The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV
Page 216
Hezekiah Humbles Himself
(2 Kin. 20:1–11; Is. 38:1–8)
24dIn those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the LORD; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign.
25But Hezekiah edid not repay according to the favor shown him, for fhis heart was lifted up; gtherefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem.
26hThen Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them iin the days of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor
(2 Kin. 20:12–21; Is. 39:1–8)
27Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items;
28storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and 8folds for flocks.
29Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for jGod had given him very much property.
30kThis same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and 9brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah lprospered in all his works.
31However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they msent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to ntest him, that He might know all that was in his heart.
Death of Hezekiah
32Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in othe vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the pbook of the kings of Judah and Israel.
33qSo Hezekiah 10rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem rhonored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
2 Chronicles 33
Manasseh Reigns in Judah
(2 Kin. 21:1–9)
1Manasseh awas twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the babominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
3For he rebuilt the 1high places which Hezekiah his father had cbroken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and dmade wooden images; and he worshiped eall 2the host of heaven and served them.
4He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, f“In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.”
5And he built altars for all the host of heaven gin the two courts of the house of the LORD.
6hAlso he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced isoothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and jconsulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.
7kHe even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the 3house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, l“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;
8m“and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.”
9So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
Manasseh Restored After Repentance
10And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not 4listen.
11nTherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with 5hooks, obound him with 6bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon.
12Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and phumbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13and prayed to Him; and He qreceived his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh rknew that the LORD was God.
14After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of sGihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it tenclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.
15He took away uthe foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city.
16He also repaired the altar of the LORD, sacrificed peace offerings and vthank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.
17wNevertheless the people still sacrificed on the 7high places, but only to the LORD their God.
Death of Manasseh
(2 Kin. 21:17, 18)
18Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of xthe seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, indeed they are written in the 8book of the kings of Israel.
19Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built 9high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of 10Hozai.
20ySo Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.
Amon’s Reign and Death
(2 Kin. 21:19–26)
21zAmon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them.
23And he did not humble himself before the LORD, aas his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
24bThen his servants conspired against him, and ckilled him in his own house.
25But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.
2 Chronicles 34
Josiah Reigns in Judah
(2 Kin. 22:1, 2)
1Josiah awas eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still byoung, he began to cseek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began dto purge Judah and Jerusalem eof the 1high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.
4fThey broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them gand scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
5He also hburned the bones of the priests on their ialtars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
6And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with 2axes.
7When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had jbeaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
(2 Kin. 22:3–20)
8kIn the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the 3temple, he sent lShaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the mgovernor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
9When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered nthe money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim
, from all the oremnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem.
10Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the LORD, to repair and restore the house.
11They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
12And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music,
13were pover the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. qAnd some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.
14Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest rfound the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.
15Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the sbook to Shaphan.
16So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing.
17“And they have 4gathered the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.”
18Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
19Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes.
20Then the king commanded Hilkiah, tAhikam the son of Shaphan, 5Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying,
21“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not ukept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
22So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of 6Tokhath, the son of 7Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.
23Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,
24“Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will vbring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the wbook which they have read before the king of Judah,
25‘because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’
26“But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard—
27“because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the xLORD.
28“Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.
Josiah Restores True Worship
(2 Kin. 23:1–20)
29yThen the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30The king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he zread in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD.
31Then the king astood in bhis place and made a ccovenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
32And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
33Thus Josiah removed all the dabominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel 8diligently serve the LORD their God. eAll his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers.
2 Chronicles 35
Josiah Keeps the Passover
(2 Kin. 23:21–23)
1Now aJosiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the bfourteenth day of the first month.
2And he set the priests in their cduties and dencouraged them for the service of the house of the LORD.
3Then he said to the Levites ewho taught all Israel, who were holy to the LORD: f“Put the holy ark gin the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. hIt shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.
4“Prepare yourselves iaccording to your fathers’ 1houses, according to your divisions, following the jwritten instruction of David king of Israel and the kwritten instruction of Solomon his son.
5“And lstand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites.
6“So slaughter the Passover offerings, mconsecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.”
7Then Josiah ngave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s opossessions.
8And his pleaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle.
9Also qConaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.
10So the service was prepared, and the priests rstood in their places, and the sLevites in their divisions, according to the king’s command.
11And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests tsprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites uskinned the animals.
12Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written vin the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle.
13Also they wroasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they xboiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people.
14Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.
15And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the ycommand of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers zwere at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.
16So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah.
17And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and
the Feast of aUnleavened Bread for seven days.
18bThere had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
19In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.
Josiah Dies in Battle
(2 Kin. 23:28–30)
20cAfter all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against dCarchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.
21But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.”
22Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but edisguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.
23And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.”
24fHis servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And gall Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
25Jeremiah also hlamented for iJosiah. And to this day jall the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. kThey made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.
26Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the LORD,
27and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
2 Chronicles 36
The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz
(2 Kin. 23:31–33)