thence, for he also hasted to go out, because the Lord had rebuked him. [21] And Ozias the king was a leper to the day of his death, and he dwelt as a leper in a separate house; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Joathan his son was set over his kingdom, judging the people of the land.
[22] And the rest of the acts of Ozias, the first and the last, are written by Jessias the prophet. [23] And Ozias slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial place of the kings, for they said, He is a leper; and Joatham his son reigned in his stead.
Chapter 27
[1] Joatham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jerusa, daughter of Sadoc. [2] And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Ozias did: but he went not into the temple of the Lord. And still the people corrupted themselves. [3] He built the high gate of the house of the Lord, and he built much in the wall of Opel. [4] In the mountain of Juda, and in the woods, he built both dwelling-places and towers. [5] He fought against the king of the children of Ammon, and prevailed against him: and the children of Ammon gave him even annually a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. These the king of the children of Ammon brought to him annually in the first and second and third years. [6] Joatham grew strong, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.
[7] And the rest of the acts of Joatham, and his war, and his deeds, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel. [8] 9 And Joatham slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Achaz his son reigned in his stead.
Chapter 28
[1] Achaz was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as David his father. [2] But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, for he made graven images. [3] And he sacrificed to their idols in the valley of Benennom, and passed his children through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel. [4] And he burnt incense upon the high places, and upon the roofs, and under every shady tree.
[5] And the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and he smote him, and took captive of them a great band of prisoners, and carried him to Damascus. Also God delivered him into the hands of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. [6] And Phakee the son of Romelias king of Israel, slew in Juda in one day a hundred and twenty thousand mighty men; because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. [7] And Zechri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maasias the king’s son, and Ezrican the chief of his house, and Elcana the king’s deputy. [8] And the children of Israel took captive of their brethren three hundred thousand, women, and sons, and daughters, and they spoiled them of much property, and brought the spoils to Samaria.
[9] And there was there a prophet of the Lord, his na
me was Oded: and he went out to meet the host that were coming to Samaria, and said to them, Behold, the wrath of the Lord God of your fathers is upon Juda, and he has delivered them into your hands, and ye have slain them in wrath, and it has reached even to heaven. [10] And now ye talk of keeping the children of Juda and Jerusalem for servants and handmaidens. Lo, am I not with you to testify for the Lord your God? [11] And now hearken to me, and restore the prisoners of your brethren whom ye have taken: for the fierce anger of the Lord is upon you.
[12] And the chiefs of the sons of Ephraim rose up, Udias the son of Joanas, and Barachias the son of Mosolamoth, and Ezekias the son of Sellem, and Amasias the son of Eldai, against those that came from the war, [13] and said to them, Ye shall not bring in hither the prisoners to us, for whereas sin against the Lord is upon us, ye mean to add to our sins, and to our trespass: for our sin is great, and the fierce anger of the Lord is upon Israel. [14] So the warriors left the prisoners and the spoils before the princes and all the congregation. [15] And the men who were called by name rose up, and took hold of the prisoners, and clothed all the naked from the spoils, and gave them garments and shoes, and gave them food to eat, and oil to anoint themselves with, and they helped also every one that was weak with asses, and placed them in Jericho, the city of palm-trees, with their brethren; and they returned to Samaria.
[16] At that time king Achaz sent to the king of Assyria to help him, and on this occasion, [17] because the Idumeans had attacked him, and smitten Juda, and taken a number of prisoners. [18] Also the Philistines had made an attack on the cities of the plain country, and the cities of the south of Juda, and taken Baethsamys, and [[the things in the house of the Lord, and the things in the house of the king, and of the princes: and they gave to the king]] Ælon, and Galero, and Socho and her villages, and Thamna and her villages, and Gamzo and her villages: and they dwelt there. [19] For the Lord humbled Juda because of Achaz king of Juda, because he grievously departed from the Lord. [20] And there came against him Thalgaphellasar king of Assyria, and he afflicted him. [21] And Achaz took the things that were in the house of the Lord, and the things in the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave them to the king of Assyria: but he was no help to him, [22] but only troubled him in his affliction: and he departed yet more from the Lord, and king Achaz said, [23] I will seek after the gods of Damascus that smite me. And he said, Forasmuch as the gods of the king of Syria themselves strengthen them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, and they will help me. But they became a stumbling-block to him, and to all Israel.
[24] And Achaz removed the vessels of the house of the Lord, and cut them in pieces, and shut the doors of the house of the Lord, and made to himself altars in every corner in Jerusalem: [25] and in each several city in Juda he made high places to burn incense to strange gods: and they provoked the Lord God of their fathers. [26] And the rest of his acts, and his deeds, the first and the last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel. [27] And Achaz slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David; for they did not bring him into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Ezekias his son reigned in his stead.
Chapter 29
[1] And Ezekias began to reign at the age of twenty-five years, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Abia, daughter of Zacharias. [2] And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.
[3] And it came to pass, when he was established over his kingdom, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them. [4] And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and put them on the east side, [5] and said to them, Hear, ye Levites: now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and cast out the impurity from the holy places. [6] For our fathers have revolted, and done that which was evil before the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their face from the tabernacle of the Lord, and have turned their back. [7] And they have shut up the doors of the temple, and put out the lamps, and have not burnt incense, and have not offered whole-burnt-offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. [8] And the Lord was very angry with Juda and Jerusalem, and made them an astonishment, and a desolation, and a hissing, as ye see with your eyes. [9] And, behold, your fathers have been smitten with the sword, and your sons and your daughters and your wives are in captivity in a land not their own, as it is even now. [10] Therefore it is now in my heart to make a covenant, a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that he may turn away his fierce wrath from us. [11] And now be not wanting to your duty, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him to minister, and to be ministers and burners of incense to him.
[12] Then the Levites rose up, Maath the son of Amasi, and Joel the son of Azarias, of the sons of Caath: and of the sons of Merari, Kis the son of Abdi, and Azarias the son of Haelel: and of the sons of Gedsoni, Jodaad the son of Zemmath, and Joadam: these were the sons of Joacha. [13] And of the sons of Elisaphan; Zambri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zacharias, and Matthanias: [14] and of the sons of Æman; Jeiel, and Semei: and of the sons of Idithun; Samaisa, and Oziel. [15] And they gathered their brethren, and they purified themselves according to the king’s command by the order of the Lord, to purify the house of the Lord. [16] And the priests entered into the house of the Lord, to purify it, and they cast out all the uncleanness that was found in the house of the Lord, even into the court of the house of the Lord: and the Levites received it to cast into the brook of Kedron without.
[17] And Ezekias began on the first day, even on the new moon of the first month, to purify, and on the eighth day of the month they entered into the temple of the Lord: and they purified the house of the Lord in eight days; and on the thirteenth day of the first month they finished the work.
[18] And they went in to king Ezekias, and said, We have purified all the things in the house of the Lord, the altar of whole-burnt-offering, and its vessels, and the table of shew-bread, and its vessels; [19] and all the vessels which king Achaz polluted in his reign, in his apostasy, we have prepared and purified: behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.
[20] And king Ezekias rose early in the morning, and gathered the chief men of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. [21] And he brought seven calves, seven rams, seven lambs, seven kids of goats for a sin-offering, for the kingdom, and for the holy things, and for Israel: and he told the priests the sons of Aaron to go up to the altar of the Lord. [22] And they slew the calves, and the priests received the blood, and poured it on the altar: and they slew the rams, and poured the blood upon the altar: also they slew the lambs, and poured the blood round the altar. [23] And they brought the goats for a sin-offering before the king and the congregation; and laid their hands upon them. [24] And the priests slew them, and offered their blood as a propitiation on the altar; and they made atonement for all Israel: for the king said, The whole-burnt-offering, and the sin-offering are for all Israel.
[25] And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, and lutes, and harps, according to the commandment of king David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet: for by the commandment of the Lord the order was in the hand of the prophets. [26] And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. [27] And Ezekias told them to offer up the whole-burnt-offering on the altar: and when they began to offer the whole-burnt-offering, they began to sing to the Lord, and the trumpets accompanied the instruments of David king of Israel. [28] And all the congregation worshipped, and the psalm-singers were singing, and the trumpets sounding, until the whole-burnt-sacrifice had been completely offered. [29] And when they had done offering it, the king and all that were present bowed, and worshipped.
[30] And king Ezekias and the princes told the Levites to sing hymns to the Lord in the words of David, and of Asaph the prophet: and they sang hymns with gladness, and fell down and worshipped.
[31] Then Ezek
ias answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, bring near and offer sacrifices of praise in the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the Lord; and every one who was ready in his heart brought whole-burnt-offerings. [32] And the number of the whole-burnt-offerings which the congregation brought, was seventy calves, a hundred rams, two hundred lambs: all these were for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord. [33] And the consecrated calves were six hundred, and the sheep three thousand. [34] But the priests were few, and could not flay the whole-burnt-offering, so their brethren the Levites helped them, until the work was finished, and until the priests had purified themselves: for the Levites more zealously purified themselves than the priests. [35] And the whole-burnt-offering was abundant, with the fat of the complete peace-offering, and the drink-offerings of the whole-burnt-sacrifice. So the service was established in the house of the Lord.
[36] And Ezekias and all the people rejoiced, because God has prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
Chapter 30
[1] And Ezekias sent to all Israel and Juda, and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasse, that they should come into the house of the Lord to Jerusalem, to keep the passover to the Lord God of Israel. [2] For the king, and the princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, designed to keep the passover in the second month. [3] For they could not keep it at that time, because a sufficient number of priest had not purified themselves, and the people was not gathered to Jerusalem. [4] And the proposal pleased the king and the congregation. [5] And they established a decree that a proclamation should go through all Israel, from Bersabee to Dan, that they should come and keep the passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem: for the multitude had not done it lately according to the scripture.
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